LLED 462 Learning Curation #2

Learning Curation # 2:

Module 3: Supporting Learners Through the Library: Cultivating Life-long Reading Habits
      The scenario in Module 3 of the dejected second-grader being told he had to read only certain books really struck a chord with me, as I have seen countless reluctant readers at the secondary level claim that they "don't like reading because it's boring." Having never taught elementary before last year, I often wondered what had happened between K-2, when most children are beyond excited to get their hands on books, and early secondary, when these same students would only come to the library twice a year to get a book for an assigned novel study for English (in essence, the grade 10 student in scenario 2.) What had suddenly changed for them to make reading "boring?" Now that I work at the elementary level, I can see how crucial those first years are in fostering a life-long love of reading and making sure that children are not inadvertently turned off of it. As an individual who has always loved reading and was lucky enough to have grown up in an encouraging, "reader's" household, I feel that I must constantly foster my skills in enticing those students who do not have this same passion for it. As pointed out in Reading in the Wild (2013), "When parents don’t model reading, teachers grade and control everything kids read, and communities and schools close or defund libraries, we communicate to children that reading isn't something that our culture values as a life activity." If students don't have practice in reading for pleasure, and aren't allowed to actually explore what interests them, then of course they will not find it enjoyable. In that sense, I am the type of librarian that is happy to see a child reading, no matter what the medium, especially in the youngest grades. Indeed, one of the standards of an emerging learning commons is that students are able to self-select from the collection and read for pleasure (CLA, 2014). I connected with many of Neil Gaiman's comments in his article, particularly that "fiction is the gateway drug to reading" (2013). However, I was reminded in the discussion module by one of my colleagues that for some children, non-fiction is their gateway drug to reading. 

      

      As discussed in my post for this Module, I have often noticed how interested children are in non-fiction as they are naturally so curious about the world around them. I can remember my 4 year old self wanting to learn everything I could about animals and dinosaurs. I enjoyed reading chapter books as well and escaping into a world of fiction, but there was something about discovering a new fact about something tangible in my real life (why my cat Tigger had whiskers, for example) that was so exciting, and also made me want to SHARE that information with others. (Perhaps if I had attended elementary school in 2015, I would have been given the opportunity to do just that in a digital way!)

        For this situation, I would certainly wish to talk to the parent and try to seek a solution that would make both the child and the parent happy. Perhaps the student could take out a fiction and a non-fiction book. However, I wouldn't want the child to think, "oh, I guess I have to put away my fun book and read my boring book now." I would definitely want to find some realistic fiction for the student with topics that interested him. I would also wish to explain to the parent that non-fiction reading is an important skill indeed, and that neither is better than the other. I found a great article that outlined the benefits of reading non-fiction, so sharing some literature like that with both the parent and the child's teacher would be a good way to advocate encouraging children to discover their own passions. For example, "informational text offers the potential for increased engagement by students. [By] adding these books to the menu of reading opportunities in a classroom is a simple means of addressing individual interests to foster active, engaged readers. This increases the amount of time spent reading, which ultimately contributes to comprehension" (Barnatt, 2010). The article also has some great videos showing how engaged students become when reading non-fiction, and also points out the importance of developing students' critical thinking skills in reading informational text; for example, if it's written down as history, does that mean that it is true or actually happened?

                                    

Video courtesy of:
Learn NC. (2015, March 10). The elements of informational text. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrRYfKMmFY

I knew that I wanted to explore this prompt further because the situation speaks to why I became a teacher-librarian in the first place (fostering life-long learning and a love of reading); however, I wondered how I could connect it to my tentative essential question of "how can we ensure our students become 21st century learners?" After channeling my thoughts and investigating the topic of reader identity further, I realized that of course these two issues are connected. Because the world is changing at such a rapid rate, students must be self-motivated to learn the skills to mirror those changes if they are to be successful post-school. Being able to comprehend informational text and find the answers they need is a basic life skill that apparently many of our students lack (Barnatt, 2010).   Therefore, being able to read multiple types of text, as outlined in the above article, is definitely essential to being a 21st century learner.  In addition, and perhaps most pertinent to this prompt, is that students have to want to read to learn and have that sense of curiosity that comes so naturally to young children. Looking ahead to Module 4, I am interested to continue this thread of inquiry into 21st century learning by further investigating multi-modal literacy.


References:

Barnatt, Joan. (2010).  The Power of Non-Fiction: Using Informational Text to Support Literacy in Special Populations. LearnNC: K-12 Teaching and Learning from the UNC School of Education. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6554

Canadian Library Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Ottawa: ON (p.17) (Book Excerpt).

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading an daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu

Kelley, S., & Miller, D. (2013) Reading in the wild: The book whisper’s keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p.88-128.

Learn NC. (2015, March 10). The elements of informational text. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrRYfKMmFY