After reading this recent article on PLOS SciComm, Kathy Renfrew,
an Education Specialist at the Wade Institute of Science Education in Massachusetts, responded on
Facebook, admitting that as a young teacher, she did her students a
disservice by focusing exclusively on fiction for literacy instruction. What led
her to rethink her practice? Read on to find out.
My first year of teaching,
I had just 15 students in a multi-grade 5/6 classroom in Peacham, Vermont.
Seems like a dream, right? No, no, no . . . oh, so wrong.
Back then, I wasn’t totally into
science yet. Like most elementary teachers at the time, my focus was literacy.
I was so proud of my classroom library, which was organized in bins by Fountas
and Pinnell reading levels.
For the 12 boys and 3 girls in my
class, independent reading time didn’t go so well. Neither did instructional
reading time. And I had no idea why.
Why didn’t reading aloud at Morning
Meeting captivate my young audience?
Why couldn’t students find a book and settle down for silent reading time?
What was I doing wrong?
I’d like to say I quickly figured out
the problem and came up with a solution, but the true a-ha moment didn’t come
until a year when I had 11 students—including 9 very gregarious, extremely
active boys.
Initially, silent reading NEVER
happened in that classroom. The students couldn’t seem to find anything they
wanted to read—even though I had more than 400 books, including books at a wide
range of levels and many award winners.
Then I read a report that made all the difference. According to results from
the Progress in
International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), fourth-grade girls in all of the 30-plus
participating countries scored higher in reading literacy than fourth-grade
boys by a statistically significant amount.
When
I dug further into this discrepancy, I found research showing that boys:
●
value
reading as an activity less than girls do
●
often find reading boring/no fun
●
have no time/are too busy to read
●
like other activities better
●
can’t “get into” the stories
At this point, I knew I needed to make some big changes in my classroom. I
started by talking with the boys. I explained that they had to read, but that I was willing to work hard to find texts
they would enjoy.
Next, I asked them to complete a survey. The results revealed that
they were most interested in reading books and magazine articles about real
things, animals, and how things work. I immediately purchased a selection of
science-based nonfiction and ordered subscriptions to Popular Mechanics,
Sports Illustrated for Kids, and Science News.
Suddenly, things began to change at independent reading time. Students
stopped acting out and constantly asking if they could go to the bathroom.
There was no more fake reading. The students were genuinely engaged.
I also began using more nonfiction texts for instructional reading, and soon,
the students’ scores on reading comprehension tests began to improve.
Since having that experience with my students, I have made finding great
nonfiction titles a priority. One source that I’ve come to rely on is the National
Science Teaching Association’s annual Outstanding Science Trade Books
list. These books have been carefully
reviewed for craftmanship and accuracy by a committee of educators.
One great title I found through this list is Feathers: Not Just for Flying
by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen. It has beautiful illustrations and an inviting scrapbook
feel. Students love the idea of comparing
feathers to everyday objects. It’s an excellent source for
discussing the link between the structure and function of animal
body parts.
NSTA’s annual Best STEM Books
list is another terrific source of
high-quality, accurate nonfiction books. Here are two favorites:
Building Zaha: The Story of Architect Zaha Hadid by Victoria Tentler-Krylov
The innovative female British-Iraqi architect found clever ways to build inspiring
structures that became famous around the world.
Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two
World Wars by Laurie Wallmark and Brooke Smart
The brilliant American code breaker smashed Nazi spy rings, took down notorious gangsters, and created the CIA’s first cryptology unit.
Today experts recommend that school, classroom, and home libraries offer
children a 50-50 mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, and based on my
experience, I can certainly see the value of that. If you are a parent,
teacher, librarian, or caregiver of any kind, I urge you to think carefully
about the books you make available to children—both boys and girls. Today’s
nonfiction has so much to offer young readers.
Kathy Renfrew is an experienced educator who began
teaching in Australia, and then moved to Vermont, where she taught for 35
years. Kathy served as a State Science Supervisor for the Vermont Agency of
Education for 9 years. She now lives in Massachusetts, where she has been an
elementary science coach, a virtual coach, and a science specialist for the
Wade Institute for Science Education. Kathy was National Board Certified and a
Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science Teaching.
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