I say this because reading is changing. Some are familiar with BookTok (ahem), and others only read if it is on a video game. I have no problem with video game reading because it was the incentive I used for my boys to read because I grew tired of constantly reading the instructions for them, but at the same time, we need to encourage them to read more.

An article at Psychology Today reiterates the benefits that we get from reading. The increase in empathy, improvement of mental health, and an improvement in social cognition are all benefits to reading. With mental health being at the forefront of concern for middle and high school students, the push to encourage reading in this age group is founded.

When I was struggling with my own mental health and anxiety issues, reading was one of the suggestions give to me as a part of my health plan. Turning off my phone and TV to focus on reading at least a chapter before bed was a great way to destress and unwind. My bad habit was overstimulation from electronic devices (TV included) and the inability to sleep due to focus on external stimuli I had no control over. Reading provided me a way to calm my anxiety and focus on something other than those things I had no control over.

At one time, my biggest argument for reading was telling my students how little they would earn than those classmates who read, but all it took was one student to rally against that and state they didn’t care. They’d rather live in poverty and on welfare than pick up a book. That was their exact words. It didn’t matter. But this was the same student who later came to me to share a book that changed their life. Most don’t realize that they need the messages in books. Not the messages that parents feel are indoctrinating their children. No. Instead they need the messages of hope, love, and the ability to overcome.

In college, my professor had me keep a reading journal. In this journal, I listed those books read and made a note as to what students would benefit from reading that particular book. There were books that I wouldn’t suggest due to the material and the fact that as a mother, I don’t think so, but I did find books that I felt my students who were struggling with identity or loss of a parent might find helpful. These are books that the students found helpful because of the improvement in their mental health that they didn’t know they received.

Connections are everything…

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What happened during that time period?

During the time of Covid, we saw a huge jump in virtual education, but we also saw a huge influx of students who became as addicted to social media, such as TikTok. I remember having students in my class while I was trying to teach who were going through the motions of a TikTok dances. Guess what? TikTok is still popular amongst middle school students.

This influx of social media with its instant satisfaction (think of the constant scrolling and the fact that videos were extremely short) created students who were conditioned to expect that stimuli be short, quick, and satisfactory.

How do we compete with that in the classroom?

In our school district, we began to utilize this in our classroom. Mini lessons became the name of the game, and we could easily fit 2 or 3 in a 60 minute class. This meant jumping and transitioning from one to the other. Allowing students shortened writing and processing times. How did this help with reading? You were basically teaching comprehension in short 5 to 15 minute bursts. But building up stamina for reading? Not really.

We are going to have to move past just competing with social media. We are going to have to retrain students in building up reading stamina if we are going to have any success in the classroom. Among my students who tested well this year, it was learning to skim read that helped them with their tests. But here in South Carolina, we have new standards and new tests in ELA. Skim reading may not help, but teaching students how to read a question and then find answers could benefit them. Over all, finding a way to engage students into reading and incorporating the shortened lessons to activate their need for constant changing stimuli could benefit post-Covid students.

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I think I have tried everything possible with these students, and it had become clear that what had worked in the past would not work with these students. This is a different generation of student. One that has come through Covid. One that no longer has the intrinsic motivation necessary to become successful students, and extrinsic rewards do not appeal to them. Plus, behavior is horrible.

Now, not all teachers have the issues with the students that I have. Those teachers have either another teacher in the room with them, or they have taken on the role of a stern teacher from the beginning. My mistake is that my reputation precedes me. I have tried to be the one who seeks out the problem and take a kind approach, but what I’ve learned is that my reputation is one of a “pushover,” and you can do what you want in her class.

There was a change this week. My newly medicated self (thank you, ADHD meds that make me feel like I’m on top of my game) has taken a complete 180. I’m fully aware. I have my stuff together and organized. I am more than capable of pulling myself together rather than feeling like a tightly wound ball of anxiety.

