This week, Helen
Rothwell discusses her journey to engage the reluctant readers in her class.
My upper primary class has 20 minutes of daily designated
reading time. We mix it up with individual reading time, reading to and with a
buddy, pairing with an early childhood class and reading in small groups from a
set text. Now my students are engaged in their reading, for most of the time,
but it did not happen instantly. It took time for me to work on engaging my small
number of reluctant readers.
My reluctant readers were students who, for a variety of
reasons, did not find reading an activity that was enjoyable or had value for
them. This may be because they do not have an atmosphere at home where they see
adults reading, are not exposed to a variety of reading material outside school
or they have the irresistible lure of computer games and other activities to
keep them occupied. Some students think that reading happens at school and once
they are outside school their time is their own and reading is an activity that
is intrinsically linked to working at school.
A child can be a reluctant reader regardless of their
proficiency as a reader. I have had students who are assessed as an independent
reader, a goal many have from a young age. It is like the Holy Grail of reading
ability – to be an independent reader; someone who is at level 30+. Of course,
a reading level is just a ‘marker’. The important information gleaned from
testing is the fluency, inferential and summarising skills, understanding of
vocabulary and self-awareness they have stopped making meaning from the text. The
problem with students knowing their reading level is that once they reach the
classification of being independent they feel the reading journey has finished.
Reluctant readers can also be the students who are behind
their peers in reading ability and keenly feel they are separate; that they are
lacking and this affects their confidence to try to read books that will extend
their skills. They develop a mindset of not being good enough: “What’s the
point in trying when I can’t read a chapter book?” It is difficult to change
this mindset.
To address this issue, my class has guided reading time
where I work with small groups on the features of non-fiction texts. I explain
that a non-fiction text is about five levels higher than its fiction equivalent
because of the specific vocabulary that is used. One of the guided reading
rotations is buddy reading a science, geography or history book.
Having a variety of texts is important but so is the way the
material is presented. Some students prefer reading from an iPad or on the
computer. Picture books are wonderful for all ages, not just the younger
readers. The Children’s Book Council has helped to demystify the picture book
as being aimed at young readers, making the genre accessible and attractive to
older readers too. So trying all of the above my number of reluctant readers
diminished to only two students. Hmm, so what to do now?
MAGAZINES! I bought issues of ‘HistoriCool’ and the CSIRO
magazine ‘Scientriffic’. I sat with my reluctant readers and we flicked through
the magazines, pointing out interesting pictures or funny captions, familiar
diagrams and our own text-to-self experiences from our connection with snippets
in the magazines. Sometimes the text was too difficult, sometimes too technical
but both magazines have cartoons, puzzles, games and quizzes to balance the
more serious articles. Reluctant reader count = zero!
So, please give serious consideration to having a magazine
subscription for your library or classroom and if you already have these to
hand, an occasional reminder to students that they are available. As well as
engaging the reluctant reader through their curiosity, it is rewarding for all
parties when they willingly go to pick up a text and read.
Helen Rothwell is a grade 5/6 teacher in a government
school.
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