I really enjoyed reading about the major conclusions from
recent reading research presented in chapter twelve. I think these few points
really narrow down the top five ways students are taught to read and the top
five things students should read. I really want to focus in on one piece of
advice given in each of these categories:
What Students
Should Read
1.
Teenagers need genuine choice of reading
materials: much of what they read should be self-selected, based on interest
and curiosity (293).
I can’t help but wonder how much more I would have enjoyed
school if I had the opportunity to select novels that sparked my interest. The
only time I ever remember selecting books I wanted to read was in middle
school, when we had to read 25 books each year and fill up the sticker chart (I
ended up filling more than one line)! This is the first experience that comes
to mind when I think about self-selected novels.
I am by no means saying that students should have a choice
when it comes to everything they read
in the classroom (that would be difficult because each student has a favorite
genre and opinion). But, they should be able to choose some of the books they read. I think a good way to do this is give
a list of novels that have the same main ideas or highlight the major topics you
are trying to teach (maybe 5 books max) and have them choose from that (much
like our summer reading book list- we always had options). I think this would
really give students a bit of freedom, and according to D&Z, “researchers
have found that the ability to choose their own reading enhances teens’
motivation to read (299).” I couldn’t agree more! So, to my fellow teacher
candidates, lets give our students options!
How students are
taught to read
2.
Teachers make their own reading habits and
processes visible by regularly reading aloud and by explaining and modeling
their thinking about content-area texts (294).
Here we go again! Model, model, model. A reading strategy we
have been seeing a lot that involves teacher modeling is referred to as a
think-aloud. Think-alouds were introduced in an earlier chapter, and I really
think it could help students understand how they should be reading, what
questions go through the minds of experienced readers, and the ways in which
experienced readers get through difficult reading material. According to
D&Z, all teachers are reading models whether or not we are comfortable in
the role. Furthermore, students benefit when teachers share their reading lives
with them, talking about books or articles they are reading, sharing
information gained from texts, and modeling a literate life.
I have never actually thought about my experiences this way,
but I have realized that my professors are constantly sharing their reading
lives with me. A lot of times, my professors will say “I read on ScienceMag
that…” or “I watched a video on NOVA PBS about…” I have never actually considered
this as sharing their reading lives with me, but I suppose that is just what
they are doing!
I can totally relate to your experience with reading. Although I hate to admit it as a future teacher, I was a major fan of Spark Notes. I maybe enjoyed 3 books I read in high school the rest I found to be super boring. It is difficult to comprehend the importance of an assignment and why we are to read certain novels over others at that age. With extra curricular activities, social activities and other assignments, why read something that you don't enjoy and will probably have to re-read anyway? If I enjoyed the books more I probably would have read them!!!!
ReplyDeleteAlisha,
ReplyDeleteI like the points that you made about the students having choice. I completely agree, when I was in elementary and middle school that was the only time when I didn't feel that reading was a chore. But once we were required to read certain books, it was a drag. I also want to comment on what you said about modeling. When we become teachers we must be conscious of everything that we do. These students spend more time with us than most people in their lives, so we need to walk our talk in everything that we do. So I'm glad you agreed that modeling is important.
Hi Alisha,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you had to read 25 books a year in middle school, I don't know how common that is, but I would love for this to be implemented more (if it isn't already frequent). It seems that with that you could have read anything you wanted. It works in middle school because if we start early enough, students won't look at reading as a chore moving forward. The idea that not all reading should be choice made me think back to a PBS Documentary I had to watch for a class today which was about Homeless Youth in Chicago, one of the students noted that he felt he related to Hamlet due to the factors of his life, and another cited her favorite book as Othello and kept it in her room. These were both assigned reading, yet students found a way to relate to them. So, I think a proper balance of assigned reading and choice will help us achieve our goals, along with modeling the proper strategies. :)
Oh my goodness, students should totally be able to choose what they read (within reason, like you said). I do not know if some teachers ever stop to think about this: we can't make kids like what our content has to offer, but we want them to read. So, instead of forcing them to always read what we assign, why can't we let them have some choice? I think we will have better result if students are allowed a little freedom to choose something that interests them. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDelete