The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, once said that we make time for what we value.
Therefore, it’s essential, when lesson planning, to write “Independent Reading” in first. That way it doesn’t get pushed aside when the week gets busy. Face it: all of the weeks are busy! And if you’re not filling the days with important work, how exactly are you having your students spend their time?
That being said, I try to start every class period with a Book Talk and Independent Reading. With some 180 days of class, my students are exposed to tons of new titles to support their choice reading. This is a priority, so we do right when the bell rings.
It looks something like this:
Create some kind of emotional hook.
“Does anyone have those days where you feel like your family doesn’t really get you or have time for you? The book I’m going to chat with you about today speaks right to those feelings.”
This has to be brief. Don’t stress about doing anything fancy. A lot of the time, I connect back to movies or TV shows that I know my students enjoy. For example, last week I chatted with my students about Lauren Myracle’s Shine. All I did was ask, “Who is brave enough to watch crime shows on TV?” This interest in all things CSI was enough to get them interested.
Provide the book title, author, and genre/bookshelf location.
“Today’s book is Ask The Passengers by A.S. King. You’ll find it in our realistic fiction section. We also have King’s Please Ignore Vera Dietz and Everybody Sees the Ants.”
Sometimes, I’ll connect it to other titles by the author or similar books by other authors. This helps remind students of other books we’ve talked about, read, or watched the book trailer {Here’s my playlist of book trailers on YouTube. Note it’s not a comprehensive list of all the great book trailers out there.}
Read a page or two of a high-interest/non-spoiler-filled section of the book.
“I’m going to read you a passage right from the beginning where our main character Astrid is talking about this lack of connection with those around her.”
I generally only read a page or two of the book. Sometimes, I have myself organized enough to mark the page early that I want to read; however, most of the time I flip through the book during passing period to find the scene that I want to share.
Build hype by filling the Waiting List.
“Who would like to be on the waiting list?”
Various students will raise hands enthusiastically. I sometimes write names of students on a sticky note and place it on the front page of the book.
After that, I no longer hold responsibility for the waiting list. You are relinquished from this responsibility, too. You’ve got too much on your plate to manage this business.
Once the first student on the list finishes the book, he/she passes it to the next kid on the list. If that kid isn’t ready for it, he/she moves to the next name. If no one is ready for the book at that time, the book returns to the shelf and waits for someone there.
Don’t worry. If the book is on their To-Read List, they’ll come back to it when they’re ready.
The point of the waiting list is to build hype for your reluctant readers. It allows them to get a clear visual summary of what type of reader might read this type of book.
Remind kids to add the title to their To-Read lists.
“Be sure to add this title to you To-Read list, if you’re interested.”
Any time my students are Speed Dating, doing a Book Waterfall, or listening to a Book Talk, they take out their To-Read Lists.
I used to use a printed document for their To-Read lists, but I’ve found it’s easier for me and more authentic for the kids to just create a To-Read list in the back of their Writer’s Notebooks.
This is not very “fancy,” but it builds on those life-long reader skills. I don’t know any adult reader that maintains a printed document of their upcoming titles. Some of my more tech-savvy students choose to use the Goodreads app on the phone or Chromebook to keep track of these lists.
Step back as they become more independent readers.
Whatever format a student chooses, To-Read Lists should provide space for students to quickly jot down the title, author, and genre. This helps kids find books that we previously talked about.
I don’t know about your students, but at the start of the year mine continuously ask,
“Mrs. Beaton, what’s the name of that one book you told us about a few weeks ago? You know, that one where <insert vague comment here>.”
Creating a To-Read list falls under Donalyn Miller‘s Reading in the Wild idea about teaching kids to always have a reading plan. It builds independence.
Imagine the next time you’re conferring with a kid. You ask Jeremy what he’s planning to read next. He responds right away by saying, “Oh! I’ve got like five good things on my To-Read list!”
Whoo hoo! Friends, this is independence. Well done.
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