Nov
2013
Why Read for Pleasure?
I’ve been growing more and more concerned with the discussions roiling around literature and reading with the coming of new Common Core State Standards. Voices are clamoring that students engage in close reading (not a bad thing–as long as it’s not the only kind of reading students engage in) and that teachers increase the rigor (Do we really want more rigidity in schools?) of their classes. In the debate over how much nonfiction versus fiction students should read, the whole idea of reading for pleasure seems to be forgotten or outright rejected.
If we reject reading for pleasure and teach in such a way that turns students off of reading all together, we are making a grave mistake. As Mark Twain is credited with saying, “A man who doesn’t read has no advantage over a man who cannot read.” Encouraging students to read for pleasure is crucial in getting them to choose to read, even long after they leave our classrooms.
The good news for those who champion increasing rigor and accountability is that reading for pleasure has definite advantages. It only makes sense. How can you get better at doing something if you don’t practice it? Students are much more likely to practice reading if they enjoy it. Several studies have come out recently that illustrate the academic benefits of reading for pleasure. Scholastic published a study done in the UK that links reading for pleasure with increases in reading and writing attainment, text comprehension and grammar, and breadth of vocabulary as well as increases in general knowledge, understanding of other cultures, and insight into human nature. Jeffrey Wilhem and Michael Smith echo these findings in their study of fourteen eighth graders, reported in The Atlantic.
I am constantly enticing my students to read: I talk with them about the books they are reading. I share with them the books I am reading. I book talk books and share book trailers. I get to know my students so I can match their interests to books they just might love. I give students opportunities to talk with each other about the books they are reading.
I also challenge my students to read more than they ever thought possible. I borrowed the 40-book challenge from Donalyn Miller’s The Book Whisperer. (No, I haven’t yet read Reading in the Wild, but I hope someone will get it for me for Christmas.) I still have former students come back to me and brag about reading 40 books in one year–and they are still reading. I have students this year who are already surprised that they have read 10 or more books before Thanksgiving. Check below for the updated totals so far this year.
I also borrowed the reading homework from Penny Kittle’s Book Love. It helps me keep track of what my 120 students are reading, and it reinforces for them that reading needs to become a daily habit. The record keeping is fairly simple (no more signed reading logs!) Every Friday, students read for 10 minutes and record their starting and ending page. They do some simple math to determine a reading goal for the week. It looks like this.
- Subtract the beginning page (10, for example) from the ending page (15). That means the student read 5 pages during the 10 minutes.
- Multiply the number of pages read in 10 minutes by 6 to determine how many pages could be read in an hour (5 x 6 = 30).
- Multiply that answer by 2 to determine how many pages could be read in two hours (30 x 2 = 60).
- The student’s reading goal for the week is to read 60 pages.
- I figure the students’ grades based on what percentage of their goal they reach. If the goal is 60 pages and the student reads 60 pages, the student earns 100%. If the goal is 60 pages and the student reads 30 pages, the student earns a 50%.
I love that this individualizes the homework for each student. Slower readers aren’t “punished” by having to spend twice as long on an assignment. Faster readers are challenged to keep reading. Neither are students penalized for attempting to read a more challenging text.
Each day in class I pass around a sheet listing each student and the title of the book they are reading. Students simply write down what page they are on while they are reading. I can scan the sheet to see who is nearly finished with a book and who is bogging down in the middle or having difficulty sticking with a book.
By reading just 15-30 minutes a night for homework, along with the in-class reading, students are reading more than they thought possible. Just check out the totals so far:
- 1st Period: 24 students have read 220 books, for an average of 9.2 books per student.
- 2nd Period: 19 students have read 185 books, for an average of 9.7 books per student.
- 3rd Period: 21 students have read 228 books, for an average of 10.9 books per student.
- 4th Period: 19 students have read 200 books, for an average of 10.5 books per student.
- 6th Period: 20 students have read 198 books, for an average of 9.9 books per student.
- 7th Period: 15 students have read 105 books, for an average of 7.0 books per student.
That’s a grand total of 118 students have read 1,136 books, for an average of 9.6 books per student!
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s an impressive amount of books to read before Thanksgiving! What have been your favorite books so far?
Maria Selke (@mselke01)
November 21, 2013 at 9:51 pm (10 years ago)I love that you are able to encourage your kids to dig in and real for the love of it. I hope this is something we never lose!
Mrs. McGriff
November 22, 2013 at 8:47 am (10 years ago)Thanks! How can anyone get better at reading (or anything) if they don’t practice doing it. Readers are much more likely to read if they enjoy it.
Diane Anderson
November 19, 2013 at 10:39 pm (10 years ago)I so agree with what you wrote! This paragraph is great-
“I am constantly enticing my students to read: I talk with them about the books they are reading. I share with them the books I am reading. I book talk books and share book trailers. I get to know my students so I can match their interests to books they just might love. I give students opportunities to talk with each other about the books they are reading.” That’s real teaching!
