In New York City, I saw a man on the subway hanging on to a strap with one hand while holding the book he was reading in the other—no cozy nook needed. I was instantly reminded of my husband, who power-reads books on the train while jamming to his iPod. I have students every year who read while walking down the hall (They seem to have some internal GPS that prevents them from walking into things!); riding the school bus; or sitting in a crowded, noisy lunchroom. A classroom atmosphere that promotes reading does not come from the furniture and its placement as much as it comes from the teacher’s expectation that students will read. Accepting this, I know that my entire room is a reading haven, a place where students can read in comfort and where reading doesn’t require a dedicated area to take center stage every single day. We must send the message that any place can be the right place for reading, whether it’s on the subway or in an out-of-the-way corner. Students needn’t wait for perfect conditions to start reading. The time is now, and the place is here.
Unusual Places to Read
by Mrs. Miller’s class
shower
empty bathtub
under the bed
grocery store
closet
roof
stairs
on top of brick mailbox
hedges and trees
trampoline
using dog as a pillow
in the open trunk of a car
Quiet, Please (Except Maybe This Teacher)
I insist on quiet during reading workshop time; I think this is because I need quiet to read and I know that quite a few of my students cannot fall into a book without limits on noise. A few years ago, while I wandered the classroom looking for students who needed help finding a book, I noticed four boys, Grant, Tien, Joel, and Brett, whom I had nicknamed the “Eragon Posse” after their shared love for Christopher Paolini’s book (now a trilogy), whispering in the back corner of the room. “You boys had better be talking about literature back there!” I barked as I ambled over to them, determined to squelch any nonreading behavior. Assuring me that they were on task, Grant sheepishly raised his head and said, “We are!”
Embarrassed by that episode, I am now more likely to sidle up to whispering students to determine whether they are talking about books before I shush them. Building a trusting relationship with students is easier when you expect them to do the right thing instead of assuming that they are not. During independent reading time, the chattier students share recommendations or read exciting parts of their books to each other. They have a lot of time to talk to each other during the day, but this is their time to talk about reading. They enjoy the opportunity to chat with each other about what they are reading and what they are getting from their books.
Honestly, I am the person most likely to make noise during reading workshop time. I am not quiet by nature and find it hard to whisper during conferences. I often get so excited about the books I am discussing with a student that I shout queries to the rest of the class: “Hey, who has read Tangerine? Would you recommend it to Jonathan? He needs a realistic fiction suggestion!”
Limiting talking among students during independent reading time reinforces to students the importance of respecting classmates who need a quiet environment in order to read, but I recognize that there are legitimate moments of natural dialogue that support reading, too—even if the teacher is the one talking!
Walking by Michelle’s table one morning, I stopped to talk to her about the upcoming movie Inkheart, which is based on one of our favorite books. Michelle agreed that fans of the book would love to see the movie. We began to talk about our hopes for the film and which parts of Cornelia Funke’s ode to the power of books we most looked forward to seeing on screen. My enthusiastic conversation with Michelle not only pulled her out of the book she was reading but also drew in the other five students sitting around her. I can justify distracting students in this way because I know that talking about books is vital to a reading community, and these conversations develop relationships among my students and me.
CHAPTER 4
Reading Freedom
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading,
to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs,
is good for him.
—Richard McKenna
Reading is what I do now, especially when I’m bored. I know I will do it. I just know.
—Brandon
STANDING AT THE FRONT of my classroom, marker in hand, chart paper at the ready, I am leading a discussion with my new students about how readers choose books for themselves. In spite of our book frenzy the day before, my students have not yet accepted that this class will be different, that their reading choices and honesty will drive everything that we do. Students raise their hands to give me the answers they think I want to hear:
“I look at the cover and the title.”
“I read the summary on the back of the book.”
We stop and discuss the differences between a summary, which describes the plot of a book in detail, including the resolution; a teaser, which gives you a taste of the book without revealing the entire plot; and a blurb, which is a reviewer’s reaction to the book. After exploring this tangent, students continue to tell me how they choose their books:
“I look for an author who I have read before.”
“I like to read series that I can follow.”
“I get recommendations from my sister. She was in sixth grade last year.”
We add friends, family members, librarians, and teachers to the pool of people from whom we get recommendations.
Another student offers, “I pick books from the display at the bookstore.”
