Austin Hall's Day 1 Session from nErDcampMI 2017: "The Book Love Elective: Reading for Pleasure at the High School Level"

1. The Book Love Elective:
Reading for Pleasure at
the High School Level
Austin Hall
English Teacher & Department Chair
Dowling Catholic High School
@teachguybrarian
www.teacherguybrarian.com

2. The Beginning
MA:TESS program at the
University of Northern Iowa
• IWP Level 1 – Summer 2011
• Penny Kittle
• Book Love – Read in 2013
• The Book Love Foundation
Grant & professional literature
on reading instruction
• 2016 Book Love Foundation
Grant recipient

4. Creating the Elective
• 2014-15
• Continued to build classroom library
• Proposed idea for the senior elective Reading for Pleasure
• Approved by administration
• Began developing curriculum and read widely
• 2015-16
• Taught 6 sections (3 per semester)
• Rebranded class as Strategic Reading
• 2016-17
• Taught 10 sections (5 per semester) in 2nd year of course
• 200+ students enrolled

5. Why It Works
• CHOICE and TIME liberates readers
• The class welcomes students with a sneaky bit of
misdirection: those students who elect to take it
because they assume it’s going to be “easy” get tricked
into reading more than most of them have in their
entire high school career

6. Course Overview
• Semester-long course
• 3 classes per week (M = 45 min., T/W & TH/F = 90 min.)
• 5 major pillars of the class
• Time
• Choice
• Response (Oral and Written)
• Community
• Predictable Rituals
• Assessments
• Absolutely ZERO reading checks, quizzes, tests, etc.
• Final Exam consists of a Semester Project and Formal
Written Reflection

7. First Few Class Periods
• Setting the Tone
• This is NOT a “fluff” class
• Building Independence
• The uncharted territory of choice
• Establishing Routines
• Routine is key

8. SETTING THE
TONE

9. Setting High Expectations
• STRETCH GOAL of 15 books read in the semester
• In addition to this number, students are to challenge
themselves by reading books across the following genres:
Realistic Fiction
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
Nonfiction
Poetry
Classics
Graphic Novels
• This is a modification of the of the 40-book requirement
Donalyn Miller introduced in The Book Whisperer

10. Day 1
Reading
Survey
Adapted from “Student
Beginning of the Year
Survey” © Pernille Ripp
2015
www.pernillesripp.com

11. BUILDING
INDEPENDENCE

12. Set Reading Rate – calculate weekly page goal

13. Classroom Library “Locations” vs. Genre

14. Classroom Library “Locations” vs. Genre
• Students learn to
differentiate genres
(corresponds
directly to nine
genres they are
trying to read
throughout the
semester
• In this short, 20-30
minute activity,
students are
exposed to 36
different books they
may want to read

15. Booksource Classroom Organizer checkout system

16. Organizational Reading Tools

17. Organizational Reading Tools

18. Personalized
Reading Goals

19. ESTABLISHING
ROUTINES

20. Booktalks

21. Reading Recording Sheet

22. Reading Recording Sheet
Total pages read that week /
weekly goal =
weekly points out of 10
possible

23. Reading Conferences (1st recorded & saved)

24. Mini-lessons
• Understand Reading Preferences and Create a
Reading Identity
• Who am I as a reader?
• Consider Author’s Craft and Develop Close
Reading Skills
• What are the moves that the authors I read are making?
• Expand Reading Horizons
• How might I challenge myself as a reader?

25. Understanding Reading Preferences and
Creating a Reading Identity
• The Reading Zone
• Making Time for Reading
• Abandoning Books
• Rereading Books
• Psycholinguistic Reading
Theory

26. Considering Author’s Craft &
Close Reading
• Notice & Note Signposts
• Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Poetry
• Book Spine Poems
• Blackout Poetry

27. Expanding Reading Horizons
• Major Book Awards
• Banned Books Week
• Speed Dating with Books

28. The Semester Project
• Final Exam Grade
• ~2/3 Presentation
• ~1/3 Final Reflection
• Presentation
• Propose topic and have time to work throughout semester
• 5-8 minutes long, last 1 ½ weeks of class
• Focus on 3+ books read, with connected element (topic, theme,
author, genre, etc.)
• Analysis of reading growth – beginning vs. end of semester
• Final Reflection
• 10 writing prompts (including listening to audio file of 1st
conference)
• Comprehensive self-evaluation for students
• Responses provide invaluable data for the teacher
• Utilizes 3 Strands of the ELA Class
• Reading
• Writing
• Public Speaking/Presenting

