Analysis of reading habits pushes students to challenge themselves more

Do you have students who only read books in one genre? Or others who read volumes of “holiday” and “just right” books but avoid “challenge” books like the plague?

I realized this quarter that making my 8^th grade students aware of their reading shortcomings was the first step toward meaningful change. I only wish I had done it sooner.

As part of a larger planned reading project fourth quarter, I started by giving students a reading reflection sheet. I wanted students to take stock of what they had accomplished this year as readers and look for developing patterns about themselves and their reading habits.

Each quarter I require students to keep a list of their reading with Book Tracking sheets. I use sheets that record title, author, genre, date started/finished, pages, difficulty level, and a star rating (out of 5). When I conference with students, I pull their sheets from hanging folders in class, so I have data to guide our meeting. The sheets help me see if students are favoring a particular genre, how long they’re spending on books, the types of books they prefer, and the degree to which books are challenging them. Although I encourage students in different directions based on their sheets, many of them are firmly rooted in their preferences. The self-reflection changed that.

 Although some students read across many genres and pursued books that challenged them, a common pattern was a preference for one genre and easier books. Many students expressed surprise in this finding once they analyzed their results.

I began by having students review their book tracking sheets from the previous three quarters in order to fill out their reflection sheets. They answered questions about how many books they had read so far during the year, and they had to list the genres read and the number of books from each. Then they were asked to reflect on the results: Have you read from many different genres or have you mostly stuck to just one? Why? Which genre have you read the most books from? Why do you prefer this genre? Students were asked to list the number of books that were “holiday,” “just right,” and “challenge” followed by the question: What made the “challenge” books more difficult?

In order to move students toward making change for fourth quarter, they were asked to consider shortcomings in their reading habits. What do you feel is missing from your reading list so far this year? For example, do you feel you should have tried additional genres? Or did you read too many “just right” books and very few challenge books? Once they had the data in front of them, it was very easy for them to see where they fell into a reading rut.

The final step was to take the information from the reading reflection and turn it into actionable goals for the last quarter. Students who had read from only one or two genres made it a priority to select books from at least two additional genres. Those that had read mainly “holiday” and “just right” books began seeking out books that would challenge them more. This resulted in some surprising choices with highly-skilled readers selecting a number of “classic” high school required reading texts on their own, such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, Night, and even The Scarlet Letter. Instead of being reluctant to read these books because they were “required,” students were motivated by the fact that they chose the books on their own.

Next year I plan to have students fill out a reading reflection after second quarter, so they have more time to change their reading habits. When students have an opportunity to really examine and reflect on their behavior, it’s surprising the changes they make on their own!