I started on Tuesday reading and discussing Cisneros’s “Eleven.” It’s short enough to keep their attention. They can easily identify the fact that the teacher shouldn’t have pushed the sweater onto Rachel. They can also empathize with Rachel’s feelings about Sylvia who states the sweater belongs to Rachel. Plus, they can think about why Rachel states the fact that the teacher is right because she’s older. Later we will read an article on intentional and unintentional bullying by teachers and discuss that in reflection of this story. My biggest purpose is to make them think outside of the stereotypical bully by hinting at a teacher could bully or someone you don’t expect could bully.

Wednesday we talked about the problems around laws that address bullying. We also started a first glimpse at South Carolina’s Safe School Climate Act. They started talking about some of the forms of bullying, and I had them look into some vocabulary that they may not know. Friday we will completely unpack the law that addresses what schools need. From here on out, the SC law will be a frequent piece in the classroom as we read and discuss several text pieces. We have a Fall break coming up starting next week, and when we return from break, I am planning to start our novel study.

Today they started building a case for how they feel about the punishment for bullying and whether that should be more strict. I pointed out on Wednesday that an author who was interviewed on NPR stated that labeling a bully could be a stigma that they couldn’t get rid of. My hope is to help them understand that all of us tend to bully, and we don’t want to be labeled as a bully. We want prevention. We want conflict resolution. We want to change the climate within the classroom and school. Not just “Here’s a law and if you don’t abide by it you will be punished.” The Safe School Climate Act specifies that schools have a set of rules in place, but how do you teach them? Just saying don’t do it isn’t the clear answer. Because of this, I love to teach this unit. It makes them think. It makes them take ownership in what we are doing and why we are doing it.

With that said, I can’t do it if they are not willing to listen. I had to put students out of my class this week because they were disrespectful. Not just to me, but to each other, as well. And some had to learn that what they asked for is a two way street. You can’t say to me, “You never stop so-and-so when they say stuff to me,” and then when I deal with it, you say something rude to them. It doesn’t work that way. Me handing out a consequence to them doesn’t give you a free pass to do it back thinking you won’t have a consequence.

I just hope that this new backbone holds strong. They’ve pushed me into a corner, and I don’t do corners.

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When I taught 8th grade, and 8th grade honors, I utilized Socratic Circles frequently. When I began teaching 6th and 7th grade, I moved away from them, but after this past year, I have decided that I want to incorporate Socratic Circles in my classroom once again.

Socratic Circles can be quite scary in the beginning. A teacher’s job is hands off. You are not in charge. You are merely a facilitator, not the teacher. You maintain the time, beginning topic, and make sure that the students are cordial with one another. The prep work for the first one can be quite laborious, but once you get the ground work laid out and have students do a practice run, it gets easier.

The Prep

Many things need to be introduced before you can have a Socratic Circle. Students need to know:

1. What it looks like?
2. How to participate?
3. What types of questions they need?

What it looks like?

Most students have worked in groups before, but they really haven’t participated in Socratic Circles. Sometimes I will have them do Fishbowl Discussions as a precursor to Socratic Circles, but not all the time. I make sure to share with them video of students in Fishbowl and Socratic Circles so that they know what it should look like. We discuss what they notice (believe me, most students love to share what they see). We talk about the importance of it. For example, there were questions. Why did they need a question? To keep the discussion going. To add to the discussion. To question what they just talked about.

How to participate?

Students need to understand how to participate in a Socratic Circle. While students understand the concept of talking, they may not understand social cues when talking. They will need to learn how to listen for someone who is finished speaking. They need to know how to take over in a conversation. With a first time group, I may choose to give them speaking cards until they understand how to ease into a conversation. If they have something to say, they use a card rather than raising their hand. (They are used to raising hands)

I even offer sentence stems to give them an idea of how to go about participating in the discussion. They need to know how to refer back to a comment, or how to add to a comment. They also need to understand that it is important to have come prepared to the circle.

What types of questions are needed?

Before your first Socratic Circle prep, you need to teach students about the different types of questions. I teach them about Costas levels of questioning and go over as a class building questions. We may do this several times before we begin with a Socratic Circle they will be graded on.

The Socratic Circle

When I do Socratic Circles, I tend not to do one giant circle. Instead, I have smaller ones. To cut down on the noise on the outer circle, I give them a job. They are to observe a student in the circle. These are chosen by me. I’m also observing both circles.

