My classes responded to a question posed by Nanci Atwell,
[Since
September] What 10-12 books do you love so much that you think they
might convince an 8th grade girl/boy who's a lot like you--except that
she/he doesn't read much--that books are great? After compiling the
responses of 120 students, over 460 separate self-selected titles, the
chart above shows the most mentioned titles and/or authors--actually,
many students were adamant that they be able to simply list Sarah
Dessen, John Green, and Sophie Kinsella simply as authors since anything
written by them is gold to my adolescent readers
The fact that kids, mine at least, are reading
series stands out to me--yet, my classroom library is largely built on individual, stand-alone, novels.
By the same token, over 330 novels were only mentioned once--what a testimony to the varied tastes of our young readers!
It
all helps underscore what I've read recently--it takes a few thousand
titles to build a classroom library capable of serving the needs and
tastes of our kids. While I continue to spend my own money the sheer
numbers are daunting! While I have the means to keep adding to my
classroom library it makes me wonder how many other classrooms sit empty
because teachers and schools do not have the means to help build these
necessary reading zones.
Kids
are reading--whether we want to qualify it as deeper reading, meaningful reading, doesn't matter to me in this moment. My revelation in this moment is that they are reading--and will read if we give them a chance to read.
While some classrooms may not financially be able to provide the books for a reading zone, I lament when I read and hear is that educators do not have enough time to cover curriculum and promote independent reading--testing, curriculum, and our perceptions and individual beliefs as teachers that we are preparing students for the next grade twists upon and around itself.
Self-selected and independent reading is choked.
After 18 years I can reflect and know that I shared in all of those concerns and have allowed those concerns to be in the way...their way. Kids will read if we let them...if we encourage them.
My students took my Moodle poll this week--"How many books have you read since September?"
23 report reading fewer than 10 (19%)
42 report reading between 11-20 (35%)
33 report reading between 21-30 (28%)
13 report reading between 31-40 (11%)
7 report reading 41+ (6%)
With only light encouragement, guidance, and structure, my kids read. I'm not perfect at it by any means, but I am aware that I can help my kids read...and I can be better at it next year. I need to be better at it next year.
If I can help clear the way.
"This year in CW [creative writing] might have been one of my better years in English. I like how we weren't strapped down to worksheets and projects of research. I appreciated your kindness and willingness to let students discuss their writing with you. I also appreciate the amount of opportunities you gave us as students to be able to send our work out for publication. I think I grew as a person and a writer because you didn't constantly tell me or other students what was wrong with our writing but you told us what we could do to fix it and you showed us ways to bend the rules. I think the things learned and discussed in class this year will stick for many years to come. If not, I'm sure something will happen and it will all come crashing in like waves. It will all surround me and I won't be able to forget it."
