At the end of last year, I wrote a post about independent reading and how excited I was that it worked in my classroom last year! Several
people asked me, “How? How did you make it work?” and so I decided to take some
time after this second week of school to tell you how I’m making it work in my
classroom.
Just for some background: I teach 11th and 12th
grade, and in Virginia, there is a state standardized test in 11th
grade. So for teachers who say, “Oh, I don’t have time for independent reading
because we have a state test,” please reconsider. We can always make time to
infect our students with the reading bug.
I also teach at a low income school. Many of my kids come
from single parent households. Many are African American. A few are pregnant or
already have babies of their own. I’m saying this so you don’t think my kids
are the perfect angels, the easy kids to reach. They are not; they’re tough,
most days.
That brings me to my first point.
1.
You, as the teacher, MUST buy into the value of
independent reading for it to work. You must fully and passionately believe
that, as B.F. Skinner said, “We shouldn't teach great books but great love of
reading.” Yes, there are numerous arguments for reading the “classics,” and
yes, they are of some value. But if your students "SparkNote" their way through Great
Expectations and The Scarlet Letter (like I did, because they were
terribly boring), and then they never read another book again…are we really
doing our jobs, as English teachers? I argue that no, we are not. WE must
believe that reading is more than trudging through classics and the books we
THINK we should teach.
I'll be honest: I despise most of the classics that I am supposed to love. They sucked away my love for reading for many years. But then, I read The Book Whisperer by Donnalyn Miller (thanks to my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Reynolds). From August of 2010, when I started student
teaching with Mrs. Reynolds, to August 2011, when I got hired at the high school where I’m currently
teaching, I read over 50 books! I rediscovered a love for reading, and I
decided I never wanted to be the English teacher to inadvertently killed reading
for my students.
You have to know
your students. For instance, most of us who are Language Arts teachers took all
the AP English classes and majored in English in college, and sometimes we
forget that our students are not like us. I teach some great kids, but my kids are
not honors or AP. They are the kids who will probably be fixing your car
someday or wiring your house for electricity because they are more interested
in trade school, and that is completely fine! But very few of them are going to
be English majors.
This past summer,
my little (well, younger) brother and I went fishing, and he asked me why
teachers teach “the classics.” You see, he’s an extremely smart kid. He took
advanced classes in high school and graduated with a good GPA and has enough
common sense and street smarts for ten people. But unlike his nerdy, bookworm
sister (me), school is just not his passion.
So, I thought about
his question and finally said, “Uh…I guess some teachers feel like they have
to. It’s just expected. They think it’s good for kids to be exposed to certain
books and to be educated so they can pick up on references and stuff…” And even
as I was saying it, I realized what a ridiculous answer it was.
“That doesn’t seem
like a good reason at all,” he quipped
And he’s right. It’s
a terrible reason. It’s not good enough for me. I want better for my kids
So,
here’s what I do: on the first day of school, my students take a Reading Interest Survey. This gives me an idea of what kind of reader they are. This survey, which
I created after looking at dozens of reading surveys online and in books, also
asks them about movies and television shows, so that even if they have never
read a book in their life, I know what they’re interested in. Last year, I had
my students complete a Book Recommendation Sheet, and I have these in a binder
on my bookshelf, organized by genre. One of the questions on the sheet asks the
students to complete the following: “If you like…you’ll love…” That way, kids
can find books that their peers actually read and enjoyed.
Then, I
bring in books from home (I’m working super hard to build my classroom library
on a budget, but for now, I’m just bringing in my personal books and loaning
them out). So, on the second day of school, I did a “book tasting” by setting
six books around the classroom: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by
Stephen Chbosky, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I Am Number
Four by Pittacus Lore, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Thirteen
Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and Deadline by Chris Crutcher. I chose
these books because they are high interested young adult literature.
The kids divided into six groups
and spent 2-3 minutes with each book, reading the summary, looking at the front
cover, reading the author bio, skimming the first few pages, and so forth. At
the end, they voted for their top three books, and I read the first chapter of
those three books aloud to each class. After I was done reading, they filled
out a little Reading Reflection sheet for only TWO books. I told them they could just
“chill and listen” for one book, and they liked having that freedom. They also
enjoyed having a fluent, expressive reader read the book aloud. Some said it
reminded them of their childhood, and so we laughed and shared some stories
about being read to as children. We enter into a conversation not teacher to student
but reader to reader. What a great way to build a relationship with your kids!
The
next step to building a successful independent reading program is giving your
kids access to books. We have a fabulous school library and a wonderful group
of librarians who let me bring my kids in to look at books during the second
week of school. During this visit, the kids fill out a Book Preview Sheet.
Again, like the other assignments, it’s very minimal. The reason I have them
fill this out is to teach them HOW to pick out a book and how to decide if the
book is a good fit for them; it’s not just busy work. After the kids are done
with their sheets, I ask them to go check out a book or two and begin reading.
If they can’t pay the $1.00 it takes to buy a library card, I buy one for them
or check out a book on my account. I also tell them if I have a certain book at
home and that I’ll bring it in for them if the library doesn’t have it. Like I
said earlier, I’m working hard to build my classroom library, and next
semester, I plan to have a check out system, but for now, I just kind of write
kids down and tell them to just make sure my classroom books get back to me.
The
next step after giving them access to books? Prioritize reading! I start every
class, every day with 20-30 minutes of silent reading. And what do I do during
those 20-30 minutes? I read. I’ve warned my kids that sometimes we may read for
more than 30 minutes if I’m really into my book, and they just rolled their
eyes, but I’m being serious. Sometimes I’ll do a quick walk around the
classroom and nudge people who have drifted off, but I don’t shame or scold
them. Occasionally, I’ll give a small participation grade for reading, but I
try to just expect them to read because it’s the right thing to do during that
time.
The
students track their progress on a reading log I got from a coworker, Matt. I
love it because it is SIMPLE and doesn’t feel like a lot of work, and it’s a
great way for a student to estimate how long it will take them to read a book.
Once a week, they have to write about their books in their journals, and
sometimes I teach characterization, plot, and other literary concepts (and
state standards, honestly) through their independent reading books. I also plan
to have them do book commercials and book trailers so they can share their best
books with their classmates (and hopefully I can put these on my school blog
and we can share them with the world). Last year, I did massive projects, and
it was such a waste of time. I’m sorry I ever did them; I just felt like I had
to.
So, to
summarize
1) Buy into independent reading and its value.
2)
Know your kids and get to know their interests.
3)
Allow them to “taste” books.
4)
Help them find books that are appropriate and
interesting.
5)
Read aloud to your students frequently.
6)
Give students access to books.
7)
Make time to read every day!
8)
Encourage students to create and share authenticate
projects.
9)
Teach literary concepts, such as
characterization, through independent reading.
10)
Lead by example. Model reading for them, and they
will often follow.
Resources:
The Book Whisperer by Donnalyn Miller (by the way, I recommend you follow her on Twitter)