Getting Students to Read

As we read "You Gotta Be the Book" by Jeffery Wilhelm in class the issue of getting students to read has been the focus. How do you get students to read and enjoy reading? Reading in an academic setting is always harder. And reading in general for some is not enjoyable. Throughout high school and middle school there was a good mix of avid readers and those who would only read if it was absolutely necessary. High school especially consisted of those select students in English classes who would never read the material but somehow managed a passing grade. I have always enjoyed reading but throughout my years in English classes there were certain books that were hard to get through. I had my fair share of struggles when trying to stay on track with assigned reading night. I remember "skimming" chapters just so I could pass a quiz or make my way through an essay topic, usually unsuccessfully. It does pay to actually read the text.

So, how do you grade or regulate the required reading if students are not enjoying the material? Finding a happy medium for "grading" reading is important. From past experiences I always enjoyed lectures about the reading because they really helped with understanding but lectures cannot be graded. Quizzes over the reading can be given but how frequently? What should the quizzes cover? I think if a reading quiz is going to be given it shouldn't be given after every assigned reading. Quizzes should then be multiple choice but they should focus heavily on understanding the student's interpretations of the book through short answer questions. But in order to grade reading I think the most effective way would be through understanding. In the form of a project or an essay following the end of the book. Projects and essays then shouldn't be graded on how correct they are but they should be graded on the content, understanding, and the effort.

Its far to often that students are required to fire off facts about material read. Often times avoiding the actual meaning of the text. Its important to engage students by allowing new ideas and interpretations that skew from the norm. Reading is more enjoyable if a student is able to search for meaning and apply that meaning. Or course as a teacher guiding the ideas is important but allowing ideas to flow could benefit the classes feel of the book.