Reading Identity – Page 18

Sometimes we are up against insurmountable odds without even knowing it. Odds that seem to already be against us. Facing conditions that are no fault of our own, and yet, we are the ones that are supposed to change it.

Often this can be how teaching feels. Like we are not just teachers of content, but instead, also the frontline for changing how students feel about school, feel about teachers, feel about anything that may happen within our days together. There are many things that my middle schoolers have taught me, but one of the biggest lessons is that it is not just you they are reacting to; it is everything you stand for, everything they feel you represent.

English class tends to not be a popular thing. They tell me our class wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t have to read or write. At times, I feel like I have lost before I have even begun. I know many students hate my class before we even start, it is part of the job I suppose. And yet, we teachers, know that there is always a chance. That we can be the change for some of our students. And so we pin our hopes on promises of change and ask our students to give a chance.

I asked my students to give reading a chance this year. I promised them that if they liked reading, I would do my very best to protect that love. That if they disliked it, or even hated it, I would try to create an experience that would perhaps change their perception even a little bit.

I polled them at the beginning of the year and was frankly horrified at what I found. Out of 130 students, 53.6% of students reported that on a scale from 1 to 10, reading was a 4 or less. That’s 70 students.

70 students that despite their previous teachers best intentions have already decided that reading is really not for them. Out of those 70 students, 35 students reported that they hated it. Hated it. Not just dislike. But hate.

So what do you when you are faced with such insurmountable odds? What program do you lean on? What curriculum do you implement?

For us; none. It turns out it is much simpler than following a curriculum.

What made the biggest difference to all of my reading hating students?

Books, and plenty of them. Books that were accessible through audio and text. Books that were not there to push them in a certain direction. That were not forced on them. Picture books for the days where chapter books seemed to be too much work. Free verse for those who had lost their connection with the magic of reading. Graphic novels meant to teach, entice, and enthrall. Everywhere they looked there were books and the books called to them. Without judgment. Without restriction. Without one path to being a reader.

We also took time. Ten minutes every day to read. To find books. To have conversations about the texts we chose. To find something worthy of our time, that we perhaps would want to read later as well. Ten minutes that were the expectation coupled with the idea that one should only read good books, not waste our time on books that would make us dislike reading more. To abandon when needed, to book shop when desired.

And finally, we had each other. Teachers that read and recommended. Peers that read and passed on books. A sense of urgency to read books that worked for us, that mattered to us, that would make us like reading or stay in love with it. That would challenge us even if we were not sure how.

So this year, once again, we spoke books and every day I hoped for a change. Every day I worked toward a change. And how did it go?

On our end of year survey, I once again asked students how they felt about reading. Then I held my breath and waited for the results.

I started the year with 70 students telling me they disliked reading.

Now there are 26.

104 students now say they have a better or continued positive relationship with reading. Is it perfect? No, but even within the kids that still ranked it less than a 4, 14 of them said they disliked it less.

That means that within a course of 10 months; 118 students or almost 91% of my students have a more positive relationship with reading than they did before, or that their relationship remained positive.

Because of great books at their fingertips.

Because of the time to read every day.

And because we built a community where reading for pleasure mattered and that became our curriculum.

It is not perfect, but it is a start. It is not every child, but it is many. It is not unreachable, but instead a promise of creating better reading experiences that in the end mattered to the kids.

And that is why I will continue to find the time for reading for pleasure in our curriculum. Why I will continue to champion reading for pleasure, choosing your own books, and giving time to students to read within our class periods, because it works. Because the proof is right here, in the very kids I teach. And I don’t think there is any curriculum, nor computer program, that could have provided me with the same result. Those come after, after we nurtutre the love, the interest, and the right to read books that matter. So if you are wondering how to get kids reading; start with the foundation of choice, of time, and of community. Then look at all the rest.

