Reading Aloud to Secondary Students

"Reading aloud in school is not a frill. Go out of your way to make each book a special experience for your students. Allow them to live literature, to become so involved in a story that they become a part of it. It could change their lives."  

                                                                                                                    Judy Freeman.

                                                                                  

A recent post on OZTLNet reminded me of the importance of reading to all students, regardless of age. Some secondary schools are beginning to rediscover the importance of reading aloud to adolescents and have even timetabled weekly ‘Library-English Reading Lessons’ as part of their school improvement plans to lift student learning outcomes.

It makes sense for us to keep reading to our teens.

Reading aloud helps them develop and improve literacy skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Additionally, it gives students a shared experience conducive to group activities and exposes them to literature that they are unlikely to read independently. Jim Trelease asserts that because children “listen at a higher level than they read, listening to other readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns”.

Indeed, reading aloud to adolescents does enrich their vocabulary. They are provided with new words in context that would be normally too difficult for them to read independently. These new words can then be added to their speaking and writing vocabularies and serve as a foundation for acquiring additional vocabulary. Carefully chosen material encourages the broadening of vocabulary and the acquisition of new concepts and stretches general knowledge, improving performance in all KLAs!

Another benefit of reading to secondary students is that the process improves listening stamina and skills. It also gives them a ‘taste’ of sophisticated writing and is useful going into stage 6. It exposes them to classical mythology and classical literature that they may have missed as younger students and may prove useful in their senior years – particularly in Advanced English. The allusions to classical, biblical and mythological literature by poets and writers are many and numerous!

The National Library of New Zealand offers a list of ‘musts’ for reading to older students. These include:

·        As well as novels, read short stories, poetry, magazine articles, newspaper columns or editorials and young adult (YA) books.

·        Always preview the book.

·        Read a chapter or a good “chunk” each day – keep the momentum going.

·        Read books that suit students intellectually, socially and emotionally. Semi-literate readers do not need semi-literate books.

Additionally, I would also add:

·       Use picture books – this also improves visual literacy

·       Read from a variety of genres

·       If a read aloud falls flat, drop it and select another – keep them engaged at all costs!

Finally, I think the best approach to reading aloud to older students is best summed up by Jim Trelease when he says:

“Reading aloud is a commercial for reading. ...Think of it this way: McDonald's doesn't stop advertising just because the vast majority of Americans know about its restaurants. Each year it spends more money on ads to remind people how good its products taste. Don't cut your reading advertising budget as children grow older."

Research and resources on reading aloud

Chambers, A. (1991). The reading environment : how adults help children enjoy books. PETA

Freeman, J. (1992).  Read Aloud Books: The Best Of The Bunch. Teacher Magazine. Available at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr081.shtml#sthash.8IYDaZPk.dpuf

Krashen, S.D.(2004). The power of reading: insights from the research. 2d ed. Westport CT, Libraries Unlimited.

McPherson, K. (Oct 2008). Reading lifelong literacy links into the school library. Teacher librarian. 36 (1): 72-74. Reprinted from Dec 2005. (Available through EPIC MasterFile)

Miller, D. (2009). The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Jossey Bass Wiley, Chichester.

Mills,W. (Aug 2009). The Importance of reading aloud .Journal of reading, writing and literacy. Vol 4(2):64-78

National Library of New Zealand (2015). Reading to older students. Available at: http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creating-readers/creating-readers-strategies/reading-aloud

Phelps Zientarski, D., Pottorff, D. (1994). Reading Aloud to Low Achieving Secondary Students. Reading Horizons, Volume 35, Issue 1. Available at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=reading_horizons

Trelease, J. (2013). The Read Aloud Handbook, Penguin Books, New York.

Websites as a Hook - Getting Guys to Read

Research has shown that girls' literacy achievement is significantly higher than that of boys (Brozo, Sulkunen, Shiel, Garbe, Pandian and Valtin, 2014). Not surprisingly, higher engagement in reading is connected with literacy and academic performance. It is critical that libraries support boys in providing appealing material to read, offering digital texts as alternative to print, involving fathers and other adult role models and setting priorities for targeting the boys most at risk (Brozo et al., 2014, p. 591).

In recent years a plethora of websites and blogs have been created attempting to address this very problem. Lists of books that boys may find interesting, authors, and age appropriate material are suggested. As a librarian, it is important to be able to evaluate such resources in terms of their quality and usefulness, before directing boys to use them. 

The 'Guys Read' website created by Jon Scieszka of  'The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales'  fame, offers one such example. Using Jakob Nielsen's Usability 101: Introduction to Usability (2012) as a guide, an analysis of the website in terms of its appeal and functionality was undertaken. These aspects are critical in engaging users and achieving the aims of the site - that is, to attract boys to recreational reading. 

According to Nielsen (2012), if a website is too difficult to navigate, users will leave and traffic will stop. Guys Read is easy to navigate, well-presented and attractive to younger male users. It is obviously targeting boys, resulting in a type of 'boys club' feel.Catchy categories such as "Boxers, Wrestlers and Ultimate Fighters" and " At Least One Explosion" are powerful in attracting boys' interest. 

