Reforming Reluctant Readers
This week I am
revisiting the Week 3/16 blog post about Removing barriers to voluntary reading
for reluctant readers: The role of school and classroom libraries by Jo Worthy.
“These areas
can be addressed in the context of a well-rounded reading program that includes
teachers read-aloud, guided reading instruction, and free choice, independent
reading: choice in instructional reading, opportunities to read for enjoyment
and access to high-interest materials.” (Worthy, p. 489)
As a reluctant
reader myself, I have added a short article by Wayne Brinda A "Ladder to Literacy" Engages
Reluctant Readers who can be located at this link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ961646.pdf
Besides, I
believe we will all have a reluctant student in our future classrooms. Wayne Brinda follows two classrooms of eight
students who are reluctant readers through a book club. These students identify that they lost
interest in reading around the fourth or fifth grade. This might correspond with the fact that
teachers “ have a responsibility to go beyond mere reading comprehension and
address engagement in literacy across the curriculum” (Brinda, p. 3). Another enjoyment deflator for the students
was the teacher’s constant reminder that they would be TESTED on what they
read/comprehended in the book. Could a rubric help or hinder this
feeling? Why/Why not?
“This problem
is especially prevalent in classrooms in which motivation to read is minimal
because of complicated words—along with characters, situations, and settings—
seem far removed from the students' lives” (Brinda, p. 2). Is Cultural relevance lost for these students in these classrooms? How would you increase the motivation to read
in your classroom?
The use of the
Ladder to Literacy was used to build self-esteem and confidence while
participating in the book club. The
steps of the ladder gave meaning to the book as they read. By following these rungs of the ladder, it
could be possible to remove a barrier to reading. Worthy shares in Removing barriers to
voluntary reading for reluctant readers: The role of school and classroom
libraries the importance of choice,
access in school, and personal preferences are needed to create
readers. I think we should also
understand that as a teacher, we can teach them to enjoy reading. We have to be willing to identify and
deconstruct the process for the students.
Have you seen other tools used to
remove barriers for reluctant readers?
If so, what were they?
Does Emma Watson Hamilton have it right? "It only takes one book."
Jay Soucy
Thanks for your post Jay! As I was reading, I was reminded of our reading text book from last semester. In it Taberski told the story of a little boy who had come to her class with a history of being a struggling (and probably also reluctant) reader. After a little while, Taberski found a topic of book that this little boy loved and he became a voracious reader. I think sometimes the reluctance some kids show for reading is simply a matter of not being exposed to 'their' type of text--whether it's lizard books, princess stories, song lyrics, blog posts, or Facebook rants. If they only ever read guided reading books and take comprehension tests on them, they have a narrow view of what reading can be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brinda that being tested on everything you read cuts down on the enjoyment. Personally, I love to read. But when I was in elementary school we had to do a program called Reading Counts where we read books off of a reading list and then had to pass a 10 question multiple choice quiz to get points for the books. Each grading period we were required to get a certain number of points. I remember quickly reading enough books off of the reading list and passing all the tests so I could get my points. My goal was to finish that quickly so that I could go back to reading the kinds of books I liked (which weren't on the reading list). I imagine that for a reluctant reader this type of program would discourage them from reading.
I thought of the same reading from last semester! I have reflected on that reading a few times during my field experience this semester as my student seemed reluctant to participate in the readings until I found a book he was interested in. I agree that it is critical to show students that reading can be enjoyable once they are exposed to various topics and text styles. An issue I ran into this semester was how to bring the students interests and text style preference into the lesson while still creating a academically rich lesson. My student, Dylan, told me he really enjoys comic book style text so I brought in some books that read similar to comic books; however, once we started reading Dylan seemed to get lost in the text and struggled to follow along with the format. I quickly noted that he may have liked the simplicity of the text but the format was hard for him to follow. I changed the text to meet both his interests and academic needs. Something I think will be an ongoing learning lesson for myself is how to ensure my students are meeting their academic needs while also providing relevant texts that appeal to their interests, backgrounds, and cultures. Does anyone else fear this as well or am I alone here?
DeleteSince Rachel and I attended the same school district, I participated in the same Reading Counts program as well. One thing I learned from this program is that it doesn’t always encourage reading for growth and understanding but rather pushes reading to be systematic and points based. I remember the immense pressure the program put on us as students which led to being overwhelmed and ultimately having a distaste for reading. There was one time where I was desperate for points so I watched the first Harry Potter movie and took a reading counts quiz on the first book just to get points. This didn’t cultivate a positive reading experience and I hope to do better at encouraging growth and developing a reading identity when I teach my students. I think rubrics would ultimately be the same kind of harmful points based assessment that reading counts was and therefore discouraging students to read for themselves and their personal reading identity.
Rachel and Sam
DeleteI love the you recalled the Taberski reading about the little boy would was a reluctant reader at one school and then when paired with the right teacher and books change to enjoy books. It's so important to match reading interest and strategically build reading muscle to help them enjoy the story. I was in a 3rd grade class today during silent reading time and watched BOYS turn pages. They were given 40 minutes to read and clearly these boys were still only at the 20 minute level. The teacher was fine with that because she was able to do some one on one time with other students. I just cringe because right before my eyes i was watching the growth of reluctant readers.
