"If you think reading is boring, you're doing it wrong." Yet how many people hate to read? Take pride in the fact that they never read? Have truly never read a book in their lifetime?
How can I create a generation of readers when I teach science?
By exposing students to a new literary genre they might not choose on their own.
In my fast growing yet still rural community west of Cleveland, I teach students of all backgrounds. I've created a small library in my classroom, with as many books on my shelves as students on my roster. Just like my books, my students come in every shape, size, and genre. I teach students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, race, and religion. I teach some of the lowest achieving students in the school, as well as some of the highest. I teach college bound students, tech school students, and future dropouts.
I may teach science, but I teach my students that reading is fun. Every week, at least one student asks, "Are we reading this week?" At the beginning of the year, it is asked with dread. By the end of the year, it is a question filled with hope.
My Project
Students hate to read. Most students. Maybe not all. Mostly because they've only ever seen reading as a chore: read my summer reading book for 15 minutes before I'm allowed to use the watch tv/go online/use the iPad, etc. But how much of this is because they're simply reading the wrong books?
I want to take my students on an adventure to Mars by reading The Martian together.
I want them to see what a life can look like when you choose science, when you love science. My goal is to get my students to pick up a book that most of them would never consider reading on their own. Read it, enjoy it, and learn something.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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