Reading is something that I am always trying to encourage my students to do. Many middle school students develop such a disinterest in reading. It isn't viewed as the "cool" thing to do. I want to break my students of this type of thinking. We often spend the beginning of the year doing silent reading for the first ten minutes of every class. Students read through a variety of genres from my classroom library. We move into a whole class novel and then integrate informational text that relates to issues teenagers are facing on a daily basis.
In the past, I have watched my students' interest in reading grow quickly as they find new books that interest them that they can discuss with a group of friends.
Their excitement for reading is something I want to continue to grow.
My Project
8th grade students can be a challenge to motivate when it comes to reading. Finding books that are relatable and interest them can be difficult.
Graphic novels are a great way to grab the interest of students who find reading boring.
This graphic novel, "New Kid," includes great images and a story about a young man who finds himself one of few African-American students in his new school.
The school my students attend has very little diversity. This graphic novel looks at the difficulty a new student can experience when entering a school where no one else looks like them. It's a great book that I think my students could use to help them understand what it may be like entering our school and being of a different race/nationality. I think my students can learn a lot from this book!
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