Since I don't have a class of my own, I got the smart idea that the next time I go sub, I will give my reading interest survey to them. Unfortunately, it did not go so well. The class I did the interest survey with believed that on the questions that did not ask for specifics, they could put the most obscene answers down and treat it like a joke. Because of this I did not get the greatest results, but I will tell you what I can, and that I learned it is easier to work with your own class than another teacher's class.
What I did notice was how many students enjoyed reading non-fiction. Most just put down they liked magazines or reading articles about actors/actresses online. I was surprised how many students believed text messages should be included in genuine reading. I didn't think so since most of the time it is abbreviations and don't have complete sentences. What do you think?
I knew this would be a result, but I was sad to see how many students put down that they did little to no reading from day to day. I was sure to emphasize this doesn't just include reading books. It was either this, or they spent an excessive amount of time reading.
No one put down a real TV show or movie (yes, their last laugh is on me). After school activities mostly had to do with sports, skateboarding, gaming, or paint-balling. This is about all I could get out of the survey since most of the answers were (laughing right now for my censorship) "inappropriate." So glad this sub job is over. . . . . .
What I got out of this survey was the importance of including more non-fiction in my teaching, and not just that informative articles to help prepare them for the unit, but something that applies to now and whatever book they are reading. For instance, the class I did the survey with is reading Romeo and Juliet. A frequent comment was that this would never happen now. I think they would find it more interesting if they could be shown real instances of this situation and be able to compare and contrast and pull the themes and lessons from both.
I definitely plan on giving this survey again, but with the class I will someday have of my own. I can see the value in this and it also helps the students know that the teacher genuinely cares about what they find interesting and will take it into consideration.
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Amanda, you just supported my theory about my alt. ed. kids being more honest and less smart-mouthed on their survey than regular teenagers. I had one silly survey that still gave me honest answers (even though I had a lot of dirty magazines mentioned). I guessed that if I gave it to my "darling" middle school or high schools kids I sub for, I'd get punkish answers.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked they included text messages in anything. I'm so relieved nobody I surveyed thought that! Granted, if they text like I do, I could see it counting. I instant message and text message in complete sentences with proper grammar, spelling, and almost no abbreviations. That's a really interesting question.
And yes, it is much easier to work with your own classroom. I loved having my own middle school class... but I DETEST subbing for middle school and high school kids, for the very reasons shown in your first paragraph.