Developing lifelong reading habits in my students has always been a goal of mine. Along the way, other educators have inspired me with their reflections on evoking lifelong reading habits, including Donalyn Miller. I read Reading in the Wild a few years ago, but what I learned from this book continues to inform my teaching today. Shortly after reading this book, I collaborated with a colleague to create a framework for developing lifelong reading habits, which I shared in this blog post. I've been honing this framework every year since its inception. I'm sure I'll never be completely satisfied, but I hope that my efforts will pay off for my students for years to come.
This quarter, my students and I have been making reading goals and monitoring our progress towards those goals. While readers make all kinds of reading goals, I started simple: I asked my students to make reading goals based on pages read by mid-November and the end of the semester. Then, they went back and revisited their goals; some even adjusted their goals based on their progress. Some students returned to the goals they made, noticed that perhaps they weren't progressing toward them as much as they would like, and they seemed more focused on achieving their goal (even if it was adjusted). As the semester draws to an end, I've challenged them to reflect on their reading plans in a blog post.
I know that as a reader, making goals gives me focus. I love reading, so I don't need motivation to do so, but I do need something that will hold me accountable. I live a busy life, and I find myself making excuses for why I don't have time to read. Goals, for me, cut through these excuses. Goals also help me expand my reading horizons. I have a tendency to dig myself into "reading ruts" where I select book after book about the same topic. When I keep track of what I read on GoodReads to monitor my own progress toward those goals, I see when I am in a rut, and I consciously select something wildly different for my next book. Another important reason I make reading plans is that it attunes me to others' perspectives. I select books about topics I haven't personally experienced, like Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I'm excited to expand students' empathy 4th quarter with the Mirrors and Windows book clubs . . . but more on that later.
Since my students are blogging about their reading plans as 2017 draws to an end, I figure I'd better do the same. This year, I had an unambitious goal of 20 books, but as you can see below, I'm not there yet. I feel confident that I will be able to reach it by the end of 2017, as I usually read several books over Winter Break.
As I go back and reflect on my progress, I see a familiar pattern emerge: my reading skyrockets when school is not in session and slows to a death crawl when it is. In fact, the only books I've read since August are Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Dicodemus, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Daniel Pink. One way I could combat this familiar pattern is by reading with my students when they read for SSR, which was my practice for a couple of years. But, I will be honest, I've given up that practice to use SSR time to monitor students' progress. I'm not sure that trade is paying off, and it's something I need to more time to reflect upon.
Ultimately, I wish I read more, so I'm pumping up my 2018 goal to 30 books in an effort to hold myself accountable. This year, I am pleased that I expanded my variety of reading: only 10 of books I've read so far have been non-fiction (hey--that's improvement for me). My plans for my Winter Break reading include mostly fiction, including a novel written by one of my own students, and I am going to add a book of poetry as well as another graphic novel to help round out my list.
I'm interested in hearing back from any of the readers out there, so leave me a comment below. For my fellow teachers, I would love to know how you help students make reading plans. Students, let me know how we can most inspire your reading and motivate you to make reading goals.
This quarter, my students and I have been making reading goals and monitoring our progress towards those goals. While readers make all kinds of reading goals, I started simple: I asked my students to make reading goals based on pages read by mid-November and the end of the semester. Then, they went back and revisited their goals; some even adjusted their goals based on their progress. Some students returned to the goals they made, noticed that perhaps they weren't progressing toward them as much as they would like, and they seemed more focused on achieving their goal (even if it was adjusted). As the semester draws to an end, I've challenged them to reflect on their reading plans in a blog post.
I know that as a reader, making goals gives me focus. I love reading, so I don't need motivation to do so, but I do need something that will hold me accountable. I live a busy life, and I find myself making excuses for why I don't have time to read. Goals, for me, cut through these excuses. Goals also help me expand my reading horizons. I have a tendency to dig myself into "reading ruts" where I select book after book about the same topic. When I keep track of what I read on GoodReads to monitor my own progress toward those goals, I see when I am in a rut, and I consciously select something wildly different for my next book. Another important reason I make reading plans is that it attunes me to others' perspectives. I select books about topics I haven't personally experienced, like Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I'm excited to expand students' empathy 4th quarter with the Mirrors and Windows book clubs . . . but more on that later.
Since my students are blogging about their reading plans as 2017 draws to an end, I figure I'd better do the same. This year, I had an unambitious goal of 20 books, but as you can see below, I'm not there yet. I feel confident that I will be able to reach it by the end of 2017, as I usually read several books over Winter Break.
Ultimately, I wish I read more, so I'm pumping up my 2018 goal to 30 books in an effort to hold myself accountable. This year, I am pleased that I expanded my variety of reading: only 10 of books I've read so far have been non-fiction (hey--that's improvement for me). My plans for my Winter Break reading include mostly fiction, including a novel written by one of my own students, and I am going to add a book of poetry as well as another graphic novel to help round out my list.
I'm interested in hearing back from any of the readers out there, so leave me a comment below. For my fellow teachers, I would love to know how you help students make reading plans. Students, let me know how we can most inspire your reading and motivate you to make reading goals.
Thanks for the book shout out :). Hope you enjoy it over winter break!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this insightful blog post thank you very much for the help
ReplyDeleteAs a solution to the monitoring during SSR time you could make a google classroom spreadsheet where each student can monitor their own progress, which you can also view and then turn in at the end of the year. (Sorry for any errors I typed this really fast and didn't read over it).
ReplyDeleteLove this suggestion!
DeleteI feel like having the liberty and time to manage my own reading is awesome, but I feel like I am so disorganized and have other things going on that I can't keep up with my goals, how could I improve my situation?
ReplyDeleteThere is no easy answer. It's all about prioritizing your time. During the school year, my priority is my job, so that's why my reading slows down at that time. I try to balance that with "binge reading" on breaks. Some people have luck with having a reading schedule, like reading 10 minutes before bed.
DeleteSometimes, you gotta be honest with yourself and adjust your goals to be realistic!
Some of the books you mentioned actually sound really interesting! Especially The Adventures of Johnny Bunko and On The Bridge, the former being because I'm a sucker for graphic novels and the latter being out of interest of reading something written by a fellow student.
ReplyDeleteI have Johnny Bunko in my cart. You can borrow it. It takes 20 minutes to read.
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