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RE: Reading, reluctantly and otherwise
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From: CARPENTER, JEFFREY J <CARPENTERJEFFR_at_aasd.k12.wi.us>
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:45:44 -0600
I'm okay with putting books closer to readers, but how can a classroom teac her purchase and maintain a collection of materials at all reading and inte rest levels? Would it be better for our students to have access to a schoo l library media center? We are open to all and serve all. I grew up in th e 70's and in my small rural school the teacher had a classroom collection of books. Every teacher at Charlotte's Web, Rabbit Hill, and other award w inning books. I fell in love with books when I had access to great books, and was told about them (book talks)
Jeff Carpenter
From: Sarah Mulhern
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 10:43 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
Reading, reluctantly and otherwise
I've been following this discussion with fascination. I'm a current high s chool teacher (9th and 12th grade English) and a former 6th grade teacher. As a 6th grade teacher, I met many reluctant readers. Most were reluctant because they didn't know they loved reading. Why not? Because they hadn' t been exposed to books beyond those required in school or those forced dow n their throats by their parents (with good intentions, but still...). If we want kids to read, they need access to great books. Unfortunately, t hat is becoming harder and harder for teachers. Parents don't (or can't) t ake their kids to the library or bookstore. School budgets are being slash ed and libraries are being cut out of the curriculum. For many students, c lassroom libraries are the only place they have access to books. But most of those are funded solely by the teacher. Districts budget their money fo r textbooks, so the burden falls to the teacher. We need to get books into classroom libraries. If you have books around the house
, find a teacher t o donate them to! (Need help connecting with a teacher? Check out #ARCsFlo atOn http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/arcs-float-on/ Connec ting teachers with bloggers/reviewers/authors to get books to kids.)
Across the board, the best way I found to get reluctant readers to pick up a book was to share read alouds in the classroom and to let kids TALK about books. Social reading is real, and it is powerful. Let kids recommend bo oks to each other, let them booktalk, let them have some of the power. The ir peers will listen! And read alouds will draw them to authors and genres they might not have been familiar with.
Finally, we need to get ARCs into the hands of kids. My 6th, 9th, and 12th graders are drawn to ARCs like flies to honey. Even the most reluctant re ader is intrigued when they know they can read a book "first", before the g eneral public. A single ARC can get into the hands of up to 70 students in my classes, with many others ordering their own copy, recommending it onli ne (Facebook and Twitter), and begging me to buy a hardcover copy. If publ ishers would send ARCs to classroom teachers, they would be getting free ad vertising for their book AND helping reluctant readers to become lifelong r eaders. ARCs are like magic. :)
Thanks for this great discussion!
Sarah Mulhern Gross _at_thereadingzone
Received on Tue 08 Feb 2011 04:45:44 PM CST
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:45:44 -0600
I'm okay with putting books closer to readers, but how can a classroom teac her purchase and maintain a collection of materials at all reading and inte rest levels? Would it be better for our students to have access to a schoo l library media center? We are open to all and serve all. I grew up in th e 70's and in my small rural school the teacher had a classroom collection of books. Every teacher at Charlotte's Web, Rabbit Hill, and other award w inning books. I fell in love with books when I had access to great books, and was told about them (book talks)
Jeff Carpenter
From: Sarah Mulhern
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 10:43 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
Reading, reluctantly and otherwise
I've been following this discussion with fascination. I'm a current high s chool teacher (9th and 12th grade English) and a former 6th grade teacher. As a 6th grade teacher, I met many reluctant readers. Most were reluctant because they didn't know they loved reading. Why not? Because they hadn' t been exposed to books beyond those required in school or those forced dow n their throats by their parents (with good intentions, but still...). If we want kids to read, they need access to great books. Unfortunately, t hat is becoming harder and harder for teachers. Parents don't (or can't) t ake their kids to the library or bookstore. School budgets are being slash ed and libraries are being cut out of the curriculum. For many students, c lassroom libraries are the only place they have access to books. But most of those are funded solely by the teacher. Districts budget their money fo r textbooks, so the burden falls to the teacher. We need to get books into classroom libraries. If you have books around the house
, find a teacher t o donate them to! (Need help connecting with a teacher? Check out #ARCsFlo atOn http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/arcs-float-on/ Connec ting teachers with bloggers/reviewers/authors to get books to kids.)
Across the board, the best way I found to get reluctant readers to pick up a book was to share read alouds in the classroom and to let kids TALK about books. Social reading is real, and it is powerful. Let kids recommend bo oks to each other, let them booktalk, let them have some of the power. The ir peers will listen! And read alouds will draw them to authors and genres they might not have been familiar with.
Finally, we need to get ARCs into the hands of kids. My 6th, 9th, and 12th graders are drawn to ARCs like flies to honey. Even the most reluctant re ader is intrigued when they know they can read a book "first", before the g eneral public. A single ARC can get into the hands of up to 70 students in my classes, with many others ordering their own copy, recommending it onli ne (Facebook and Twitter), and begging me to buy a hardcover copy. If publ ishers would send ARCs to classroom teachers, they would be getting free ad vertising for their book AND helping reluctant readers to become lifelong r eaders. ARCs are like magic. :)
Thanks for this great discussion!
Sarah Mulhern Gross _at_thereadingzone
Received on Tue 08 Feb 2011 04:45:44 PM CST