If you like what you read here, consider reading any of my books; the newest called Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration, a how-to guide for those who would like to infuse global collaboration into their curriculum, was just released. I am currently working on a new literacy book, called Passionate Readers and it will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge.If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a teacher, end of year, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity

On the Reality Of Trying to Create More Readers

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 Pernille Ripp

I wish I could tell you that they are all reading by now.

That they all run in, books in hand, eager to settle in, settle down, and get to reading.

I wish I could tell you that they told me that they cannot wait for summer because that means they can read all of the time.

That they cannot wait for more books in that series, or by that author, or in that genre.

That they cannot wait for 8th grade where they will get to come back and talk more books.

I wish I could tell you that they all ask for one more minute, one more page, and beg for a whole day of reading.

I wish I could tell you that they all love reading by now, but I would be a liar.

You see, when you teach actual 7th graders, it turns out that sometimes you are still not enough.

That it doesn’t matter that you have thousands of books at hand.

That it doesn’t matter that you book talk amazing books.

That it doesn’t matter that you give them time. That you give them choice. That you tell them to abandon those books that do not work and only read great books. That it doesn’t matter that you ask for their truths and then try to do something about it.

You made a difference to some, yes, but not to all.

And yet..I would also tell you that it is okay.

That no one expected us to be miracle workers, that no one expected us to convert them all. To make them all reading believers. Instead what we were asked to do was to not make it worse. To not make them hate it more. To protect what precious positive emotions they do have about reading and shelter them from distress. To stay hopeful, to stay positive, and to keep believing that what you did mattered, and so you kept on believing they could.

And so we did, and we tried, and we are still trying because the year is not quite over yet.

Because we still have that book to discuss.

That reading experience to create.

That picture book to make them laugh.

So this realization of perhaps not having reached them all is not one of failure or of giving up, because, again, the year is not over yet, but it is one of reality, one of truth, one of things beyond our control and the forces that work against us.

So we do not despair when they tell you they still do not like reading, but instead, we ask, “Have you changed at all?” And then you smile when they say, “Well, maybe a little…” because sometimes we will not be there for the biggest change, but only for the humble beginning.

And that beginning was worth every single step we took to help them become or remain kids who love to read.

being a teacher, conferences, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, talking

How to Be A Teacher Reading Role Model – Without Actually Reading In Front of Your Class

April 25, 2017 Pernille Ripp

I was taught in college that to be a teacher reading role model, I should read infront of my students; not just read aloud, but actually sit down and read in front of them so they could see how much reading meant to me. So when I embraced independent reading, I did just that; pulled my own book out and read diligently next to them. It didn’t matter that I was not reading books they could actually read, but instead that they saw me in the physical act of reading. Yet, something felt inherently wrong. I was distracted by my own book at times, not picking up on what kids were actually doing. I didn’t feel like I was actually teaching them anything during that time, and, most importantly; very few of my students actually saw me as a reading role model, which baffled me for a long time. It turns out that simply seeing someone read does not make them a reading role model and so I knew I had to change my ways.

It turns out, though, that I was not the only one that was taught this method of teacher-as-reading-role-model; when the kids read, you read right alongside them. I was reminded of this just the other day when a brand new teacher told me that when her kids were reading so was she. I immediately thought, “What a waste of time,” but then also realized why this seems like a great idea on the surface. After all, we know that kids will read more when they see others reading, we know that adults as reading role models are a powerful tool, and it also legitimizes independent reading time; “See how important this is by me doing it as well…”

And yet; we need that independent reading time to meet with kids. To confer when we can. To do reading check-ins with as many kids as possible to further enhance our own instruction. To build relationships and community. To truly understand the learners that are in our care. Not to work on our own reading. So how do we establish ourselves as reading role models without physically reading in front of the kids?

We give it time. The first step is to make sure there is time for independent reading. After all, if we value something then we must give it the thing we have the least of; our time. So every day we should find the time for self-selected choice independent reading for all of our students, no matter their needs and abilities.

We read aloud. At all ages and whenever we can. Kids will understand the importance of shared book experiences by actually participating in them and so we must model what it means to be a fluent read-alouder, what it means to be carried away in a text, to be emotionally connected to a piece of literature. We do this by reading aloud stories, poems, and other pieces that move us and then invite students into the experience.