The format is laid out across the screen like a newspaper, the title of each page occupying the space where a headline might appear. The contrasting colours are attractive and the retro images are interestingly reminiscent of 1960's dust jackets. Functionality is high. The graphics are optimized with no apparent slowing to download and it is easy to scan the home page from any device (tablet or mobile). 

By way of criticism, it was found that the site could use an infusion of cultural diversity. Most of the authors listed were either American or English. Only two Australian authors could be found. A search function where any search term could be used (rather than just authors or book titles) would also be beneficial on the site. 

In evaluating this site, the issue of boys' reading and digital technologies surfaced as an area for further exploration. While eBook versions of printed books are important, further research into other areas such as gaming technology and social media and their impact upon boys' reading would be an interesting avenue to pursue.

Overall, the ‘Guys Read’ website is impressive and succeeds in its aim to engage young male users and get them thinking about books. Any boy would be hard pressed not to be able to find a book that suits him on this site. 

References

Brozo, W.G., Sulkunen, S., Shiel, G., Garbe, C., Pandian, A. & Valtin, R. (2014). Reading, Gender, and Engagement. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(7), 584–593. doi: 10.1002/jaal.291

Johnson, A. (2015, March-April). Diversity on my mind: reflecting the world in which we live. American Libraries, 46(3-4), 82. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA404447011&v=2.1&u=csu_au&it=r&p=EAIM&sw=w&asid=c40ccae5acf890ddf9a90c20988d8d61

Nielsen, J. (2012). “Usability 101: Introduction to Usability.” Available: <http://www. useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html>. Accessed: December 10, 2014.

Scieszka, J. (2015). Guys Read. Available at http://www.guysread.com . accessed 13^th May, 2015. 

Wax, D. (2008). 7 essential Guidelines for Functional Design, Smashing Magazine. Available at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/05/7-essential-guidelines-for-functional-design/. Accessed 13^th May, 2015. 

Google Apps for Education

GAFE Summit 2015

Attending the two day Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Summit in Sydney this April was something akin to joining a religious cult. The fervent zeal of Google true-believers and converts alike spread through the hallowed lecture halls as presenters preached the benefits of all things Google to a reverent congregation.

As a teacher librarian, I embraced the opportunity to attend this conference . As a  profession, TLs are constantly learning how to apply new technologies that will ultimately “build knowledge capacity, innovation, creativity, inquiry” and the multimedia literacies of their students (ALIA).

The Google suite of products provides Teacher Librarians with exciting opportunities to share, collaborate and create. As the daily ‘go-to’ technology support person in schools for both staff and students, TLs need to be the early adopters of cloud-based technologies and act as leaders in  modelling a shift to a “paperless, social, ubiquitous learning environment” (Johnson, Head for the Edge: Google Apps and Librarians, 2011, p.106) where students learn by doing, not by memorizing content.

The keynote delivered by Juan de Luca  on day one titled “From Consumers  to Creators” provided many anecdotal examples of how technology can  have a profoundly positive effect in engaging learners and converting them from consumers to creators of digital content. He also addressed the issue of misguided assessment, demonstrating how a student’s ‘best work’ often does not reveal any deep learning. He suggested that for deep learning to take place, students need to feel safe in making mistakes and that creativity should always take priority over perfection.  

The ensuing sessions provided a wide range of choice. Michael Thompson’s “A One Stop Shop to Collect, Protect and Feedback”, outlined how Google Apps can be used to organise, access, edit, collate and feedback. Importantly, Thompson explained the steps his school took to securely store sensitive information in the cloud using the Google platform.

As a teacher librarian, a large part of what I do involves getting students to look at information critically. The session “Critical Thinking is Soooo 20th Century: Metaliteracy is the New Black!”  was of particular interest. Presenter Brendan Brennan drew on the work of Mackey and Jacobson (Mackey & Jacobson, Reframing Information as a Metaliteracy, 2011, 62-62) to argue  that traditional approaches to information literacy are inadequate. Instead,  students should be taught how to use a metaliteracy framework that allows them to effectively participate in online communities and social media.

Google educator and Tech Diva Holly Clark delivered the keynote on day two and several other dynamic and interactive presentations. She was able to show that the power of technology lays in its capacity to:   

• make learning visible

• give students a voice
• foster collaboration

Holly also effectively demonstrated the use of digital portfolios as a tool for assessment and as an authentic record of student reflection and metacognition.  By using tools such as Google Sites and Blogger, students can curate, archive, engage and expand on their learning, creating their own digital web-presence.

The Google Summit offered much to think about as a librarian and as an educator. The potential of new and emerging technologies like Google Apps for Education are enormous and the conference confirmed that  the gaps in my knowledge of such technologies are more like chasms!

Every time I build a bridge of mastery to conquer a new app or tool, further technologies are developed and the gap needs to be bridged again......Such is the nature of technology today and our role as educators of tomorrow’s digital citizens.