I recommend reading these three books below. Although they are targeted to school educators, I believe that people who are interested in education and literacy should read these books, too. All of these books are available on Amazon, but they could also be available at your public library.
Ravitch, Diane. The Death and Life of the Great American School System.
Ravitch was the former Assistant Secretary of Education and supported Bush's education reform. With extensive research and documentation, she disputes the reform and offers suggestions for "real" reform.
Gallagher, Kelly. Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It.
Sometimes we can overteach a novel and kill the love of reading. Gallagher offers suggestions on
how we can engage students in classic and contemporary novels.
Miller, Donalyn. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child.
Miller offers suggestions on how to create readers by connecting them with books they choose to read.
Her students are the middle grades. However, her suggestions can be adapted for all grades.
I also recommend these two electronic resources for teens who want/love to write:
Teen Ink: Magazine, website & books written by teens since 1989
http://www.teenink.com
Figment: Write Yourself In
http://figment.com
Just finished The Book Whisperer and agree with Karen--it's a lovely book.
ReplyDeleteMiller requires her sixth graders to read 40 books a year. I especially liked this passage:
"Does expecting every student to read the genre requirements always work? No, it doesn’t. Every year, I have students who are so attached to their beloved genres that, in fact, they do not meet the genre requirements. One year, Tommy, a staunch fantasy fan, read sixty-five fantasy and science fiction books but avoided almost every other genre….I tried to entice him with other books, but if he showed no interest, I did not press the issue…..Is there anyone who doubts Tommy is a reader because he did not complete my structured genre requirements? (p. 81).
Tommy, it seems to me, is “college and career ready."