Fostering a Love of Reading
When I began my journey, I was looking for ways to improve my craft, my teaching, my instruction, methods and strategies to become a more effective teacher. Being a national board certified teacher, I needed to refine the way I did things in my classroom. I'm the first to admit that I had become too comfortable, complacent and unmotivated in my classroom. I knew all too well that I needed to apply the latest research and practices in my classroom, but how could I make that happen? Did I dare to venture outside my school and my district for a fresh look at myself and my classroom?
I was just beginning my 15th year as a teacher when I found CTEPS (Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions). Of course I had doubts! Could I really DO this? Was I capable? Should I apply? I had so many questions! But somehow, I totally stepped out of my comfort zone and began a year-long journey. Along with 37 other teachers from across the state of Kentucky, I chose to solve a problem specific to my school. First, I had to choose a project, something that had the power to make a true change! After much thought about how I could most help my students, I chose to foster a love of reading within them.
Being the only Reading teacher in grades 4-6 in a small rural school has its challenges, and our reading test scores could certainly use improving. Surely an increase in the time my students spent reading would help in some way. Reading holds so many benefits. Not only does it build fluency, expand vocabulary, increase comprehension, build knowledge improve focus, exercise and stimulate the brain, and promote thinking, but it holds the power to take us almost anywhere, and allows us to be whoever we want to be. What we gain from reading can never be taken from us!
Contextually, I teach three reading classes a day at a K-8, 180 student school with 76% free and reduced lunch rate. Many students don't even have access to books, except at school. My 4th grade reading class has 27 students, 5 with 5 IEPs. My 5th grade has 15 students, 2 with IEPs. Lastly, my 6th grade has 27 students, 9 with IEPs. Out of all my classes, 69 students, 29 were reading on grade level at the beginning of the year, and I count one student (grades 4-6) who I would consider to be a true "reader". By this I mean she is the only student I see who pulls out a book to read independently, talks to me about what books she reads, and genuinely enjoys reading.
I began my project by giving my students a survey to find out how they really felt about reading both academic, and recreational. The results weren't great, but it was a starting point! Less than 1% of my students enjoyed reading. Surely, I could improve this statistic!! I set off to try to teach my students to love to read! Could it be taught? If so, how could I make it happen? Where would I start? By a simple show of hands, I asked, "How many of you like to read?" as I had each class. Just as I suspected, one 5th grade girl was my only reader.
First of all, I had my students fill out surveys about how they felt about both recreational and academic reading.
Out of 27 students in the fourth grade, 0 read on their own time.
Out of 16 students in the fifth grade, only 1 read on their own.
Out of 27 students in the sixth grade, 0 students read on their own.
After analyzing the data from the surveys, I could tell right away that my students didn't have very good feelings about reading. I truly wanted to fix this! Could I help my students develop a true love for reading? And how could I make that happen? I wasn't sure where I could carve out time during the school day to let student have time to "free read". To quote Donalyn Miller, "The question can no longer be "How can we make time for independent reading?" The question must be "How can we not?""
After further reading of Donalyn Miller's books, The Book Whisperer and Reading In The Wild, I instantly agreed with Mrs. Miller that attempting to get students to love reading may be a long and tedious process. Asking students to "prove" to you that they read by writing a summary, or getting their planner signed, create a product, etc.... takes away from the mindset that reading can actually be "just for fun", and actually enjoyable. After reading two books by Donalyn Miller, I learned that I had to trust my students to read. And that I did....Student motivation isn't always high when it comes to reading. After all, there are far too many other things to do these days than read. Video games, sports, homework, smart phones, and television, are all common time fillers and stealers in today's world. Students are busy. Parents are busy. Everybody is busy! I had to trust my students to read in order to encourage them to value reading, not an easy task!
The next step was to carve out some time during the school day for free reading. I asked Ms. Howard (my principal) if I could use RTI class during the day to have all students Drop Everything And Read for 20 minutes. She agreed that I could give it a try! I immediately began with my 4th graders, which is the class I had during RTI, and encouraged the other 4-8 teachers to do the same. I could ask them to take part in this, but ultimately I'm only in control of what happens in my own classroom. I designated time for each class to visit our school library to pick out a book each week, and then we were ready to go!
