A picture is worth a thousand words... but an article is not limited to a thousand words

This week we read two articles for our class, "The Literacy Needs of Adolescents in Their Own Words" and "Becoming the Reading Mentors Our Adolescents Deserve: Developing a Successful Sustained Silent Reading Program." They were both insightful and informational about the literacy needs in our schools today.

One statistic that stood out to me was how about 1 million adolescents struggle with reading in America and the unfortunate issue is that most programs to remedy the problem is usually a one-size-fits-all-type program. I was reminded with the need to individualize the programs to meet the needs of THE STUDENT--not the students, not the whole school--but for the student. Each student struggles with different aspects of reading so it is important to figure out what in order to prevent wastefulness of time and resources. In the article, "The Literacy Needs of Adolescents in Their Own Words" the researchers documented the stories of several students and reading these excerpts, I recognized the need to give students choice. When the students are given options in class activities, they tend to be more motivated and the resources can be more tailored to their individual needs. Another surprising point was that many parents wanted to be involved in their students' reading development. I think it is important to invite the parents to get involved if they would like to be.

In the second article, the resounding takeaway was choice, choice, choice. Many students today are unmotivated to read and it has a lot to do with the fact that we have limited what the students can read. In the classroom, students should be given a SSR time to read whatever topic is appealing to them. And when the students read, the teacher should as well or in some way, participate with the readers. There are several strategies the authors mentioned in this article that provide a great reading environment as well so I have posted the information for both articles below!

The Literacy Needs of Adolescents in Their Own Words.

By : Pitcher, Sharon M.¹ spitcher@towson.edu; Martinez, Gilda¹ gmartinez@towson.edu; Dicembre, Elizabeth A.¹ edicembre@towson.edu; Fewster, Darlene¹ dfewster@towson.edu; McCormick, Montana K.¹ mkmccormick@towson.edu
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, : 10813004, Published: 05/01/2010, Vol: 53, Issue: 8, Start Page: 636, Page Count: 10, Language: English
Becoming the Reading Mentors Our Adolescents Deserve: Developing a Successful Sustained Silent Reading Program.By : Lee, Valarie¹ leev@rowan.edu
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, DOI: 10.1002/JAAL.00026, : 10813004, Published: 11/01/2011, Vol: 55, Issue: 3, Start Page: 209, Page Count: 10, Language: English

Creatures of Habit

This week we read about reading lives and habits. The first phrase that came to mind is that people are creatures of habit. I noticed that most of my days are made up of several habits which are sometimes interrupted by other events or happenings. My reading life is what most could call very interrupted, or rather, placed on pause. This semester has helped me carve out more time for reading and thinking about my habits. For me, there are two main modes of reading. Reading to study and reading for pleasure. Each reading mode looks completely different.

When I am reading to study, if it be textbooks or academic articles, I have a particular chair I sit in. Over the years, I have lived in about five different places and in each house I have unintentionally picked one seat for studying purposes. When I read to study, I have to sit upright, and my seat is usually at a dining table. My book will be on one side with my notes on the other. Just within reach are all my colors. Yes, my colors. If I am studying with seriousness, I have all my colored pens and markers laying in neat rows ready to be used in my notes. Also, I typically have a glass of water beside my book. And this is how I read to study. I never noticed these habits before but after thinking about this topic, I realize I am truly a creature of habit.

When I am reading for pleasure, there is not much structure. I could be sitting on the couch, in bed, at a table, in the car, wherever! It can be anytime of the day or night as long as I have some light. I recently bought a reading light because my husband tends to sleep early and sleeps best when I am there beside him. I take these opportunities to read for leisure or catch up on reading assignments. What DO I read for leisure? Well, some books but mostly articles online or posts on Pinterest.

Some people walk and read--that is not me. Some commonalities between reading to study or reading for pleasure is that I need to be sitting down and the environment should have minimal noise (honestly, any noise is fine except the TV).

All in all, I want to read more. I want to be that person who read the book and "thought it was so much better than the movie" because from what I've heard, it's ALWAYS better than the movie.

Kids will be Kids

As I am reading the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio, many memories of my schooling come to mind. In Wonder, ten-year-old Auggie who was born with a facial deformity attends school for the first time in his life after being home-schooled. When at school, he faces the pressures of fitting in to a new school environment, people mocking him based off of his appearance, and the challenges of establishing genuine friendships. His struggles pushed me down some harsh streets on memory lane.

"Kids will be kids" and "Kids say the darndest things" are two phrases I've heard to explain away actions or words children may do or say. When I was in school, I experienced times in middle and high school where my friends made fun of my devotion to my religion (Christianity). They poked fun at me when I brought Bible verses to school to memorize and the fact that I did not show physical affection to boys because I believed that I should be older/more spiritually mature before getting into a relationship or anything remotely like a relationship. The emotions that were generated in me during those moments were a great mix of confusion, helplessness, anger, frustration, and hurt all mixed into one big ball in the middle of me. Though those moments of being made fun of were not abusive or extreme in any way, I remember them as clear as day--more than any lesson or experience in all my secondary schooling.

I can relate to a fraction of what Auggie was going through in this novel. He, unfortunately, was always being stared at regardless of where he went or what he did. Reading this novel is helping me feel grateful for the blessings of health that I have been given and reminds me that words can be very hurtful. Regardless of who is there or not there, it is important to speak good about others otherwise it may come back to bite.

To end my post, I love one of the precepts mentioned in Mr. Browne's class in Wonder.
"When given the choice between being right, or being kind, choose kind." 
This is a quote I will keep at the forefront of my mind in this new week as I interact with the world around me.