Teaching Thought #50

Teacherscribe's Teaching Thought #50

Put an end to fake reading in your classroom.

Thought #1 – Make time for what’s important.

From the link - Making the decision to give my students 10 to 15 minutes a day to read choice books was easy once I thought about my priorities for learning.

Without a love of reading and the opportunity to practice reading skills, nothing else in my curriculum matters, and choice reading every day is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to support students in developing these skills.

Of course, as teachers, we know the it’s essential to make time for what’s important.  That’s obvious. The key is actually doing this . . . and being able to live with the results.

Let me explain that in the context of my class.  In College Comp I, students have a large 8-12 page research paper in which they must read two ‘classic’ novels from a list (a list I didn’t develop but I have added texts to over the years) and analyze the novels for three common themes.  For each novel, I probably gave students a few week to read. We were making time for what was important. I wanted to ensure that they read the book – so I observed them doing it right in my room (or the commons or media center). I periodically walked around and asked them real questions about the book and offered suggestions for themes and examples.  And I answered questions as best I could.

I had to live with the results, though, as it didn’t really look like I was ‘teaching.’  I wasn’t up in front of the room. I wasn’t having periodical checks. My learning target or “I can statement” for the week was the same every single day.  I had to live with this. And I did.

The best thing about the two weeks I allowed for free reading was that I had students put their phones away.  I literally had a box where students put their phones (and I did too). I warned them that if they didn’t put their phone in, and I caught them on their phone, I was taking five points off for their final paper for every time I caught them on their phone.

And something amazing happened.  Kids enjoyed their books. I saw their jaws drop when they came to a particularly revealing section (as in Of Mice and Men, Enders’ Game, The Haunting of Hill House, 1984, Beloved, or Uncle Tom’s Cabin).  Kids learned and kids enjoyed it.  They enjoyed talking about their books with others who were reading it.  They enjoyed talking with me about what they had read and – best of all – what they thought about it.

Don’t be afraid to set free time aside to allow kids to love reading again.  And live with the fact that while it might not pass for traditional teaching, it might be the best thing you do all year.