The old way of doing 10 minutes of FVR didn’t hold the kids accountable for anything. It is definitely a concept with a firm foundational footing in Krashen’s research but, as Kevin pointed out to start that thread on FVR a few days ago (and I agree with him), the fact is that the kids, perhaps knowing that it isn’t going to be graded, don’t take it at all seriously.
I knew there was a reason that I don’t do that kind of totally free voluntary reading with my students anymore, and Kevin put his finger on it. The only thing, it seems, that can get a kid interested in reading IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT, it seems, is a test. Sad. True.
So, now my kids read with a purpose. They are reading Houdini right now for the first ten minutes of each class. That’s forty minutes of reading with me walking around to help. Yes. Then, for forty minutes on Friday, we will process everything.
The group comes to concensus on how many pages/chapters are to be tested on. I can circle my way around anything for hours so I don’t care. I just want to do more meaningful reading this year.
Then, at the end of class on Friday, we will have a translation test on one of the paragraphs they read all week. I love the way they read now. Focused. Cool. Real to them.