Ray Bradbury and I would have been good friends...

“I still love books. Nothing a computer can do can compare to a book. You can't really put a book on the Internet. Three companies have offered to put books by me on the Net, and I said, 'If you can make something that has a nice jacket, nice paper with that nice smell, then we'll talk.' All the computer can give you is a manuscript. People don't want to read manuscripts. They want to read books. Books smell good. They look good. You can press it to your bosom. You can carry it in your pocket.” - Ray Bradbury

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” - Ray Bradbury

If I were to include every quote I love by Ray Bradbury, this post would go on for pages.  I'm not the kind of person who idolizes celebrities or would even care to meet anyone famous, but I would have loved to have met Ray Bradbury.  What an insightful, thoughtful, forward thinking man he was, and he had such a fresh outlook on the world.  If there were more people in the world like him, our world would be such a better place.

I love reading Fahrenheit 451 with my students.  It is one of my all-time favorite novels, and I sort of take it personally when a student tells me he doesn't like the book or that it's boring.  I feel like shaking him and yelling, "Read it more carefully!  Think about what Bradbury is saying!  He's brilliant, and there are so many thought-provoking ideas in the story!"  If I had a captive audience and a class full of students willing to discuss it with me, I could spend an entire semester picking out and talking about the "golden lines" in the novel.  There are so many connections to our current society it's almost scary, and when people give this novel a chance, I think they really appreciate the beauty of this story. 

For those that haven't read it, Mildred is protagonist Guy Montag's wife, and she is the epitome of idiocy. She represents the non-thinking, empty-minded, simpletons that make up the bulk of society in the novel.  I warn my students "Don't be a Mildred. How would you like to live in a world of Mildreds?"

Here is a video of Ray Bradbury speaking about his love of reading and Fahrenheit 451.  He was truly an inspiration, and the world will miss him.

“Magical. Enchanting. Spellbinding. Mesmerizing.”

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is unlike any novel I've read.  It is strangely compelling, and although it is very dark, it is a love story at the same time, and it's difficult to put down.  In this story, Marco and Celia, two illusionists, are unwittingly pitted against each other in a mysterious competition.  Le Cirque des Reves, or the Circus of Dreams, is the arena for this competition.  No summary of the novel can effectively prepare the reader for this haunting, suspenseful, strange, wonderful story.

One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the fact that it is told from many different perspectives and points of view.  At times, the story is even told in the second person, as if to draw the reader in and make him a part of the circus and feel as if he is really there.  First person and third person points of view are also present within the story, and this novel would be exemplary in a lesson on point of view.  As enticing as this novel is, it is written in a sophisticated fashion that would be appropriate for older or more advanced readers.  Struggling or reluctant readers may be turned off by the elevated style the author uses.

Check out the book trailer here:

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!

Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth is close to 500 pages, and I read it in two days.  I hadn't expected it to be so captivating and difficult to put down, and I was very pleasantly surprised.  My first impression was that it would be a Hunger Games rip-off, and there were definitely similarities, but I found myself even more enthralled with this novel than I was with The Hunger Games series.  Like Suzanne Collins' novels, Divergent has something for everyone: action, suspense, and some romance; however, the love story does not take over the main events of the plot, and the main character Tris is a strong, believable character.  Adults and teens alike will enjoy this story, and I wouldn't be surprised if a movie is on the horizon.

I found a fan-made book trailer on YouTube that I feel perfectly captures the tone and excitement of the novel.  The follow-up, Insurgent, is just as captivating, ending with a nail-biting cliffhanger.  The last installment of the trilogy doesn't come out until the fall of 2013, and I will be not-so-patiently waiting for its release!

I love recommending this book to my students, but the length scares some of them away.  Sending them to YouTube to view this trailer would be a great way to draw them in.  Once they start the book, they're hooked! 

(check out the Veronica Roth video bar in the sidebar to the right for author interviews and other video clips!)

Words as Art

Words can be really powerful.  Asking students to provide just a few words that define a piece of literature gives teachers a great insight into the students’ perspectives and understanding.  A great tool that uses words is Wordle (www.wordle.net).  This awesome website allows students to input words and then create a piece of artwork displaying those words in a visually appealing manner.  I've used these with my students in many different ways:

·         I've asked every student to provide a word (or a few words) that they feel best captures the main idea or essence of a particular piece of literature.  This works for novels, poetry, plays, short stories, or any text, really.  I suppose it would even work for a chapter in a science or history book as well.  Once I've compiled all words, I enter them into Wordle, and I’m able to create this amazing word cloud that I can edit by changing fonts, colors, and word arrangement.  One cool feature is that the higher frequency of a word, the larger it appears on the word cloud, so words the most popular words students provide are emphasized in the word cloud.

·         Wordles can also be assessment tools.  For example, students can make a word cloud using words that describe the main character and then present the Wordle, explaining why each word was included.

·         Students can choose especially captivating or enticing words that describe their novel to persuade fellow classmates to read it.

·         As a beginning-of-the-year ice-breaker activity, I’ve had students introduce themselves to the class by creating a Wordle in which they emphasize their most important characteristics or qualities by making those words appear larger in the word cloud.

·         I've also used Wordle for classroom decorations.  Just copy and paste the text or excerpts of a text into Wordle, and it creates a beautiful poster that you can get enlarged at a copy and print store.

There are really endless uses for this program, and I find that students really enjoy creating Wordles!  Any way I can assess my students without their knowledge is a plus!  Here is a Wordle I made that describes me.  I use this as a sample for my students:

Should we censor what our students read?

Books have been banned since their inception.  There will always be content that is considered offensive or inappropriate by somebody.  Two of the most common reasons to censor a novel are because of sexual content and references to drugs.  Students don’t usually mind reading about these topics, but parents feel that content of that sort is too mature for their children, and sometimes, I agree.  However, after reading a letter written by Laurie Halse Anderson in defense of her book TWISTED, I gained a completely different perspective.  Anderson raises valid points, and maybe it’s time we give teenagers a bit more credit.  Do we really want them to be completely sheltered from this type of content?  It may be difficult or uncomfortable for adults to talk about these types of issues with kids, but perhaps it is necessary.  Below are a few excerpts from Anderson’s letter:

“Here is the root – I suspect – of the parental concern about my book. TWISTED has scenes in which teenagers make stupid, dangerous, and occasionally horrifying decisions.

Why on earth would someone like me put things like that in a book?

Because readers who can experience those decisions – by reading about them – and appreciate the consequences of those actions – by seeing those consequences affect the lives of a book’s characters – are less likely to do the stupid, dangerous and occasionally horrifying things themselves.”

…

“The scenes in TWISTED that some parents might find offensive are reflections of the reality of our nation.  Many of our children are living it.  They are all surrounded by peers who are living it.  They watch Law & Order reruns after school, they read newspapers, they are aware of the latest scandals involving sex and violence.”

…

“Banning books does not protect teenagers.  It condemns them to ignorance and puts them in danger.”

Should school districts have the power to ban books?  If not, who should decide?

To read the entire letter, visit Anderson’s website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/censorship-book-banning/

Then, click on “Challenges to TWISTED.”

“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?