February Q&A: But how do you get the kids to actually read?
How I am refreshing and rebooting independent reading halfway through the year
There has been a conversation afoot in the community chat about reading — how to get kids to do it, how to motivate reading beyond grades, how to reignite a reading spark.
This is a perennial, isn’t it? And at this time of year we’re all particularly in need of a boost, a lift, a reframe where reading is concerned. Everything starts off great (or great-ish, at least). We do a big launch of our reading year and kids are engaged with new books and we are engaged with the kids and it’s great …. until January. (Or, perhaps, sooner.) The new wears off. We are all tired. And reading feels less life-or-death than it did before.
There’s a natural motivation in talking and discussion. It might take some time to learn how todo the moves well, but I haven’t met anyone who didn’t enjoy a good conversation. And, there’s some built-in accountability, too.
I’ve talked before about literary salons as (I think) a stronger alternative to book clubs.In a literary salon, everyone has to read in order to contribute anything at all because each student is reading a different book. The stakes are a bit higher. And, for that reason, the conversations are also a bit more interesting.
Literary salons can be used to teach a particular reading skill or as an alternative to book clubs using independent reading.
That’s what I’m doing this winter to shake up our independent reading lives while helping students work on articulating themes in texts (a skill my students need to learn and practice).
Here’s what I’m going to share with you today:
How to set up literary salons for success
A 4-week literary salon discussion pack for moving from topical discussions to thematic discussions
Ten ideas for other literary salon “units”, perfect for middle and high school students