I doubt that most of my students choose their books from a nifty display at Barnes & Noble. Some of them have probably never chosen a book on their own. They are feeling me out. Their comments sound like questions, waiting for confirmation of their predictable replies. If I accept their pat answers, ones that students who do not even read could provide, then they will know that my pep talk about honesty is all talk. Instead, I challenge them with questions they might never expect me to ask.
I am the teacher, and there are aspects to choosing books that these new students do not think they can admit to me or verbalize because they reveal reading habits that are viewed as “cheating” or “not really reading,” so I ask, “Who has chosen a book because it is short? Who has chosen a book to read by checking how long it is?” With sheepish smiles, most of the people in the room (including me) raise a hand. “Come on, guys, I do this, too. It’s OK for you to admit it. Sometimes I do not have the energy or time to commit to a long book, but I want to read something.” We travel down this tangent for several minutes, discussing the best short books we have read, and make a list of those, too.
I have been admonished by parents and fellow teachers because I let children read a book more than once. My most treasured books have been read many times by me and each time I discover something different. Books are multilayered; one reading is not enough and this is known only to those who truly read.—comment from JoAnn on blog entry “How to Kindle Reading” in “The Book Whisperer,” December 13, 2007
With this wall down, we discuss the methods students use to choose books that they are reluctant to admit. Many of the students who do not see themselves as good readers did not realize before this class discussion that all readers “cheat.”
We add the following to our list of book selection techniques:
“I like to read some books over and over.”
“I read the ending first, and then if I like it, I read the whole book.”
“I read the first paragraph, and if it doesn’t grab me, I put it down.”
“I read books that are easy.”
“I read fantasy books. My mom tries to get me to read something else, but I just don’t like her books.”
The students are into it now. Their hidden opinions are flying out of their mouths from every corner of the roo
m, and as I struggle to get all of their comments onto the chart paper, Brian grumbles, “Books are boring.”
The laughter and comments from around the room screech to a halt. Oops, are we supposed to admit to the teacher that we find books boring? The other students edge their desks away from Brian, fearing the inevitable lightning strike. The furtive glances toward Brian tell me that all of the walls are not down yet. The students look at me to see how I am going to deal with Brian’s comment, so here goes.
I turn toward Brian, knowing that all of the children need to hear what I say next: “I am so glad that you said that! Some books are boring.” I share my experiences with the book Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick, which I read recently with my book group. “I read a hundred pages of that book, and I still couldn’t get into it. I tried. Everyone was raving about the book, and it was on all of the ‘best books’ lists this year, but I got bored with the Indian Wars and the long lists of people and places. I finally abandoned it. When I went to my book club meeting this month, I was relieved to find out that some of the other members felt the same way I did!”
My testimonial reopens the floodgates. We launch into a discussion of what to do when a book gets boring, and I give my students outright permission to abandon books that are not working for them. Readers choose what to read and when to stop reading a book that doesn’t live up to its potential. I never want my students to feel that they are roped into a book just because they have started reading it. Getting a feel for the genres and reading level that is the best fit requires reading several books, including some false starts. “Hey, there is always another book waiting. If you are reading a book that is too hard or too boring to keep going, abandon it, and get another one. The important thing is not to let a bad book choice slow down your momentum for reading. Readers do this all of the time. Don’t feel that you have to stick with a book just because you started it.”
Courtney sings out a modified version of Dory’s mantra from the Disney movie Finding Nemo, “Just keep reading. Just keep reading.” Everyone laughs, and I can tell that they are beginning to relax.
Bongani asks, “What books are we going to read in class this year? We read Johnny Tremain last year.”
I ignore the groans from the other students who must have been in Bongani’s fifth-grade class and reply, “I don’t know. What would you like to read? Are there books that we should share as a class together? What are some books that you would suggest? Let me know if you have books that you think we would enjoy, and we can discuss them. I have some books that I like to read aloud to my classes every year because everyone likes them, but I am open to your ideas, too.”
I believe that students should be empowered to make as many book choices as possible, including the books we read together. The idea of students clamoring to read favorite books feeds into my goal for getting them excited about reading. By valuing their opinions, even about the books we share as a class, I let them know that their preferences are as important as mine.
A few days later, I share with my students “The Rights of the Reader,” by French author Daniel Pennac. This list is available on the Web as a download-able poster with funky Quentin Blake illustrations at http://www.walker.co.uk/bookshelf/the-rights-of-the-reader-poster.aspx. As a reader, you will, no doubt, recognize these rights yourself.
