Reading Books For Class 8

[Theodora Wallingford]

Asthe push for choice reading gains momentum, many teachers have been wondering about how to balance independent reading with class novels. Some wonder, is there still a place for whole-class reads? Others question the validity of giving students class time to read for pleasure.

The caveat? Researchers like Lucy Calkins and Mary Ehrenworth suggest that the increased volume of reading is most effective when students are engaged in high-success independent reading. To grow as readers, they need more time reading books with high levels of fluency, accuracy, and comprehension (A Guide to the Reading Workshop: Middle School Grades 2017).

Searching for a way to combine the benefits of independent reading and whole-class novels? Literature circles could be a good fit. At least once during every school year, I like to have students read a book with a group. These books often have overarching genres or essential questions.

However, whole-class novels fail when enough scaffolding is not provided. For this reason, whenever I teach The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies, or To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, we read much of it together in class.

Keep in mind that explicit strategy instruction should teach students what the strategy is, when to use it, how to use it, and why it is worth using. Ultimately, the goal of teaching these strategies when reading complex whole-class novels should transcend comprehending that one particular text. The end result should be helping students develop the power to transfer those strategies to other texts and in other classes.

Of course, the most important element of any form of classroom reading is conferring with students. Literacy expert Mary Howard suggests that the most important data we can collect to learn about our students as readers is right in front of us. Talk with them about what they are reading, and listen carefully to what they say.

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The second time I spotted a cell phone tucked inside a copy of the class novel within one week, I knew I was not exactly witnessing a rare unicorn. Fake reading, even blatant Instagram swiping instead of Dickens analyzing, was no singular oddity. It was more like an invasive species. Working with middle and high school English teachers across the country and hearing so many bemoan this crisis, then seeing it over and over again myself, I pictured fake reading like rapidly spreading bacteria, damaging the health of students everywhere.

Then bring in choice reading. Let students try those same moves of skilled readers in books they want to read. Choice reading has the amazing ability to turn non-readers into readers. From schools where most students read well below grade level, to competitive schools of high-achievers, choice reading produces authentic readers.

We can all agree on this: we want students to put down the phone, to stop SparkNoting, and to start to read. We want them to appreciate literature and be able to do the work of skilled readers. But most of all, we want them to be readers. So keep that copy of Great Expectations, Things Fall Apart, The Outsiders, Their Eyes Were Watching God, or Night. Open up the door to choice reading. And hopefully, put an end to the invasive species of fake reading.

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On my whiteboard at the front, I always keep three books, one I want to spotlight for each level (Spanish 1, Spanish 3, and 10th grade heritage this year). Each day, after we read, I take time for a quick book chat to tell them about those books. I change them every day. Putting them in the front of the room is strategic: I want kids looking at them all class period. Also, it helps me remember to do it every day!!

Also, I waited until second semester to roll this out because I wanted the routines to be solid and I wanted kids to be solid in why we read and what types of books are good for them (not just reading short ones to put more sticky notes up). I also required all students to finish at least 1 book during the year, because I wanted all kids to feel what it felt like to finish a book. When they turned in the sticky note, I would put the points in, then staple the post it up. I did not give extra credit for reading more books.

In addition, there are LOTS of other titles for all levels of language learners from these publishers and a variety of independent publishers. These books do a great job of being compelling and accessible (easy reading). I would also recommend the following upper level TPRS novels, even though I have not yet read them:

Another great list of titles for starting your heritage library can be found in here and here, compiled by Mike Peto, and another list of ideas can be found in the 2nd edition of Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish.

I can tell you they are super easy reads, short reads that heritage students will be able to complete without too much time, and pretty compelling. You can find them on Amazon, but if you order from the Orca Soundings website, make sure to put that you are a school so you do not have to pay taxes.

Another teacher in our Facebook group (Teachers of Spanish Heritage Speakers), Beth Carlson Drew, recently returned from Spain, where she visited a huge bookstore and took lots of photos of what look like great, interesting series for teens. Check out her blog posts here and here.

Whew! I hope some of these ideas are helpful for you! Obviously, my FVR library is ever-evolving and I like to add new titles as I find them. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, find the followup blog post HERE about how I roll out FVR to my heritage classes as soon as humanly possibly, and the routines I use all year to keep it in place. In the meantime, happy book-buying or book-dreaming!

Also, for more pre and post reading ideas, here are 5 Activities to Spice up any Novel.

What are other ways you mix up reading novels in class?

Thank you to everyone who entered the book giveaway. Congratulations to the winners Wendy F, Stephanie E, Heather S & Erin M. Your books should be shipped this weekend. No one entered for Portuguese, so if you know anyone who could use them, let me know!

When as a teacher you believe that reading comprises a set of skills, the incentive is to base your daily lesson on the skill of the day. The easiest way to do that is to present students with a short passage that foregrounds that skill. Why have a student flip through a novel looking for a section that allows you to discuss supporting details when the teacher can present a passage that guarantees it?

Finally, books are the format in which the important ideas of society have been transmitted for centuries. This means that great books are a form of cultural capital. If you have read 1984, you understand an allusion to Big Brother and can enter into discussion with people around you. The world is full of these allusions and references, and so, because we want students to become full participants in societal discourse, it is a gift to help them acquire shared knowledge. But books can be challenging. They are often old, written in the parlance of a bygone era. They are often complex, occasionally even resisting the efforts of readers to make easy meaning of them.

Including nonfiction in the reading curriculum is one effective way to do this. It means pairing short nonfiction articles with books to elucidate and elaborate on details encountered in the text. A colleague recently read a novel set in World War II with her students. There was frequent mention of U-boats and victory gardens and rationing. Each day she would choose one of these terms and give students a short article about it: What was rationing? What items were rationed? How did people react? Result: students understood more of the novel and gained more insights from it. And yes, the text passage has again reared its head, but in this case its function is different. The nonfiction passages are connected to a larger narrative, and the ideas will stick more because students know and care more about them.

Doug Lemov is the author of several books on teaching, including Teach Like a Champion 3.0. His next book, co-authored by Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway, will focus on science- and research-based literacy instruction.

Before you can get started with FVR you will need to establish some sort of a classroom library. In order for the magic of pleasure reading to occur, you need to be able to offer books at many levels and on a variety of topics.

I am not going to lie, it took a lot of effort to get funding. But, it was well worth it in the long run! Once you put in the work, you will have books to fill your classroom for the rest of your career. I ended up getting around $7,000 of funds to build and round-out my library, but you can build an effective library for less! Even if you just start small and add onto it year after year, you will be amazed with what you can accumulate!

To help you in your journey to get funding I wrote blog posts about where to apply for grants and how to write a grant proposal.

Once you have your classroom library or at least enough books for each student, introduce your expectations to the class. I like to spend a class period on this to drive home the importance of the new class time that will be allocated for free voluntary reading. Start off by having them learn the expectations, reflect on their pleasure reading experiences so far, and create a wishlist of books in the library they would like to read.

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