They sign up for a topic ahead of time. For example, when I taught Romeo and Juliet, I had topics such as, How is love portrayed in the media? and students must tie that in to the play. These topics are usually based on one of the themes of the text we are reading. When we read “The Most Dangerous Game,” we also read articles about the ethics of hunting, and one of the questions was on the feelings of animals. Or after reading “The Necklace” and “The Gift of the Magi” I asked a Burning Question, “Who sacrificed the most?” My hot seat was on fire for that one.

I do include a Hot Seat for Burning Questions. This is an empty seat that anyone from the outer circle may enter into the discussion. They can ask a question or make a comment. They may not stay in the seat for the discussion. They may also not line up behind the seat. They can only approach the seat if it is empty. In doing this, they have to do several things: pay attention to body language both around the inner and outer circle, know when they can enter into the conversation, and know how to add without disrupting the flow of what is already happening. To make it easier, you can always have a person who is in charge of the Socratic Circle. They turn everyone’s attention to the person who has approached after they finish the discussion they are in. This worked wonderfully with my honors group because they would finish their discussion, and allow the person who joined to discuss their question before they left. The person in charge also had access to the timer. They knew how much time they still had to discuss.

I always give them a time limit for discussion. This gives them several benefits. One, they know they have to have questions to keep the discussion going. Two, they also know how much time they have and to wrap it up if discussions are getting to in depth. Of course, as the facilitator, I do keep questions written down to make sure they do meet their time goal and also to make sure that they discuss what I want them to discuss. I may know a question that may come up on a test or TDA or once they are in high school (for honors entering AP classes).

The most important thing that they need to know is to come to the circle prepared. They have to refer back to the text. That may mean a marked up text or their textbook with post its placed on certain pages. If they say something, they have to back it up with the text if it is necessary. Defend it with text, Define it with text, and Explain it with text. This is the one reason why I have decided to go back to Socratic Circles. The 8th grade teacher talked about students not knowing how to find textual evidence. I realized that the one thing that my Socratic Circles did was to force them to back everything with textual evidence. I have 6th grade and 7th grade students back to back. Going back to Socratic Circles gives me the opportunity to teach them to find text evidence to support questions and comments.

If you would like to try Socratic Circles in your classroom, I have a zip file that includes all of the things that I use. When I first was told about Socratic Circles, I wasn’t given any information. I had to search the internet, and over the course of 10 years, I have narrowed things down. You are more than welcome to use them in your classroom or adapt them to your own needs.

Socratic Circles

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In a class with multiple reading abilities, behavior abilities, and concentration abilities, plus handwriting abilities, I have to think about adaptations before, during, and after my instruction.

Before Instruction

Prior to teaching, when I am in the planning stages, this is the moment when I consider many of my accommodation needs. Some require lessons that do not involve writing (they cannot read their own handwriting), some require a lower Lexile, and others cannot be on the computer (they will not complete work on the computer). I have to plan out my instruction to meet all of these accommodations that are in their IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) to insure that students are given an opportunity for success in the classroom.

During Instruction

Depending upon the class, lessons must be chunked into smaller equivalents. Because attention spans vary, I keep instruction short, practice short, and have frequent short transitions. I keep an eye on my students to know when I can move on. Too much time practicing and behavior issues will crop up among those who are already struggling academically and looking for an escape. Too short, and the lesson is completely lost. Transitions are the same. They have to be kept short to avoid escapism behavior issues.

After Instruction

Reteaching is often a must with certain classes. I still need to pull students aside to work on various skills, but at the same time trying to do this with a classroom full of students who can’t sit still or concentrate is a difficult thing to do. While I can put them to working on something on their own, I can’t guarantee that they will remain focused. Working individually is not their strongest trait due to some students’ need to escape what they feel is difficult or where they don’t feel success. Finding ways to adapt instruction after the lesson often involves whole class reteaching, or pulling students from other activities. Pulling these students from recess or another needed class interrupts other needs (activity to help burn off stored energy or a much needed extra reading class).

When I have to reteach as a whole class, I try to find another way to teach the same lesson. Finding multiple ways for students to learn the skill that I need them grasp and learn can be difficult, but I’ve found that having a list to pull from eases the burden of creating new lessons on similar topics.

