Engaging Students in the Reading/Writing Classroom

Engaging Students in the Reading/Writing Classroom

by Barb Edler

Hello, readers. I am a retired public school Language Arts/Composition teacher from Iowa. Currently, I am an online writing tutor for Kirkwood Community College. My teaching instruction has been greatly influenced by the Iowa Writing Project, and I have worked with students 6-12 as well as adults as a college composition instructor, mostly in rural areas. Writing, reading, and speaking are my greatest passions.  

Thinking of ways to increase student engagement is always a challenge. Over the years, I have found the following strategies to be particularly helpful in increasing my students’ connections with texts.

One approach to reading is to ask students a particular open-ended question before they begin reading the selection. Develop questions that relate to a message or idea connected to the reading. For example, I used the following questions for various pieces of literature you may recognize.

1. Why do people lie? “I’m a Fool” by Sherwood Anderson.
2. Can people change their behaviors? “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
3. Can you fall in love with someone at first sight? Romeo and Juliet.
4. Who is stronger, a man or a woman? Herland by Charlotte Gilman Perkins.
5. Based on the title, what do you think this story will be about?

After asking the question, I invite students to write for two to three minutes and then to pair/share. Following the pair/share, I ask the students to share their conversations and ideas. These pre-question discussions will further support the student’s reading because they will begin to see how these ideas connect to the literature. It also offers a way to make predictions about a particular text and to increase their ability to remember the text.

One of my favorite teaching memories was when I asked my juniors to write about a particular dream they would like to see fulfilled. I told them to write down their answers on slips of paper, encouraging them to be honest and explaining that I would not read their responses. I then had them fold their responses and place them inside a glass jar. The next day, I took the glass container and sealed it inside a plastic bag, reminding them to think about their personal dreams. I then took a hammer and smashed the glass exclaiming about how not all dreams are fulfilled and that many dreams are destroyed or deferred. The students were completely astonished by these actions but remembered the occasion well. This was a fun way to introduce the idea of Langston Hughes’s poem, “A Dream Deferred,” which inspired Lorraine Hainsberry’s title of her play A Raisin in the Sun. 

Writing Prompts:

Offering students a variety of writing ideas prior to reading can also enhance a students ability to connect with a piece of literature or text. I often use imagined scenarios and questions to encourage their writing which could be short and quick or more sustained depending on the amount of time the students have to write. For example, you might ask students to imagine a particular situation such as the following: Imagine you are on your way to meet your best friend’s significant other. Only you know the reason for this secret meeting. It’s beginning to get dark and your cell phone has died. You have no way to contact anyone. The road you’re on is deserted and remote. Take us to the scene. Show us your thoughts and actions. 

You can also offer a variety of text formats to share their knowledge of a text. For example, write a poem that reflects the character’s struggles and personality in a poem.

Feedback:

Providing immediate feedback for writing students is extremely helpful but often difficult to achieve as an instructor. However, I believe students will feel their work matters, and if they can receive timely feedback, it will further increase their engagement.

I suggest using two strategies to increase the timeliness of feedback. One is to have students engage in peer reviews. I use a PQP (P=Praise Q=Question P=Polish) approach form to provide students with a way to respond thoughtfully, quickly, and effectively to each other’s work. Modeling this method is essential so students become comfortable with the process. Praising the work means selecting the parts that are the most striking or memorable. Providing a list of questions will further help students understand how to use these three stages.

• Praise: “What was your favorite part, scene or passage?”

• Questions: “What do you want to learn more about?” “Was there a part that was unclear to you?” Or write questions about development such as “Can you tell me more about….?”

• Polish: The final step is where one can offer further helpful comments. It is perhaps the most difficult stage, because it is asking one to consider ways they could make the piece even brighter. Students can be encouraged to review word choice, sentence fluency, organization, or ideas. 

The second strategy is to have 3-minute conferences. Students can share a particular part and provide their own questions. Short focused discussions will increase the student’s opportunity to receive some timely feedback increasing their willingness to continue writing. 

In conclusion, I hope one or more of these strategies will help your own students meaningfully connect with their texts, written responses, and peers.