Monday, August 31, 2009

Reading Workshop Program

Are your kids voracious readers or are they reluctant ones?  Is picking up a book akin to a root canal for them?  I bring this up because I was watching Fox and Friends Weekend yesterday, and there was a segment about The Reading Workshop program, a program in which kids are now selecting their own books to read  in school.

One kid chose to do a report on 'Captain Underpants'. Ok, granted it's no 'Moby Dick' or 'Great Expectations', but it is humorous and kids are able to relate to it. I totally agree with host Clayton Morris who thinks that if reluctant readers can choose what to read, it may foster a love of reading.  From there they'll possibly develop an interest in the classics. Hey, imagine this - your kids will actually enjoy doing their homework! Revolutionary concept, isn't it?

When I was in school, I never really appreciated the classics. In middle school, I had to read 'Merchant of Venice' over and over again. Yes, Shylock did claim his pound of flesh - from my brain! My comprehension of 'Tess' was an utter mess, and I really didn't have a care for 'Jane Eyre'. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them now, but I didn't then.

Kids already have their other text books to trudge through. Why not leave the classics for when they'll actually enjoy them. So do you think  letting them choose their own books is a good idea? I do.

4 comments:

  1. perhaps let them choose some but still encourage the classics, unlike you, Dave, I am so glad the likes of Wuthering Heights and yes, Tess of the D> were an introduction to the wonderul world of reading..so on this issue it's like my politics a bit in the middle...lol...good blog, Dave!

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  2. Thanks, Heather. I appreciate those classics now, but at the time I was like - what? I know a lot of kids who don't like reading and those 'heavy weight' books could turn them off at an early age. Get them in the habit first and then let them get interested in the classics. I guess it's also how the literature is taught. If you have a really good teacher, he/she could make it really interesting. I can see your point of view but letting them chose their own books to start with gives them an opportunity to develop critical thinking of their preferred subject matter.

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  3. Growing up in the 50's/60's, mostly all that was available was the classics. I grew up with Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Swallows and Amazons, The Jungle Book, The Country Child, What Katy Did, Heidi, etc. Most, if not all, were far removed from my own experience but that didn't matter and I didn't notice the anachronisms and skipped over the bits that were boring/too difficult. Children love a good story, so plot is important as well as how the book makes them feel. The most important thing is to encourage them to read - join the library, buy books, browse authors' websites, and keep reading yourself!

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  4. Students nowadays tend to be more pragmatic and skeptical. They tend to ask 'what's in it for me'. If they're not convinced that reading 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or Shakespeare conveys any tangible benefits besides boring them out of their skulls, they'll write classics off as a waste of time. Students do become more open to what we're trying to teach them when we validate their interests and use popular lit to make the classics more relatable. For e.g. having a discussion comparing bullying in 'Lord of the Flies'(LOTF) and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'. Or getting students to critique the situations depicted in these two books in the context of their own generation. Or having a debate on whether LOTF could become reality if a bunch of kids were shipwrecked on an island.
    I can see my school kids getting very interested and engaged in such lessons, and striving to understand the classics just so they can participate in the lively class discussions. Learning is seen as 2-way street for the current generation of students. If we reference what they read for pleasure, they'll be more willing to give our literature texts a decent chance.

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