In the fall, I will begin my first year as a teacher of middle schoolers. Over the last two years I have been building a classroom library for students that I have not yet met. Through the characters, experiences, and themes of each novel in my library I think about the type of student(s) this book could move in some way. Whether that may be a fantasy world that they can be transported to or a character that they can identify with. I will be teaching in a school that expects students to independently read outside of class. I am under the impression that I cannot give daily class time to reading independently. This is something that is disheartening to me as a teacher, because I had hoped that I could make a space for independent reading on a daily basis. Given that independent reading will not able to have a designated space in my instruction, my goals for this course and myself have adapted.
Questions:
- How can I promote a love for independent reading in a restrictive environment?
- How can I determine a student’s lexile level and track progression over time?
- What determines a text’s ability to be used as a whole class novel or individual text?
- When should a text be censored for independent reading?
Goals:
- Find ways to incorporate book talks, book love corners, and other reading strategies into my instruction.
- Think about what makes a novel great for a particular student and why.
- Create independent reading mentor texts for projects.
Mekay!
ReplyDeleteI love that despite receiving push back in terms of bringing independent reading into your classroom that you still value its importance. You know how much good it will do your kids and for that reason you are going to find ways to incorporate it. I had very similar push back in my student teaching placement. I decided to use any minute I could to book talk or even just tell kids during conversations about a text I thought they would like. Initially, I was hesitant to do so because I was told that it was a waste. However, I had kids fighting to be next in line for a book and had kids coming by at the end of the day needing another book for the weekend. My point in saying this is to give you just one of many votes of confidence to stay encouraged. What you want to do is important and will pay off in such significant ways in the lives of your students.
Chloe
MeKay,
ReplyDeleteYou ask some really challenging and beneficial questions! Even though independent reading might not be allowed within the context of your classroom, you still have this urge to challenge the rules, and I love that! First off, I think that you could offer some sort of before or after school reading time for students to come in and have a make-shift book club where you help them find books and they have time to read and share their thoughts on the books they are reading. Now, there might not be whole class participation, but at least you will offer a space in your school for students to find a love for reading. Also, even if students are not able to actually read the books in class, you could possibly take time in class for students to pick books from your classroom library or to go to the actual library. You could also track students progress in the books. You could even think about riding students of their "typical" homework and only require that they read a certain amount of time from their choice book each week. These are just a few, rough and unimplemented ideas that come to my mind. I am so excited to hear what you come up with! :)
MeKay,
ReplyDeleteYou ask some really challenging and beneficial questions! Even though independent reading might not be allowed within the context of your classroom, you still have this urge to challenge the rules, and I love that! First off, I think that you could offer some sort of before or after school reading time for students to come in and have a make-shift book club where you help them find books and they have time to read and share their thoughts on the books they are reading. Now, there might not be whole class participation, but at least you will offer a space in your school for students to find a love for reading. Also, even if students are not able to actually read the books in class, you could possibly take time in class for students to pick books from your classroom library or to go to the actual library. You could also track students progress in the books. You could even think about riding students of their "typical" homework and only require that they read a certain amount of time from their choice book each week. These are just a few, rough and unimplemented ideas that come to my mind. I am so excited to hear what you come up with! :)
MeKay,
ReplyDeleteYou ask some really challenging and beneficial questions! Even though independent reading might not be allowed within the context of your classroom, you still have this urge to challenge the rules, and I love that! First off, I think that you could offer some sort of before or after school reading time for students to come in and have a make-shift book club where you help them find books and they have time to read and share their thoughts on the books they are reading. Now, there might not be whole class participation, but at least you will offer a space in your school for students to find a love for reading. Also, even if students are not able to actually read the books in class, you could possibly take time in class for students to pick books from your classroom library or to go to the actual library. You could also track students progress in the books. You could even think about riding students of their "typical" homework and only require that they read a certain amount of time from their choice book each week. These are just a few, rough and unimplemented ideas that come to my mind. I am so excited to hear what you come up with! :)
-Kinsey
Mekay,
ReplyDeleteThese are all awesome questions, and goals that any teacher of reading should consider!
It is a bummer that you are not going to be allowed to give students independent reading time during class, but I don't think that means all hope is lost. One of my colleagues has a strategy that may help: Each Friday she reads the first chapter of a really good book to her whole class. She reads from her copy and students are instructed to just listen. In doing so, she carves out a little space to hopefully get students hooked on a text and ask to borrow it OR a similar one.
I do not pretend to know what qualifies a book as good for the group or good for independent reading. What I believe is that none of the books I choose are "bad" for anybody, but people are sensitive to different subjects and its our job to be mindful of that! Recommending books can also be tricky for this reason. If I have a student who I know struggles with depression do I give them a book where the main character struggles with depression? Honestly, I don't think so. I think we can recommend books to students without making them feel profiled. One way to do this for our students who are reading is to watch their reading patterns. Recommend books that align thematically or by genre to what they are already reading.
None of us have all the answers and we likely never will, but having these conversations together will help us get one step closer. You are asking all the right questions, and your students will be able to tell you are putting your best foot forward!
McKay,
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what I shared in my flipgrid response to you, I am so excited we both will be teaching 8th grade. It is so good to be able to hear somebody else's thinking out loud. I think all the questions you are posing are important. I think feeling limited with what we are able to do with our students in the classroom is a hard reality of the profession today. What I love about your thinking is that you are seeking out ways to now allow those restrictions to keep you from fighting for independent reading. You are thinking beyond and I think that is something we will continue to grow in. I am excited that even if there won't be a set time to read YA in your class, students can still have access to your library and can learn from your modeling of all that it means to be a reader.