LLED 462 - Learning Log 1, module 3 (Assignment 1)

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 TL Captain's Blog. Stardate 2020.267.


Learning Log Prompt 1, module 3

A grade 10 student comes into the library weary because he has to submit an intended reading list and goals for the year. The teacher is excited about his/her new syllabus and is making attempts to slowly integrate more choice in reading in combination with the required novels assigned.  The only novels he has ever finished, reluctantly, have been the ones that were required reading in class. He dislikes reading and the idea of finishing one novel let alone a pre-determined list for the year is overwhelming. He is thinking of dropping the class.

What do you do/say? How do you help this student? Who do you involve? How do you turn this dilemma into an opportunity?


First, I would engage in readers' advisory (Parrott, 2017) and ask the student about their interests and hobbies to determine what genres and topics the student could be intrigued by. Questions like "What was the last book you read? What was your favorite part? What TV shows or movies do you enjoy?" etc. (Parrott, 2017, n.p.). Since they haven't read many other novels, I assume I don't know this student very well and am not familiar with their likes/dislikes and reading ability, so I would try to find out what they are interested in reading about and what other types of books/materials they may read. I would also question them on the assigned novels that they have completed: How did they go? Did he find reading them hard, easy, boring, or interesting? From there, I could hopefully get some sense of their reading ability to help guide my suggestions. 

I would also ask them about their friends who are readers: What are they reading? What types of books do they enjoy? If they don't know, then I would ask them to go and talk to their friends and report back to me so that we can make a reading plan.

I would then go and chat with their current (and previous) teacher about the options for this assigned reading list, if they know of the student's reading ability, and who the student's friends are in the class at a similar reading level.

Regarding the format of the assignment, I would request that the teacher lets the student submit one or two novels for the reading list to start, or allow them to change the novels on the list as they begin to read. For a student who doesn't read much, they may choose a type of book or genre to begin with, but realize that they don't enjoy it as much as they thought. It would help to ease some of the dread if they knew that they could switch the novels out or if they only had to choose a couple to try at first. 

I would also ask the teacher if graphic novels (either comic strip style or novels with graphics embedded in them) would be acceptable for some of the choices for the reading list. Graphic novels can be rich pieces of literature and a wonderful hook for students to get excited about reading. This discussion would be a good time to remind (if needed) that "we need our children to get onto the reading ladder: anything that they enjoy reading will move them up, rung by rung, into literacy" (Gaiman, 2013, n.p.), and graphic novels are the perfect first step.

When discussing the reading ability of the student's friends with the teacher, I would suggest that perhaps the two (or three) students could create a reading list together, or at least come up with some similar choices. "The number one way that readers find out about books they would like to read is through recommendations from other readers. Students must build reading relationships with other readers who offer reading suggestions, support their reading choices, and lead them to more books" (Kelley & Miller, 2013, p. 99). This could help motivate our reluctant reader if their friends are making the suggestions, and if they are able to discuss and read the books at the same time. "Building relationships with other readers sustains a student’s interest in reading because it reinforces that reading is an acceptable and desirable pastime" (Kelley & Miller, 2013, p. 98).

When the student comes back to the library with their classmate and has been given the go-ahead to select only one or two books to start (with graphic novels being an acceptable option for several novels on the list), then I will start recommending. We will start in the graphic novel section, and I will pull a few books based on the student's hobbies or interests and have the students sit down and look through a few to see if they could be something that they want to read. As they read and preview, I will suggest more from other areas in the library, listen to the suggestions of the other student ("I read that one last year and really liked it!", "I'm adding this one to my list, because I liked book #1", etc.), discuss what they liked/disliked about the first graphic novel/novel that they chose to preview, and help both students flesh out their lists based on what the teacher is expecting. Lastly, we will set a date for the students to come back to the library and select a few more books based on how the first few went and suggestions from their friend.

If the student returns liking the first book that they read, we will chose a few more by that author, series or similar vein. By populating their list with narrow reading choices, the student will be confident that they will enjoy the novels, as they already knows that they like them, and will be less reluctant to add more of those titles to their list (Krashen, 2018).

Overall, as TLs and teachers we must remember that "if a child wants to check out a book, let them….Students are telling us in droves they don’t like to read anymore because of these rules. So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read" (Parrott, 2017, n.p.), including graphic novels for literary assignments and projects.


Reference

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading an daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu

Kelley, S., & Miller, D. (2013) Reading in the wild: The book whisper’s keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p.88-128   (Book Excerpt)

Krashen, S. (May 1, 2018). The conduit hypothesis.  Language Magazine.  Retrieved from: https://www.languagemagazine.com/2018/05/01/the-conduit-hypothesis/.

Parrott, Kiera.  (August 28, 2017).  Thinking outside the bin: why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers.  Retrieved from: http://www.slj.com/2017/08/feature-articles/thinking-outside-the-bin-why-labeling-books-by-reading-level-disempowers-young-readers/#_



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