By Teens, For Teens

Recently, I was introduced to a publication called Teen Ink (www.teenink.com).  This is a monthly magazine in which students can read poetry, short stories, nonfiction articles, book reviews, and interviews written by their peers.  Because publication relies solely on contributions from teenage students, and because the contributors are teenagers, the content of the writing is very easy to relate to and engaging to high school students.  I can’t recall how many times I've chosen what I thought was a high-interest article, just to be met with groans of boredom from my students.  Before purchasing a subscription, I did a test-drive.  I copied a couple of articles from a sample edition of Teen Ink and the feedback was positive. The students said that it really mattered to them that the authors of the articles were their age; they bought into it so much more.  I was thrilled with their response to the magazine, and needless to say, I have purchased a subscription for my students!  

Student choice in sharing their reading

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about students' resistance to read and write.  I completely agree that it is enjoyable to be able to just sit down and read a book without having to write about it as well, but I tell students it is important that they share what they are reading, and the best way to do this is by creating and presenting some sort of project to the class.  Of course, this is also the way I assess their progress and hold them accountable for reading.  In order to make this less painful for students is to allow them choice when deciding how they will share the novel they've read.  It's always something visual, so that other students will be drawn in, and hopefully persuaded to also read the book, and it is usually something creative and fun to create.  Some of the choices I've offered include story boards with important quotations from the novel, book trailers, collages in which students include and explain important symbols in the novel, and movie posters, to name a few.  When students listen to their classmates' presentations, I make them take notes and write down the titles of books they are interested in reading next, and this way, they have a list of novels they might read for future novel assignments or even for leisure.

The Maze Runner

Of all the novels I have read for the annotated bibliography I am creating for my Adolescent Literature class, The Maze Runner by James Dashner probably one of the most compelling.  This is the first in a series, and it definitely left me wanting to read the rest.  The story begins with Thomas, the protagonist, emerging from a box into a place called The Glade, with a bunch of boys he doesn't know.  He doesn't know where he came from or how he got there; the only thing he can remember is his first name.  The first several chapters draw in the reader very successfully; the reader is just as confused as Thomas as he tries to figure out what is happening.  The reader also begins to feel more at ease as Thomas starts to feel more comfortable in his new surroundings.  Thomas learns that he has been dropped into a maze that has no apparent solution.  He also learns that the walls to the maze close at night, and while the maze mysteriously transforms in the dark, terrifying creatures roam the maze, searching for Gladers foolish enough to stay in the maze after dark.  Eventually, Thomas begins to realize that the maze is very familiar, and one day, the first girl ever shows up in the box, and Thomas begins to piece together memories from his previous life.  With the girl's help, Thomas hopes to figure out the mysteries surrounding the maze and free himself and his new friends from this prison...

As soon as I finished this novel, I knew it would be a perfect selection for literature circles in my intensive reading class.  This is the type of novel that is engaging and near impossible to put down.  Not only is it very high interest, suspenseful, and thrilling, even for reluctant readers, but it also inspires a great deal of discussion, especially in the beginning when there is a lot of confusion in the novel.  This novel has been one of the most sought-after selections this year so far, and I have had to buy additional copies of this book to keep the demands at bay!  I would love it if I had this reaction to every book I offer to my students.  My goal is to find additional novels that elicit this reaction from students.

Here is a Q&A with the author, James Dashner.  In this interview, he discusses his inspiration for writing The Maze Runner and what readers can expect in the next two books in the trilogy.

"Beyond the Yellow Highlighter"

Today I read Carol Porter-O'Donnell's article "Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension," and immediately thought of ways that I can incorporate these ideas with my students.  Because I teach Intensive Reading, I have many students who have difficulties comprehending what they read, so the title of the article hooked me instantly.  While reading the article, I especially liked the students' comments the author included, explaining that the annotation process helped them to slow down and think about what they read.

Students can benefit from the annotation process in many ways.  First, they obviously learn more being active readers, and if they share their annotations with classmates, they are teaching one another.  Even if the annotations are questions, predictions or reflections, it is very beneficial for students to be exposed to the varying perspectives of their peers.  Additionally, students begin to realize that reading is a process, and because they are actively thinking about what they are reading, they "discover and uncover ideas that would not have emerged otherwise."  The process of annotation is beneficial to both struggling and advanced readers.  Struggling readers will begin to understand surface ideas and also build the skills needed to read for deeper ideas and concepts, and more proficient readers will hone their literary analysis skills through the practice of annotation.

It's always difficult to teach students comprehension skills.  I always suggest that they be active readers.  I tell them to stop after each page or paragraph and ask themselves questions about what they have read, but annotation is a much better solution.  Teaching students this skill will help them become not only better readers, but more active learners, and also critical thinkers, and isn't that what we really want our students to gain?  We want them to be independent thinkers and problem solvers so that they can be as successful as possible once they leave our classrooms.  What a wonderful, insightful article!  I wish I had read it sooner!

“You mean I have to read and write??”

It’s not always enough for students to just read.  The writing component is equally as important, since reading and writing go hand in hand.  Good readers are often good writers, and good writers have often become good writers because they read.  A lot.  But, readers who don’t practice writing won’t improve their writing skills, and let’s face it: someone who cannot communicate well in writing is at a huge disadvantage.  So, when my students whine, “Why can’t we just read?  Why do we have to write something too?”, I try to explain the connection between reading and writing.  They may not buy it now, but hopefully they will thank me later.

So, for this reason, I think it is important that students not only write about what they read, but also reflect on it.  Anyone can summarize a chapter, but it requires deeper thinking to be able to evaluate the text and think critically about it.  I face a good deal of resistance from many students when I ask them to write reflections.  Perhaps they don’t like to write about their opinions, or perhaps it is easier to just write what happened in the story.  Nevertheless, reflecting, predicting, evaluating, analyzing and making connections are skills that students need to learn, and it also helps me to get a better understanding of their background knowledge and past experiences so I can help guide them. 

In keeping with this idea, part of the students’ literature circles assignment is to reflect on the section of the novel they read after their group discussion.  This way, they can reflect upon something interesting their group talked about, explore an idea they thought was intriguing or confusing, and make further connections with characters, ideas, or situations in the novel. Hopefully, this will help the students hone their writing, thinking, and reading skills while reading something of their choice.  

Metacognition

Sometimes it is a challenge to get students to read, even if they are given an opportunity to choose their own novel.  Some kids just dislike reading.  It is an even bigger challenge to get those students to think about what they are reading and to engage in the text.  I’ve often asked myself: what is the best way to get students to think critically about what they read and to make connections?  How does an educator go about teaching students this skill?  Good readers are active readers, so how do we make our kids read actively?

I went to a conference over the weekend, and one of the speakers I saw had also considered these questions, and has employed the “Questioning as Thinking” (QaT)framework as a solution.  If students become aware of their thoughts while reading, they will become more active, and hopefully, better readers.  Using a framework such as this one, students can virtually read anything – magazines, newspapers, fiction, or non-fiction – and still benefit from the exercise in metacognition.    

Most reading teachers have heard of and have likely employed metacognition strategies such as this and  QAR (Question-Answer Relationships), so it really isn’t anything new or innovative, but hearing the speaker reveal how she uses QAR and QaT to motivate her 11^th and 12^th grade Intensive Reading students was inspiring and gave me many ideas on how I can continue to incorporate strategies to engage students, get them to really think while they read, and ultimately become better readers as a result.

What other strategies can teachers use to engage their students and guide them to think critically about the texts they read?