WANTED: Students who hate reading!
ReflectionOne of the biggest challenges media specialists face is helping students who don’t like to read find “the book that hooks.” Getting students hooked into reading novels and other texts they select independently is a rewarding challenge that impacts students for a lifetime. As mentioned by the American Library Association on its Libraries Matter research website, students who do not read self-selected texts independently often lag behind their reading peers in vocabulary, comprehension, and general content or background knowledge.
In the spring semester, several 9th and 10th grade high school English teachers decided to include more self-selection reading. They agreed to allot class time for students to pick their own reading materials and then spend time silently reading together as a class. I believe in the value of providing class time for students to read self-selected materials, as long as it is properly planned, so I was excited to work with the English teachers. We brainstormed possible problems and determined that one of the biggest barriers student face is being able to locate a “good book.” I collaborated with the teachers and developed a process to help students make better book choices. We needed to identify our students’ interests and hobbies so that we could connect students with engaging materials. I created an interest inventory for students. Another critical piece of the puzzle was trying the match the right readability level of materials. I didn’t want to recommend something too easy or too difficult. Every 9th and 10th grader takes a digital formative assessment (Scholastic Reading Inventory) at the beginning of the semester that provides a Lexile score. A Lexile score is a number used to measure both the readability level of a text and the reading ability of a reader. Nearly every text can have a Lexile number. Using the student interest inventory and Lexile scores, we could locate texts that fit the diverse needs of our students. To pull the pieces together, I set up a lesson in which students completed the interest inventory, took their assessment and recorded their Lexile range. I then modeled how to use Lexile. com to browse and locate books of interest that fell within their Lexile range. In the past, students took their assessment, received a Lexile score and then did nothing with it. This score meant nothing to them. By learning to use Lexile.com, students navigated, sorted and selected texts using both the Lexile information and interest topics. Students created a personalized reading list to use in the media center when making self-selection choices. Students can return to Lexile.com independently to measure any texts, whether fiction for personal use or content-area texts. Many students and teachers found Lexile.com interesting and spent quality time examining possible texts. Nearly every student identified several texts that fit their interests and fell in an appropriate Lexile range. Those students who participated in these activities had more success locating and sticking with their books than those students who did not participate. I did have to clarify the directions for students who scored at advanced levels because when they put in their Lexile range, no appealing texts were found. We had to broaden the range. Another issue we faced was handling situations in which students found great books on Lexile.com, but they were not in our library. At the time, we asked students to select a different text. In the future, I may turn this into a learning opportunity for everyone by having the students quickly look up the novels, collect some reviews and information to make recommendations about ordering the book for the library. |
2.2 Reading promotionCandidates use a variety of strategies to promote leisure reading and model personal enjoyment of reading in order to promote habits of creative expression and lifelong reading.
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