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Except, it wasn’t that class that did me in. They were engaged in the lesson. They participated. I circulated the room and redirected, and offered assistance when they were stuck. They were fabulous, so I had high hopes for the rest of my day.

My next class, it went well. I redirected a few times, and students were surprised when I suddenly announced after the 5th transition that class was nearly over and they could pack up.

My honors class came in next, and I didn’t have to redirect as often. They are more capable of reading on their own and following directions with fewer explanations. It went smoothly. I began to feel this sense of great accomplishment. I had found the perfect lesson to keep students engaged from bell-to-bell and it was perfect.

Y’all, I got too cocky.

My last class rolled in after lunch and recess (basically free time), and immediately, I had to gain their attention 6 times to start my anticipatory set. I had to settle them down 5 times during that activity (which involved moving from one side of the room to another based on whether they agreed or disagreed with a statement).

When we transitioned back to their seats, I had to try 4 more times to get their attention and even raise my voice over theirs because they refused to quiet down. Once I explained what to do (with of course 5 more disruptions), I set my timer. They were reminded again that they were not to talk, but rather they were to be reading. Time was limited. Were they quiet? No. Same four students the entire class. I had chosen to stay near my student who constantly was up and down, but I’d go to the other side of the room, try to redirect before escorting my jack-in-the-box back into his seat.

The entire class, those students disrupted with talking or throwing things. Anything to avoid reading and writing.

I wonder why?

As I sat during my planning and looked over my list of students to pull for reading help, those 4 students were my lowest in the class.

Has it been so long that I have forgotten that many times disruptions come from those students who struggle, so they will act out to avoid doing the work? Only, I didn’t give them a free pass. I left jack-in-the-box with a classmate who started an intense debate on the subject, and I stood over those who weren’t working and reminded them that they were writing for the entire time (really only 10 minutes), and they were not allowed to stop. When I told them that spelling didn’t matter, but getting all of their ideas out onto the paper was the important part, two of the group decided to truly buckle down and write. This led the way for the others to follow.

I’m not sure why this one particular class is so difficult. They trash my room. They talk. They cut up. Not just those four. There are others who do the same. It’s frustrating. It makes my job feel like I’m living through a nightmare. I think to myself, “At least they will be 8th graders next year, and I won’t have to teach them again,” but I know that I have another group coming up that are the same way. New group. New needs.

Is it June yet?

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SSR or Silent Sustained Reading is something that you should include in your classroom daily as it:

• Improves reading stamina
• Provides students with enjoyment
• Improves test scores
• Increases confidence

Improves reading stamina

It’s true that students lack the stamina needed to read during the state testing. Too often, students become weary after reading long passages and begin to simply click on the answers to finish quickly.

Providing students with SSR time will give them opportunities to sit and read quietly for a period of time.

Provides students with enjoyment

Students who lack enjoyment begin to appreciate reading more during SSR time. The one rule to remember during this time is that we are not mandating what they should read. We are allowing them to choose their own books for SSR. Some may begin reading a book only to swap it out during the process, and this is something that should be allowed. Some students do not enjoy reading because they have yet to find the right genre fit for themselves. Our class libraries should have a variety so that students may choose any genre and be able to sample a variety of different books and authors.

Improves test scores

Having students read on a daily basis in your classroom has a huge impact on test scores at the end of the year. SSR gives them the opportunity to practice what they have been learning in the classroom. It also builds their background knowledge for making inferences and connections that they otherwise would not be able to do. I wrote not too long ago about my experience with improving my students test scores and increasing their Lexile levels. You can find that article here.

Increases confidence

Lastly, SSR increases a student’s confidence in reading. Many of my students do like to choose the lower Lexile books for themselves, but if their understanding is there then so is their comprehension of the text. Students need wins. Some students who struggle with comprehension find that graphic novels with the pictures help them to understand the dialogue. As their confidence increases, so does their ability to take chances in the classroom where learning is concerned. Some students who were apprehensive about writing became bolder when given the opportunity to combine what they love to read with what they are writing about in the classroom.

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What if I told you that there was an easy way to increase reading scores in your students’ tests that didn’t involve more testing and more lessons?

