I visited a fourth grade classroom recently, and guess what I found? Readers! Excited, enthusiastic, voracious readers!
We hear a lot of dismal news these days about the Middle Grade Slump – about kids in the 8-to-12 age range reading less than ever before. Coupled with stats that show a decrease in reading proficiency among fourth graders in the United States, this trend triggers alarms and begs for action.
To add to the growing concern about readers, there's that 2024 piece published in The Atlantic: “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” The article reveals the observations of seasoned college professors whose high-achieving students balk at having to read entire books.
But these real-live fourth graders I met inspired me and gave me hope, and five observations I made while in their classroom are worth noting.
1. The classroom was lined with bookshelves, and the shelves were filled with books.
Kids need access to books. Lots of books. Lots of different types of books. We all have our individual tastes as readers, and like adults, children deserve the opportunity to be choosy. They need to peruse all sorts of books in order to discover the ones that resonate with them.
But wait. Don’t all classrooms have classroom libraries filled with books? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Many schools have trended away from classroom libraries due to the politicization of children's books. Challenging books, banning books, suing teachers, schools, and librarians…these actions have had a negative impact on kids’ access to books.
Of course, many teachers and schools, like the one I recently visited, work hard to maintain access to books because they know that if we want kids to become proficient readers, classroom libraries are essential. Need convincing? The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) cites research to support the value of classroom libraries and offers a list of tips and best practices in developing those libraries.
2. The teacher knew about books, talked about books, and recommended books to students.
This teacher’s passion for reading was no secret. A student informed me that his teacher often read three books at a time – one audiobook, one book on a device, and one physical book. How would the student know this? Because the teacher built rapport with her students by discussing her reading habits. Brilliant!
During a conversation with a student, I happened to mention the author Gordon Korman, and I named a couple of Korman’s books. Upon hearing the titles, the teacher eagerly jumped up and pulled these books off the shelf. She knew what was in her vast collection, and she knew exactly where to find specific books. I was impressed.
This teacher also knew her students as readers. Because they discussed books with each other, she was able to make recommendations based on what she knew about each individual reader. And this wonderful trait was imitated by her students. They talked about books, discussed their own passions and preferences, and recommended books to one another.
A classroom culture of reading is built upon knowing each other as readers. Need help getting started? The 2023 BookTrust article, “A Teacher’s Guide to Getting to Know Your Students’ Reading Habits,” is a great resource for building that culture.
3. Students were given time in class to read each day.
Many of the kids in this classroom probably have at-home reading rituals, but their independent reading is not solely an at-home activity. Every day, students could count on time being set aside for reading.
Because school days are crammed with activities, teachers struggle to cover everything in the curriculum, and all too often, reading becomes task-oriented. Read this passage and answer the questions. Read this passage and let’s assess your current words per minute. You’ll be allowed to read once you finish your work. Finding time to set aside exclusively for reading is hard!
But what happens when we start giving students a dedicated time to read self-selected books independently? They get hooked. They begin to want to read. And they begin to grow as readers. This growth is not just the short-term type that is quantitatively measured. It’s the more important kind of growth. The kind that turns them into lifelong readers. For more on this topic, read the 2021 Edutopia article entitled “Even Older Kids Should Have Time to Read in Class.”
4. The teacher reads aloud to her students every day.
Read-alouds are not just a luxury when there’s time to fit them in. Time spent reading aloud to students is time well spent.
A 2023 article published by edsource.org lists a lot of the benefits of daily read-aloud time. Some are skill-related, like vocabulary development and comprehension practice. Others are less measurable but equally – if not more – important. Reading aloud models fluency, builds empathy, and helps to establish a positive emotional association with books.
A shared read-loud is a book that all students experience together. With students functioning at many different levels of reading proficiency in any given classroom, independent reading is varied. A shared read-aloud provides a bonding experience that helps build a sense of community in the classroom.
For many adults, the thought of reading aloud to students who are able to read independently seems counter-intuitive. Shouldn’t they be reading to themselves? Yes! But not exclusively. Reading to older children is a really good idea. For a list of reasons why, check out the Common Sense Media article called “10 Reasons Why You Should Read to Big Kids, Too.”
5. Reading engagement was discussed; reading levels were not.
The culture of measurement and accountability can lead us to be hyper-focused on reading achievement. Kids who aren’t the highest achievers are at risk of feeling defeated. They begin to see themselves as “bad readers” and to see reading as a daunting task for which they are ill equipped. The result is often avoidance.
It’s important to realize that reading growth develops on a continuum. We need to meet readers where they are and help them grow from there. Leveling may work as an instructional tool for fluency checks and progress monitoring, but a classroom library should be vast, varied, and available.
That means that students should have access to ALL the books rather than being pigeon-holed in a particular level. Being allowed to stretch beyond an identified measure of proficiency is motivational and allows for growth.
Likewise, being allowed to read a book for pure enjoyment – even if it’s easy – is okay, too. As adults, we don’t read only the books that match our highest level of achievement. We choose books based on content, style, genre, and interest. Students should be given the same privilege.
For more on this topic, check out “If We Want Bookworms, We Need to Get Beyond Leveled Reading,” a 2020 article published on edutopia.org.
News about downward trends in book sales and sagging reading achievement can leave us feeling dismayed. But there is hope. There are classrooms out there where books are plentiful, teachers are passionate, and students are on fire about reading. Find those classrooms. Encourage those teachers. And let’s support them in bringing about a reading revolution!
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