Eric Kay, Hot Springs Middle School,
Thermopolis, WY
I am looking at reading programs, specifically
the one I currently use in my classroom, and what motivates students to read
for pleasure. I feel, especially as an English teacher, that kids need to have
time to free read quality material that interests them. Students are very busy
with their other schoolwork, so I want to provide time for them in class to
read. They are not permitted to read comic books or catalogs, (I want
sentences!) but are permitted to read magazines. I am also looking into other
"motivational" reading programs.
This year I am teaching Freshmen English for the first time. Because of this,
I have the same students this year that I taught last year as 8th graders.
This has allowed me to start a new program and take a concentrated look at
what my students gained from the program that I've done in the past with the
8th grade.
To do this, I have polled my students on what they gained from my program last
year. I have also taken a more involved approach to my students' free reading,
structuring in questionnaire-type worksheets that help students explain and
critically explore the material they are reading so that they can discuss it
in a large group setting.
We are on the block schedule so I have a new group this term (since
Christmas). I have crunched the numbers from 1st term. I have also
"tweaked" the questionnaires so that I can get a little bit more
information. I have continued to look into more and different reading programs
to just gain as much insight into motivating readers as I can. Now that I have
the numbers from 1st term crunched, I need to examine those numbers and see
where they lead me. |