Changes in Room 408

Nearly one year ago I looked at my reading class and had a sad epiphany:

I have not helped them become readers.

In that moment I set out to find a way to change the situation. It was my main focus last summer, as I read many of the latest dimensions to classroom reading.

After determining a reading initiative with our reading coach, approved by our newly formed Literacy team, as well as school administration, our reading department committed to allowing our students at least 10 minutes of reading time every class.  In addition, they read 10 minutes in their lunch period class, even if it isn't a reading class.

This has been huge. My classroom library has grown, and the book check-outs massive (nearly 500 over three quarters.)  Our media center is hopping nearly every day.  And as I wrote in one of my previous blogs, this initiative has caused me to develop a larger reading identity myself through the goal-setting and commitment to daily reading. Who thought that could happen at age 63?  Not me!

Over the year I have given my readers various surveys. My thanks to Pernille Ripp (author of Passionate Readers) for the latest one, which I trimmed down for my classes. The first two questions are the focus of this survey results.

As I read through the answers, I felt a growing joy at what I was witnessing -- not only were many of my readers self-aware of their growth as readers, many of them connected it to their ability to think. In fact, one of the most profound statements on the survey came from an unexpected source -- a 6th grade girl named Aubrey:

I've grown as a thinker because I read. The more you read, the smarter you get. The more you think the better your grades.

The results below are pulled from a majority of the 120 surveys. I had many students who didn't really answer the question, except for "kinda" or "yes" or "not sure."  I am shamelessly sharing the ones who had a clear answer to the questions.  Sometimes a student responded well to both questions, and that is represented here.

I have to say...these responses were beyond my wildest dreams. The part about this I love the best is they could articulate the changes. Just the fact they think they read faster or can think more clearly moves them into areas of self-efficacy they may not have had before. I've learned that is just about everything!

Here are the answers:

Question:

How have you grown as a reader?

I set goals for my reading – 5

I read a lot – 21

I have a habit of reading every day – 4

I did better on STAR – 1

I read bigger books – 15

I have better understanding of what I read – 9

I read faster – 16

I choose harder /more challenging books – 4

I’ve extended my vocabulary – 11

I chose more mature books – 3

I became interested in/ or enjoy reading more – 12

I read in my free time – 2

I’ve discovered new genres – 6

I read more than I did last year – 14

I stayed the same as a reader – 6

Question:

How have you grown as a thinker?

I can think better – 8

I can think faster/longer/harder – 14

I can find solutions and make decisions better – 4

I’m thinking in new ways – 7

I think more clearly, with better focus and attention – 11

I take more time to think – 12

I ask more questions – 2

I think more in-depth and critically -- 1