Natasha Serba with contributions from Haya Abbas, Senkon Senkeeran, Pranavan Maheswaran, Havinash Srisurendrakumar
Harmeet: I found the perfect book for me. The title is my birthday, November 19!
Jynessa: I don’t like reading. Except this book. I like reading this one.
Thasvin: Is it okay if I read a manga online?
Jana: This is a good book. I’m actually reading it at home. My dad couldn’t believe it.
I have the distinct pleasure and challenge of teaching three classes of de-streamed grade 9 English. The pleasure is that I get to work with young people who have boundless energy and fresh perspectives. The challenge is that collectively they bring a huge range of reading abilities, experiences, and interests (or lack of interest) with them.
At the beginning of the school year I introduced a daily reading program into our English class. We begin each class with twenty minutes (sometimes more) of reading. Students have been given the freedom to choose books that reflect their own tastes and interests. This helps to ensure that students are reading books that they are interested in because I always say that “life is too short for a book you don’t like.” Once students have found the right book for them, it usually doesn’t take long for them to settle into reading.
The wide range of reading skills and interests of my students is reflected in the diverse range of books they have chosen. My grade 9s are reading novels like The Godfather by Mario Puzo and the Harry Potter series, memoirs like Malala and The Wolf of Wall Street, young adult novels by authors like Angie Thomas and Eric Walters, poetry by Rupi Kaur, non-fiction books about basketball and cars, and Japanese manga too.
We talk about the books they have chosen, they write about what they are reading, and sometimes we just read with no assignment attached. My curriculum objective is for students to develop their reading comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and other essential literacy skills. However, my personal hope is for students to learn that they can actually enjoy reading if they are given both time and choice.
Not every grade 9 student will discover a love of reading in my class but most students will read more books over the course of this semester than they would have otherwise. And some may even discover that they have become readers along the way!
Natasha Serba
Teacher of English and Social Science
Lester B. Pearson C.I., TDSB
Student Perspective
Keep buying books for your reader or go to your local library. We have many choices of books at the school library. There are genres like manga, horror, mystery, romance, memoirs, comic books, and novels. It can be nonfiction or fiction, real or fake. You can exchange your book in the library for one month and come again for renewal.
You may not like reading as a person but you can investigate topics that you are interested in and get yourself relaxed in reading a book. Then you can read the rest of the chapters and see what is going to happen next just like a movie on a screen but written on paper. I understand reading a book can be boring but you can choose a short book that is not too long. You can make reading fun once you have found the right book for yourself. There is no rush with your book. Take your time.
You can ask yourself questions about the story and answer them. You can come back to the book if there is anything you forgot or anything that is missing. Write your thoughts and ideas down on paper. This will help to improve your reading for the better. You can find yourself actually liking reading. If you read words you have never heard before, ask someone what they mean or search it up on Google. This will help to increase your vocabulary.
If you love reading there are opportunities for you in the future. You may see yourself as an author someday. Just about every job needs reading and writing.
Parents or guardians can encourage their child to read, never stop them from reading, be there to support them, offer them books online or in person like buying books from Amazon or Indigo.
Teachers can advise grade 9s to read in class and get their books from the school library. They must have it in class with them in their backpack to read every day.
There are differences in our lives. Not everyone will like the same thing as you. In the meantime keep up with them and see how they are progressing. Talk with them about the book they are reading, have a discussion, you never know what will happen. Maybe they will want a book of their own and enjoy reading at the same time.
Haya Abbas
Grade 9 Student from Lester B. Pearson C.I.
Student Perspective
Being in Ms. Serba’s Grade 9 English class has changed me and my classmates from the average teen who hates school to becoming readers. Every day, without fail, the three grade 9 classes begin with at least 20 minutes of reading. At the beginning of the year, after learning that we would have to read every, single, day, I can easily say that this reading left a sour taste in some of my classmates’ mouths. However, as the days went on, we didn’t want to stop and asked for more.
This is the result of letting students choose what they want to read, from the mysteries of Harry Potter to the psychological thrillers written by Karen M. McManus. When students have their choice and their own say in what they want to read, they tend to read it more. Rather than feeling like I am being “forced” to read it, I feel it as a time of comfort, or of leisure.
Some of our assignments and tasks are riddled with small details to get us interested in certain books. For instance, one day, we had to analyze book covers to see what the visual information said about the book. I got into a group with a friend, and we reluctantly did our work. But the cover of Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper caught his eye. “This book cover seems interesting, I want to read it”. Wow. Just like that, he found a book he was interested in that he wanted to read. It wasn’t even part of the work!
Clearly, if students are given the opportunity and time to choose their own book that they actually want to read, readers will form. Not every student will start to love reading immediately, but with enough time, there is a good chance that they will.
Senkon Senkeeran
Grade 9 Student from Lester B. Pearson C.I.
Student Perspective: How do we Make Students Into Readers?
As a grade 9 student, I’m surprised and grateful that I started to like reading as I progressed through this semester. As a result of having daily reading time, I was able to face a new challenge, develop my skills, and enjoy something that I didn’t know I would. When we first started our course, our teacher decided to implement a daily reading session at the start of every class. At first, I wasn’t eager to go through with this activity, but it opened my eyes to the sense of pride and satisfaction I would later experience.
When our teacher first started reading time, it was a challenge to spend twenty minutes dedicated to reading. However, I found myself getting immersed in the book, and many times wanting to have a longer reading session. Overall, I really enjoyed our reading sessions at the beginning of class, as I got to relax and do something I now have an interest in.
As teachers, I believe it’s crucial to understand the mind of a teenager. As a teenager myself, it’s safe to say that stepping out of my comfort zone and engaging in a new activity can be challenging, but support from people you trust can really help with getting students into reading. Additionally, being able to read something you enjoy as opposed to something you’re assigned to read can have positive results for students. Based on my personal experience, I’m able to further develop my reading skills when reading a book I enjoy.
Although the destination may be far, the journey is worth it. There are many students like me and with the right amount of support and freedom many of them will become readers!
Pranavan Maheswaran
Grade 9 Student from Lester B. Pearson C.I.
Student Perspective: How to Get Young People to Read
Teachers and parents can talk to young people about reading. They can let them choose the books that they want and like to read. They can encourage children to learn about the author and the message he or she was trying to say through the book. They can ask children to read the stories out loud and listen to the stories they read. They can show them what other fantastic books there are to read. If teachers and parents recommend books that are more interesting, grade 9 students will read books that they like.
Young people will read more books when they get excited about the characters, what is happening in the story, and what is going to happen next. So if they get to read books of their choice they will read more and learn more.
Some children do not have the time to read because they are busy. Or sometimes, they don’t have a suitable environment to read. For example, some children might get distracted by their younger siblings who might be making lots of noise at home.
Some children who have difficulty reading could listen to an audiobook version of the books they choose to read. This helps with reading and they can hear books of their choice.
My English teacher, Ms. Serba, started silent reading every day in our English class. It gives grade 9 students an opportunity to read the books they are interested in in a calm environment. Teachers can follow Ms. Serba’s example. By doing this, they can grow in knowledge and students can make more progress in reading. Eventually, they will grow up to be more successful in grade 9 and they will continue to teach others around them to read books.
Havinash Srisurendrakumar
Grade 9 Student from Lester B. Pearson C.I.