3rd Grade- Ideas to make reading fun.

I like to use Reader’s Workshop to open school in the reg ed classroom. Teach about finding just right books, have them select a jrb, and then distance observe closely to see what students do. I watch for students who never turn a page yet continually look at the book, stare-off (or other behavior where non-attendance is obvious), read orally rather than silently, wish to buddy read, or read silently with lips moving. More, too, but that’s a pretty good list. Then, I make notes about the reading behaviors and do a conference with them. Part of the conference is for them to select a passage to read to me. (They should know about this ahead of time.) There is some reason for the problem behavior. It then becomes a detective game to discover where in the problems lie. I often use a reading inventory such as Johns or Siveroli to understand where is the problem on an informal level. The results are usually quite telling.

What kinds of books will you be reading? There are many series that especially interest boys such as Animorphs, some books by Louis Sachar, Dan Greenberg, and Matt Christopher. Have you tried book clubs where several kids at about the same reading level read the same book and get together in class time to discuss it? There is so much great literature out there; if you find books that excite you, I bet you can convey that enthusiasm to your students!

Look at your library in your classroom. Most boys love nonfiction. See if you have plenty of books about animals, sports, machines, cars, inventions, space. Boys like mysteries, funny books and many like historical fiction. I have out my Captain Underpants books, Horrible Harry, Cam Jansen as well as lots of DK Eyewitness books. I want to get them hooked on books at the beginning of the year. Then, they are motivated to work hard to become better readers. What Susan suggested about observing and conferencing is excellent. I do a reading survey and try to find out what my students interests are and then find books they can read. Kids will pick a book that looks good and then pretend to read it because they don’t want anyone to know they can’t read a grade level book.

Any suggestions on how to get a kid to FINISH a book. She reads a few chapters, loses interest, and starts something else (drives me nuts!). She gets horse and animal books, but just doesn’t stick with it.

Both of you read the same book, maybe a chapter a day. Then, meet and discuss the book. Do it like you would read with a friend. Maybe the books are too hard for her. Take turns reading a page or two and then discuss whatis happening in the book. Sometimes kids think if they can read the words that is enough. They don’t know that reading is like a good conversation, they need to interact with the text.
Nan

I’ll try the conversation. She seems to comprehend it b/c she will talk about it the next day. Heh, mom, remember in the book when Sally did …”. It’s 4th grade book and that’s what grade she’s in. Her lexile score (if you’re familiar with that) is supposed to be 1021, but I feel that’s a much inflated #. She still has to decode some of the words, but she’s starting to get the longer multisyllabic words with some effort, tho not frustration. It’s so hard for me to understand b/c I was born reading!

Why are you interested in the student whose lips move when they read? My daughter does that - I thought it was b/c of LIPS. Just curious.

Leah — this is an argument that was settled twenty years and more ago, but apparently the word still hasn’t gotten around.

In the 1930’s and 40’s, observers saw no lip motion or subvocalizing in adult fast readers, but slower readers did move their lips and read out loud. So they decided (faulty logic to start with, mixing up cause and effect; technically called the “post hoc — propter hoc” fallacy) that the reading aloud was causing the slower reading.

So, there was a big push in reading instruction in the 1940’s and 1950’s to silent-reading-only and complete repression of all lip motion.
This led to a large number of reading failures; my most notable case was a student who had passed Grade 3 with good marks and when I tested him had a pre-primer reading level, less than 50 nwords vocabulary. Nobody in his silent reading only program had ever once in four years asked him to read something to them, and he faked well …

In the 1980’s, using somewhat more sensitive technology and more scientific testing protocols. it was discovered that ALL readers subvocalize; there are tiny motions of the tongue and lips, and the speech production areas of the brain light up on MRI. Faster readers just subvolalize faster and with smaller motions. Repressing all vocalization in fact prevents reading development in the early stages; you can’t learn to subvocalize efficiently if you are prevented from doing it at all.

From what I have seen, LiPs works, and I know from experience that an *oral* phonics-based teaching system works.
Don’t worry about vocalization until you have *good* fluency. Karin A’s feeling that it is negative in Grade 3 may or may not be effective; a *good* Grade 3 student can be reading silently, but a weak one needs more oral training, not less.