Like many other teachers and parents, I have been struggling with how can I encourage my students to read more, love reading, and think deeply about their readings. In the past, I have assigned students reading logs where they have to keep track of the minutes read each week. My hope was that by recording reading minutes, reading would become a routine part of a day, students would be diving deep into books, and students would be expanding their vocabulary.
Well, with some students, I did see this. However, I started to recognize that many students were not becoming readers. They were just reading without purpose. Students were equating “good readers” with those who happened to have read the most minutes in a week. When in fact, many of those so called, “good readers”, were reading the same type of book repeatedly without having to think much. Many times I would hear from families that after 20 minutes, students would stop reading regardless of where they were in the story. Even my own son would just close his book mid-sentence simply because his “20 minutes” had passed. The burning desire to discover how a plot unfolds was missing. Students saw reading as a chore. The purpose was lost in the minutes. Though it is vital for aspiring strong readers to read consistently on a daily basis, there needs to be a greater purpose than that of just recording minutes. Last year, a colleague introduced to me Donalyn Miller’s 40 Book Challenge. The philosophy behind the 40 Book Challenge is to promote a reading community, which inspires students to discover different genres and different reading experiences. Donalyn Miller writes, “The 40 Book Challenge is meant to expand students’ reading lives, not limit or define it.” As students explore a multitude of various genres and diverse authors, they begin to question, to search for related readings, and to make inferences. No longer are they caught up in how many minutes they read, but in the content of what they read and what topic or genre they would like to explore next. The challenge promotes a higher order of thinking and thus illuminates the purpose of reading : to learn. The 40 Book Challenge holds students accountable for reading, while allowing them to experience the value of a text. The 40 Book Challenge motivates students to explore their interests and unveil perspectives, topics, and worlds unbeknown to them. The 40 Book Challenge exposes students to an array of writing styles and vocabulary. The 40 Book Challenge creates life long readers. I highly recommend checking out Donalyn Miller's blog (link below). She is a reading guru and an inspiration to me both as a teacher and as a parent. Donalyn Miller's blog Comments are closed.
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Have fun following our fabulous 4th grade journey! Important Dates
August 22nd- First Day!
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