Reading Engagement
Consider the following scenario:
A grade two student comes into the library, on his own, to choose books. He is usually an enthusiastic science book fan (insects, tigers, sharks). He looks sad and defeated and says: “My Mom says that from now on I have to have take out chapter books to help my reading and they have to be a 2.4”.
Student engagement is paramount in literacy instruction. Before worrying about benchmarks and levels, we need to foster a love of reading in our students. Early reading habits can have significant effects on reading, writing, and empathy so it is vital that we engage students early on (Bavishi, Slade & Levy, 2016; Reynolds, 2016). I understand the concerns of the grade two student's mother in the given scenario; however, barring any underlying learning difficulties, reading "at grade level" will come with practice. As the teacher librarian, I would want to respect the mother's wishes while also keeping the child's best interests in mind.
My first course of action would be to find books in the library catalogue that satisfy both the child's and mother's desires. Books can also be borrowed from other libraries in the school district if necessary. Through a quick Google search I found many chapter books that match the content that the child enjoys.
1) The Shark School series
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81l6C%2B5b5hL.jpg)
2) Who Would Win? Killer Whale vs Great White Shark
(https://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/59/9780545160759_mres.jpg)
3) Pedro and the Shark
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51eST0-gdML._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
4) Attack of the Shark Headed Zombie
( https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91ry3GQOKvL.jpg)
5) Ballpark Mysteries: Tiger Troubles
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91MDQc5XeOL.jpg)
6) Would Would Win? Lion vs Tiger
(https://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/15/9780545175715_mres.jpg)
7) Insect Invaders (Magic School Bus Chapter Book)
As the teacher librarian, I would also like to touch-base with the student's classroom teacher to provide some at-home reading strategies that might be helpful for the family.
Read to Self
Books that are just at instructional level for the child may be read independently or out loud with an adult. These books typically have no more than three words that challenge the child per page. The adult takes a backseat role while the child is in control of the reading.
Shared Reading
Books that are just above the child's reading level can be read with greater support from the adult. Children and adults may take turns reading pages, paragraphs, and even sentences. This type of reading enables the child to enjoy the book without feeling overwhelmed by the amount of decoding needed to follow the story. The adult takes more of a hands-on role in a shared reading and will need to assist the child in reading strategies.
Read Aloud
In this type of reading the adult takes on the role of reader and the child as listener. Read alouds can enable children to enjoy the content that they like at a more challenging reading level. Although the child is not reading themselves, they are still benefiting from hearing sophisticated vocabulary, reading fluency, and expression.
Parent Meeting
If the child's mother was receptive to at-home reading strategies, I would like to invite her in for a meeting to discuss reading levels. While non-fiction books may appear to be less challenging than chapter books, they often contain complex vocabulary. It would be interesting to check the reading levels of some of the books that the child normally takes out because I have a feeling they would be at grade level, if not higher. I think it is important that we allow children the space to figure out their identities as readers. Gaiman (2013) fondly remembers the librarians from his childhood, "They had no snobbery about anything I read. They just seemed to like that there was this wide-eyed little boy who loved to read, and would talk to me about the books I was reading, they would find me other books in a series, they would help. They treated me as another reader – nothing less or more – which meant they treated me with respect" (para. 26). It should be our joint goal to respect, support, and empower children in their reading.
References
Bavishi, A., Slade, M. D., & Levy, B. R. (2016). A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 164, 44-48.
Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu
Reynolds, Susan. (June 7, 2016). What you read matters more than you might think. Psychology Today. Retrieved from:https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prime-your-gray-cells/201606/what-you-read-matters-more-you-might-think
A grade two student comes into the library, on his own, to choose books. He is usually an enthusiastic science book fan (insects, tigers, sharks). He looks sad and defeated and says: “My Mom says that from now on I have to have take out chapter books to help my reading and they have to be a 2.4”.
Student engagement is paramount in literacy instruction. Before worrying about benchmarks and levels, we need to foster a love of reading in our students. Early reading habits can have significant effects on reading, writing, and empathy so it is vital that we engage students early on (Bavishi, Slade & Levy, 2016; Reynolds, 2016). I understand the concerns of the grade two student's mother in the given scenario; however, barring any underlying learning difficulties, reading "at grade level" will come with practice. As the teacher librarian, I would want to respect the mother's wishes while also keeping the child's best interests in mind.
My first course of action would be to find books in the library catalogue that satisfy both the child's and mother's desires. Books can also be borrowed from other libraries in the school district if necessary. Through a quick Google search I found many chapter books that match the content that the child enjoys.
1) The Shark School series
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81l6C%2B5b5hL.jpg)
2) Who Would Win? Killer Whale vs Great White Shark
(https://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/59/9780545160759_mres.jpg)
3) Pedro and the Shark
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51eST0-gdML._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
4) Attack of the Shark Headed Zombie
( https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91ry3GQOKvL.jpg)
5) Ballpark Mysteries: Tiger Troubles
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91MDQc5XeOL.jpg)
6) Would Would Win? Lion vs Tiger
(https://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/15/9780545175715_mres.jpg)
7) Insect Invaders (Magic School Bus Chapter Book)
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| (https://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/12/9780439314312_mres.jpg) |
As the teacher librarian, I would also like to touch-base with the student's classroom teacher to provide some at-home reading strategies that might be helpful for the family.
Read to Self
Books that are just at instructional level for the child may be read independently or out loud with an adult. These books typically have no more than three words that challenge the child per page. The adult takes a backseat role while the child is in control of the reading.
Shared Reading
Books that are just above the child's reading level can be read with greater support from the adult. Children and adults may take turns reading pages, paragraphs, and even sentences. This type of reading enables the child to enjoy the book without feeling overwhelmed by the amount of decoding needed to follow the story. The adult takes more of a hands-on role in a shared reading and will need to assist the child in reading strategies.
Read Aloud
In this type of reading the adult takes on the role of reader and the child as listener. Read alouds can enable children to enjoy the content that they like at a more challenging reading level. Although the child is not reading themselves, they are still benefiting from hearing sophisticated vocabulary, reading fluency, and expression.
Parent Meeting
If the child's mother was receptive to at-home reading strategies, I would like to invite her in for a meeting to discuss reading levels. While non-fiction books may appear to be less challenging than chapter books, they often contain complex vocabulary. It would be interesting to check the reading levels of some of the books that the child normally takes out because I have a feeling they would be at grade level, if not higher. I think it is important that we allow children the space to figure out their identities as readers. Gaiman (2013) fondly remembers the librarians from his childhood, "They had no snobbery about anything I read. They just seemed to like that there was this wide-eyed little boy who loved to read, and would talk to me about the books I was reading, they would find me other books in a series, they would help. They treated me as another reader – nothing less or more – which meant they treated me with respect" (para. 26). It should be our joint goal to respect, support, and empower children in their reading.
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| (https://media.giphy.com/media/6caFk8QGyUkmY/giphy.gif) |
References
Bavishi, A., Slade, M. D., & Levy, B. R. (2016). A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 164, 44-48.
Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu
Reynolds, Susan. (June 7, 2016). What you read matters more than you might think. Psychology Today. Retrieved from:https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prime-your-gray-cells/201606/what-you-read-matters-more-you-might-think
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