We speak reading. My students know a lot about my reading life because I speak about it often. I book talk books I just finished or abandoned, I talk about the latest book I cannot wait to read. I talk about how I sneak books with me everywhere, how I trained myself to read in the car without getting sick so it would give me more reading time. We speak books and how they matter whenever we can, not just on the days it is our teaching point.

We showcase our reading. Outside of our classroom, I have a display of all of the books I have read so far. My students know my reading goal and see the poster fill up as the year progresses. My students can see that I spend time reading outside of class because they see the covers get added. The visual representation is also a constant reminder as they enter our classroom that in here the books we read is something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of.

We procure more books. The first thing most people notice when they enter our classroom is the sheer amount of books. The collection and its placements speaks to the importance of reading in our community. Having books front and center means that reading is front and center.

We sometimes read with them. If I cannot wait to finish a book, if the classroom is particularly still, or sometimes just because it is Friday, I will sit down and read with my students. Not because I have to but because I want to. It is not every week, we have much too little teaching time for that, but once in a while, they might see me reading, that is if they actually look up from the pages of their own book.

Being a reading role-model is something I take quite seriously, as do many of my colleagues. Our schools speaks books because we feel the urgency with which we lose our middle schooler’s interest in reading every year. So every minute matters, every minute counts, and while reading in front of my students would be lovely, that is not my main job in the classroom as they read. Speaking to them is. How have you become a reading role model in your classroom?

Be the change, being a student, being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams

Can We Please Stop Grading Independent Reading?

March 11, 2017March 23, 2017 Pernille Ripp

“But how do you grade their independent reading?”

I am asked this question while presenting on how to create passionate readers.

I am stumped for a moment for an answer. Not because I don’t know, but because we don’t. Why would we? And yet, it is a question I am asked often enough to warrant a decent response.

My middle school does not issue a grade for how many books a child has read. For how many minutes they have read. For how far they have gotten on their book challenge goals.

And there is a big reason for this.

How many books you read does not tell me what you can do as a reader. How long you can sustain attention to a book may tell me clues about your relationship with reading but it will not tell me where you fall within your reading skills. Actual skill assessment will do that. Explorations where you do something with the reading you do will tell me this. The amount of books you have read will not tell me what you are still struggling with or what you have accomplished. Instead it will tell me of the practice you do with the skills that I teach you. With how you feel about reading in front of me and when I am not around. About the habits you have established as you figure out your very own reading identity. These habits are just that; skills you practice until something clicks and it becomes part of who you are. Those are not gradeable skills but instead a child practicing habits to figure out how to get better at reading. A child figuring out where books and reading fits into their life.

So just like we would never grade a child for how many math problems they choose to solve on their own, how many science magazines they browsed or how many historical documents they perused, we should not grade how many books a child chooses to read. We should not tie pages read with a grade, nor an assessment beyond an exploration into how they can strengthen their reading habits. Number of books read, minutes spent, or pages turned will never tell us the full story. Instead it ends up being yet another way we can chastise the kids that need us to be their biggest reading cheerleaders.

So when we look to grade a child on how they are as a reader we need to make sure that the assessments we provide actually provide us with the answers we need. Not an arbitrary number that again rewards those who already have established solid reading habits and punish those that are still developing. And if you are asked to grade independent reading, ask questions; what is it you are trying to measure and is it really providing you with a true answer? Are you measuring habits or skills? Are the grades accurate? If not, why not? And if not, then what?

PS: And for those wondering what we do assess in our reading, here is a link to our English standards.

being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement, student voice, Student-centered

The Reading Identity Challenge

February 25, 2017February 27, 2017 Pernille Ripp

At the beginning of the year, I asked my students to tell me how they felt about reading. I do this every year as it offers me a baseline, a glimpse into their reading truths. I was not surprised at the results, 25% told me they loved it, 50% told me they didn’t mind it, and the final 25%? They told me they hated it. Perhaps slightly higher than normal, but nevertheless, teaching 7th graders, I was not worried. After all, every year it seems this happens and every year, children change their minds.

