In everything we do as teachers, we need to foster independence in students. It makes our jobs easier, and more importantly, it gives students the skills and self-confidence they need so they can continue to learn on their own throughout their lives.

I want to highlight here two of the best ways to help students achieve this independence. The first way is to make whatever content we teach highly engaging. In the first part of the video clip, revel in the silence of students fully engaged in their writing. Students get right to work because they are writing for an authentic audience and purpose.

A second way is to explicitly teach students how to be independent. We need to model how to think things through, how to get the information they need to move forward. You see me demonstrate this scaffolding as I work with kindergartners. I put responsibility on them by asking, What can you do? Do you know where you could find it? And I let them know I value their independence by affirming it when I see it with comments like, What a smart thing you did! The more we expect independence and celebration, the more we will see it in our students.

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