Working and Reworking a pedagogy of YA lit
Kittle's discussion of independent reading and its space and function in the classroom has me actively thinking about the ways what I am doing to foster independent reading is working and the (many more) ways that what I'm currently doing is falling short.
Going into my fourth year in the classroom, I've come to realize that I will likely never perfect my classroom practices, but I think that is an essential part of being an effective teacher. The strategies we have used in the past, even those that were successful, always have room for improvement. This is not even to mention that our classroom contexts are always changing and what worked for one group of students cannot be prescribed to a different group. Kittle shares her system, but in the same spirit mentioned above she notes that good teaching and relationships are more important than systems for tracking, responding, and rewarding. There are many ways to approach independent reading, and upon returning to this book, I want to outline some of the ideas and strategies I can utilize both in my final project and in my classroom.
Recording sheet: I already use this practice for many other record keeping purposes in the classroom, so implementing a recording sheet to keep track of both what my students are reading and who I have and have not conferenced with will e useful and manageable. I intend to have students choose a novel for independent reading on the first week of school, and since we are starting on a Thursday this year, they will likely have a weekend alone with their books before we dive into our first unit. I want students to have this space with their book. I also want to use her 10 minutes of sustained reading at a comfortable pace to help students set a goal for the semester. Passing around the record sheet will be easy enough, but conferences will be a more challenging task.
Before I began reading the specific chapter on conferences, I think my biggest fear and hesitation was that I would need to be having formal conferences with every student in a class period. I know that this is an impossible task on most any class day. Instead, Kittle shared that conferences often were more casual. I might stop by a student's desk while the read, and discuss what is happening in their novel or where their thinking is, or ask what they plan to read next. Second, I don't need to talk to every kid every day. One day I may talk to five, the next day two, and some days none. My goal specifically is going to be to cycle through the list so that each student has a conference a week. I may find that this is not something I can maintain, and then we flex and adjust.
The texts that we read as a whole class, and the texts students read in small groups are listed in my syllabus, and when parents sign the syllabus, I note that they are agreeing that these texts are suitable for their children. Our new policy on sensitive texts, puts the onus of responsibility on the parent, and not the teacher. This means that we are required as teachers to let parents know about the kind of reading we will be doing (via our website or our syllabus) and parents are then required to approach the teacher if an alternate assignment is requested. They won't be advertised. Independent reading is somewhat different in that it will not be as easy for me to let parents know every single text that is on the menu, but I do plan to amend my syllabus to reflect our independent reading goals. Kittle explains that this means being honest with parents that there is no way you can read everything students read, but to encourage them to be involved in their student's reading lives because there is some content that will be offensive to some and not to others and vice versa. I think Kittle's suggestions align with our new policy in a way that says "Hey parents/guardians, here is the deal. Your move."
Thinking specifically about the work that will happen in our first unit, I want to use the book talk + text study format that Kittle mentions. Students will be reading a YA novel as a whole group, but I want to encourage their independent reading alongside this task because most of the whole group reading will happen in class. I also want to set the expectations for reading high from the start. In this unit, students will be learning the basic of literary analysis while also using their knowledge of how authors employ devices to create a desired effect to craft their own writing. I see this structure Kittle mentions as a way to expose my students to more texts they may consider reading while also increasing their writing skills. The bulk of the fiction practice happens on Friday, and students practice employ the devices they learned about this week. I imagine reading a piece of a mentor text aloud and letting that serve as a book talk and mentor text to inspire further reading, but also to jump start the writing task for the day.
Some smaller goals that I want to work into regular practice are:
-Book talks- all the time- once a day even.
-First chapter Fridays (where I choose a novel from the shelf and read a chapter aloud)
-Once a week, I will have an additional 20 minutes with each class period. For my freshmen specifically I want to make their independent reading lives a priority during this space.
One quote I'm left wrestling with is "we simply don't ask enough of students" (Kittle, p. 81). I want to embrace this, but then I think about my students with rigorous course loads who spend HOURS at night on homework. I think about the assigned reading that I sometimes ask them to do at home- is there space for more on those nights? I think about students who go straight to practice, or straight to work, or straight to care for siblings or grandparents. I want to ask more of my students, but I also want to respect their lives, academic and personal, outside of my room.