I'm impressed that each of you had a Reading Counts program and earn points for reading books. It sounds daunting for a child and family to manage. In my wife and my prior careers 5 years ago, we would never have been able to support our son's through that type of reading program. We both worked a 9-5 job, which required 6-10 meetings several times a week and I worked each weekend. The fact that you hurried through the readings or watch a movie to get the points, just shows that its singular focused. I'm glad this program is discontinued in the school district.
Jay, I completely agree that being constantly tested on what you’re reading can ruin the experience. I remember hating book reports growing up. I was eager to get on to the next book and they just slowed me down. Most of the questions on book reports don’t test for whether you were an active reader. The questions are usually so generic that you could look up a synopsis online. When I was in high school, I had one teacher who had us read one book of our choosing over breaks. When we’d return, we would all go around and share what we’d read. We weren’t graded however, it might have counted toward effort/participation.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to lure us Harry Potter fans in, with the mention of Emma Watson. It's funny that she mentions parents not wanting their kids to be reluctant readers. Parents and teachers tell kids they need to read. Yet, so many parents and teachers don't read themselves. It's somewhat of an unfair standard, that kids are bound to pick up on. My dad will often take his book into the living room to read. He'll read a page or two and then pull his laptop out and spend the rest of the evening on it. If I were a kid seeing that, it might send the wrong message. In my future class, if my students are reading or writing, I'd like to model that myself. I want to share the joy I get from reading and writing with my students.
Jay, you asked if we "Have...seen other tools used to remove barriers for reluctant readers" and within the article you cited, I believe discussion and asking student's thoughts on reading is one tool to remove barriers. Each discussion that she had with the students gave insight into their reader identities and how teachers could entice them to become more active at reading. I think one natural way to enact a discussion about their reader selves would be at the beginning of the school year through a short survey with discussion after or on a smaller scale in small groups. We could easily revisit the same questions mid-way through the semester and at the end to further check how our methods of engagement (based on their answers) have worked/not worked. I think that being aware of why they aren't too hyped to read would help us know what direction to take as far as motivation. Guessing would just be a waste of time! I think this interest in our student's thoughts will also go a long way in creating relationships - showing that we care about their reasoning, not just caring that they HAVE to read.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jay! I like how you pointed out that the 8 student's Brinda followed said they lost interest in reading in 4th or 5th grade. I think this is about the time I lost interest in reading when I was younger as well. I also believe that a constant reminder that students will be tested on the book that they're probably uninterested in does deflate enjoyment in reading, but not as much as you would think. If students are given a choice to read what they are interested in, and you can find the academic value in the book, you can make students excited to test their knowledge and skills of what they have read. Even if the book is a mandatory book that many students aren't interested, the way you create your lessons and activities can spin the disinterest into interest, you just have to be creative.
ReplyDeleteI like this quote from Worthy "The role of school and classroom libraries the importance of choice, access in school, and personal preferences are needed to create readers." I think school and classroom libraries are important in giving students an opportunity to become independent readers and enjoy reading. Of course, having access to a lot of books doesn't mean you're going to enjoy reading as you continue in life. But having that opportunity for more books that are culturally relevant is important, and many urban schools don't have the same access to these kinds of books that will encourage reading.
Will, I like how you focused on the positive of the mandatory books and testing. Through focusing on "the way you create your lessons and activities can spin the disinterest into interest, you just have to be creative." Having a wide selections of books helps develop a wide range of interest for the students, but connecting to the students is more powerful.
DeleteWill, I like how you focused on the positive of the mandatory books and testing. Through focusing on "the way you create your lessons and activities can spin the disinterest into interest, you just have to be creative." Having a wide selections of books helps develop a wide range of interest for the students, but connecting to the students is more powerful.
DeleteI also found it interesting that the students lost interest in reading around 4th or 5th grade and that Will you too had this experience. This struck me because I vividly remember my love for reading really began when I was in 4th grade. I think I had enjoyed it before, but I can’t remember a single book or story I read before 4th grade, but I remember the books and stories I read in 4th and 5th grade and how I would get swept up in the lives of fictional characters and enjoyed being transported to worlds that were different than my own. We read Timothy of the Cay, The Castle in the Attic, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, The Watson’s go to Birmingham, The Hobbit, etc. I vividly remember when we began reading Harry Potter in 4th grade. After recess all of the 4th grade classes would come together in the pod outside our rooms, and my teacher would read it to us. I instantly fell in love and went searching for more books like this and every time we went to the library, I would walk around with our librarian who would help me find my next read.
DeleteLike Will, I also really liked the quote from Worthy, “The role of school and classroom libraries the importance of choice, access in school, and personal preferences are needed to create readers.” These were all things that were available to me and probably are what either nudged or fostered my love of reading. I found books that I resonated with, and I also had experiences with reading that weren’t being graded and literally were just to enjoy the story. Both Harry Potter and The Hobbit were read aloud by my teachers to our class. Then we routinely went to the library where both our teachers and our librarian would take the time to help us find books that we may find interesting, and we were also lucky enough to have a school library with a wide variety of resources. My personal experiences just reiterate how important it is to go beyond required classroom reading and make time for students to find what specifically interests them when it comes to reading. Otherwise, like many other people noted, if you are only reading and learning to get a grade on a test you’re no longer learning for knowledge or retention, but just for the grade. That would take the joy out of reading or learning for just about anyone.