Friday, April 13, 2012
RE: Reading FOR FUN
Recently, James Patterson posted this status on Facebook: "Any of you know any English teachers? Would you do me a favor? Please ask them, in their experience, what their best strategy has been for getting kids to like reading FOR FUN? Or, if they hadn’t had much luck, what they think the reasons are? Thanks."
My friend kindly forwarded this status to me, and of course I wondered, is Patterson asking me how he might sell more books? Marketing advice from an English teacher? But he got me thinking about it, then writing about it, and here we are.
First, I have to ask myself why I want kids to read more FOR FUN. I mean, why would I spend so much energy teaching someone how to have fun? "For fun" alone seems a poor reason for doing things. And I can think of a million more ways to have fun that don't involve as much work as reading; spray painting bad words on a neighbor's shed, for instance, would serve the purpose beautifully.
But I want my students to read because it will help them to think about new things. Reading will help them to live their lives better. Reading will help them to concentrate long enough to think through a problem. And lastly, I want them to read because I'm a cop-out. Reading will teach them all I cannot hope to.
Now I am ready for the "how?". But I am not an expert here. I've loved to read ever since I got the hang of it.
Right now, at the beginning of my teaching career, I can think of three things that I do to encourage readers:
1. My love for reading grew from being read to, so I read to them.
2. I never seem to have enough time to sit and read, so I make time to read in class. They can read anything they want, they just have to be reading and silent.
3. I usually only do things when I see someone else doing it, so I read near them. During our silent, sustained reading, I am reading, too. I let myself get into the book, right then, right there, instead of answering emails and grading things. Then afterward, I will sometimes share what I was reading, something that puzzled me, something I liked.
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I just thought of this while reading, but here's an idea for helping kids learn to read for fun. Since a lot of my enjoyment of reading is based on thinking about how the story is put together (which is probably deeper than most people go when just "enjoying" a book, but this still probably applies), how about having them read up to a crucial moment in the story, then having them write their own short ending to the story, be it a formal writing, or a description of what decision a character will make in a big dillema, or how a decision will turn out, or who will win a dispute, etc. After making a guess at what happens, then they go back and read the rest. This could backfire, if they get attached to their own idea and it turns out rather differently, but that's how books are. Just a thought that came to mind...
ReplyDeleteCarolyn and Benn, last night I was chatting with one of the students and she said, "Why would I want to read someone else's story instead of making up my own with my own imagination?" Interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I started reading when someone else read to me too. Age? 21. Yes, it took me a long time to understand and appreciate the value of it! Don't give up!