Five More Ways Teachers Can Encourage Teen Reading

Of course, I couldn't stop at just Five Ways Teachers Can Encourage Teen Reading. So here are five more ways teachers can foster an interest in reading in their classrooms:

• Create a literate atmosphere
  Find ways to encourage a love of reading, books, and words in your classroom. Create a bulletin board of your favorite books and then ask students to add their own. Hang up posters of books and authors. Create a word or quote of the day and discuss it with your students.
  
• Don't quiz the students to death
  Quizzes can be an important motivator to complete assignments and to check for understanding, but every once in a while, allow students to read just for the sake of reading. Maybe it's a different viewpoint on a scientific debate that you want them to consider or an enjoyable short story. Try to let them just read it and soak it in. Or consider alternative ways of assessing student comprehension, as discussed in the next two points.
  
• Consider open-ended assignments
  Open-ended assignments can be written, such as projects that ask students to create their own interpretations of a work or they can be verbal, such as class discussions where students are allowed to take the lead and discuss the reading as they see fit. The idea of using literature circles in English classrooms has been big in the past several years, and part of the reason why they were so highly touted is that the discussion groups asked students to talk about books in ways that people really talk about books. You would never turn to a coworker and ask them to outline the three central themes in the book they were reading, providing two examples of each. But you would probably talk about those themes as you discussed your overall impressions of the book in a free-flowing conversation about your reading. This isn't to say that you should give students total control with no intervention on your part, but a little freedom in an assignment can free up students' thinking, creativity and enjoyment of reading.
  
• Allow for different learning styles
  When assignments to assess students' understanding of a reading, allow for different learning styles as much as possible so that everyone will have a chance to express themselves in a comfortable way and they won't think of reading as a chore that always leads to unpleasant activities. Some students are visual learners and would be better able to express themselves through a drawing or graphic organizer such as a flow chart. Other students are more reflective by nature and thrive on introspective journals. You don't need to redesign your entire curriculum, but a few options sprinkled throughout can work wonders for reluctant readers.
  
• Use young adult literature in your curriculum
  While there is certainly a time and a place for the classics, honestly ask yourself if there aren't some course goals that could be met through using books written especially for teens. These books will be more accessible to more readers and can still be just as useful as other pieces of literature in teaching thematic and writing-related concepts. If you're just not familiar with teen books, ask your librarian or media specialist if they have any ideas for recent young adult releases that would fit your needs. If you would like some ideas on young adult literature that would complement your English Language Arts curriculum, a great resource is Joan F. Kaywell's Adolescent Literature As a Complement to the Classics.
  

Even more ways to encourage reading deserve even More Creative Book Reports Ideas. Add more interest to your class assignments by going beyond the basic book report.



Share your own ways for encouraging teen reading in the comments!

Five Ways Teachers Can Encourage Teen Reading

Are you tired of your students' seeming apathy towards reading? Here are five ways you, as a teacher, can encourage teens to reads:

• Make time for reading in your classroom
  One of the most popular ways to do this is through sustained silent reading (ssr) time. Some districts make a whole-school effort out of this, devoting one homeroom period a week to the practice or a similar schedule. The idea is that for a set period of time, anywhere from 10-30 minutes, students will do nothing but read for pleasure. Even if you restrict reading time to class assignments, providing time in class for reading will allow students to ask questions if they're having trouble understanding and get them off to a good start on their homework.
  
• Make space for reading in your classroom
  While most teens' needs for books to read can be fulfilled by the library, having a bookshelf in your classroom sends a powerful message to students about the importance you place on books and reading. Visit a few used bookstores or thrift shops to build a small collection if you haven't already gathered books for students to use. I once had a teacher who bought used books from his students for a quarter each at the beginning of each school year to build up his class library. If your classroom space allows it, consider creating a reading space for free reading time or for students to use before class. Some of the most inviting classrooms I've ever visited included a reading corner with beanbags or rocking chairs, a bit of carpeting in tiled rooms, and soft lighting.
  
• Model an interest in reading
  Find ways to show that you value reading. Keep the book you're currently reading on your desk. When you give students time to read in class, model appropriate behavior by reading a book of your own. Talk about reading as a pleasurable activity, either as part of a larger class discussion or in your conversations with teens. Talk to your students about your favorite books the way you would share a new book with a friend.
  
• Give students some choice in their reading
  Are there any places in your curriculum where you can give students choice in their reading? Perhaps there are two short stories in the textbook that illustrate point of view and you can let students choose whether to read a romance or a science fiction story. Or maybe you can create a more general assignment that asks students to read a biography from the period you're studying in history. Students will be more engaged with their reading if they can select the books they read.
  
• Ask questions about reading
  "But I do this all the time! Isn't that what teachers do?" is what you're probably thinking in response to this suggestion. There are two sides to this point. When I say, "Ask questions about reading," I'm first thinking that in order to encourage free reading among teenagers, you should always be on the lookout for an opportunity to ask your students about the books they're reading for fun. Show them that you're interested in all books, not just the ones you assign. The second facet of asking questions about reading is to ask students what they think about the readings you do assign. Whether in a formal survey or through more casual conversations before or after class, try to get a feel for what most captures their interest in assigned readings and what gives them difficulties. Try to capitalize on the interest and create assignments to work through the difficulties in future lesson plans.

After you've encouraged your students to read, don't ruin it with boring assignments. Check out Creative Book Report Ideas for three great ideas to keep students engaged with their reading.

Do you have your own tip for encouraging your students to read? Share it in the comments!

Using Music to Bring Life to Poetry

When I was a teacher, I enjoyed incorporating music in my poetry units. I thought it was a good way to ease students in to the study of poetry by starting with something that was a bit more familiar. Check out my article, Using Music to Bring Life to Poetry, at Associated Content to read more about this practice.

Teacher Resource - Reading Reminders by Jim Burke

One of my all-time favorite teaching resources is Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques by Jim Burke. Even though I'm not currently teaching, and I've sold a few of my resource books because I didn't think I'd be using them any time soon, I just can't make myself part with this one. Jim Burke writes with a straightforward style while giving you a sense that he's a seasoned professional, sharing with you the tips that have made him a success. The book is a compilation of 100 reading strategies, and it includes numerous reproduceable graphic worksheets. This is a real hands-on book that is sure to leave you with ideas for your own classroom.

Paying It Forward

The All Info About Teen Reading blog was plugged in today's edition of Pay It Forward Tuesday at Deb Ng's Freelance Writing Jobs. The idea behind paying it forward is that you help someone out with the understanding that he or she will help someone else out, and hopefully the chain continues with tons of good deeds accomplished in the end. So in keeping with the spirit of paying it forward, here are two sites I would like to promote:

I just discovered Young Adult Creative Writing Workshops when Patrizia left a comment. The interview with author Linda Gerber first caught my eye, providing an interesting look at the creative process and the YA market. The most recent post also mentions a great fiction-writing contest from Highlights, open to writers 16 and older. But you'd better hurry because the deadline is February 28th!

From the All Info About Network, All Info About Reading Education offers great resources for teachers, parents, and tutors. Find everything from sight word lists to Adult Literacy Resources.

Resources for Teachers

All Info About Teen Reading offers the following resources for teachers:

• Review of Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques by Jim Burke - one of my personal favorite teaching resources
  
• Five Ways for Teachers to Encourage Reading
  
• Five More Ways for Teachers to Encourage Reading
  
• Dealing With Inappropriate Content
  
• Worksheets - featuring graphic organizers and question sets from several pieces of classic literature