Dive Brief:
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Offering students a chance to select their own reading material, such as a favorite book, can deliver more than just reading gains — students can experience social-emotional benefits, too. Choice may be of particular help for older students, especially those in middle and high school grades.
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When educators offer students in higher grades more choice, classes can gain some insight from reading about figures who may have handled challenges in their own lives, said Heather Schwartz, practice specialist for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. Students may have a chance to see themselves reflected in the material and feel buoyed by the experience.
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“When educators provide students at this age with choice, they are communicating their respect for the life experiences and knowledge that young people are bringing into class, which supports their identities as members of the learning community,” Schwartz said.
Dive Insight:
Reading choices are easily woven into English language arts courses. But, Schwartz said, any subject matter lends itself to this practice.
According to Schwartz, even math courses can widen their curriculum to allow students to select material that highlights a famous mathematician from a diverse list of options such as Katherine Johnson, who calculated orbital mechanics to help get John Glenn into space, and Mei Gu Guan, who suggested the concept for finding the shortest walk for a postman in a closed system or neighborhood.
“This will not take away from instruction. Students need to see themselves reflected in the scientists, mathematicians, musicians and writers they study in order to internalize that they are an important part of the learning community,” Schwartz said.
Empowering students to select their own reading material can also strengthen their interest in reading — even if it means a bit of upfront work from teachers. But by giving students a wider berth of options, they are likely to eventually stumble or gravitate toward genres and topics that they enjoy.
That not only gives educators a chance at exciting them about a subject matter, it also potentially fuels their love of reading now and into the future.
“On the front end, some strategies that lead to student independence do involve more work for teachers, because they require thoughtful planning and guidance. But this initial educator input yields enormous results as educators see their students engaged, motivated and joyful,” Schwartz said.
