This semester, I took a class in school that allowed me to choose my own books. Walking in on the first day, our teacher confirmed that the class would be, essentially, a glorified book club.
The requirements for book selections were the following:
February:
- Individual Choice: Pursue Your Interests
March
- Class Choice: A New York Timely Bestseller
- Small Group Choice: Genre Focus
April
- Individual Choice: Spin-off
- Small Group Choice: Page-to-Screen
May
- Individual "Alter-Ego" Choice: Step out of your comfort zone
June
- Class Choice: A Literary Prize Winner
Now, I wasn't sure what I was expecting from the class, but I was a little surprised by the syllabus. 3 individual choices? I thought that, being in a "book club", every book we chose would be as a class so that we could have group discussions. Perhaps even at the end of each novel, have a little party with food that correlated with themes from the book
Once the class got going, however, I found that what looked like a demanding book schedule was easy to follow. I usually
While I have remained a fairly consistent reader, many people have been put off of reading at a young age because they find the books they are told to read do not fall within their interest zone.Classes like this develops a love of reading among the students because they are able to choose books that they want to read and discover that books aren't just for putting you to sleep.
In an interesting article published by the New York Times, an 8th grade teacher in Atlanta tried allowing her students to pick their own books and found that almost every single student was engaged in their chosen novel. I would suggest starting similar courses earlier on, like the Atlanta teacher so that children learn to love reading earlier on in life.
Link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/books/30reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Readers' Choice has allowed me to read a range of really interesting and great books. I've gone from the world of political satire with Stephen Colbert to the sophisticated and tragic realm of World War II and lost love with Atonement. This class has allowed me to expand my taste in literature and actually enjoy the books I have to read for school.
-W. Shakespeare
I absolutely agree that teachers should start allowing students to pick their own book therefore they would read a book they enjoy. I love reading and I can read a book in a day but I hate reading books that are assigned in class, in fact i just don't read them. Its sad that so many kids don't appreciate book like I do, they cringe at the idea of reading and it's due to the fact that kids have only read books that are chosen for class which dull and boring. I hope English teacher start taking your advice so reading would be much more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI could not help, but laugh out loud when you called certain novels losers. However, the novels that you remarked as winners I could not have agreed more! All three of those novels are must reads and some of my favorites. The course Readers' Choice has definitely played a key role with helping the students who hated reading and transform them into the students who love to read. Readers' Choice has definitely allowed me to read a large variety of literatures. I am extremely happy that teachers are finally listening to the voices of their students. English has always been one of my favorite courses in school, and through taking Readers' Choice I feel that I have discovered a newfound love for reading in general. This glorified book club will always be apart of me, no matter what I decide to pursue in life.
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