Creating a Lifetime of Reading

This past summer, I came across a book that spoke to me as an educator in an amazing way.  Book Love by Penny Kittle was recommended to me to help me as I researched how to create a culture of reading in my classroom, a way to grow lifelong readers in the short year I had them in class. As I was reading, I found myself having conversations with what I was reading; it was like the author was inside of my brain reaffirming the beliefs I have always had about reading and the lack thereof. I had always struggled with the fact that I knew I had passed book reports as a student without reading the book. I also struggled knowing that after 13 years of teaching, my students were passing my class, quizzes, and tests without really reading, no matter how hard I tried to catch them. Something had to change, and I could not wait until I had the perfect plan to do it.

At the beginning of the year, I asked my students to estimate how many books they read last year.  Out of my 100 students, they estimated that they read 540 books last year.  Shockingly, 55 of them estimated that they read fewer than 3 books, and 17 of my students said that they read ZERO books the previous year. They were what I was as a student: a fake reader.  I read what I had to in order to make an A or B in the class, but I can say that unless the teacher was invested in my success, I was not invested in my assigned reading. 

I am an English major, so I appreciate great literature. I have studied it, researched it, discussed it.  I know and love the content I am required to teach; however, there is a misunderstanding that is not taken into account when choosing this literature.  We are choosing literature that is part of the literary canon, or even a large part of the culture in our country. Those classics are great, but what good does it do to teach this type of literature if students are not reading on their own? If students are not reading on their own, they will not make it through the difficult vocabulary of Edgar Allen Poe or the first four chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird. Furthermore, if students cannot use a library, if they cannot become a critics of books and state what they do or don't like about it, does it really matter if I drill-and-kill the elements of plot? We are assuming that kids ARE reading.  I can tell you that they ARE NOT - no matter how scary my test or quiz might be. Fear does not improve one's desire to read.

I recently saw a teacher comment on a online discussion that she did not have time for independent reading in class - that it was something kids should be doing on their own. If we don't make time for this kind of reading, then what are we making time for?  Are we creating lifelong readers who can think for themselves OR are we creating really good English students who can take good notes over what we tell them to think about a story or poem?

Amazingly, as of 3:30 p.m. on January 23rd, 2017 my students have read 556 books. I am so proud of them! All I have done is given students the first 10 minutes of class every day to read and asked them to complete 10 more minutes of reading outside of class. Reading has become our homework; I try as much as possible to have students complete all other work in class. I have ditched book reports, quote response journals, and projects with their independent reading. Taking away this pressure allows them to read for pleasure and...wait for it...ENJOY what they are reading. It allows them to abandon a book if they don't like it without the fear of a bad grade. It allows them to read graphic novels, free verse novels, and novels from genres they may never normally try. 

This process has not been perfect. I have learned to embrace the messiness of it, and I have modeled that in front of my students.  I think they appreciate the authentic experience we are trying to create together. They are willing to be my reading guinea pigs - I can't think of a better experiment to be a part of as a reader. So, here's to another semester of reading, another semester of learning together, and maybe a lifetime of reading that keeps us connected.