Book by Book
Finding the right book can make all the difference in getting students to read. They aren't going to pick up something that doesn't interest them and so they surely won't want to read something we give them, if they don't like it. We need to make a conscious effort to give them books that interest them and NOT us.
Text Features/ Know Your Students' Interests
This chapter made me aware of all of the material out there for students to read. It does not have to be a book. They can learn skills from things like magazines, newspapers, and advertisements. I liked the idea of getting to know students and what type of reading they like to do. I think this would be a good question to put on an information paper that you ask students to fill out during the first week of school. I know that this teacher said she didn't want students filling out a whole survey because she didn't end up reading them, but I think one question would be OK. Also, she told us about speaking with students for a few minutes to write down what they like on an index card and then have students match the cards to the pictures of the students in the class. This kind have seems juvenile but if it gets the students interacting then there's nothing wrong with having a little fun with it.
Take Students to Your School Library
I give a lot of credit to the mother in this section that told her child she could not afford to send him to Washington D.C. with the rest of his class. What an awesome idea for her to suggest to her child that she would take him to the library so he could read about what everyone else was doing. This child was ecstatic that he could participate, while not being there physically.
I can remember getting my first library card and how excited I was. That card allowed me to spend many hours looking for books, while growing up. A lot of students don't know what's available to them and don't go. I think as future teachers, no matter the grade, it is our responsibility to get these students to the library and to help them find books.
I think that this is SO IMPORTANT. My little sister has to read Johnny Tremain right now and she HATES it. However, she reads all the time! She just reads things she wants to read like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and many others. She is in a honors class, but its awful to see how miserable she is reading that book! Its important to know the interests of your students or else they wont have any interest in reading at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree that interest is so important. Force feeding kids literature can have very negative side effects. I wish teachers who teach would give more choice. Maybe they do now but it always seemed to be that high school english classes where often to much shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree... we often forget about the library and how great a resource librarians are for our classes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is so important for us to remember to choose books that we know our students will like, not just ones that we will like. That is why it is so important to get to know your students, so that you can tailor your choices to their interests.
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