My senior College Prep students have pretty much checked out of school. They are unmotivated and feel like they can get away with doing literally nothing. A reminder that 2nd semester transcripts do get mailed to colleges, despite popular knowledge otherwise, changed some minds about not doing the work. Another speech about what a college professor or admissions officer would say if they walked in on this class proved somewhat motivational to get them participating in class discussion.
A success to get them reading has been the independent novel reading. On Fridays they are asked to be reading a book of choice after their vocab quiz is complete. I also read. It is great. To culminate our third quarter books, I set up a book talk for the students to share their books with each other. I brought in cookies to munch on, and students presented a brief summary, an excerpt, what they liked or didn’t like, and who they would recommend it to. The neatest thing to watch was the community of readers that was formed. After someone would present, it was common for somebody else in the class to ask to take a look at the book. Books were being passed around the room, smiles and laughs were shared, and discussions ensued that were not prompted by me.
These moments were excellent to watch as I work to build a community in my classroom that promotes reading and the exchange of knowledge about books and other subjects in a friendly environment. Students are already choosing their books for 4th quarter, some of which are based on the recommendations of their peers!
