Give Them Books and Book Chats, So They Will Read!

For the first ten years of my career, I was the only 8th grade English teacher in a town. I knew all the families, they knew me, and my classroom was a second home. Books were EVERYWHERE! And fulfilling the teacher archetype, I spent a significant percentage of my salary on my classroom, but especially on the books that were available as a free choice for "my kids."

But then I transferred to our high school and spent some years on a cart.  I was organized, so it was not terrible, but it was certainly not the same.  A couple years later, I shared a classroom with another teacher (try and picture two teacher desks in one classroom with 28 student desks).  It worked because we respected each other, but honestly my ability to make the space into mine was not possible.  And my books stayed at home. In boxes. In the basement.  Waiting to be read.

This year I have a room of my own (I do share with a part-time teacher one period a day), so I decided to bring back my books!  Having read Penny Kittle's and Kelly Gallagher's 180 Days, I emailed the staff requesting any unwanted bookcases be moved into my classroom.  The custodians laughed when I got to school in August and said: "let us know which ones you want us to take back out. There's no way you have that many books."  Little did they know what books mean to educators, let alone educators who are still English majors at heart.  Oh, I have the books. Trust me!

   Here is a picture of some (not all) of the bookcases before I carried my boxes of books back where they belonged...In my classroom where "my kids" can get to them.

But having books in my classroom was not going to be enough.  What good were they if my students just had books nearby but never had the opportunity to touch them, hear about them or read them?

So back to Kittle and Gallagher I went.  180 Days includes a recommendation for daily book chats, and I figured: "I'll try it out and we'll see how it goes?"  Quickly followed by "I hope I've read enough books!"
 Well, it turned out that I have read enough.  At least so far I have.  Today, on the 25th day of classes I gave my 25th daily book chat.  They take 2-4 minutes a day, and I follow the same model: basics of plot, character, genre, and usually the sharing of a short excerpt.  I maintain a list in the back of my room (picture below) and have even started a "Book Waiting List" board so my students who want to read a book that is checked out, will get it as soon as possible. I also maintain a "What Ms. Rocha is . . . Currently Reading . . . About to Read  . . . Recently Read" board along with a "What Ms. Rocha Should Buy Next" board.

I thought that was successful enough, but then a sweet moment happened.  A former student (with the help of a current student) wanted to focus on my book chats for a new segment on video announcements.  It was the first time the segment would air, and I was honored and nervous for the filming, but once the chat started, it was normal.  Just me talking to my kids about how awesome Trevor Noah's Born a Crime is.

Here is the clip:                                              

Link https://youtu.be/6J9ASeiO91w

Innumerable of my students have mentioned how great it was, former students stopped by to say "good job" and "why didn't you do that for us last year?" and an unintended side effect has happened.  Students I do not know have visited my room.  They just want to see all the books.  None have checked out a book yet, but I suspect some will in the future.  For now, they just like to wander in, see the books, take pictures of my Book Chat list (photo to the right), and go about their days.

The book chats caught on and if I forget my students remind me.  Fire drill means I missed a class?  Early release schedule means a class didn't meet?  The next day the students say: "Today we get two.  You gave a chat yesterday, and we missed it."  Who saw that coming?

Ideally, my students will step up and give the book chats shortly.  Parents and others have been invited in and though none have taken me up on the offer multiple have donated to expand the classroom library and shared that they would love to come in for book chats.

In fact, today I asked a custodian if there were any available bookcases.  He laughed, smiled, and said, "I'll bring you one.  Just tell me where you want it."  I love that!  And I love that my students are surrounded by books they want to read.  For ten minutes daily my sophomores and seniors free-read.  Many of them selecting texts I shared as a book chat previously.  Their reading stamina is growing before my very eyes.

Here are (some of) my bookcases at the moment.  The topics were created by my sophomores and seniors who sorted all the books the first couple weeks of school.

In the end I confirmed: If you give them good books, they will read!