This year, though, some have proven to be stubborn. Those kids that hate reading, they still were fighting me every step of the way. Abandoning books, which we do embrace, every single day. Refusing to book shop even. Flipping pages aimlessly day in and day out. Not having any desire to change their hatred, content with being part of the statistics of kids that don’t read.

So I created the Student Reading Identity Challenge. Not just for the kids who still hated reading, but for those that needed a spark, those that needed to stretch their reading legs a little. For myself to challenge my own reading life, nervously glancing at Hatchet and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as two books I had no desire to read but knew I should.

A reading challenge for us all, so we all could get better, whatever better meant to us. The concept is simple; over the course of three weeks or so students would select one aspect of their personal reading life and challenge themselves to make it better or change it. Much like a personal goal; there was no right challenge, instead, it was based on the individual’s needs, the hopes for the future. There was no limit to what they could work on and they would be given around twenty minutes every day to read, rather than our usual ten.

We started with this five-page survey; yes, five pages. I needed students in all their stages of reading relationship to uncover new truths about themselves. It needed to go beyond whether they liked to read or not and into their actual reading habits. Where are they reading, what are they reading, why are they not reading more? Where are their book gaps? Where do they get book recommendations from? All those little things that play into who they are as a reader. It took the kids almost two days to fill it out because I asked them to please slow down, please really think about it, and then show your goal to me.

The goals varied; I want to enjoy reading again, I want to try a new genre, I want to read every day. Some couldn’t think of one until we looked through all of their answers and something jumped out at us. Whatever the goal was there was a reason, a personal one, that this was the one thing they felt would help them become a better reader. Some kids even chose a read aloud with another teacher so they could have a shared experience around a book, trying to help them actually like reading more. For every goal there was a story; a story of reading blossomed or reading gone wrong. For every goal there was either excitement or reprehension; how would this actually change anything? Once all the goals were in place, I asked the kids to somehow keep track – how will you know you are working on your goal? Some chose a calendar to write down minutes or rank their reading of the day, some chose a peer to speak about their reading. This is the one component I am still working on, I did not want it to be a writing experience, one where the students would have to jot down their thoughts every day, but instead, an organic process for them that helped them have a great experience, not one more thing to do.

So we began; some kids book shopped the first few days, having to find a great book as part of their goal as well, others dove right in. I taught a mini-lesson every day and then the rest of the time was for them to read. I pulled small groups, conferred with students, and otherwise watched. Were they actually reading? Was this actually working…

One child told me she was so confused in her fantasy book and this was exactly why she never read fantasy because “It doesn’t make any sense!” and yet because of the challenge she read on, declaring at the end of the book that she couldn’t wait for the sequel. Another told me she was stuck in the boring part and this was always when she abandoned a book, but now because of the challenge, she read on. A child who has yet to read a single book this year, no matter my support, is on page 60 of Hatchet, telling me yesterday that he read 20 pages in one day.

Whatever their goal, I saw it gradually start to happen; kids finding a way to make reading better for themselves. Kids realizing more deeply who they are as readers, where they are on their reading journey. For some, it has proven to be a huge revelation, for others just a small one. But for most, it has changed something in them as a reader. For most, there is a deeper urge to make reading enjoyable, no matter what they are reading.

So yesterday, I taught my first two classes, followed my lesson plan to the tee. But in my 5th hour, the students asked if they could please read for ten minutes today, knowing I had only allocated ten. Of course, I said. When the fifteen were up, they asked for five more minutes. Of course, I said. When the five were up they asked if they could please just read the rest of the class. As twenty-five students stared at me, seemingly holding their breath, I said, “Of course.” And then watched the thickest of silences fall over the room as they each retreated into their books. Even the ones who tell me they hate reading. Even the ones who used to flip pages. I did the same for the rest of my classes, and it didn’t change; silence, except for the pages being turned, and one child telling me triumphantly that they had read fifteen pages today – more than they read all of last week.

