The Ups and Downs of a Reading Life
Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash
When is the last time you led a conversation with students about reading habits and you shared, "You know, I just haven't had time to read lately."?
I know; some of us might have to get rid of our perpetual "read 20 minutes a day" assignment for our students. Or, add -ish after "20" or "day". We may have to update that "What Real Readers Do" anchor chart with statements like "Sometimes have other things to do" or "Binge-watch the Netflix series based on the book you just read".
Because that is what real readers do, right? Who reads 20 minutes a day? Last night I read the last 150 pages of A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. Today I might search for online articles, blog posts, and reviews that analyze this novel. Tomorrow I might not find that next book to read. This morning I've thought about Tremblay's story, asking myself questions about certain events and character actions. If reading is thinking, then does this time to reflect on the book count? Or is it "fake reading"?
Let's get to the point: if we are going to model and share what real readers do, then we need to be transparent and a little more honest about our own reading lives. That means divulging our personal challenges as well as the positive actions that have solidified reading as a lifelong habit for us. By painting a more accurate picture of our own relationship with books and other forms of text, students can start to build their own identities as readers. Reading is not simply a science as some might want to suggest; there are social and emotional underpinnings that need to be considered.
So what might this look like in the classroom? Maybe it comes back to the tasks, rituals, and expectations of the reading classroom. Here are some initial ideas.
Have students keep a log of their reading habits for one week. Document how long they read and what they read. Then have the students share their findings as a class. Using this information, come up with an agreed-upon guideline for daily reading, for example, "Read around 25 minutes a day".
Offer a variety of authentic ways for students to respond to their reading. Examples include but are not limited to documenting books read in reader journal, preparing a book talk, write a review on Biblionasium, and write an essay about a book or article that made an impact. Offer prompts and protocols only as needed.
Revisit your classroom's or school's current homework policy. Ask important questions such as "Are the assignments being asked of us critical to our education?" or "Is homework getting in the way of our reading lives?". This doesn't have to be a debate about the idea of homework as much as a needed discussion around the school's authority in deciding how students should spend their free/family time.
Give students more say in what books are selected for the classroom library. (And if you do not have a classroom library, today is a great day to start!) One of the teachers in my school has her students write requested titles on sticky notes and post them on the side of a bookshelf. She uses Scholastic book club points, her classroom budget, and her agreeable principal to get these books ordered and in kids' hands. This process becomes an opportunity to teach students about genre, cultural representation in literature, and strategies for self-selecting texts.
Prepare personal stories about times in your life in which reading was not a daily habit. Maybe a loved one became ill. Or, a book stayed with us long after the last page was finished and we needed time to process through the experience. These stories can be shared orally during readers workshop or as a personal essay written in front of the students as a shared demonstration.
The idea that's revealed itself here is that for students to build their identities as readers, they need to see and experience authentic reading lives. That means negotiation, that means ownership, and that means making it, yes, okay to not read at times. Real readers are real people, full of contradiction and complexity. If students can see that in ourselves, I believe they are more likely to emulate it in their own lives.