“Abandon book!” I call out.
“Abandon book!” my students echo without missing a beat.
The student with whom I am conferencing, gives me a sheepish grin and says, “I know, I don’t like it all.” She puts the book another student recommended to her into the “To Be Read By Someone Else” bin and heads back to her book bin for her next choice.
I look out at the rest of my class and see a sea of scattered bodies. They are in every imaginable place (lounging under a table, draped over an exercise ball, laying on the floor with their feet up in a chair, curled up in a bean bag). Some have their shoes off or are squeezing a stress ball. One student is wearing headphones, while another is throwing his head back and quietly laughing to himself. Two have meandered out in the hallway to have a chat because they just have to talk about what just happened, but don’t want to disturb anyone else.
Teachers walk by our room. Some smile and nod, while others knit their brow and give us a quizzical look, unsure of what to make of us. To the traditional eye, it may look like nothing is happening in here except a bunch of kids doing their own thing, but if you look a little closer, leave the “this is how we have always done it” mindset behind, you will understand. You will realize there is magic happening in our room.
No, no one is walking through walls or levitating; it’s better than that! The magic I am witnessing is that of transformation. The transformation of readers. You see, while everyone in our room is essentially doing their own thing, the common ground they share is they are all reading books. Every. Single. One. And they are not just reading, they are reading. The kind of reading where I know I am am going to hear moaning again today when I tell them it’s time to stop. And I can’t wait. Those grumbles and pleas for, “Just five more minutes!” are music to my ears.
What’s the Deal
So how did this happen?
Am I a teacher by day and a sorceress by night? Well, while at times I wish I could cast spells over my students, I do not have that kind of power.
Have I discovered a silver bullet book for reluctant readers? No way.
Do I bribe them with extra recess and points if they read a certain number of books in a month/ year? Not on your life.
So then what book has my students so engrossed, you might be asking. Depends on the day and the student because I never decide on books for my students.
One of the reasons (I believe) my students can’t get enough books and reading is because in Mrs. K’s room, we don’t waste time on books we don’t at least like to read. If you are a reader in our room, you only read books you choose and like, no love.
But it wasn’t always like this…
How I Used to Do Things
I started teaching 5 years ago, and back then I told my students which books would be best for them. (I seriously just cringed as I wrote that.)
At the beginning of each year, I started off by assessing my students and assigning them a letter. This letter told them which books they could read and which books they couldn’t. This letter decided for them. I allowed a letter, which was based off of reading one passage from a story they probably had no interest in, dictate what books were “right” for them.
One time I actually sat there and told a student, “This book is an N, you can totally read this book!” and then told a parent, “They really should be reading books in this range. When you go to the bookstore or library, make sure you check the level of the book to make sure they can actually read it.”
To my students I taught those first three years, I am so sorry. I honestly sometimes stay awake at night hoping I didn’t kill the love of reading for you forever.
I pushed kids through book club books (that I picked from our grade’s shelf in the resource room) and made up handouts with questions for them to respond to, in complete sentences, borrowing from the question. They could read their books at home, and you better believe I was keeping track of that reading log to determine if they had done their 20 minutes, and holding them accountable if they weren’t reading every night.
They all read aloud in a circle (this is like AA for teachers right now - taking a moral inventory of all my reading teacher wrong-doings) and could determine which part they were going to have to read.
And somehow with all this amazing teaching going on they weren’t thrilled about coming to literacy and reading?!?
I mean I was still passionate about books and talked all the time about how much I loved to read, and that there are so many amazing books out there to get lost in and explore!
“Yeah, crazy lady,” my students must have been thinking, “Then why don’t you let us read some of them?!?”
Now I know how to take responsibility for my actions, but not all of this was “my fault.” I was merely teaching the way I was taught and the way I remembered learning. Regardless, and thankfully, however, I finally realized I had it all wrong.
When It All Changed
My epiphany happened when I read Donalyn Miller’s The Book Whisperer, found Pernille Ripp pernillesripp.com and the Global Read Aloud http://theglobalreadaloud.com/ and began teaching with one of the most amazing teachers I know, Jennifer Priddy (@jnpriddy).
These three amazing women helped me to see that the power of choice is the greatest gift we can give our readers. They made me realize that just as I like choosing which books I read, so too, do my students and that they, like me, will make time to read if they love a book. They showed me that we have to stop teaching reading like a subject and start cultivating it like a passion.
What I Abandoned
So I made the change. I became a Reading Warrior. My sole purpose was to put as many books in my students’ hands as possible and to encourage them to find the books that spoke to them, grabbed them, made them stop in their tracks and have to sit down and read right then and there. I also taught them not worry about my feelings.
