In honor of Banned Book Week I’ve decided to post a couple of videos from last year’s students. Controlling what kids read in the classroom is a form of censorship that can kill a student’s love for reading. Enjoy!
This boy moved to our class mid-year. His old school used Lexile to determine student reading.
This video shows how teaching students how to pick books is must more powerful then assigning them books:
Jen V.
September 28, 2011 at 1:13 am
Awesome. I love it. It is so powerful to hear what the students are actually saying about AR tests and lexiles. My favorite was when the first boy talked about how he came to your school and kids were reading just like they play video games or watch TV. That is awesome. What a cool description.
Read Aloud Dad
September 28, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Fantastic Colby. I love the genuiness of these two moments.
It is so touching, yet also sad that we (adults) sometimes put them through all these experiments instead of just granting them a simple freedom – like choosing a book of their own liking to read.
These two videos got me thinking. Are we adults really so estranged from children sometimes? Alas, I feel we are.
Congratulations for putting the “READ” back in “Reading”.
Read Aloud Dad
Lorna
September 30, 2011 at 12:27 am
Thanks for sharing, Colby! I’m all for choices, but I’m wondering about the student who picks up a book that topic wise they’re interested in, but skill wise they’re not ready to read on their own. Do we let them struggle and get frustrated? Have it be a read aloud? suggest another book? Just curious on your thoughts. I struggle with that.
Colby Sharp
September 30, 2011 at 4:22 pm
I think some kids need more support. If a kids is really struggling I might pull as many titles as I can for their “level” and sit and read with them. We talk about what it feels like to read these types of books, and how it feels to read books that we just are not quite ready for yet. Important to put the supports in place to help them learn what independent reading looks and feels like.
Kristin McIlhagga
September 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Thank yo so much for sharing these – and thanks to the students for sharing their thoughts. I teach children’s literature in a teacher preparation program and am always looking to share the ideas and opinions of younger students in my classes. I’m always looking for ways to help my students (who want to someday be teachers) see how much young students can DO with reading. There is such a common theme of “kids won’t like that” or “how can I teach when everyone is reading something different” — I push against these assumptions but to be able to give authentic examples means so much more. Keep doing what you do!
I’ll definitely be sharing these.
Colby Sharp
September 30, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Glad you liked the video. Hope it helps. GO STATE!