Next, I looked at what books I had to offer them, both in my classroom, and in the school library. We had books, but in further looking, I discovered that most of the books in my classroom were extremely old, and they were mostly non-fiction books that I got for free from a librarian at another school who was trying to get rid of them. Sure, I had a few short books, Lon Po Po, and even one copy of Superfudge, but no real selection. This prompted me to start my own classroom library. I started a DonorsChoose page which is a website where teachers can post requests of items they need in their classroom. Donors choose what they want to support and projects like my classroom library get funded. After having my students complete student interest surveys, I picked out a variety of authors and titles that they had requested. I had many requests for Judy Blume, R.L. Stein, J.K. Rowling, and many others. In addition, I chose some classics, along with several Caldecott and Newberry Award winners. Sometimes students don't know what they're missing. I wanted to supply them with books they had requested, but also some books they had never heard of in order to hopefully spark their interest in the timeless books I felt they would enjoy. We can't wait for our books to arrive next school year!! My students and I are super excited!!
Another step I took in this process was to introduce my students to our public library's bookmobile. The bookmobile is a van packed with books from our public library that comes to the students. My students were in awe the day the bookmobile pulled in. We took a tour and let the librarian explain how it works. She handed out permission slips for students to get their library card. One more step closer to having access to even more books for students!
The 4th graders started slowly. The first couple of days were a bit of a struggle, but before the week's end, 90 percent of my students were completely captivated with their books! My 5th and 6th grade classes were a little different in that I didn't have them for the extra RTI time. We used any "I'm done" time in reading and writing class to do our independent, free reading. Much like my 4th graders, my 5th graders seemed to be captivated when they actually had time to read freely. My 6th graders proved to be the most difficult. Although some students enjoyed reading independently, over half the class was off-task and uninterested in their book when given the time to read freely. I tried letting them abandon books they felt they didn't like and trying to recommend books that I thought they'd like based on interests they had. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't....but the important thing is my students are definitely reading more.
My fourth graders, 28 students, impressed me the most. During our 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading, my students literally never moved. Very impressive,considering there are about 7 students who are constantly off-task or causing disruptions. Of course, there was and still is the occasional "I can't find a good book," or " Can I go to the bathroom?", but they're slowly learning that this is time we spend READING - even I read during this time. Of course, I am also monitoring my students as I read. Sometimes, when I'm lucky, 20 minutes turns into 40 or 50 minutes with my students begging me for a little more time. This definitely makes me smile :).
My fifth graders, 16 students, were also impressive. Though I didn't have them for the 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading, we used class time once a week to "just read". This group, with the exception of one struggling reader, was completely consumed with their book.
My sixth graders, 28 students, were the least motivated to read. Although the majority of students didn't find the same fascination as others, I saw some success with about 50% of the students.
As a whole, library circulation increased for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades by 662%! I know I can't always know that students read all of the books they check out, but at least they're interested enough to want to check books out. I also saw increases in students who were reading on-level. 4th graders reading on-level increased by 4%. 5th graders reading on-level increased by 27%. 6th graders reading on-level increased by 8%. I know that putting more time and energy into this project will bring great increases to our students!
My next steps will be to continue to make weekly library visits a priority in our class, and also to provide my students time to read at school. I would like to see some time spent reading at home and after school. That will be my primary focus in the years to come.
As a child, books took me places, and by some stroke of luck, I was reeled in as a lifelong reader. Hopefully, some of my students will become lifelong readers too!
When I began my journey, I was looking for ways to improve my craft, my teaching, my instruction, methods and strategies to become a more effective teacher. Being a national board certified teacher, I needed to refine the way I did things in my classroom. I'm the first to admit that I had become too comfortable, complacent and unmotivated in my classroom. I knew all too well that I needed to apply the latest research and practices in my classroom, but how could I make that happen? Did I dare to venture outside my school and my district for a fresh look at myself and my classroom?