“I don’t care that I said, ‘I think you’ll like it,’ You don’t, so don’t waste your valuable reading time on a book you won’t beg me to let you read just 5 more minutes. Abandon book!”
And, I, too, abandoned things. I abandoned passages with comprehension questions. I abandoned the letters on my book bins. I abandoned anything that did not feel authentic or seemed to have the opposite effect of cultivating a passion for reading in my readers.
I also abandoned the notion of pleasing everyone, well everyone who is an adult. Change is hard and some people fight it tooth and nail. I do my best to be respectful of other’s opinions and just continue to share the positive and amazing changes I am seeing in my readers. I hold onto the hope that one day they will have the realization I did two years ago.
What I Kept, But Improved
Books. I bought/got books. Lots and lots and lots of books. I bought books with the gift cards I asked for for Christmas. I cut back on my clothing budget and bought a few series I had heard my readers talking about. I signed up for Scholastic Reading Club and essentially begged my parents to help us earn points to buy books for our classroom library. I got seriously lucky and scored a major haul from my generous mother-in-law who had just retired after 30+ years of teaching. I went to bargain book dealers and looked up ads on Craigslist. I developed a book addiction, and my readers have benefitted tremendously.
As you can imagine, with the expansion of our book collection and my new philosophy on how I was going to do my best to instill a love of reading in my readers, came the need to rethink and transform our classroom library.
So my students arrived one early September morning, to find our floor was no longer covered by our rug, but instead by towering piles of books. There was a small path to walk, but other than that, everywhere you turned was another cover looking up at you. Their task was to organize the library in a way that made sense to them and would make it easier to find their next great literary love. It took them awhile, and we are now experts on genres, but our library is certainly our own and they treat it with care and respect.
Surprisingly, I do still use those reading logs, but now in a totally different way. I no longer wield them as a means to punish, but instead to teach (go figure) my readers how to analyze them for their benefit.
Here is an example of conversation I had with one of my readers last week:
“I see you are reading an hour every night, and have read one book this month. What does this information tell you?”
“It’s a lot longer book than I usually read, so it’s taking me longer. I know I’m not reading as many books this month, but I’m growing and am really proud of that Mrs. K.”
Now compare that to: “Did you read?” “Yes.” “Great!”
No contest.
As a result of this change, we (me and my readers) have a better understanding of who they are as readers, are able to set goals, and continue to grow.
Another aspect of my previous life as “reading” teacher I hung on to, but totally revamped, is books clubs. I hung onto those because readers HAVE to talk about what they are reading to others. They HAVE to express their thoughts and hear others’ perspectives. But again, I no longer choose the books, the readers do.
The way it works (the quick version) is I have a book screening and play book trailers for each of the options. My readers then have a day to read the first 1-2 chapters of the books they are interested in reading. At the end of the day, they write their top three choices on a slip of paper and I try to give each student their first choice. I put no more than four readers in a book club. Once I know which books have been selected, I borrow/buy the remaining books needed. The next day (as they await the arrival of any books being shipped) each group sets up their book club expectations and a reading goal for the first week. Once all the books are in my readers’ hands, they start reading. At the end of the week, or before if they think it is necessary, they meet and talk about their books. I’m not joking when I say their conversations put the book clubs I have been a part of as an adult to shame.
Where I am Today
With all the amazing transformations that have taken place the past year and half, I know four things for certain.
The first is that I will never go back to “teaching reading.” I will even go so far right now to say that I will quit teaching (in the traditional sense) if I was told I had to.
The second is I have so much to learn. The amazing Reading Warriors out there like Donalyn Miller, Pernille Ripp, Kylene Beers and Bob Probst, and my amazing teammates Diana Koska and Jennifer Priddy have shown me that while it is wonderful I have made the initial transformation, my journey is far from over. These incredible reading renegades are constantly and tirelessly fighting for our young readers and for you. They are writing blog posts, articles, and books for me and you to read, learn, and grow from, so that we can help transform our reluctant readers into lifelong readers.
Third, I am extremely lucky and grateful to have an amazing team and an incredibly supportive principal. I don’t know if I would be writing this now, if that was not the case.
Fourth and finally, I will continue to educate my readers’ parents as to why I let my readers READ in order to become better readers. Some get it right away, some not yet.
I have conferences coming up this week. I am excited to share with them what I have been witnessing and hear what they are noticing at home. I am hopeful, no confident, we will have some new Reading Warriors join our ranks by the end of the day, but am also prepared for the fact that some may not be sold this first time around. Regardless of what happens though, I can promise you I will not abandon my readers.
Books that changed my life:
Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller
Notice and Note Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst
Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts and Strategies by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst
http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Nonfiction-Stances-Signposts-Strategies/dp/0325050805/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446993246&sr=1-1&keywords=notice+and+note
