In reading chapter 8 from Daniels and Zemelman, I thought a
lot about nice it would be for my students to enjoy reading. When I was in high
school, I did not enjoy many assigned readings. There were never any options in
the English classes, just what was assigned. Some of the ELA people might hate
me, but the one that stuck out as unreadable was The Great Gatsby. I remember thinking the story was like a soap
opera. It might be worthy of another try, my opinion might have changed over
the years.
Reading workshops seem like a huge time sink, but one class
period every other week seems reasonable. If kids end up liking reading because
they get to read some things they find interesting in class, it is completely
justified. The trick will be assembling a large classroom library with plenty
of options. I like the idea of having one on one conferences with students to
see what they are thinking about what they are reading. I think the conferences
could be a good relationship builder with students if done properly. The whole
idea of classroom reading brings to mind a little anecdote. Most of my 12th
grade English class was a terrible joke. The original teacher left early on and
an unprepared substitute replaced her for the remainder of the year. Rather
than sit through the awfulness, I went through the small collection of books in
the room, found The Autobiography of
Malcolm X, and read that instead of paying attention to whatever went on in
the class. One day I came into class and the book had disappeared from the
shelf, annoying me a great deal. I suppose I did want reading workshops, even
though I did not know what they were at the time. Because of the book’s disappearance,
I started playing Game Boy Advance in the class instead of reading.
Chapter 5 contained many strategies for reading. The chapter
was not the best read, as it is clearly meant to be used as reference material
(hence the gray page edges). Some seemed easy to use with clear benefits, like
frontloading with images, RAFT, and turn and talk, but some of the others I
would need try with students. I am not someone who takes notes, highlights, or
marks up pages in books I read so things like the post-it response notes seem
bothersome to me. Others might find it beneficial so it is worth trying.
The Great Gatsby was one of the better books I read in high school. The soapyness made it more interesting than many of the other books. Murder, sex, betrayal; what more do you want? Down to business, I agree with your thoughts about having options to read being the most beneficial thing when it comes to having students read, but with the rest I think you're missing out on how useful these reading groups can be. Much like your reading of the Malcolm X book, many kids would much rather pick up a book than listen to a teacher talking. Instead of them reading something completely off topic or playing Game Boy Advance (old man) they could read something related to what you're teaching and hopefully this will get them more engaged in what's happening in your classroom.
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