Motivating the Middle School Reader

Motivating Readers Through Choice

We know that the more students read, the better readers they become.  So what happens when students lose interest in reading? How do we continue to grow a love of reading in our students… especially in middle school, when many activities – particularly social media and other digital distractions – compete for their time?  One of the number one motivating factors in independent reading is choice. 

With our beautiful new library commons now open at OMS, many will notice – and maybe wonder about – the shift to organization by genre.  As our media specialist, Jane Carlson shared, “Research has shown that student satisfaction and circulation are both higher in libraries organized by genre, especially at this age.”  Looking for mysteries? Find them all in one spot!  Love historical fiction?  Discover many time periods all in one place.  Have students who just can’t get enough fantasy or graphic novels?  Now they can easily connect to the genre they love!

What About Reading Level?
There’s also the question of lexile levels.  While many of our books do have the lexile level penciled in on the front cover, some do not.  A lexile gives us a quantitative measure of text complexity, it doesn’t take into account the student’s interest, curiosity, or background knowledge for any one particular book.  While knowing a student’s lexile level is one helpful element to consider when choosing texts for instructional purposes, it may limit a student’s independent reading choices.  Who are we to take a book out of a student’s hands?  Leveling systems were never intended to be used in this way (Parrott, 2017).  Let’s build a love of reading, not by the number in the front cover, but by the excitement with which a student approaches a book they’ve discovered!

But How Do I Help Them Pick Appropriate Books?
Conducting a brief reading conference (conferring) with students is a great way to get to know readers, their book choices, and level of understanding.  While conferring can inform later teaching points (more on this later), a quick conversation about book choice is a great place to begin.  Next time your students are choosing books or reading independently, sit by a student and ask him/her to read aloud a page or two and talk about it with them to ensure understanding.  As conferring becomes part of your routine, you’ll be able to build upon the strengths and needs of each individual reader!

Knowing our readers is important; and knowing our readers beyond a letter or number is even more important.  The quantitative measures of text are one measure of complexity for us, as teachers, to know and use in our instructional decisions – not for students to limit themselves in independent reading choices.  Happy Reading!

Read more from Kiera Parrott’s conversation with literacy gurus Fountas & Pinnell: “…Guide Readers by Interest, Not Level” and Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey: “Accelerate Learning Through Independent Reading”

If you’re interested in learning more about conferring, contact Katie Coudron about a coaching cycle.  Stay tuned for further posts, professional learning sessions, and resources to support individual and small group needs of readers!

I have my Fountas & Pinnell BAS data, now what?

As teachers have completed assessments, it has been exciting to collaboratively dig into their data and begin setting instructional goals for students.  Although the Literacy Continuum can feel overwhelming at first glance, when you utilize it in tandem with individual student assessments, it helps us to set targeted instructional goals for the students and is well worth our time. 

You don’t have to take my word for it, here are some of the comments that teachers have made:

“I started my small groups this week. I am loving it. I am so glad I did the assessments. I love how detailed your groups can be.” – Lindsey Born (2^nd grade, Wilson)

“This information will help to make my small groups more purposeful which will be better for kids.  We are really getting to know our readers exactly where they are at.” – Lauren Bogda (4^th grade, McKinley)

A three-step process to try and look at the continuum and assessments efficiently to set instructional goals:

1.       Look over one students’ assessments (or this could be done with a group of students), and identify areas where they need additional instruction and support. (For example, if a student scored 1 out of 3 on the “within the text” section, they likely need additional support with retelling or summarizing.)

2.       Look at the Literacy Continuum guided reading section that aligns with the students’ instructional level.  Find the sections of goals that were most difficult for them on the assessment.  (Referencing the example in number 1, go to the “within the text” section, and focus in on the “summarizing” portion.)

3.       Choose the instructional goal(s) in that section that align with the support the student would benefit from.  (If reading at an instructional level of H, the example student could have instructional goals: “Talk about the important information after reading” and “Summarize information in the text, selecting the information that is important.” Page 455 of Literacy Continuum) Pay close attention to the red dots (newer to that level), but also consider the other goals as well if it matches with a student’s needs.

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System coupled with the Literacy Continuum will help us to know our readers and provide them with the targeted instruction that they need to accelerate their growth.  Your literacy coach would love to collaborate with you during this process; send an email with some dates and times that work well for you.