A love of reading ... one student at a time

Early in the year, I had a discussion with our Reading Specialist, Stephanie Peterson, about some of her students. It seemed several of her students were having trouble finding books in the library that they wanted to read. She wanted to know if I could work with them one on one to help them with their selection. It seemed like a very small idea, but what it grew into was really pretty cool.

Stephanie gave me a list of names and we set up times with their homeroom teachers when I could pull them from class for a 7 - 10 minute conversation. The idea was to get them to pick out a book that they could read for self selected time and stick with it. Our weekly meetings started out first as being conversations about how's it going? Do you like the book? Do you feel it's a good fit for you?

Immediately, the students wanted to throw a summary of the book at me and I wanted to duck! Some of the summaries were genuine attempts while others were, shall we say, inventive. I noticed almost right away that the kids hadn't made any kind of emotional connection to the book. It was all facts ... this happened, that happened. They said nothing about how they felt about the characters, the action, or the book in general.

This was around the same time I had started reading Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers (see prior post)

It made sense that I should be having students identify something from their reading that they connected to (made them laugh, made them cry, made them excited, etc.) I told them I didn't care how many pages they read, but the next time we met, they needed to be able to tell me about one moment from their reading that they connected to and why. I gave them a sticky note so they could write on it and mark the page. 

The next time we met, the conversations were so much better. There were smiles as the student described something funny that a character said or did. It was like a mini book club. If they couldn't find something to connect to, we had a conversation as to whether the book they were reading was really one they wanted to read.

When Stephanie and I met at the end of the year to review how things went, we were very encouraged by the results and we plan to continue and expand this concept next fall. Two things that were very clear from the experience:

• If we can inspire kids to connect to what they are reading, they are far more likely to continue reading. 
• The students love one on one time with an adult ... even if it's only for 10 minutes. And if we use that connection to talk about reading, students are more likely to continue reading.

Seems simple, doesn't it? How powerful would it be if every student had someone who would sit down with them everyday and share the joy of connecting to a book? I know this isn't anything new and I'm preaching to the choir here, but how do we give this opportunity to all our students? When does that conversation become a priority? Especially for those students who don't get that conversation at home.

Reflections on an author visit

In my last post, I talked about the benefits of using a student author committee to help plan the author visits we have. Now it's time for the students' reflection of the event. On the day after the visit, I asked the crew three questions:

1. How do you feel you did as a member of the author committee? What were your positive contributions?
2. What was the best thing(s) about being on the author committee?
3. What would you change for next time?

Question #1 responses always surprise me. It's always interesting to read what students feel their strengths are ... and what they overlook. It makes for a good conversation with them later. 

Most of the comments under #3 were about missing recess. The only time I can meet with this group is at lunch, so one day a week they are asked to give up that lunch recess. Considering this is a big dilemma for third and fourth graders, I was proud of those who stayed with us the whole time. There were a lot of students dedicated to this committee. My favorite comment here was: "The only thing I would change is if it's warm and nice out, then we should schedule the meeting for a different day when it is not that nice out." Hmmm ... that could get tricky, but it's worth a try. 😁


My favorite answers came from the second question. Here are some of their thoughts:

• "I loved that I got to work with people that I normally don't. I also loved doing something different than recess and having something to get excited about."

• "It felt good and I loved being a part of something, even if it takes up my recess."

• "When I was in author committee, I felt sort of important and I got to work hard, which I like doing."

• "The best thing about being on the author committee was I got to do some of my favorite things (like reading and acting) to help promote the author visit."

• "I feel the best thing was getting to take a picture with Sarah Weeks and getting to decorate and make it look nice for her."

• "The best thing is getting to be in a group and having lots of fun."

These comments are exactly why I continue to let the students be a part of the planning for our author visits. The next time we have an author, these kids will be 5th and 6th graders with a great prior experience to build on. I can't wait to see what they come up with next time. 

Sarah with the 3rd Grade Author Committee

Sarah with the 4th Grade Author Committee