Reading strand continued: How do we create a reading culture in our schools?

[Kelly Gallagher]

Just home from a late day at school. The strand is getting too long. Let's continue on a new one.

[Kelly Gallagher]

How we can show kids the importance of reading?

Model, model, model. Surround with great books. Share reasons why you read. Open their eyes to what is at stake. Share job stats, studies, research with them. Model some more. Bring in more books. Have students share what they are reading. Implement a reading minute each day. Model some more. Bring in more books...repeat cycle as much as humanly possible :)

Make sure kids recognize that there is a difference between academic reading and recreational reading. Many of my students have come to believe ALL reading is academic in nature. Change that perception one good book at a time.

[Kelly Gallagher]

Mindy wrote:
I do book passes in my LA classes every once in a while when I think kids aren't using my library as much as I would like them to. I put the kids into groups around the room. They all have their "someday book" lists and a pen/pencil. I give each group a stack of books - 1 per person. Sometimes I randomly pull them off my shelves, other times they are a specific genre or author. They have one to two minutes to look through the books, examine the covers, read the opening page or two, and so forth, then they make a note about the book if they are interested in reading it. The books pass to the right and it all starts over until each person in the group has seen all of the books. It's a great way for kids to see a passel of books quickly

Response: I think we can learn a lot from how a store like Barnes and Noble markets books inside their stores. The first thing one sees upon entering BN is book displays. I try to do the same thing in my classroom. I have a lot of wire book holders that hold books up with the covers facing the students (you can use plate holders, as well). Your book pass serves the same purpose---it puts books in front of the students. I love your idea od a "someday book" list. Thanks for sharing...

[Kelly Gallagher]

The last comment in the previous strand, from Mark, has a lot to think about:

Random Thoughts on “Readicide”
• It would be good for us to be frank with ourselves that either we believe in the awesome power of the written word and use that to educate our kids, or we don't and we are just pretending while we play at school teaching.
• We can tell whether a classroom has a culture of reading by the time dedicated to children’s deep engagement in books they have independently chosen, the authenticity of their conversation about those books and the sincerity of emotion when kids share with their peers.
• If we really want to develop kids into avid readers, we need to get real. People who are real avid readers never write book reports, they never get quizzed about what they are reading (except informally by other avid readers who ask sincere questions they don't already know the answers to as a way to guide their own book choices), and they are always looking for a next book or series or author to dive into. THAT is what we find in a culture of avid reading.
• If it is a highly scheduled time for kids to read books they would never select on their own, while teachers complete paperwork and fuss at the kids for making noise, then let’s be frank. That’s unlikely to lead anyone to be an avid reader, and that was probably not our vision of teaching when we joined the field.
• If there are plenty of wonderful books for kids in a classroom or school, then it's a matter of helping kids find the ones that will light each of their fuses while we also share what gets us cranked up.
• Sure it would be great if we were all experts on all the great literature for kids. But not being that should be seen as an invitation to us to dive in ourselves. Great kids books are great reads for adults too! If we share our sincere enjoyment of young adult books, then provide them time to share about what they are enjoying / encountering in honest kid to kid - human to human conversation we are inviting them into a real culture of avid reading.
• Nancie Atwell's Reading Zone offers a terrific insight into one successful classroom where avid reading is goal number one.
• It's not simple to create a culture of reading, given the politics of schools these days, but at very least we need to get kids some fabulous books and then for significant amounts of time every day, get out of their way. If that is followed by inviting them to share when they are bursting with what they have encountered, and sharing our own reading with the same level of awe and enthusiasm we just might create a classroom of lifelong learners.
• If we hear "Can I read that when you're finished?!" If every kid knows what they want to read next, If kids get sad when a terrific book is about over, we know there’s a culture of avid reading.

[Jennifer Allen]

I couldn't agree more that if we are going to create a culture that promotes reading within our schools then it is our responsibility to fill our classrooms with books that are interesting, accessible, and motivating to kids. Equally important, we must also give students daily opportunities to read books of their choice. What point is there in having rich classroom libraries if we do not schedule time within our day for students to actually use the library and read?

[Dave]

I have been scheduling reading time in all of my classes regardless of ability level or grouping for a number of years and have had many successes. Success, to me anyway, is getting kids to find the author or genre that they like and turning them on to reading. I also think I have been successful if my students no longer hate the idea of reading, but still haven't found great joy in reading. I know at the least that I have opened a door that they may wish to enter later in life.

Unfortunately, I have not made many friends in the department by giving students time to read daily especially in regards to my college-prep classes. To my understanding, reading is important. And if I'm not mistaken, the best way to improve reading is to read. There may even be some scholarly research out there that would back me up on this point. Is it wrong for me to think that scheduling time to read in class is a good way to let kids know that I think reading is important and possibly even good for a person? Or should I spend more time on grammar which they will learn about and forget each year from elementary school to senior year?

[Stephen Kennedy]

Dave, I feel your pain on being criticized by colleagues for giving students time to read in class. I teach a college prep composition class, and I dedicated one day a week to be reading time. We used our readings (free choice, fiction or nonfiction) for various writing exercises and just for the joy of reading. One teacher queried another teacher, "it's a writing class--what's the use in reading?" Had I been asked directly, my reply would have been: increasing vocabulary, improving reading skills, increasing personal knowledge, and nurturing the students' love of reading. I have had very few more rewarding experiences as a teacher than when those kids have come up to me during the semester to tell me that they just finished the first book they have ever read in its entirety.

[Gary Anderson]

Stephen and Dave--

Believe it or not, it works the other way too. Our school hosts an annual Writers Week, and we've had reading teachers not bring their students because "It's a reading class, not a writing class."

Yes, United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins was in our auditorium talking about poetry, but apparently it didn't quite fit the "reading curriculum," so some of our kids missed it.

[Dave]

Thanks for the commiseration! When I first started teaching, my motto was "Just teach'em to read and write." It still abides and I appreciate that!

[Karalee Huck]

The references to a Barnes & Noble event remind me of a great idea I saw in a Borders bookstore earlier this year. As I got ready to check out, I noticed a display comprised of baskets of books marked with sticky notes. The notes said, "Mrs. Barnes, Woodland Elementary, Grade 3" or Mr. Wilson, Pratt Middle, Grade 7." Patrons could then pick up one of these books, purchase it, and leave it with Borders. I thought it was a great idea. The teachers and classes got to set up their wish lists, and customers got to help students get their hands on great reads!

[Kelly Gallagher]

Love that idea. A tough one to pull of where I teach, however. Anaheim must be the largest city in the world without a major bookstore.

[Karalee Huck]

I also saw an angel tree around Christmas (duh!) in an Olive Garden with teens' names and gifts. The angel I happened to pick up requested the Twilight books, and it made me think that a book tree would be a fun project.

[Tan Huynh]

I read your book two months before the end of school and quickly abandoned my 100th and futile attempt to ignite a reading passion in my students. Even though I resented 90% of what you said because it attacked my approach to "teaching reading", I quickly saw how well my reluctant, struggling readers start to love reading. Case in point, Eric who at the beginning of the year fell into a deep sleep after reading the first paragraph of anything. By the end of the year and after reading Readicide , I had pry a 240 page novel from his hand and had to deal with his complaining for the book all class long.

Keep writing because you're saving brilliant students from teachers who kill reading like I do.