3 Simple Questions to Ask Yourself When Your Students Aren’t Reading
Many, many teachers make an honest, but catastrophic mistake when beginning independent reading with their students. It’s so simple that it’s hard to believe it’s even a mistake! Here it is: They tell students to just "grab a book" off their shelves. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal way to pair a student with a good book. (Trust me, I know from experience.) It actually takes a bit of intentional work at the beginning of the year (or whenever you decide to get serious about reading) to match each student with a novel that suits their particular needs.
Here are a few things to consider when helping students find the right book:
First, do you have a classroom library that is organized, neat, and visually appealing? If books are in piles, tossed randomly in bins, or in general disrepair, students are unlikely to feel motivated to find something good to read. Do a quick assessment of your library, and click here to read more about how you could consider organizing your library going forward. No classroom library? No problem! Simply schedule a tour of your school library with your librarians and provide students with opportunities to visit.
Second, have you taught students the best way to preview a book? I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen students snag a title from my shelf, glance at the cover for two seconds, and announce “I’m gonna read this.” When students approach book selection this way, there is a very high likelihood that they will abandon their book soon after starting it because they didn’t evaluate the book at all! When I book talk, I model for students how to select a book. I teach them to look at the title and cover, read the back cover or inside flap, and read a page or two at the beginning of the story to see if it seems appealing to them. These simple steps make it much more likely that kids will finish and enjoy their choice.
Finally, are you helping students engage with the novels in your room through creative book displays, book talks, and/or book tastings? Book talking and book tastings are always HUGE hits with students because they allow your entire class to have a community experience with a book or several books at once. They are highly engaging activities and I write about book talking extensively here and here. Book tastings are a cinch with this resource, and I’ve also had tremendous success with book tasting BINGO! I find that these two activities are essential to do, at least intermittently, because 1) they demonstrate that reading is a priority to you and 2) they create a shared positive experience with books.
Repeated “failures to launch” with choice reading can erode students’ reading confidence and engagement, so checking in with yourself when things aren’t working and tweaking your reading routines is essential.
CHECK OUT MY BOOK TALK GUIDES!
I’ve done the reading for you… so you don’t have to!
XO,
Kara & Riley
