Blog Post #2 Designing Reading Instruction

 How will I design instruction that helps students develop habits that enhance their reading lives?

When I consider students' reading lives, I think of it in the long term. I want to positively impact their reading habits far into my students' old ages. The routines they begin now can last decades if they enjoy reading. Therefore the trick is to get them to like doing it. According to Penny Kittle, the best way to accomplish that is to let them choose what they’re reading. Sometimes having the class all read the same thing is helpful. For example, if I’m introducing the students to a new genre or writing style, I might have them all on the same book or passage. But once we’re all on the same page, I’d like to set them free to read whatever interests them individually.

At my middle school, the English class gets to visit the library every other week. Sometimes the students choose books I’m familiar with, but usually they pick out literature I’ve never even heard of - and that’s cool! I haven’t been a student in middle school for decades, so I wouldn’t expect the books that were popular in my time to remain so today. In fact, trends change so quickly, each generation of students is likely to have their own new favorites. What’s important is that each student is getting to read something that is uniquely them. One girl in the class asks me every time we visit the library, “What do you think I should read?” I can’t answer that question, but I can help her help herself. I always probe her memory for other books she liked, then we look up the author and find other things they’ve written. Maybe she’ll run out of that author’s catalog soon, so we can switch our search to things similar to those books by different authors. I want them to be able to visit a library outside of class and still be able to function independently.

Middle school is a time when kids are figuring out who they are. This self-exploration is going to involve listening to new types of music, watching genres of movies they weren’t interested in when they were kids, wearing new fashions (that may or may not be embarrassing for them in a year), and finding new books that reflect their changing lives. Students have to experiment with new art to figure out what is going to represent them. Therefore, they must have the chance to explore literature that isn’t just full of the lessons I think they need to learn.

Another strategy I intend to use is creating book clubs for the students. One joy of delving into a new art work is getting to discuss it with your friends. It would be a fun activity to divide the class into groups based on their favorite genres of literature. Then each group can decide on what book they want to read together. That way they can supplement their own understandings by bouncing ideas off each other and stay inspired to keep reading if only to keep up with the rest of the group. This is a practice that they can continue into adulthood if they hang out with an intellectual crowd.

Works Cited:

Kittle, Penny. Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers. Heinemann, 2013.