Reading Ladder
“But I don’t know what to read!”
How frequently have you heard this cry? And how often has it grown into a chorus in your secondary classroom?
The students’ claim that they “don’t know what to read” is frustrating for all parties, as it represents a significant barrier to independent reading. It suggests a lack of experience or success in choosing their own texts – and therefore very limited expectations of the benefits of reading.
Although typically associated with primary readers, the idea of supporting students to select a ‘just right’ book still applies in a secondary context – arguably even more so. The challenge for secondary educators is amplified as books compete with other technology for the engagement of a teenage audience. Choosing a ‘just right’ text for this demographic requires negotiation of complex factors, including student motivation, social and emotional readiness, as well as their reading ability.
In their book Knowing readers: Unlocking the pleasures of reading (2006) Susan La Marca and Pam Macintyre detail the important role the English teacher plays as “enabling adult” as their students negotiate text selection for themselves. As educators, “explicit modeling of the practice of choosing and engaging with a text” is vital to ensure that our inexperienced readers avoid becoming “frustrated and los(ing) interest in reading altogether.”
schoolED consultants are experts in developing strategies to address this student need. For example, a Reading Ladder is a visual tool which groups contemporary YA texts in response to a theme and stages them according to accessibility.
The benefit of this graphic is that there is no explicit labelling of ‘reading levels’ – thereby avoiding infantilising of secondary students. The focus on the books’ cover art allows discussion of what attracts students to the texts. And the Ladder’s theme can be tailored to suit student interest, or the curriculum needs of your school.
Consider how a Reading Ladder or schoolED Literacy Consultant may benefit your classroom today!
Reference:
La Marca, S., & Macintyre, P. (2006). Knowing readers: Unlocking the pleasures of reading. School Library Association of Victoria.
