Oh, so you think books are boring?

I teach a remediation class called EAP (English for academic purposes) to students who are reading 1-4 grades below level.  This is my favorite course to teach; it's where I can make the most difference.

To say that these kids are reluctant readers is an understatement- they HATE reading, at least they say they do... so my first job is to show them they are wrong! (And I LOVE that!)

Let me share one strategy I use-

Speed Dating Book Style!

Here's how it works:
I have tables in my room and a pretty sizable classroom library, but if you don't have those two things, you can set this up in the library with your librarian's help.

Step 1- I have 9 tables in my room instead of desks which is perfect. Before students arrive, I go through my class library and pull some of my personal favorites, former student favorites, new and "hot" titles, and put them out on the group tables-  about 12-15 books per table.

Step 2- When students arrive, I tell them not to unpack their backpack, all they need for this activity is a their notebook and a pen or pencil. We're going to be moving around and I don't want the backpacks
in the way.

Step 3- the directions are simple: students will visit each table, preview the books, ask me questions, talk to each other, and write the titles and authors on the last page of their notebook.  We call that page the "shopping list".  Here's the catch: They only get to spend 3 minutes per table!
                Limiting the time they can spend at each station, builds a sense of urgency and  excitement!

Continue until every group has visited every table. I takes 30-33 minutes. By the end of the activity students have a list of books they are interested in and list of authors they can look for when we go to the school library.  They're also learning about what genres they might like and the variety that books offer. Most of my students create a list of around 15-20 books that they're intrigued by :)

Invariably they want to borrow books right then and there, but I explain I have to use the books all day for the activity... but if they come after school they can certainly check them out! And they do.  We did this activity yesterday, and after school 18 students showed up to check out books, and I'm sure many more will get their books Monday.

I hope you and your students enjoy this activity :)


In case you're interested, the image is on a t-shirt I bought from threadless.com