"Read with Expression"

I used to be a high school English teacher. I taught everything from English 7 to English 12, Communications 11, Honours 10 and 11, Advanced Placement English Language and English Literature. I switched roles about 8 years ago and slowly became a full time Learning Assistance teacher about 4 years ago.  I shifted from a deep and diverse literary existence to doing a lot of math and Science!  The students I have may or may not have a reading disability and if they do, the impact it has on their schooling varies as well.  So, most of my work that focusses on reading is about remedial, skills based intervention. However, since enrolling in the diploma program to become a librarian, I have realized the tremendous overlap between these worlds and have started treating my LA world as more of a mini learning commons. I have purposefully promote reading to all of my students to build more of a life-long learning and reading enjoyment culture in my room.  There are three things have contributed to this and all three are things I can't wait to do on a school wide level when I get to be a librarian:

1.       Shredded book contest. You photocopy a few pages of a text (for my particular goals I went with books I knew the students would know. I even picked books with sequels or movie adaptations in hopes of increasing the number of students who knew the book) then slice them up on a paper cutter and shove them in a glass jar with some key clues visible. The kids can hold the jar, rotate the jar but they cannot open it or use the internet to figure it out. This was insanely popular – so much so that I had to reign the kids back in they were so loud and rambunctious when they realized they knew the book. Classroom teachers have been popping by to see if they can guess too!  I am so pleased that my little contest is connecting my kids to other teachers in such a positive way. I put up a new contest every two-three weeks or so and the kids get on me if I have forgotten. The down side to this is that it doesn't encourage them to pick up a book now or in the future as much as it recognizes reading that has taken place in the past.  I am hoping I can address this in future years.

               

                                 

2.       Freedom to Read week. I put up information about this event and brought in one of my daughter's books that was on a banned list, And Tango Makes Three, and left them in my classroom for approximately 2 weeks.  We had heaps of discussions about why books are banned and some kids checked out some books on banned lists. Teenagers love the idea of banned books but unfortunately, it is only a week a year. I think I will need to find ways to stretch it out to last many more weeks. Maybe I have a featured banned book every two weeks from different genres or reading levels to accommodate the wide variety of skill in my LA room.

                            

3.       ERAC. I am an ERAC evaluator and I usually get books in groups of two. I bring in the books and let the kids check them out. After reading the dust jackets, they usually make a prediction about which books they think I will like better. (I am a big fan of "accidentally" advertising reading to kids.) After I read them, I let the kids know what I thought of the books and try to connect specific kids with certain books. I have a shelf in my classroom where I put my former ERAC books that they are welcome to borrow for a class, a week, or a month. I get to be a personal book recommender to my students. The neat thing about this is that I know their reading interests as well as their fluency and comprehension levels so recommending books becomes much easier.

To expand, I did an extensive search of school websites in my district. (I always like to start local because I tend to know the context in which they are working which helps when you are assessing whether it is something you would like to adopt.) I couldn't find a single Learning Assistance stand-alone website. I did find a few that had posted information on the main school website though.  I really liked Bankhead Elementary's Literacy Intervention Teacher's posting that included websites and iPad apps somewhat ranked by usage. I wanted to share this great example that focuses on technology as a way to encourage struggling readers because it spills out of the school walls and supports parents, teachers, and community members who are there to help those reluctant readers. Check it out at Bankhead Elementary literacy help.

Next year's goal: I would love to do a take on the video "Read with Expression" to encourage reading at my school. I see showing this video to the school (making prosody a focus) and filming clips of kids first reading like a robot and then reading with expression from their favorite text. We have an in-house tv show that is student created which airs probably every two weeks. I think this would be an excellent recurring segment throughout the year.

References

Bankhead Elementary. (n.d.). Literacy Help. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from http://www.bhe.sd23.bc.ca/ELP/Pages/default.aspx

Book and Periodical Council. (n.d.). Freedom to Read Kit 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from http://www.freedomtoread.ca/kits/freedom-to-read-kit-2018/#.WwofB3ovzIU

Google Image Search. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2018, from https://www.google.ca/search?q=and tango makes three&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT1Luw86TbAhUULX0KHZDrC4UQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=588&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=xINqdki3Arzl_M:

GoNoodleGames. (2016, September 14). Don't Read Like a Robot - Fresh Blazer. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtPMiumixA