Linking Our Book Reviews to QR Codes to Share with a Wider Audience

In the last three years, two factors led to a major decline in the number of books being checked out from our school's media center: Changing from a block schedule to a traditional, seven-period day schedule and putting a Chromebook in the hands of each student through our 1:1 technology initiative. Honestly, I fully support each of these changes. Teaching on the block schedule held some advantages, but I struggled with forging strong relationships with students when they knew they'd spend just a semester with me. I hated the feeling that they left me, never to return, when I had finally figured out how to best help each of them. I welcomed the traditional schedule for these reasons, and my relationships are stronger and my students are growing more. I also love technology; our Chromebooks have allowed experiences and creations we would never have been able to do without them, like Epic Rap Battles and Digital Text Annotation.

But the traditional, seven-period day made so many of my colleagues feel the need to rush. Even though they had the time, the shortened periods made them feel like they had less time. The first things they cut were projects that required even more time by leaving their classrooms and going to the media center. The media center also used to be a popular place for students during study hall before a Chromebook was available to them 24/7. I would write passes each day for students who wanted to access technology in the media center during their study hall time, for the media center housed the majority of tech in our building. Our Chromebooks enabled them to have even better access without making the extra trip.

Creative Commons photo via Flickr

As a language teacher and lover of books, hearing my colleagues in the media center lament the drastic decline in circulation made me sad. I have so many amazing memories of book talks with my school librarian, participating in summer reading programs and book clubs, and those few teachers who would set aside time in class for us to read books that we had chosen for ourselves. And so I decided to take action rather than remain sad.

If I want my students to read and visit the media center, then reading and going to the media center need to be priorities. I need to take time for class visits and time in class to read our choice books. Even more importantly, I need to talk to students about their books, help them find the right books for their interests and abilities, and help them share their opinions with each other, our school, and the world.

To share with each other and the school, I decided to have students record book reviews, link them to QR codes, and received permission from our media specialist to place the QR codes on the books in the library. This way anyone with a Chromebook (which is everyone in our school) or a smart phone could easily listen to the reviews and get advice about choosing that particular book! Here's the assignment I gave my students!

Creative Commons photo via Flickr

As for sharing with the world, I have asked all of my students to seek parent permission to set up "professional" Twitter accounts using their school email addresses. Through these accounts, I have encouraged them to share photos of their books using #shelfieWednesday and even promoted the Sunday night #Read4fun chat where people (mostly educators) share reviews and recommendations. While not all of my students are there yet, they're slowly getting on board with my love of reading and they love any excuse to use social media!

Our media specialist has already noticed a sharp increase in circulation, as well as a decrease in overdue books. Since I paln to do the same or a similar project each quarter of the school year, we should be able to provide many reviews as we reshape our media center's identity!

Independent Reads vs. Whole Class Reads

As #slowchatela looks at teaching whole novels this week, the first question Jay Nickerson posed was "What's your current approach to teaching novels? How's that goin' for ya?" This made me pause...How is it going for me? More importantly, what do I hope to get out of teaching whole novels? Then, Christina Luce asked me to consider my goals for whole class and independent reading. After pondering, here are my thoughts!

CC Photo: Abhi Sharma via Flickr

Independent Reads vs. Whole Class Reads

Sometimes, I want students to be able to choose what they want to read because

• the autonomy leads to ownership
• No Brainer:  We are all more invested in a task if we have chosen it for ourselves! Students are more likely to actually read the novel if they are given a voice in which novel they are reading. 
• exploring different genres is important to help them find something they enjoy reading
• Reading shouldn't feel like a burden; it should be an adventure! Students need the freedom to try different types of texts until they find one that fits them. Some students may even prefer non-fiction! 
• they will likely choose something outside the "canon"
• Contemporary works and Yong Adult fiction have much to offer, but they are too often neglected in classrooms. My students generally read the same whole class literature their parents read as freshmen and sophomores! 

But other times, I want them all to read the same, whole class read because

• the shared experience can help build community
• Common experiences, shared goals, teamwork, and collaboration build relationships and increase trust among students and between students and the teacher. While this can be accomplished without reading a novel, tackling a big project like reading a novel together can lay a foundation of community.
• they give us common samples and examples to practice reading and analysis strategies together
• Working on particular close reading strategies and examining specific literary devices and features is easier if we all use the same text. After some whole class practice with these skills, students can hopefully transfer their application to anything else they choose to read!
• some classic literature and allusions are important to make them well-rounded and well-educated 
• Star-crossed lovers, George and Lennie references, Big Brother, chasing a white whale, ...I could go on forever! These allusions are part of our culture, and I want my students to be familiar with some of them!

At this time, I mostly teach whole class novels. Partly, this is because it's what we have--sets of whole class novels rather than well-stocked classroom libraries. We do have a school media center, and I probably need to take better advantage of using it with my class. Another factor is time. It seems to take so long to read a novel in a regular English class that I don't often feel like I have time to offer more choices (and my students don't have time to read something else).

When students do "individual reads," I would prefer if they could work in literature circles or at least have a partner. Having another person's support makes us all more accountable. Think about how much easier it is for us to stick to a diet or workout plan if we have a support system; that's why weight-loss groups have weigh-ins and meetings and why personal trainers are so popular. Sure, I can provide some of this support as the teacher, but I fear the "carrot" of the grade at the end is completely unmotivating to some students. I also don't want to encourage the idea that we only read because we are "forced" into it.

CC Photo: Erin Kelly via Flickr

Ideally, I want my students to develop a love of reading and a multitude of strategies that help them examine and analyze their reading, make connections to their prior knowledge and experiences, and discuss their understanding intelligently. I don't think it can happen without some whole class reads, but I also don't think limiting their choices will make this a reality. I need to find some balance here, and make individual reads an easier reality in my classroom.

How do you approach teaching novels? Do you do more whole class reads or more individual reads? What have been your best teaching strategies for both? I'd love to hear your ideas!