Reading for Pleasure

Kenny Pieper's Reading for Pleasure in the 'How to Teach' is well-worth reading by all English teachers.  It's a pleasure to read a book so rooted in true commitment. And here is Kenny in an engaging Pivotal Podcast (number 146).

Some jottings:





'I take the act of reading for granted': Kenny's emphasis on those for whom this is not true is just what all (especially experienced?) English teachers need to bear in mind: we have a version of 'the curse of knowledge'.

The notion of what Donalyn Miller calls 'aliteracy', "a generation of kids who can read perfectly well but choose not to" is indeed a real challenge.

Kenny gives 10 minutes at the start of (most of) his classes over to reading. Well worth considering.

Plenty of more good practical ideas: the 'interest inventory', bookmark formats, dialogue journals, book speed-dating and much more, with interesting comments on the balance between e-readers such as the Kindle, and paper books.