I love the Twain quote, too.
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 10:46 pm (10 years ago)Thanks! It’s a funny thing about the Twain quote. When I was searching to verify who said it (I thought it was Twain, but couldn’t quite remember), I found a website that researched quotes. Their conclusion was that Twain probably never said it. He just gets credit for it.
Margaret Simon
November 19, 2013 at 8:51 pm (10 years ago)I am concerned about CCSS for this same reason. I do not see an increase in reading for pleasure in the classroom. I am doing what I can with my own students, but I’m afraid that most teachers are so stressed out that they cannot provide the best atmosphere for reading for pleasure.
I have The Book Whisperer and look forward to Reading in the Wild. Donalyn Miller has sure done wonders for readers, teachers, and students everywhere.
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 9:41 pm (10 years ago)For as long as I’m in the classroom, I will do everything I can to make reading pleasurable for kids. One of the things that struck me from Penny Kittle’s BOOK LOVE is that if you don’t engage kids in reading for pleasure, they won’t read and won’t read more difficulut texts and won’t get better at reading. I’m also afraid that the implementation of CCSS is making the problem worse in some schools where English teachers are expected to replace literature with nonfiction. Really, more reading in the content areas should be added to those classes. Fortunately in my school, science and social studies teachers (and other content areas, too) already include reading and writing in their classes.
Nick Hill
November 20, 2013 at 9:25 am (10 years ago)I think there is an overlap here, the best of both worlds so to speak, where specific reading strategies and skills can be taught in a fun and engaging way. If we focus so much on making reading enjoyable, you are missing time and opportunities to teach invaluable strategies that students WILL need later in their life. If you focus too much on the strategy aspect, you are correct in that students will not find that love of reading that we ourselves enjoy so much. I do not think these two differing viewpoints are mutually exclusive though and the longer we view them as such, the more we are missing out on creating well rounded students that will be provided with ALL of the tools to be success later in life.
Mrs. McGriff
November 20, 2013 at 12:33 pm (10 years ago)Nick, thanks for joining in the conversation! You are right in that we do need to teach our students how to read better and deeper. If students didn’t need to learn, we would be out of a job! My concerns are with those who dismiss reading for pleasure as entirely worthless (and I have read and heard much of this approach). It’s a debate that has gone of for decades, too, and there are many academic benefits from reading for pleasure as well as enjoyment. It is much more effective to teach and have students apply reading strategies if they are first engaged in reading. Come check out the inferencing we are practicing in class today and tomorrow! I’m seeing some good thinking from students and seeing others work to master a new skill or take it to another level.
Bonnie K
November 19, 2013 at 7:36 pm (10 years ago)I just got back from a beach vacation of marathon reading and I was a pig in s… weaving through lives of characters. Recently I read that fiction readers are better to problem solve through their own relationships because they have a spectrum of characters they’ve met up with in the reading lives. All of the better.
So I’m going to believe that good fiction reading takes us places we don’t get to without.
What do you think?
Bonnie
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 9:38 pm (10 years ago)I firmly believe that reading fiction brings tremendous benefits to readers. I’ve been reading some of the research that shares that readers of fiction improve problem solving and compassion. It doesn’t surprise me.
kate
November 19, 2013 at 7:30 pm (10 years ago)I LOVED this post! I’m “just” a mom, not a teacher (at least not yet anyway) and have a children’s book blog (www.katesbookery.blogspot.com) and am pretty crazy about books. My daughter and I started our own little book club, and she talked about it so much we’ve had two other girls and their moms join us!
Oh…I was supposed to be talking about your writing! I was paying attention to every word, looking up the books you reference…it was great!
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 9:36 pm (10 years ago)Thanks! I love that you and your daughter are rocking a book club and she’s inviting others to join. That’s what it’s all about–sharing the book love.
Leigh Anne Eck
November 19, 2013 at 7:10 pm (10 years ago)I have a heard a little about Book Love. Is it geared more for high school or could an4th grade teacher get anything from it? Awesome number of books! Sounds like a lot of reading going on in your classroom.
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 9:36 pm (10 years ago)Penny is a high school teacher, but she has worked with all grade levels as a literacy coach as well. I think you could find plenty to use with 4th graders, too.
Pamela Hodges
November 19, 2013 at 6:00 pm (10 years ago)What a good reminder to read, read, read. Loved the quote by Mark Twain. And now there is a debate over non-fiction and fiction? How sad. A book is a book.
Mrs. McGriff
November 19, 2013 at 6:59 pm (10 years ago)I have to agree that a book is a book. Yes, nonfiction is organized a little differently, and students should be familiar with a wide variety of genres, but good reading is good reading is good reading in so many ways. If you know how to read and understand one text, you call apply it to different texts. I am so proud of my students!