Going into my fourth year in the classroom, I've come to realize that I will likely never perfect my classroom practices, but I think that is an essential part of being an effective teacher. The strategies we have used in the past, even those that were successful, always have room for improvement. This is not even to mention that our classroom contexts are always changing and what worked for one group of students cannot be prescribed to a different group. Kittle shares her system, but in the same spirit mentioned above she notes that good teaching and relationships are more important than systems for tracking, responding, and rewarding. There are many ways to approach independent reading, and upon returning to this book, I want to outline some of the ideas and strategies I can utilize both in my final project and in my classroom.
Recording sheet: I already use this practice for many other record keeping purposes in the classroom, so implementing a recording sheet to keep track of both what my students are reading and who I have and have not conferenced with will e useful and manageable. I intend to have students choose a novel for independent reading on the first week of school, and since we are starting on a Thursday this year, they will likely have a weekend alone with their books before we dive into our first unit. I want students to have this space with their book. I also want to use her 10 minutes of sustained reading at a comfortable pace to help students set a goal for the semester. Passing around the record sheet will be easy enough, but conferences will be a more challenging task.
Before I began reading the specific chapter on conferences, I think my biggest fear and hesitation was that I would need to be having formal conferences with every student in a class period. I know that this is an impossible task on most any class day. Instead, Kittle shared that conferences often were more casual. I might stop by a student's desk while the read, and discuss what is happening in their novel or where their thinking is, or ask what they plan to read next. Second, I don't need to talk to every kid every day. One day I may talk to five, the next day two, and some days none. My goal specifically is going to be to cycle through the list so that each student has a conference a week. I may find that this is not something I can maintain, and then we flex and adjust.
The texts that we read as a whole class, and the texts students read in small groups are listed in my syllabus, and when parents sign the syllabus, I note that they are agreeing that these texts are suitable for their children. Our new policy on sensitive texts, puts the onus of responsibility on the parent, and not the teacher. This means that we are required as teachers to let parents know about the kind of reading we will be doing (via our website or our syllabus) and parents are then required to approach the teacher if an alternate assignment is requested. They won't be advertised. Independent reading is somewhat different in that it will not be as easy for me to let parents know every single text that is on the menu, but I do plan to amend my syllabus to reflect our independent reading goals. Kittle explains that this means being honest with parents that there is no way you can read everything students read, but to encourage them to be involved in their student's reading lives because there is some content that will be offensive to some and not to others and vice versa. I think Kittle's suggestions align with our new policy in a way that says "Hey parents/guardians, here is the deal. Your move."
Thinking specifically about the work that will happen in our first unit, I want to use the book talk + text study format that Kittle mentions. Students will be reading a YA novel as a whole group, but I want to encourage their independent reading alongside this task because most of the whole group reading will happen in class. I also want to set the expectations for reading high from the start. In this unit, students will be learning the basic of literary analysis while also using their knowledge of how authors employ devices to create a desired effect to craft their own writing. I see this structure Kittle mentions as a way to expose my students to more texts they may consider reading while also increasing their writing skills. The bulk of the fiction practice happens on Friday, and students practice employ the devices they learned about this week. I imagine reading a piece of a mentor text aloud and letting that serve as a book talk and mentor text to inspire further reading, but also to jump start the writing task for the day.
Some smaller goals that I want to work into regular practice are:
-Book talks- all the time- once a day even.
-First chapter Fridays (where I choose a novel from the shelf and read a chapter aloud)
-Once a week, I will have an additional 20 minutes with each class period. For my freshmen specifically I want to make their independent reading lives a priority during this space.
One quote I'm left wrestling with is "we simply don't ask enough of students" (Kittle, p. 81). I want to embrace this, but then I think about my students with rigorous course loads who spend HOURS at night on homework. I think about the assigned reading that I sometimes ask them to do at home- is there space for more on those nights? I think about students who go straight to practice, or straight to work, or straight to care for siblings or grandparents. I want to ask more of my students, but I also want to respect their lives, academic and personal, outside of my room.
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