"Sometimes I finish a book and I’m bored because I don’t know what to read next." The sixth grader looked at me with wide, candid eyes as he made that comment. It was the first English class of the new academic year. I could not have planned and paid for a better segue from the “reasons for reading” discussion we’d been having into the book tasting activity we were about to do, and the stack of blank “to-read” charts I was about to hand out before the activity (see photo above). I also could not have asked for a better motivation for myself to follow through more consistently on helping students use these “to-read” charts to build and reflect on their reading lives.
This isn’t the first time I’ve handed out “to-read” charts. Last year we started them at the beginning of the year with the book tasting, and they’re supposed to have at least 3 books on their list by the end of the period. Then at the end of every trimester when students all did a book talk on a good book they’d read that term, I suggested the audience have out their “to-read” list and write down any titles that appealed to them to read over the post-term break.
However, at this point, there were always students who say, “Is it okay if I just write the titles in my notebook? I don’t have that list any more.” And then when we reflected on the term’s reading, many students said, “I don’t remember all the books I’ve read.” So I showed them the monitoring list I took once a week of the book and page number everyone is on. Clearly, I haven’t been teaching them to use their “to-read” list well.
I determined to try again this year. Over spring break I watched a YouTube conversation between some of my reading/writing teacher heroes: Penny Kittle, Kelly Gallagher, and Donalyn Miller. I was so inspired that I went back and started rereading Kittle’s classic Book Love: Developing Depth, Stanima, and Passion in Adolescent Readers (2013).
One thing that struck me was the importance of teaching young people to choose their own books. If students compliantly read only what is assigned, then as soon as no one is assigning anything, they won’t know how to choose for themselves. Even me handing a student a book from my classroom library that I’m pretty sure they’ll like is not empowering them to choose for themselves. What will happen when there’s not a teacher there who knows their interests and reading level and can magically provide a book that fills the bill?
Keeping a “to-read” list of some sort is a thing that good readers do. Maybe the list is only mental. Maybe it’s on a piece of paper on the refrigerator or in a notebook. Maybe it’s electronic. Mine is on Goodreads, and also in the save function in our school’s online library. That’s why I’ve had trouble, I think, getting students to consistently use the paper list—because I don’t. So I think I’ll have to use a paper list. I really need to cull that list anyway—I just realized it has 222 books on it. Maybe I’ll transfer the top 10.
Why do I want my students to keep a "to-read” list?
- So they don’t forget titles they’ve heard and thought, “Oh, I’d love to read that!”
- So they know where to go next when they finish a book.
- So they build a list of books they’ve read in order to reflect on it and feel satisfaction, track patterns, set goals, and see growth.
- To help me monitor who has not yet developed a reading identity.
Some students came out of that first day activity with a to-read list of 15 books. Some had to be pushed to get the required three. One student still has only one—the one he’s reading. I know who I need to keep recommending books to.
How will I help students better use their “to-read” lists this year?
- I’ll continue doing a 30-second book talk a day at the end of the first 10 minutes of independent reading and encouraging students to add the title to their list if they find it interesting. I'll do this for at least the next 2 weeks.
- I’ll keep my own paper “to-read” list, just like the students, by prioritizing 10 books from my Goodreads list and online library saves.
- I’ll incorporate a “to-read” list check-in into conferences every three weeks (not just the first day of class!)
"I don't know what to read next" is never something I've said. Or if I've said it, it's been because there are so many books I want to read that I can't pick which one. Because I've always kept a mental "to-read" list. It took reading Penny Kittle to help me realize this is a tool good readers use that can be taught to help students build reading identities. And it took that sixth grader's comment last week to put a human face on the need for "to-read" lists. My commitment to follow through more effectively on helping students use their lists well is to that student.
How about you? Do you keep a "to-read" list? Do your students? What do you find helps students build a reading identity?
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