STUDENT CENTERED READING IN ELA 1

Student Centered Reading in ELA:

Abstract
This paper will cover a multitude of research studies, as well as personal accounts based

on the question, “why don’t students enjoy reading in the classroom?” In recent years many

studies have found a rapid decline in students' enjoyment of reading both inside and outside the

classroom. The first study follows a survey regarding what teachers can do to make reading more

enjoyable in the classroom as well as what constitutes young adult books and if that should be

changed. Not only is it an issue of students not enjoying what they are reading but many students

are also not at the correct comprehension level for where they are at grade wise. The second

research study talks about why students are behind on their reading comprehension levels and

how we can improve this going forward. The last research study covers the topic of teaching

queer inclusive material in English classrooms and how that can not only be beneficial for the

students reading but also can help students learn empathy as well. Towards the end of the paper I

will be discussing my own research where I asked several students from 9-12th grade about

reading in their classroom and then used that research to come up with a plan to improve reading

in the classroom.

Introduction

Growing up I was not someone who enjoyed reading in or out of the classroom. I spent

most of my elementary school years behind many of my classmates in reading levels. I was often

even taken out of class to receive extra reading comprehension help and my parents even

enrolled me in an after school program to continue working on my reading skills. This led to me

not only disliking reading but despising it. I avoided reading at all costs until I was about 10

years old. At this point in my life I was introduced to a book called The Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Finally I had found a book I enjoyed and I actually wanted to read. This started my journey on
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reading where eventually I actually surpassed the comprehension level of my age and by the time

I was in high school I was reading at a college level. Too many students have a similar story to

my own, except the vast majority don’t have the resources or support to explore their own

reading and it is causing many students to go into high school not having the appropriate reading

comprehension and absolutely despising reading as I once did. Not only offering students the

option to read what they want but providing the resources for them to do so can greatly improve

not only students ability to read but also their inclination to read.

The Research

According to John H. Bushman, there is an issue with what currently constitutes as young

adult books. The study found that the amount that students read gradually declined from ninth to

twelfth grade with more people reading in ninth grade than in twelfth. This in part has to do with

the material students are being forced to read, students are unable to relate as much to the

classics as they are no longer relevant to the current age of students other than the age of the

characters. In a study done by Aurthor Applebee, he observed two classrooms, one that studied

the typical classic literature and another that took a more radical approach. The study found that

“the most successful classrooms for students were led by teachers willing to look beyond the

classics. In these classrooms, comic books, rap songs, and young adult literature were as

acceptable for study as Shakespeare's King Lear. As Applebee noted, these teachers let content

determine the material, rather than a list of time-worn literary works” (Bushman, 1997). The

success of these classrooms proved that students need to feel a connection to what they are

reading and not just be of similar age to the characters.

In another article by E. D. Hirsch, Jr, he discusses what he refers to as the fourth-grade

slump. According to Hirsch, “[t]he “slump” was the name that the great reading researcher
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Jeanne Chall used to describe the apparently sudden drop-off between third and fourth grade in

the reading scores of low-income students” (Hirsch, 2003). A huge problem this has brought up

is why is this so sudden? What is happening between the third and fourth grade that there is such

a big drop in reading score? It was found that reading comprehension tests/decoding in grades

before fourth grade focus on early reading skills instead of the difference in vocabulary levels

between the grades. Therefore, the problem lies in the testing and not in the students themselves.

However, Hirsch emphasizes that just having knowledge of vocabulary is not enough for

students to truly comprehend a reading. In fact Hirsch states, “A big difference between an

expert and a novice reader is the ability to take in basic features very fast, thereby leaving the

mind free to concentrate on important features” (Hirsch, 2003). Teaching students this ability

early on sets them up to be better readers in their future. Part of this is utilizing the time spent in

the classroom as much as possible and focusing on the right things. “Making good use of school

time is the single most egalitarian function the schools perform, because for disadvantaged

children, school time is the only academic learning time, whereas advantaged students can learn

a lot outside of school” (Hirsch, 2003).

In the final article Mollie V. Blackburn and JF Buckley, discuss the importance of

including queer literature in English classrooms. Blackburn and Buckley emphasis “[w]hen the

literature that tells LGBTQ stories is excluded from curricula, all students learn is that "those

people" do nothing worth mentioning” (Blackburn/Buckley, 2005). This leads to their argument

that it is not only important to showcase queer literature for the LGBTQ+ students but for the

students not part of the community as it can breed empathy. In classrooms where LGBTQ+

literature was read students found themselves enjoying the classes more as students were able to

relate themselves or with others they know. Although the research wasn’t explicitly about how to
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get students to read more in the classroom, it is still extremely important to the aspect of reading.

This article goes to show that supporting students in what they want to read and learn about, help

encourage the want to learn and not just the need to learn. Including, LGBTQ+ literature allows

students to relate to a text more than something written in a time when being a part of the

community was illegal or heavily frowned upon. In fact, the article touches upon this idea, where

it was found that in older works of literature the values at the time often bleed through and can

actually have negative effects on LGBTQ+ youth whether it be through direct or indirect with

their peers.

My Research

When asked students had expressed their dislike for reading having more to do with their

ability to read and the topic of which they are reading. In a survey I sent to about 30 high school

students, 86.4% of the students said they would enjoy reading more if they were able to pick the

topic of the books or the books themselves. As well as 45.5% of students felt as though they

were not at the reading level they should be for their grade level. When asked why, the majority

of the students said that they struggled with reading and couldn’t understand what they were

reading. However, a few students expressed that they felt like they were at a higher reading level

because they really enjoyed reading outside of the classroom. Given all this information it is

extremely important to encourage students to want to read at whatever level they are at. If we

provide students with more opportunities to read what they enjoy rather than what some else says

they should be reading then they just might improve in their reading skills. A way I plan on

implementing this is by providing more opportunities for students to have a choice read. Once a

month I would have students read a book of their choosing and then do a small book project on
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it. And for the books that may be mandatory by the curriculum we would read as a class and I

would try my best to make the book more entertaining in whatever ways I could.