LLED 462 - Learning Log 1
Module 3: Supporting Learners Through the Library:
Cultivating Life-long Reading Habits
Scenario:
A grade 10 student comes into the library weary because he has to submit an intended reading list and goals for the year. The teacher is excited about his/her new syllabus and is making attempts to slowly integrate more choice in reading in combination with the required novels assigned. The only novels he has ever finished, reluctantly, have been the ones that were required reading in class. He dislikes reading and the idea of finishing one novel let alone a pre-determined list for the year is overwhelming. He is thinking of dropping the class.
What do you do and say? How do you help this student? Who do you involve? How do you turn this dilemma into an opportunity?
Response:
My first step would be to tell the student that I am here to help and that this is a challenge that we can find our way through together. In his talk How to Inspire Every Child to be a Lifelong Reader, Allan Irby speaks to the importance of relevance and identity when connecting students to reading. He speaks of “relevant male reading models” and racial inequities when it comes to classroom reading. As a start, I would ask what the student’s interests are and make a list of the types of things he enjoys. I would wander around the library with him and show him the different sections without requiring him to pick anything. If something pops out along our wander, I would take quiet note of it (the book itself, the theme, genre, the style of writing). I would then tell the student to meet me again at an agreed upon time and we would make a plan together.
Next, I would connect with the teacher to have a conversation about what the parameters of the assignment are. What are they trying to get out of their students? Are they trying to develop a love of reading or are they looking for plot or character analysis? Would they be comfortable with graphic novels, magazines, short stories or nonfiction as reading options? I would explain the student’s fears or where he seems to be stuck and ask if the student has an IEP or other accommodations. Does the teacher have a certain number of books in mind? What other parameters are necessary and what can be played with?
Stephen Krashen, in his talk,The Power of Reading, says that “one positive reading experience can make you into a reader.” If this concept is aligned with the teacher’s goal in creating this assignment, then maybe we start by finding one book that our student likes, rather than making a whole reading list right away. Maybe he reads a chapter or two (or a few pages) and comes back to me (or the teacher) with some feedback to guide our second choice. Maybe we start with something fun, high interest, and quick to read. A graphic novel, for example. While he is reading the graphic novel, I am making a few additional selections based on our initial discussion. Again, high interest, quick to read.
Maybe he finds it embarrassing to be “caught” reading by his friends because he has a reputation to uphold. Maybe it’s easiest for him to read on the bus on the way to school, but he feels strange about pulling a book out. So, maybe we find an e-book that he can read on his phone so as to not feel so singled out. Would an audiobook suffice for the context of this assignment?
Obviously, all of this is dependent on the context and the relationship that can be built with the student in question. Working with the teacher on this is also dependent on relationships as well as the teacher’s openness to diversifying their strategy. My desire would be to find one book he likes and go from there, but maybe the teacher has some insight or idea that would work better. I think the key is that the student needs to feel supported and less overwhelmed by the assignment than he currently is.
In her Leader In Me blog entry Creating Lifelong Readers: A Supportive Classroom Culture, Suzanne Lipshaw has an excellent list of what she calls “tenets” to developing a culture of reading in a classroom. Number two states that students should have the opportunity to read in class. As for goals for the year, if our student who dislikes reading can make it his goal to read every day on the bus and for several minutes every English block, he is well on his way to completing his assignment. He may find that he takes other opportunities once he begins to get into the habit of reading, but for now, let’s make time as accessible as we make the books.
Number four in Lipshaw’s blog entry, suggests that a teacher should provide access to books of all genres. In Tanya Grambower’s blog article You CAN get teen boys to read. 9 Practical tips, tip number four suggests that parents “find nonfiction titles on subjects that appeal to your teen”. Maybe our student would prefer to read books about a famous rapper or basketball player. If the assignment is not about plot or character development, but more about consumption of literature and reading for reading’s sake, maybe we can get him hooked on a fact-based book or biography which can then lead to a fiction novel with a similar theme.
Ultimately, this scenario, though not uncommon, is not necessarily an impossible task to overcome. With many students, problems can be solved through connection and getting to the root of why it is a problem in the first place. Clearly, if a student has an IEP and reading itself is a challenge, then a learning support teacher should be looped in, in addition to any supports or changes to the assignment that might be made. Barring this, making a connection with the student and the teacher involved and finding ways to remove barriers such as overwhelm, embarrassment, interest or time, a Teacher Librarian may just be the right person to open this student up to the world of reading not just for this assignment, but for the rest of his life.
Sources:
Irby, Alvin . “How to Inspire Every Child to Ba Lifelong Reader | Alvin Irby.” www.youtube.com,TED, 4 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERSZb2wHFDw&t=1s.
Krashen, S. (2012, April 5). The power of reading. The COE lecture series. University of Georgia. Retrieved fro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSW7gmvDLag
Lipshaw, Suzanne. “Classroom Culture of Reading | Positive Classroom Culture | LiM.” www.leaderinme., 8 Mar. 2020, www.leaderinme.org/blog/creating-lifelong-readers/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2023.
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