I was just beginning my 15th year as a teacher when I found CTEPS (Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions). Of course I had doubts! Could I really DO this? Was I capable? Should I apply? I had so many questions! But somehow, I totally stepped out of my comfort zone and began a year-long journey. Along with 37 other teachers from across the state of Kentucky, I chose to solve a problem specific to my school. First, I had to choose a project, something that had the power to make a true change! After much thought about how I could most help my students, I chose to foster a love of reading within them.
Being the only Reading teacher in grades 4-6 in a small rural school has its challenges, and our reading test scores could certainly use improving. Surely an increase in the time my students spent reading would help in some way. Reading holds so many benefits. Not only does it build fluency, expand vocabulary, increase comprehension, build knowledge improve focus, exercise and stimulate the brain, and promote thinking, but it holds the power to take us almost anywhere, and allows us to be whoever we want to be. What we gain from reading can never be taken from us!
Contextually, I teach three reading classes a day at a K-8, 180 student school with 76% free and reduced lunch rate. Many students don't even have access to books, except at school. My 4th grade reading class has 27 students, 5 with 5 IEPs. My 5th grade has 15 students, 2 with IEPs. Lastly, my 6th grade has 27 students, 9 with IEPs. Out of all my classes, 69 students, 29 were reading on grade level at the beginning of the year, and I count one student (grades 4-6) who I would consider to be a true "reader". By this I mean she is the only student I see who pulls out a book to read independently, talks to me about what books she reads, and genuinely enjoys reading.
I began my project by giving my students a survey to find out how they really felt about reading both academic, and recreational. The results weren't great, but it was a starting point! Less than 1% of my students enjoyed reading. Surely, I could improve this statistic!! I set off to try to teach my students to love to read! Could it be taught? If so, how could I make it happen? Where would I start? By a simple show of hands, I asked, "How many of you like to read?" as I had each class. Just as I suspected, one 5th grade girl was my only reader.
First of all, I had my students fill out surveys about how they felt about both recreational and academic reading.
Out of 27 students in the fourth grade, 0 read on their own time.
Out of 16 students in the fifth grade, only 1 read on their own.
Out of 27 students in the sixth grade, 0 students read on their own.
After analyzing the data from the surveys, I could tell right away that my students didn't have very good feelings about reading. I truly wanted to fix this! Could I help my students develop a true love for reading? And how could I make that happen? I wasn't sure where I could carve out time during the school day to let student have time to "free read". To quote Donalyn Miller, "The question can no longer be "How can we make time for independent reading?" The question must be "How can we not?""
After further reading of Donalyn Miller's books, The Book Whisperer and Reading In The Wild, I instantly agreed with Mrs. Miller that attempting to get students to love reading may be a long and tedious process. Asking students to "prove" to you that they read by writing a summary, or getting their planner signed, create a product, etc.... takes away from the mindset that reading can actually be "just for fun", and actually enjoyable. After reading two books by Donalyn Miller, I learned that I had to trust my students to read. And that I did....Student motivation isn't always high when it comes to reading. After all, there are far too many other things to do these days than read. Video games, sports, homework, smart phones, and television, are all common time fillers and stealers in today's world. Students are busy. Parents are busy. Everybody is busy! I had to trust my students to read in order to encourage them to value reading, not an easy task!
The next step was to carve out some time during the school day for free reading. I asked Ms. Howard (my principal) if I could use RTI class during the day to have all students Drop Everything And Read for 20 minutes. She agreed that I could give it a try! I immediately began with my 4th graders, which is the class I had during RTI, and encouraged the other 4-8 teachers to do the same. I could ask them to take part in this, but ultimately I'm only in control of what happens in my own classroom. I designated time for each class to visit our school library to pick out a book each week, and then we were ready to go!
