Reflecting on Memorable Reading Experiences
I was in 5th grade at the time. A nightly tradition had begun in a family of bibliophiles, especially now that my brother and I were old enough to have school-related reading as homework on a regular basis. Every night after dinner, my mother, my older brother, and I would spend some time doing independent reading in the company of each other on my parents’ bed. My mother and brother would both sit at the top of the bed with their backs resting against the headboard. I was to occupy the only relatively open space that was left–sprawled on my stomach lengthwise across the foot of the bed, propped up on my elbows to read.
As I dove into my required reading for the night from Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, I approached THE CHAPTER. THE CHAPTER of the story is Chapter 19, which holds the definitive moment of the book (also the definitive moment of my relationship with reading) in which I came to the realization that books can have a strong, and sometimes gut-wrenching, emotional impact.
I won’t ruin the story for those who have not read the book, and have not, as a result, been subsequently traumatized by it. However, I will say that in this heart-breaking chapter, I began to sob uncontrollably in the presence of my mother and brother. “Good grief, Katie,” my brother said. “What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s so sad,” I managed to say in between tears, pointing at the text.
“Oh geez,” he replied. “It’s just a book.”
My middle school-aged brother–older, wiser, separate from the woes of elementary students, and who had already read the book the previous year–was unsympathetic. His main concern was getting my noisy sobs to settle down so that I would no longer disrupt the group reading session.
It’s Just a Book
However, when I went to school the next day, I was pleased to find that many of my peers (who had also done their assigned reading the previous night) were equally distressed. Lacking the comfort of an older brother, I was grateful to find solace with friends and classmates as we discussed the unfortunate chapter of a beloved book.
As a child of the 80s, I had experienced being moved emotionally by movies–Bambi, E.T., and The Land Before Time are just a few titles that brought me to tears. But there was a significant difference in what sort of power I had given movies over books up until that point in my relationship with reading. Over the course of “just a book,” I had thoroughly invested in fictional characters whose successes I joyfully celebrated and whose losses I sorrowfully mourned.
Even better, the attachment to these storybook characters and their outcomes wasn’t a singular occurrence–my classmates were along with me in the emotional rollercoaster ride throughout our literary journey. Through collaborative reading experiences, we continued to grow as a class community, using stories to build compassion, empathy, and understanding as we gained important insight into the perspectives of others.
The Benefits of Collaborative Reading in the Classroom
CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), defines SEL as “an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.”
SEL has the opportunity to be embedded in classroom design in a variety of ways. Based on CASEL’s definition of SEL, collaborative reading supports both academic and social and emotional learning through its purposeful design to meaningfully engage students in texts. However, teachers must also be considerate of the timing and titles when implementing collaborative reading experiences.
First and foremost, in order to meet the goals of collaborative reading, the process should be done after a certain amount of mutual trust and respect has been built within the classroom community. This is necessary since the students will be engaging in thought-provoking dialogue and often difficult conversations that require respectful interactions between students.
Secondly, teachers should be mindful of the type of text that will support collaborative reading, engage students in class discussion, and increase academic growth and social and emotional learning. Tying a text to a big question and overarching theme of a unit (potentially cross-curricularly) can be especially impactful. This allows for the scaffolding of information to occur with multiple learning goals in mind.
Looking for books for collaborative reading opportunities for your classroom? Glose for Education is an e-reading platform that turns reading into a fun and social activity. With access to 1,000s of ebooks and audiobooks, teachers can match titles to their class’s interests with ease. Students can interact with the text and one another through the ability to highlight key passages, create comments, and record reactions. Additionally, Glose for Education’s platform supports learners through its customization features, so students are able to view the content in the way that best suits them. Also, integrative tools that are considerate of individual needs make the content more accessible. With digital design that is supportive of the user’s preferences, collaborative reading with Glose’s virtual platform will support students in their academic and social and emotional growth.
