What Kids Who Hate to Read Taught Me About Teaching Reading

I realize I don’t typically discuss teaching on this blog, but I know a lot of the friends and family who read this are teachers.  I figured this would be the perfect place to reflect on my first year as a middle school Title I reading teacher and possibly give my fellow teachers some new ideas.  

Let me start by saying how much happiness this job has brought to me this year.  This job came my way when I truly needed something to give me a purpose and help distract me from losing my baby.  I will be forever grateful for this amazing opportunity.  

Being a middle school reading teacher is literally the best gig in education.  I get to convince kids one at time that reading is awesome.  It’s hard work and I haven’t managed to convince all my kids that reading is worth their time.  But it’s so worth it when a middle-schooler tells you they are tired because they stayed up late reading a book that you suggested to them.  

Like any good teacher will tell you, their students tend to teach them more about teaching than any other book, professional development or training ever could.  This is definitely true for me.  When I started the year, I had a group of 40 kids who all hated to read.  One of the first questions I asked them was, “How do you feel about reading?”  Some of them didn’t want to hurt my feelings, so they claimed it was “okay.”  But most of them told me they hated it or it was hard or it made them feel stupid when they had to read in front of people. Heartbreaking, right?  

So, I set out on a mission to help them see that reading can actually be worthwhile, and dare I say, fun!  I learned a lot as I carried out my mission.  Here are some things that might help you if you are in the business of teaching kids reading:

Acknowledge their feelings and build a relationship.  

I have had more success with students when I acknowledge their fear or disgust of reading. I don't tell them they are wrong for feeling the way they do. I just tell them that it's my job to help them realize that reading can actually be enjoyable. I take the pressure of them and put it on me. The kids still have to do the hard work, but they seem to relax a bit when they realize I will help them and don't expect them to do everything themselves.

This is the first step of building a relationship with my students. This is the critical step! Students have to trust you in order to take risks in front of you. I ask my students to do things that are difficult for them. I ask them to read books that challenge them. I ask them to think in ways they haven't ever thought before. I ask them to try strategies that are new to them. They won't be willing to try these things out if they don't trust you. They have to be comfortable enough to fail in front of you before they will try these difficult things.

So I spend a great deal of our short amount of time together building relationships. I get to know them and their families, what they do on the weekends and classes they like. I ask them how their track meet went, how their new puppy is doing and how they did on their latest social studies test. This is time well spent! You will get so much more out of them if they know you care about them. And you have to be genuine with them. Middle-schoolers are great at detecting bullshit. They will know if you aren't honest with them or if you are just pretending to care.  

Don't make them read on a specific level or for a specific amount of time.  

Although there are many teachers and education professionals who would disagree with me, I don't believe middle school kids should read books based on their Lexile or specific reading level. It can be incredibly demeaning, which is a blow to their reading confidence. Typically, if students are reading below grade level, the books on their reading level will not match their interest level. I think it is far more important for kids to find books that are interesting. If kids find a book interesting, they will be far more likely to pick it up on their own and actually read it.  

Again, some teachers and education professionals will disagree with my next statement, but requiring students to read for a specific amount of time or a specific number of pages isn't effective. If students hate reading, assigning them to read for 30 minutes each evening is just setting them up for failure. They won't do it. Instead, help them find books they will like! Once you find a book they like, they will pick it up and read it on their own. Some of my students who described themselves as non-readers at the beginning of the school year now tell me they spend an hour reading at home each night! I didn't tell them to do that, they decided to do that on their own. When you put the power to read back in their hands, they take more ownership of it. Of course, it's super important to celebrate with them when they choose to read on their own.

Read with them and for them.
I just made a big deal about how students will choose to read on their own if they find books that are interesting to them. But guess what? Students who hate reading aren't going to go out of their way to find books that are interesting to them. That's where I (and other reading teachers) come in. It's our job to help them find books. And we can't just offer a few suggestions and give up on them when they turn them all down. 

One of the most knowledgeable, realistic perspectives in reading education (according to me) is Penny Kittle. I use so much of her philosophy when teaching kids to love reading. She is a big proponent of providing kids with meaningful book recommendations. And in order to give a kid a quality book recommendation that they will take seriously, you have to have read the book. So I read a ton! I don't take home any paperwork. I take home books. I read constantly and I listen to audio books while driving to and from school. I ask our school's librarian and other teachers for good books. Because of all the reading I do, I have a pretty big bank of books to draw from when I recommend books to students.

It's also important for me to share the fact that I read for enjoyment and to make myself a better person. I always share my honest opinion about books to my students, too. If I hated a book, I tell them. It's important for them to see that it's okay to abandon a book that doesn't hold their interest. If a kid asks me if I've read a book and I haven't, I tell them. I tell them what books I want to read, as well. One thing Penny Kittle does that I have adopted is to share the book(s) I'm currently reading, what I just finished reading and what I plan to read next with my students. It serves as proof that I actually read and offers instant book recommendations to kids. I have several students that always stop and take a look at the books I'm reading/finished reading/plan to read.  

With some students, I have to take the time to get the kids invested in a book I think they will like. It's not enough just to hand the book to some kids. Quite often, I read the first few pages or chapters with the kids. We get a sense of the story and the characters together. We annotate to get a sense of our feelings and thinking about the book. Once I feel like they have a good grasp of the book, I turn them loose with it. This step is so important for kids who have a hard time getting into a book or understanding what's happening.

Vocabulary is key.

One of the biggest reasons why kids struggle with reading is a lack of vocabulary comprehension. When you constantly try to read words you can't pronounce or words you don't know the meaning of, it's overwhelming and defeating. So kids stop reading, which means their vocabularies stop growing. It becomes this vicious cycle. That's why it is super important to help kids grow their vocabulary bank. When I'm talking with students, I try to throw in new vocabulary. When we are reading together and come across a word I can tell they don't know, we talk about it or look it up on Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary. I also encourage the kids to make vocabulary cards to add to a bulletin board in my room. It's become a resource that all the kids use and take pride in adding to. Some kids even started to ask if they could make a card if they come across a new word on their own. I make it a point to explain how important vocabulary is to reading and it helps them become more active in learning new words.

Play games.

Even middle schoolers like to play games.  6th graders still get really excited at the mention of playing a game. 8th graders aren’t as quick to admit they want to play a game, but they will have a big smile plastered on their face while they are playing.  Trust me.  There are lots of games out there that help develop reading skills and oral expression skills.  A few of my favorites are Taboo, Scattergories and Mad Gab.  Taboo gets kids to think about different ways to describe words, which helps them develop their vocabulary and practice their oral expression.  Scattergories helps kids work on spelling and critical thinking.  Mad Gab helps kids practice their decoding skills.  Just remember to go through the cards in Taboo and Mad Gab ahead of time and remove any that aren’t school appropriate.  You certainly don’t want a 7th grade boy trying to get you to guess the word “lingerie” or “hangover.”

There are lots of other things you can call a “game” which will trick kids into working on reading skills.  Mad Libs is great if you are working on grammar or sentence structure.  I have the book Bananagrams for Kids, which is chalk full of word riddles, which helps with critical thinking skills and spelling.  It’s all in how you present the activity.  If you call it a “game,” they’ll automatically get excited about it.    

I could go on and on about all the things my students have taught me this year, but I'm sure you are tired of scrolling down. These are my best tips. Happy summer to all you teachers out there! And happy reading!