29. Feedback on Semester Project Proposals

30. Semester Project = Topic/Theme + Reading Journey

31. Assessments
• No reading checks, quizzes, tests, etc.
• Reliance on discussion
• Small/large group
• Online resources: Google Classroom, Google docs, Padlet,
Todaysmeet, etc.
• Conferences and weekly reading
• I talk with every student for 3-5 min. every 2-3 weeks,
depending on size of class
• Written responses
• Informal – response/reflection entries in notebook
• Formal – Letter-Essay, Book Reviews, etc.
• Emphasis on goal-setting and reflection
• Projects
• Reading Ladder
• Book Talks

32. Letter-Essay

33. Book Review

34. Reading Ladder

35. Student Booktalks

36. What Else Took Place?
• Articles, Blog Posts, TED Talks, etc. on Reading
• Guest Book Talks from Faculty/Staff
• Author Correspondence
• Reading – LOTS of Reading

37. POINTS OF
PRIDE

38. Culture of Reading

39. Relationships
the Extend
Beyond
Classroom

40. Class Impacts and Matters to Students

41. Supported by Data (Spring 2017)

42. Colleagues Across
Departments Notice
Students Reading

43. Reading Lives that Extend Beyond Graduation
Book Recs via
Facebook Messenger
It’s never too late to
turn a student on to
reading

44. Reading Lives that Extend Beyond Graduation
Evidence my
students are still
reading.
Display at one of my
seniors’ grad parties

45. Reading Lives that Extend Beyond Graduation
Former student (now
in college) emailing
about summer reads

46. SPREADING THE
#BOOKLOVE

47. From authors...

48. …to preservice and practicum teachers...

49. Christmas/New
Year’s card I sent to
family and friends
Bookmark I gave to seniors
at their Grad Parties
…to the important people in our lives.

50. Pitfalls and Lessons Learned
• Name change - colleges
• Course not awarded NCAA core class designation
• Many students who’ve filed paperwork to be athletes in
college have been unable to enroll in class
• Expensive
• Class library
• Upkeep of books – Demco library supplies, etc.
• Time consuming
• Organizing library into 35+ different and appealing
categories
• Cataloging entire 2,500+ book library on Booksource
classroom organizer
• Too popular?
• Despite the restrictions (12th grade only, no NCAA, etc.)
~1/2 of 12th graders enrolled last year
• Impact: ↓ enrollment in some other electives (AP etc.)

51. Pitfalls and Lessons Learned (cont.)
• Stereotypes and misconceptions
• Particularly at the HS level, there will be some who’ll
attempt to dismiss or reject the importance of what this
type of class has to offer
• Change isn’t always easy, for some
• It’s easy to dismiss something new and innovative as “easy”
or “lacking rigor” without investigation
• Learned to recognize and appreciate the signs of student
growth – unmistakable to those in the room
• The chorus of yes’s (from students, parents,
administrators, peers in my PLN, extensive research, and
some colleagues) definitely drowns out an occasional
naysayer

52. Strategic Reading in the Core Class
• There’s a place for the 5 pillars in any ELA class
• Sharing passion for books and reading
• Talk to kids about what you’re AND what they’re reading
• If we don’t become literacy beacons for students, who will?
• As Penny Kittle writes in Chapter 2 of Book Love, “We teach
students first, then curriculum” (15)
• The ideas behind Book Love and this class aren’t
crazy ones nor new ones…
• they’re good and right ones – necessary ones to get our
students to (re)discover a love of reading
• Donalyn Miller speaks to this in The Book Whisperer when
she writes,
• “Every student that moves through our classes is not
destined to become an English literature major, and we
cannot gear our teaching as if they were” (124) and
• “Let’s not lose sight of our greater goal: inspiring students
to read over the long haul” (125)

53. Essential Reading
https://pernillesripp.com/
http://yaloveblog.com/

54. In Closing…
• Questions or comments?
• Contact:
• Email: ahall@dowlingcatholic.org
• Website: www.teacherguybrarian.com
• Twitter: @teachguybrarian