As a middle school reading teacher, I see alliteracy in action every day. A person who is alliterate is able to read, but chooses not to do so or has no interest. Many of my students are in my Reading class because they do not read unless they are made to do so. Of course, I have taken it upon myself to try to change this.
What can teachers and Media Specialists do to fight this problem? Collison is conducting an action research project to answer this question (2008). She recommends one-on-one interaction with the alliterate student to connect them to a book. Teachers should familiarize themselves with young adult literature. In doing so, they will be able to recommend books that students will be more apt to like. Teachers should keep the lines of communication open with the school librarian. They should talk about what is being taught in the classroom so that the librarian can help find the valuable resources that will add to the curriculum. Time should be spent teaching students how to talk about books, engaging in book clubs, or taking part in a book pass.
I was encouraged by Collison's summary as I am already doing these things with my students. Once they are hooked on a book, the transformation is amazing. The book pass is an activity that has been very successful in my classroom. Students are instructed to choose a book from a group of books that I preselected. They are given three minutes to preview the book. They are allowed to read anything in those three minutes. (I do suggest that they do not read the ending for obvious reasons.) After three minutes is up they record the name of the book, author, rating, and comments on their book pass sheet. They are given two or three more passes. This has helped many of my students find books that they actually like! I could not believe how well it worked the first time I tried this with them. More than a few have turned into avid readers this year. I cannot get some of them to put their books down. How exciting!
As you can see, I am very interested in the topic of alliteracy. More importantly, I want to learn more about how to combat it. What do you think will help fight alliteracy?
You can view more of Collison's action research summary by clicking on the link below.
Collison, J. (2008). Reducing "alliteracy" in high school students. Teachers Network.org Retrieved February 10, 2008, from
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/TNPI/research/achieve/collison.htm
Photo Courtesy of:
school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/bigbook.html
2 comments:
I love this idea. I have a supplemental education company and am going to try this with a group of reluctant readers!
I think this is a great idea. Actually, alliteracy is a new concept for me. I definitely deal with this in my media center. I have had my students write a summary of their favorite books and why they love them. When I have an indecisive student come into the library, we go right over to this board. It is similar to the Barnes and Noble staff picks. We call it "Student picks." The kids are so proud to have their summary up there too. There are positives to peer pressure. :->
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