One of the biggest goals of teachers is to get their students to read more. So if a teacher was to assign the first book of a series like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Series of Unfortunate Events, or any series, I don’t mean to only include fantasy or science fiction. Do you think that if the students then had an interest in the books they would continue to read them even though they are not assigned? Or is that just wishful thinking?
I think that this could work because I am very motivated to finish a series, but I imagine that not everybody feels the same way about series as I do. I also think this could help with student enjoyment of reading because they would be reading different books as opposed to the same old boring ones. What motivated you to read as a child? Do you think there should be more assigned reading in school today so kids will be motivated by grades to read or would this contribute to resentment of reading?
I had a teacher in 4th grade who assigned the first book in the Harry Potter series and often read it to the class. This did motivate me to buy the second one and read it on my own. However, after the second book I stopped reading it. Not really sure why but I can say that it was not because my teacher did not motivate me to. I do agree that it is important for teachers to motivate students to read more, but each student is motivated by different things. I feel like putting grades with reading will contribute to the resentment of reading unfortunately. Students look at grades and being forced to do something in a negative way I believe. However, I do think that if the students had a choice as to what they read, then it would not contribute to the resentment of reading because they picked the book after all.
ReplyDeleteI think assigning the first book in a series is a great way to get students to continue reading the series. The only problem is you can't be certain the students will like the series. However, I think it is definitely worth the shot to try it out, because generally when a student finds a book they like it's because they like the type of writing or the story line, which would ultimately make them interested in continuing the series.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that really motivated me to read in school was when I found an author that I really liked, usually when I liked one of the books by that author I would continue to read all of their other books. I found when I was assigned to read certain books and given an assignment on a book I was less likely to actually read the entire thing. Even if I would actually read the entire book I automatically didn't like it because I was being forced to read it and given a time line for when I needed to have it read by. Being tested over what I read in school made reading a chore instead of an interest. I think a great way to get students interested in reading, would be to come up with some sort of test that can determine the types of books each student is interested in. From this test teachers could provide a list of books that fit each students interest. Then, to make sure students are actually reading (the books of their choice) give them different options for projects that they could complete relating to the book. By letting the students pick a book from a list that was created based on their interests would make it less of a chore and more for their own enjoyment.
n high school I did not enjoy reading mostly because the books we read were from required reading lists that all 9th or 10th grade students in the district had to read. We had no freedom to choose our own books and to assume hundreds of students will enjoy the same book is definitely wishful thinking. I think instead of forcing students to read certain books, there should be more opportunities for kids to make their own selections. Books like, The Scarlet Letter, and, Of Mice and Men, have been around for so long that many students have a negative opinion of them even before starting the book. We should let students put their own judgements and considerations into choosing books to read that way they will be more inspired to read at home as well. In my opinion, reading is the one subject in school that is open to as much interpretation as we allow it, so why not let kids explore their minds and choose books that spark their interests.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Hunger Games for this class I went to the public library and Barnes & Noble the next day look looking to get the next book in the series. I wasn’t able to get the book because there was a huge waiting list for the library copies and a B & N employee told me that weren’t even being printed in paperback yet. I don’t think ill pursue it any longer and by the time the book is more available I will probably have forgotten about it. I would say that this example shows that it would be good to introduce books after they have been out for a little while, although you run the risk of the kids having read the book already. For kids I do think introducing series could be a good idea to get them hooked. I think parents can appreciate their kids reading series too because it takes less time searching the library for a book their kid will enjoy.
ReplyDeleteBook series are a great way of getting a child involved in literature. When i read a book apart of a series i had to read the other books because i knew there was more to know. I loved the diary books when i was younger, i must of read all of them several times. In that experience it was nice to know the different aspect each had at that time in life.In my opinion a teacher should introduce several series of different genres to intrigue all of the students. I was never a fan of Harry Potter and i remember listening to the whole book during class, science-fiction is not for everyone. All in all there is a series for everyone at it can really encourage a child to read more and more.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that for some readers, assignments of series books will help influence or introduce reading outside of school. Personally, I remember reading a goosebumps book that I bought at the scholastic book fair during elementary school. This wasn’t an assigned book in the class, but I bought one of them and loved it and ended up buying many more of them at the book fairs. I think the Hunger Games is another good example of a series book that will engage readers outside of the classroom. We read this for an assignment and now I am definitely going to read the other books and probably see the movie because the first book was so good and left some issues open that I want to know about. I have never read the harry potter books, but I’m sure this is another good example of series books that could lead to outside of the classroom reading. I think what we have to keep in mind is that all children’s interests are different though. There are going to be some kids who don’t enjoy harry potter. This is where a good mixture of different genre series books would make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI think if you chose the RIGHT series books you could get away with this. I think it would motivate students but you don't want to just give them the same genre over and over again or give them too much fluff. Maus would be an acceptable choice because it switches up format and genre but if you assigned, Harry Potter and then Twilight and then Lord of the Rings they may not be getting anything out of it other than reading a good story. I definitely think if you can provide enough variety so that you hit on several different kinds of books kids would like this would be very beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI think introducing a series is a great idea for classrooms. Its so hard to get kids motivated to read, and if they love the first book, the natural human reader instinct is to be anxious to read the next one. There's nothing better than the illusion that the story will never end because it continues in the next book. However, this could be a touchy subject because this goes both ways. What about the students that hate the first book? Then they are forced to read 5 more just like it and are more likely to skimp out on their reading assignments. A good assignment might be to have 3 or 4 different series that the kids can choose from instead of assigning them all the same one. A teacher could read a little portion aloud to the students of each book and let them choose which one they think they will like best. But, yes. I do think that series would benefit and motivate students to do more reading.
ReplyDelete