Friday, September 29, 2017
Getting Children Engaged with Reading
Individually we have many tricks in our bag for engaging children. This is your opportunity to share something you have tried with success that got a student or students excited about reading. Think about an individual or something you did with a class that changed attitudes about reading. If it is something a teacher did that changed your attitude and you know it was that particular moment that changed you that would be fine as well.
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Two days ago, the media specialist and I held a book tasting in the media center. I was curious about how it would go; we had never run one before, and I was concerned the kids would not engage. We didn't have the table cloths, placemats, and settings, but we did have many, many books.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, my concerns were unfounded. The activity was a hit, that I recommend to everyone. We had 5 tables, with appx. 10 books per table. The genres ranged from biography to poetry. Before the kids began, we emphasized that this was a time to take reading risks; the goal was to "taste" different genres. We explained that this was a chance to try something new; rather than reading another fantasy, try a biography!
We rotated the kids 3 times, 10 minutes each sitting. At the end of the class, kids were lined up at the desk to check out books. It really was a hit.
If you are interested, you can google "book tasting activities" and you'll find a variety of resources. Give it a shot! It's a great way to integrate the media center into your curriculum!
Getting Children Engaged with Reading - Karie
ReplyDeleteLast year I came into the 2/3 classroom that already had, what I thought, a fairly substantial classroom library. It did not take me too long to realize that the students were already bored with many of these books as many of them had been in the classroom the previous year. It was a challenge for me to create excitement about reading especially since I also had many struggling readers as well. My students did really enjoy read alouds. I read books that I LOVED and I shared that enthusiasm with them. The books I read were above the reading level of many of the students in my class. It provided them access to books of interest that they could not read independently. Many of the books I read, the characters and stories, became a part of our classroom culture and were referred to by the students and myself often in quite affectionate ways.
With my reluctant and struggling readers I have also found that they love Readers' Theater. I have found that having students reread books (for fluency) is often accompanied by a few moans and groans, but putting a fun script in front of them that they practice over and over again and can act out, brings about a much happier and engaged reader.
I do my best to know my readers and their interests. I have tried to supplement the classroom library based on what I know my students are interested in. I try to visit the school library, or my local library, frequently to help supplement and rotate more books through the classroom. I have also found that by doing the Scholastic book orders, teachers earn points and free books. This has been a very inexpensive way of adding books to the library. I always choose books that are a part of a series or topic that I know students will love. When I get these new books I often find that there is a waiting line for students to read them!
I agree! Knowing the students' as readers is so important!
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