Practical Ways to Make Reading Active (With Tools!)
This post is about supporting kids in being active readers and to embrace reading as a process of thinking. You will find:
Two tools to track thinking and monitor meaning while reading.
Ideas for integrating discussion into the reading process.
I recently taught a professional development course about the use of artificial intelligence in education. There was teacher, librarian, and administrator representation from all levels: PreK, elementary, middle school, and high school. It was fascinating to have so many perspectives on this growing topic in the room.
Part of our work was simulating a series of lessons where ChatGPT could be a resource to support the reading and writing process. Ironically, I aimed to “temper” ChatGPT in the lessons, to keep it secondary to the learner and the authenticity of reading and writing. It led me to create the two reading tools shared in this blog post (see below). In the lessons, I focused on ways to support kids in being active readers with multiple ways to track their thinking and synthesize ideas. The artificial intelligence tool was used to supplement original thoughts and to clarify ideas. I aimed to model how kids and responsive instruction are still at the heart of learning experiences, and ChatGPT can be a tool to support literacy work. More on that soon!
I’ve also been thinking a lot about conversations I have with teachers about kids being active participants in the reading process and prioritizing time for reading. It is very easy to let reading happen TO kids. Read aloud and shared reading are valuable community experiences and provide opportunities for instruction. Period. Students also need space and time to engage in their own independent reading and thinking processes. They will build stamina and practice what they learn in shared instructional experiences. And while teachers model ways to think about text during instruction, it is ultimately up to the individual reader to make sense of what they read. Meaning-making is personal.
In a presentation at the New York State English Council conference in October 2022, Kelly Gallagher talked about how all reading after high school is independent reading. We need to create spaces in school for kids to be ready to navigate what it means to be an independent reader beyond a classroom environment.
Think about this with me:
One way to build readiness is to coach kids on what it means and feels like to be an active reader.
What are some of the ways we internally respond to what we read?
What are some of the pathways for thinking while reading?
How do we make sense of what we read?
What are some things that influence how we make meaning of what we read?
How does our purpose for reading influence the ways we react or respond to what we read?
This thinking tool sorts responding to reading into four categories to scaffold the processes kids go through while forming relationships with ideas:
Raise Awareness: Readers are conscious of the thoughts and ideas that emerge while they are reading. Readers can consider these questions to build awareness: What ideas keep repeating? What are you reminded of?
Wonder: Readers may wonder in response to curiosity or confusion. Readers can consider these questions: Are you curious? Are you confused? Is there a specific question that comes to mind? What do you want to know more about?
Discover: Readers may learn new information about a topic, others, or themselves. Readers can consider these questions: Did you discover something new that you didn’t know before? Did you discover that your own ideas or perspectives have changed? Did you learn something about yourself?
Feel: Readers may have personal reactions and emotional responses to what they read. Readers can consider these questions: Why do I feel this way while reading? Why or why aren’t there any personal reactions?
After reading, students can evaluate their responses noting what thinking processes they engaged with most. In addition to reflecting about the content, students can also reflect on their reading process.
Another way to be an active reader is to participate in discussions about reading material and to consider if and how the ideas of others influence understanding and perspective. Literacy is participatory; our perspectives are influenced by others in academic, social, and online spaces. Students need practice in navigating multiple perspectives and evaluating the impact of conversation on mean-making. There are several ways to structure this type of work in the classroom:
Option: Students belong to a reading partnership or triad. After reading something of choice or something shared, students can engage with their partners in structured or unstructured conversation with coaching on how to synthesize the ideas from reading and partner talk. Partnerships can also support informal conversations that are brief and may serve as a “turn and talk” or “check in” opportunity.
Option: Students have a reading group to which they belong. Reading groups can be forums where formal conversation takes place about reading and content material. Students can rotate the responsibility of being the facilitator of conversation. Students may also write down ideas that are discussed on chart paper or in their notebooks to memorialize the conversations that are had. Seeing the ideas on paper may help some students reflect on how their own thinking is or isn’t influenced by the ideas and perspectives of others.
Option: Create virtual discussion boards. Students can participate in partnership and groups in virtual space by engaging in dialogue or response threads on an online discussion board. This may be done on a digital document or using tools like Padlet or options within the Google Suite like streams on Google Classroom or Jamboard. Digital discussions invite students to document their interactions in writing and allow for students to return to the ideas that their partners shared if they missed something in conversation. Digital discussions also honor that now all students are comfortable with verbal conversation all the time. Having a reading partner may feel stressful to some simply because they are not a conversationalist. Vary opportunities for sharing considers different personality types in the room.
This tool is designed for students to capture what ideas and vocabulary are most important to the topic they are reading about and to integrate partner talk into their meaning making. The sections labeled What information am I collecting while reading? and What words and ideas repeat? are designed for students to complete independently. After independent practice, students can then engage in partner discussions and add new ideas to the section titled What are you thinking after talking to your partner?
Building in time for partner and group talk may be challenging. It takes time for kids to articulate ideas and then reflect on how ideas come together. Partner and group talk also requires a management system with signals that kids internalize so that the class can move from the whole group to smaller groups seamlessly without a lot of transition time. It will take less time as kids gain more practice. Kids rise up to what is normed and valued within a class community.
Share the literacy leadership:
Teachers: Consider using one of the tools shared in this post. Reflect on your students' understanding of reading as a process of thinking. Is there time for independent reading practice? Is thinking emphasized in your students’ reading routines? Is the word thinking used in questions and prompts shared with students? Does reading happen TO students or are students making reading happen?
Administrators: Consider sharing this post with your team. Are teachers supported in giving students options for independent reading responses? Is time for independent reading practice valued among the department or school? You may consider sharing the thinking tools at your next planning meeting with teachers.