---- William Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have a concern that I've noticed and was wondering if anyone else has > noticed anything similar..... they ALL say they hate to read. They see no > purpose to > reading. They only read because they have to read.
Interesting question since I too have wondered how to motivate my 7th graders. While teaching 6th grade, I instituted an at-home reading program. I provide the reading log (name of book, pages read, minutes read and a one or two sentence summary or reflection of what was read in that time). Every night students are required to read 15 minutes....7 days a week....at home. There are some complaints and many students struggle with the zero they receive if the log is not turned in every two weeks. My purpose for at home reading is two-fold. First, students need to be reading if they are going to find material that is interesting to them. Secondly, the habit of daily reading will help get them become better readers for life. Using the comparison of a person learning to play a musical instrument, I explain that to play well, you must practice....the same is true for reading. Practicing reading and trying new genres will help in discovering the value of reading. Oral read every day to your students. Select joke books, sports and news articles, trivia, etc. -- not only "literature." Everyone will not be interested in Dickens, Twain, Bradbury, etc., but some will. I also gave my students a table of 10 different genres they need to sample. Their goal is to try reading at least one book over the school year from each genre. There is no "prize" or grade attached, just the fact that I will be checking their progress at the end of every marking period. I think once we introduce and provide time for reading, as well as teaching our students how to comprehend, be fluent readers and critical thinkers, we need to let them experiment with the types of reading they enjoy and appreciate. Ann _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