In the past, I was introduced to the concept of reading literacy. The district I worked with had a very strict policy of including Independent Reading, Read Alouds, and Shared Reading in the classroom. The one concept that I took away from this was Independent Reading.

Over the years, I added an Independent Reading time of 15 minutes at least 3 days a week, because that was something that I had learned from where I had worked in the past. When the district I’m in now decided to make reading a priority, I decided to do 15 minutes a day. Students tend to lack the stamina needed, and 15 minutes a day was a good start to teaching them to read for a set time period.

The 15 minute time frame worked well; however, I started to notice that more students began to beg to read longer. During our reading time, I observed the students. Most took about 5 minutes to settle into reading which meant that they only had 10 minutes of actual reading, if that. Once they began reading, they often became absorbed in the book and read much longer.

So what made the difference?

The regular structure.

What creates this structure?

Independent Reading or Silent Sustained Reading needs 3 components:

• Students should be allowed to read any book with no set expectations of reading levels.
• Students should be allowed to read where they are comfortable.
• Students need set expectations.

First, students need to be able to read books of their choice whether the level is too high or too low. Reading, any reading, still provides students with the opportunity of seeing sentence syntax as it should be. Sentence structure can often be something that is lacking in their writing, plus our state tests generally have students reading sentences and revising or editing them to make sense. When students read, they become accustomed to the sound of correct sentence structure thus enabling them to be able to identify sentences that need to be revised or edited.

As for comfort, students will not read if they are not feeling comfortable. Where they sit in the room plays a huge role in their reading. If they want to read sprawled across the floor, let them!

Lastly, they need to know and to understand the expectations for Independent Reading. Students know that they are to silently read for the entire time. I use a timer and noise monitor through Classcraft to provide students with a visual. They know if they make noise, plus they know how much time they have left to read. Along with this, they have a reading log that they are responsible for completing and turning in each quarter for a grade. This grade is generally a participation grade, but if I choose to pull students aside and conference with them, I can always access this reading log to see what they are reading, how far along they are in the book, and ask them questions about their reading.

How did this increase reading scores?

My goal at the beginning of the year was to increase my students’ MAP (Measurement of Academic Performance) scores. Students who read for the entire 20 minutes (some I observed as not always engaged in reading) increased their scores and went above their goals. Some even increased several reading levels. While we did have reading lessons, much of our reading came through this Independent Reading time.

Overall, the general contribution to this increase in reading scores was due to allowing my students to read independently and read books that they were interested in reading. I went out of my way to find out what my boys were interested in reading and provided them with those books in the classroom. Using the high interest books, the boys were able to read independently for the full amount of time and obtain the most benefit from our Independent Reading time. In fact, if I skipped a day because we had other things to cover, my students would complain. Who knew that they would come to enjoy that time?

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Finding books for boys that they find interesting and that will engage them in reading can be difficult. So many times, especially in middle school, boys tend to move away from books.

Last year, I challenged my students to read. They kept a reading log, and we started off with 15 minutes each class period of Independent Reading. There was no pressure to read a certain level or Lexile. Students were allowed to choose any book that they wanted to read, even if they wanted to bring something from home.

My expectations during Independent Reading was that they read quietly. To time them, and monitor the noise, I used Classcraft. Before Covid, I allowed them to read anywhere in the room.

During their reading time, I observed their reading habits and took note of those books that boys tended to fight over because I only had a few copies. When opportunity allowed, I asked them what books they wish I had, and then I surprised them by purchasing those books.

Top requested books for boys

The Bone books by Jeff Smith are really popular among boys. With boys being so visual, it’s no surprise that graphic novels were at the top of their list. For your struggling readers, these books provide enough pictures with the narrative to provide your readers with the context they need for comprehension.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney are generally fought over. They want to read them in order and they want to read them multiple times. They are funny and engaging.

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey was requested by the majority of the guys, and even some girls. These books keep them engaged. They will want to share what they are reading with other students in the class.

The I Survived… book series has been well loved by my students, especially the boys. In fact, I had to replace many of my books after a year because they had been read so many times that they were starting to fall apart. (Think about 90 students, at least 10 each class period for 4 class periods, for 180 days)

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