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| Reading in the sunshine is the best! Image from Reading is Fundamental (www.rif.org) |
I am a firm believer in modeling the behavior we want to see. In my life, I have heard many people declare that their love of reading began with a read-aloud in school. For older students, we can model just by reading in front of them. Working as a teacher on call, I have exposure to methods used in several schools. At one high school, there is a daily 20 minute period of silent reading every day observed by the entire school. During that time, I would also pull out a book to read, showing that it is a fun activity that will stay with you.
It is also important to meet students where they are. A teacher friend of mine works with English language learners. His method to encourage them to become better readers is to let them read anything at all that sparks their interest and that they feel capable of tackling - be it magazines, graphic novels, short stories, etc. There are some amazing graphic novels out these days and they are a great introduction for more reluctant students to reading for pleasure. One of my personal favorites is Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.
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| If you like shape-shifting teenagers, dragons and magic, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson is for you! Image care of Amazon.a |
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| Bones by John Wilson: a hi-lo young adult novel written for those reading at a Fry level 4.5. Image from Orca Books (www.orcabook.com) |
We need to encourage students by helping them associate reading with positive experiences rather than a chore that needs to be done solely for school.
References:
Stephenson, N. (2015). Nimona. HarperCollins
Whitten, C., Labby, S., & Sullivan, S.L. (2016). The impact of pleasure reading on academic success. The journal of Multidisciplinary Graduate Research, 2(4), 48-64.
Wilson, J. (2014). Bones. Orca Book Publishers
Hi, this is Pam from your LIBE 477B class. I never heard of the Orca books until about two years ago. I think they are very useful. I was teaching some students that had a very low reading levels so when selecting books they always found the books they could read too 'kiddy' and would deter them further from reading. So it was great to find these books to help encourage them to read more. I really like your idea of student recommendations for books as well. This will get students talking about books which is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam. This was the first I had heard of them as well. I have a few friends who teach ELL and they told me about them (I also have a friend who is writing a book for them!). Now that I know about it, it just makes so much sense.
DeleteI also have really warmed up to the idea of audiobooks. When I was in school, it seemed like an audio version of a book was too easy and would be cheating. That was, until I took a French literature course in University and the professor was blind - she only listened to the books in audio format. That was sort of the "aha" moment for me when I realized that the format didn't matter - the content of the story was still the same and could be equally studied and appreciated.
Hello Sonya,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said that students are more likely to read a book recommended by their peers. I have seen books become fads in schools as a result of a book pop culture being created within peer groups. This can over flow and create a reading culture within a school, where like clothes, books become fashionable. We as teachers and teacher-librarians just need to make sure that we have the desired books available for our students. Anything to get our kids to read! Thank you for your wonderful post.
Hi! Thank you for the wonderful comments. I can't wait to try and put some of my ideas (and the recommendations of others) into practice.
DeleteGreat post outlining some important ideas and strategies. I agree that peer recommendations are one of the best ways to introduce potential books to students. I have experimented with FlipGrid and Digital Bookshelves as a way for students to share their books and recommendations with others. I encourage you to share your ideas with a larger audience by posting them on Twitter. You have ideas that are worth sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Darcy,
DeleteI have not checked out FlipGrid or Digital Bookshelves yet. How did you find these tools worked out?
I will give Twitter a go with this post. My Twitter skills are beginner at best and this would be a great way to get some practice in.
Hi again,
DeleteWe have used FlipGrid with our Grade 8s it was successful and engaging at first but students lost interest overtime. I need to investigate this a bit more and figure out a better plan as I feel it has potential. I am currently using Digital Bookshleves with some of my classes. The students are really enjoying them. Here is the template for it in Google Slides - please feel free to make a copy and give it a try: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nf8I-oeOCZJ11pQSbCoPH334-b-ET9b_Jeu92FNRNqw/edit?usp=sharing
I saw your tweet and re-tweeted you! Well done - you are on the path to creating a strong PLN!
HI Darcy. Thank you so much! both for the tools and for the exposure on Twitter. I very much appreciate the support.
DeleteWhat an informative post. I'm thrilled you discussed Orca books. I find that they are very popular among boys and those student who just want a quick read. I'm a voracious reader and sometimes I forget how intimidating books can be. For me, they have always been a welcomed go-to in my life. I'm always shocked when a student tells me they don't like reading. I love that TLs are looking for new ways to incorporate reluctant readers.
ReplyDeleteNimona is a great example. I love Lumberjanes as well. All graphic novels, Manga and comics are great resources for students and teachers. I know Manga is big at a few schools and students recommend series to each other all the time. I've had a group of students come in and devour Bleach. They planned to read the whole series and one starts with the first five on the first day, then on the second the other person starts and so forth until the whole group has read the series and then the got together to watch the Anime. So I agree that student recommendations are very valuable in increasing book traffic.
This is from Reanne (LIBE 477)
DeleteReanne,
ReplyDeleteI had not thought about Manga as well, but of course! I am working my way through Lumberjanes at the moment. It's super fun as well. Thanks for the feedback! Not having any experience working in a library, my ideas are mostly theoretical, so it's great to hear they can work in practice.