What do you do when you finish reading a book, and how do you decide what to read next? I generally find a friend and say, "Hey, I just finished this great/weird/awful/thought-provoking book! Let me tell you about it...." And when I'm done, the friend tells me about a book she's recently read, and that goes into my to-read list (which currently shows 91 titles on Goodreads.com, in addition to the stack on my literal bookshelf at home).
I want to foster my students’ independent reading lives, so I want them to conduct those lives in ways (1) that adult readers do even when there are no assignments and (2) that reinforce those lives individually and communally. I don't have the perfect system, but one idea I've been working on and that we did in my classes this past week was our quarterly independent reading share.
Students have a choice in how they share a book they’ve read independently this quarter: they can present in a roundtable format (see photo above) or they can post a review on Goodreads.com. Students are all on Goodreads because that is part of the summer reading program coming into my class: get yourself an account, friend me and others in the class, post at least 5 books on your to-read shelf, and post at least 1 review of a book you read during the summer.
I like the choice for several reasons. (1) Both options accomplish the same objectives: a bit of accountability for reading, an authentic audience for reflecting on that reading, and the opportunity to pick up further reading ideas. (2) Whether students are speaking to a group of peers or writing online, both experiences involve life communication skills with real audiences. (3) Choice itself increases motivation, buy-in, and learning. (See last week's blog on choice.) (4) Finally, it acknowledges different giftings—discussion and writing are both important in my class, and there isn't a choice in the matter much of the time. You have to learn to collaborate productively and you have to learn to write.
But now, for once, the introverts don’t have to talk and the extroverts don’t have to write. Though I've also learned to ditch my stereotypes, being surprised by who chooses which! I’ve had quiet classes where the majority of students shock me by choosing to present because of the community feeling it builds. Students can also be dumbfounded at each other’s choices. Some wonder why in the world would someone give themselves a writing assignment when all they really have to do is come to class and wag their chin about a book for a couple of minutes? Conversely, others wonder why in the world someone would choose to speak in public when they could just quietly plink the words into their computer alone at home. I’m never able to predict how the split will come out, and I have discovered that it is vital to ask a couple of days ahead of time how many people are planning on sharing in class—it makes a difference in lesson planning.
I could make even better use of Goodreads. I just started getting really serious about it about 3 years ago when I realized that a few reading friends from different periods in my life were all active on Goodreads, and I could actually keep up with what they were reading! I kept to-read lists, but not on a website—what a pain! And why set a reading goal? I'm going to read anyway. Gradually, as I've discovered personally fulfilling reasons (it sure is cool to see a graphic at the end of the year of all the covers of books read!), I've used it more and more.
Similarly, as long as my students are going on Goodreads once a quarter to update their to-read lists or post an assigned review, they’ll drop it once they leave my class. But in the meantime, every quarter when they DO go on, I notice a couple more friend connections made and a couple more books added to to-read shelves. It’s an introduction to possible ways to pursue an adult independent reading life—as well as an introduction to the very idea that there are adults out there doing this: it's not just a weird English teacher thing. Maybe one of these Januaries I’ll carve out in-class computer time to get them all to set up their own reading challenge.
What kind of reading did students share either in class or online? Such a variety! There were non-fiction books like Evicted, Japan at War: An Oral History, Killers of the Flower Moon, Addicted to Outrage, Jesus Freak, and The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influence. There was also fiction like Buffalo Soldier, Running Full Tilt, Uglies, Dark Matter, The Martian, and a first reading (after seeing all the movies) of the entire Harry Potter series. My favorite outcome, though, was the way Maus 1 and Maus 2 are being rotated between my 10th graders and 11th graders. An 11th grader shared Maus 1 with shining eyes in class Tuesday and inquired about Maus 2, which I told her a 10th grader was sharing in class on Thursday, but she could get it from him. Friday morning, before first period started, she was in her desk not doing homework or catching a few more winks, but reading Maus 2.
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