THE RIGHTS OF THE READER
BY DANIEL PENNAC
1. The right to not read.
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right to not finish.
4. The right to reread.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right not to defend your tastes.
Source: Pennac, 2006.
I caution you not to hang this poster in your classroom; it will become wallpaper that students will cease to see after a few months. Even though I teach many of the same lessons to students year after year, I resist the urge to make posters out of these lessons and then reuse them, because I do not want students to think that their opinions are not original or that I can predict what they will say. Each class is different, and it is important for my students to see their ideas and their words—not someone else’s—hanging on our walls as advice for all readers to follow. First, have the dialogue with your students about their own reading habits, and then provide Pennac’s list of rights later as an endorsement of what they have already shared.
Reading Plans
In addition to rereading favorites, stealing time to read, and abandoning books that are not working for them, readers look ahead to their next book. Reading the Newbery medalists each year has been part of my reading plan since I was a fourth grader. Now I devour lists and reviews from Booklist magazine and Amazon. When I realized that I had covered the back of every checkbook pad and receipt in my wallet with book titles and authors’ names—constantly jotted down during chats with my reading friends—I started keeping a journal in my purse. Beginning a new journal each year, I scrawl down every recommendation I get and use these notes when I buy books or go to the library. This year’s model is a three-by-five-inch, pocket-sized Moleskine notebook. The acid-free paper keeps my book lists from smudging and fading, and using the same brand of notebook that Hemingway supposedly used makes me feel literary.
An entire bookcase in my living room is filled with books I am planning to read—books I have borrowed, checked out from the library, or purchased. Laughingly referred to as “Miller Mountain,” this avalanche of books never gets smaller and guarantees that I will never run out of books to read. This overwhelming pile is often my excuse to students when I have not returned a book loan from them in a timely fashion, but it is also a reminder to them that I am always planning to read another book.
Unaccustomed to making their own reading choices at first, quite a few students, especially those who do not see themselves as readers, do not make plans for future reading. In school, their teacher tells them what books they will read and when. These students do not have much knowledge about the types of books available and few positive experiences with books that might inform their reading choices. They need a place to start. To provide scaffolding that will help them develop their own plans, I provide students with an approach for the reading they will do in my class.
Reading Requirements: Why Forty Books?
That I require students to read forty books may seem shocking when you are a student who has not read more than a book or two a year, but this hefty requirement prevents students from negotiating with me about whether they will read much. Any teacher who expects students to read forty books is not going to accept a book or two! If I expected less, they would read less, or they would wait until later in the school year to start.
Ten books or twenty books are not enough to instill a love of reading in students. They must choose and read many books for themselves in order to catch the reading bug. By setting the requirement as high as I do, I ensure that students must have a book going constantly. Without the need to read a book every single day to stay on top of my requirement, students would read as little as they could. They might not internalize independent reading habits if my requirement expected less from them. I know this approach works because I have never had a student who reached the forty-book mark stop there. Students continue to read even after the requirement is met.
Some students are not confident that they will be able to reach this goal, but I assure them that they can. I am encouraging and supportive but firm, telling them, “Let’s pick a book and get started. Lots of students, all kinds of readers, have done this. I know that you can do it, too.” I have seen students read an amazing number of books through the years, and I know that my reading requirement eventually becomes a non-issue for most of them. Brittany looks back on her accomplishments during the year: “When I learned that we had to read forty books this year,
I flipped out. I had only read two books last year. I wanted to faint. As I made my way through the requirements, I slowly realized how much reading potential I had.”
When my students ask me what will happen to them if they do not read forty books, I am vague. Failure is not an option, so why talk about it? I think it is horrible that reading, for them, is an act worth doing only to pass a class. In reality, there is no negative consequence for falling short of this goal. After all, if a student reads twenty-two books in a school year (the fewest any of my students has ever read), who could take issue with that?
I think that the reading requirements are quite understandable because if we didn’t have a requirement, then people like me would read one book for the whole year.
—Jon
Over the years, my class reading requirement has morphed into an amalgam of suggested genres from my training-wheels book on reading workshops, Fountas and Pinnell’s Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6); the goals of Texas’s sixth-grade language arts and social studies curriculum; and the types of books I noticed that my students like to read.
The Book Whisperer Page 7