Let Them Read

As I started to read "You Gotta BE the Book" what really struck me was aesthetic reading. Here he talked about how he had not realized that students were just reading for information. This is how students become bored of the reading. We have been brought through high school skimming for useless information and not really required to read the actual story. It shocked me that teachers would not realize that is why students are not interested in reading on their own.

I did not enjoy reading because we had to read books that were just to get the information for filling out packets or basic questions. He journaled about one student who read for fun at home, experiencing the aesthetic side of reading. This is when they get to live through their reading and the stories. I wish that I had been taught in a different way to engage in the stories, much like young kids do. We grow up loving books and wanting to read more...maybe just to avoid going to bed, but even the girl he read to knew the story as if she was actually part of it... Then we stop doing this, and do more searching for information.

He then talks about how Rosenblatt never said specifically what strategies to use in engaging students with the reading. This has been a struggle for me as I read through books like this. They tell you what not to do, but not specifically what TO do. I share this frustration with him a lot! You go on to learning what works best for others and yourself in your own classroom. I plan to use his two big points: teaching with clarity of purpose and being more social in the classroom. They are vague, but reminds you that the students need to know what to get out of the reading and why they are doing it. It also helps them to engage with each other, giving them time to experience the reading with others and connecting to it. This way students can get much more out of the reading, "a need to learn relationally from characters, author, and experts through their transactions with various texts."

Here is a LINK that talks about why students are bored in class... This can connect with reading as well. It talks about sitting too long and the teacher talking too much- this can be avoided by using more social work in the classroom. It also talks about directing too much, and observing too little. This can also be a factor of why students aren't living through their reading- because teachers aren't giving them the space to be their own person and think their own thoughts.

In Clearing the Way,  this quote really captured my attention. "As English teachers our major responsibility is to enfranchise student in our classes to such a degree that they think of themselves as writers, as those who use written language to both discover thinking and communicate thought, who boldly try varied forms of writing, using them to meet their needs." I thought that it was a little overwhelming... Like who am I to influence students in a way that makes them want to think of themselves as writers. What if I fail and turn students away from reading and writing. What if I don't equip my students with these 'varied forms of writing' in order to make each of them successful?
As I continued to read, these thoughts calmed. Romano gives plenty of ideas to begin to give these varied forms of writing... He says we are responsible to allow the students to engage their creative side throughout their writing processes. The many ways he discusses need to be incorporated in lesson plans about the reading you are working with. He talks about how writing about a dramatic encounter leads students to creative and realistic thinking. Prose is also another way, which takes many forms such as journal entries, profile of a character, editorials, prequels or sequels. Songs can be written to be more engaging and fun. Poetry gives students a chance to write in a way that they may want to- many poetic forms. This LINK shows many possibilities for poetry writing, and some books that you could use while teaching poetry.

I realized that there are endless possibilities when it comes to writing; I will just have to learn as I progress with each student. Using a variety of writing styles aside from essays will help to engage students in their work and make them excited to do more. You just have to keep them on the edge of their seat!

Conferencing

After I read Clearing the Way chapter 7- "The Crucial Role of Conferencing," I realized how much conferencing mattered in my own development as a reader. 

How to conference: sit down next to your student (not in front of, to avoid eyes on the student), talk about how their writing is going, read through it, do not correct the grammar or spelling, work on pointing out what is powerful and what they can focus on in a positive way, be available to talk to the students about their writing when they need it.

This LINK talks about the process of conferencing. At the end it also has sheets attached to use in order to keep track of the conferences you have with each student. (Great idea for younger kids.)
Romano works with one specific student on a poem she is trying to write throughout her entire process. Due to how he pointed out the strong points of her poem, good work choices, and gave feedback in a constructive way, she continued to come to him to seek advice for her writing until it was a finished piece. When you do conferencing this way, it encourages students and makes them feel good about what they are writing.

In my AP English class, I was first exposed to this conferencing. I had never met with any teacher to go over my writing; I just wrote, turned it in, and got a grade. When I was able to meet with my AP English teacher, I started to improve my writing skills. I learned how to pick out the strengths of my writing and how to bring them out. Conferencing definitely is something that I want to include in my teaching career.