The reading identity challenge is not the end all be all, but it is another step in helping students uncover another aspect of who they are as readers. It is another tool to help them become empowered in their own reading journey. It is another step to tell all of my students that reading matters and that they control so much of their relationship with reading. That new genres await, that it is possible for reading to be fun, that they can make it through the boring parts, that they can go deeper in their text. That reading should be a part of who they are and therefore also should be something they mold and shape as they develop further.

As for me? It turns out that Hatchet and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry were amazing books. That I have realized that perhaps I should be looking at other classic children’s book gaps to make sure I am able to recommend them to kids. That even though I love reading, I still have things to work on. Just like my students, just like we all do.

PS: Here is the reflection sheet I had them fill out at the end. The standard referenced is one that measures providing evidence for their thoughts.

If you like what you read here, consider reading any of my books; the newest called Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration, a how-to guide for those who would like infuse global collaboration into their curriculum, was just released. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. I am currently working on a new literacy book, called Passionate Readers and it will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. I also have a new book coming out December, 2017 . Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, Reading, Reading Identity

Three Keys to Creating Successful Reading Experiences

January 4, 2017 Pernille Ripp

pixteller-design-c9ebbbc65f140f92

It’s January. In the perfect world all of my students would love reading by now. All of my students would bring their self-chosen book to class, eager to dive in, begging for more reading time. In a perfect world, every child would have a goal they were working toward, every child would be eager to book talk their books, to browse our library, to read outside of class. I don’t teach in the perfect world, I don’t think anyone does.

Instead, by now here in January, I have kids that still show up with no books. That still tell me they hate reading. That still would rather flip the pages and not actually read anything. I still have kids who don’t read outside of class, who have no goals, who would rather do everything they can to avoid having a reading check in with me. Not a lot, the numbers have dwindled, but they are still there, they are still prominent, and I still lose sleep over how to help them have a better relationship with reading (or writing, or speaking, or English, or even just school…)

We all have these kids in our classrooms, in our learning communities. These kids that seem to defy the odds of every well-meaning intention we may have. Who do not fall under our spell or the spell of a great book. Who actively resists not so much because they want to but because they feel they have to. And so our initial thoughts are often to tighten the reins. To tell them which book to read. To hand them a reading log so that you can see when don’t read. To tie in rewards to motivate or even consequences to punish. We create lesson plans with more structure, less choice, less freedom overall thinking that if we just force them into a reading experience, perhaps then it will click for them.

We must fight our urges when it comes to the regimented reading experiences. What these kids need is usually not less freedom, more force. What these kids need is not more to do when it comes to their reading. What these kids need is not the carefully crafted worksheet packet with its myriad of questions that will finally make them read the book.

What they need is patience. Repetition. Perseverance. I am not in a fight with these kids. I am not here to punish them into reading. I am not here to reward them into reading either. I am here to be the one that doesn’t give up, even if they have themselves. I am here to be the one that continues to put a pile of books in front of them and say “Try these…” I am the one that will repeat myself every day when I say, ‘Read…” and then walk away. Who will crouch down next to them and ask them how they feel and listen to their words, even if I have heard them a million times before.

We look to external systems and plans because they entice us with their short-term promises. We fall under the spell of programs, of removing choice from those who have not earned it, in an effort to get these kids there faster. Yet, what I have learned from my students is that every one is on a different path. That every child is on the journey and while their pace may be excruciatingly slow, they are still moving forward.

So our classroom is not perfect, and neither am I. I cannot force my students to read but I can create an ongoing opportunity where they might want to. And so that is what I will do, every day, up until the last day, hoping to reach every single one, even if I have not reached them yet.

I am currently working on a new literacy book. The book, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. I also have a new book coming out December, 2017 called Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration, a how-to guide for those who would like infuse global collaboration into their curriculum. So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.