Next, I looked at what books I had to offer them, both in my classroom, and in the school library. We had books, but in further looking, I discovered that most of the books in my classroom were extremely old, and they were mostly non-fiction books that I got for free from a librarian at another school who was trying to get rid of them. Sure, I had a few short books, Lon Po Po, and even one copy of Superfudge, but no real selection. This prompted me to start my own classroom library. I started a DonorsChoose page which is a website where teachers can post requests of items they need in their classroom. Donors choose what they want to support and projects like my classroom library get funded. After having my students complete student interest surveys, I picked out a variety of authors and titles that they had requested. I had many requests for Judy Blume, R.L. Stein, J.K. Rowling, and many others. In addition, I chose some classics, along with several Caldecott and Newberry Award winners. Sometimes students don't know what they're missing. I wanted to supply them with books they had requested, but also some books they had never heard of in order to hopefully spark their interest in the timeless books I felt they would enjoy. We can't wait for our books to arrive next school year!! My students and I are super excited!!
Another step I took in this process was to introduce my students to our public library's bookmobile. The bookmobile is a van packed with books from our public library that comes to the students. My students were in awe the day the bookmobile pulled in. We took a tour and let the librarian explain how it works. She handed out permission slips for students to get their library card. One more step closer to having access to even more books for students!
The 4th graders started slowly. The first couple of days were a bit of a struggle, but before the week's end, 90 percent of my students were completely captivated with their books! My 5th and 6th grade classes were a little different in that I didn't have them for the extra RTI time. We used any "I'm done" time in reading and writing class to do our independent, free reading. Much like my 4th graders, my 5th graders seemed to be captivated when they actually had time to read freely. My 6th graders proved to be the most difficult. Although some students enjoyed reading independently, over half the class was off-task and uninterested in their book when given the time to read freely. I tried letting them abandon books they felt they didn't like and trying to recommend books that I thought they'd like based on interests they had. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't....but the important thing is my students are definitely reading more.
My fourth graders, 28 students, impressed me the most. During our 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading, my students literally never moved. Very impressive,considering there are about 7 students who are constantly off-task or causing disruptions. Of course, there was and still is the occasional "I can't find a good book," or " Can I go to the bathroom?", but they're slowly learning that this is time we spend READING - even I read during this time. Of course, I am also monitoring my students as I read. Sometimes, when I'm lucky, 20 minutes turns into 40 or 50 minutes with my students begging me for a little more time. This definitely makes me smile :).
My fifth graders, 16 students, were also impressive. Though I didn't have them for the 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading, we used class time once a week to "just read". This group, with the exception of one struggling reader, was completely consumed with their book.
My sixth graders, 28 students, were the least motivated to read. Although the majority of students didn't find the same fascination as others, I saw some success with about 50% of the students.
As a whole, library circulation increased for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades by 662%! I know I can't always know that students read all of the books they check out, but at least they're interested enough to want to check books out. I also saw increases in students who were reading on-level. 4th graders reading on-level increased by 4%. 5th graders reading on-level increased by 27%. 6th graders reading on-level increased by 8%. I know that putting more time and energy into this project will bring great increases to our students!
My next steps will be to continue to make weekly library visits a priority in our class, and also to provide my students time to read at school. I would like to see some time spent reading at home and after school. That will be my primary focus in the years to come.
As a child, books took me places, and by some stroke of luck, I was reeled in as a lifelong reader. Hopefully, some of my students will become lifelong readers too!
Time
Drop Everything And Read-
20 minutes of silent, uninterrupted reading EVERY DAY!! This gave my students much needed down time to settle in and read a book they had chosen. A book they were interested in. A book they WANTED to read! I was in awe as some of my "most energetic" students sat still for 20 minutes, without moving a muscle. |
Library
One day each week I took each class to the school library to choose a book. My students were super excited - and SO WAS I!! By the end of the year, library circulation had increased! I contacted the local library to enlist The Bookmobile to visit our school regularly so my students could have a larger variety of books to read. The Bookmobile provided all of my students with applications for their very own library cards. This way they could have access to tons of more books, even ebooks!! I don't know about your students, but mine are all about using those smart phones. I also started thinking about a classroom library. After reading Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer and Reading In The Wild, I thought my students deserved to have a plethera of books at their fingertips.
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Donorschoose.org
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Amy Woolum currently teaches in the Bell County School District where she has been a teacher for 15 years. She presently serves as a Reading teacher for grades 4-6 and a Writing teacher for grades 5 and 6. Mrs. Woolum achieved national board certification in 2006 and is a member of the CTEPS (Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions) team.