Rietdyk Inspiration

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Inspiration at the Gate

Even at the earliest stages of becoming a teacher, one thing remained clear: wherever I taught, in whatever capacity, I wanted to nurture the same love of reading that had buoyed my own academic journey through the Humanities. In preparing to teach Middle School ELA, I knew there wouldn’t be time enough to cover the many interests and curiosities that animate a young child’s mind, especially at this stage of development. This, in part, was why incorporating an active outside reading routine seemed so vital. I wanted the students in my room to develop reading habits that centered on authentic choice and advanced their personal interests.

This wasn’t just about the books, either. As I slowly trolled the banks of research, it affirmed time and again how leisure reading habits continue to be one of the key predictors for student success across schooling, supporting language development and cognitive capacity, as well as broadening the scope of literature beyond what can be strictly covered in the curriculum. The age window for cementing those habits, however, dissipates quickly after middle school, and reports show that students around the world—in areas as diverse as Estonia, Nigeria, Ireland, and Singapore—are turning away from reading for leisure. Here in the states, the percentage of young students that read for fun on a daily basis has been steadily declining since the 1980s. Given an increasingly insatiable attention economy, reading must now compete against new forms of leisure entertainment that offer innovative graphics, portable interfaces, and moderate price points for entry.

Something wasn’t working…or at least, wasn’t working effectively enough to have a broad impact. Coming into my first year of teaching, I inherited a series of reading logs that left students essentially locked within their silos: enthusiastic readers read with commitment and enthusiasm while disinterested students either met or faked the minimum. Students and teachers alike reported burn out from grinding through a rote form week after week, with little accountability or feedback for the materials collected. Looking ahead, it was clear to me that a more fundamental restructuring would be necessary, with the potential to bridge independent reading outcomes across the room and raise the level of engagement for all.

On losing young readers, as per data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

A Journey Unfolds

This is how the 'reading circle' was born. By organizing a forum around student experience, one that sidelined direct teacher engagement in favor of peer interaction, it relaxed students to simply focus on what they'd read: had they enjoyed it, were they reading at all, and what might be the underlying barriers behind either of those questions. To learn more about the methodology behind the circle, see the Design Process section on the following pages.

Blog: Still curious? Want to see the wheels turning behind the scenes?? Check out the DR's Log for more reflections on developing the research, every step of the way.

Research

Design Process

Support and Next Steps