I had a huge heartwarming surprise today during Club READ!
I've been reading Kelly Gallagher's book, Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it, and in it, one part talks about finding 'the reading flow'.
Page 61 in Readicide: “Csikszentmihalyi
describes the flow as ‘the state in which people are so involved in an activity
that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that
people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer safe of doing it.’
The flow
is where we want all our students to be when they read, …the place where young
readers have to ‘come up for air’."
This section of the book goes to say that many students have never experienced this flow with a book. Kelly Gallagher asked her students, “Have you ever watched a
movie that was so good you actually forgot for a moment that you were sitting
in a movie theater?” and most of her students raised their hand as a 'yes'.
But when she asked, “Have you ever read a book that
was so good that you actually forgot for a moment where you were?” many have
never experienced the thrill of becoming utterly lost within a book . They have
never experienced reading flow.
WELL... this brings me to my heartwarming surprise today :D
I asked the 24 students in Club READ the same two questions... I got a lot of heads shaking 'no' to the first question about being really into a movie. I was surprised!
I then expected to get more stares and head shaking when I asked the second question, about getting lost in a book... BUT instead, every single student's hand went up in the air! There were comments saying, 'Yes! I've felt like that!'
SO cool. This made my day. I knew the AIS Middle School had great students... but seriously, these kids rule. They love to read... these 24 students have chosen to join Club READ as their weekly after school activity. I am SO glad to hear that our students have experienced The Reading Flow!
We then went into some examples of books that we've gotten SO into that we forget where we are and how much time goes by...
Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale
Fairest, Gail Carson Levine
The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
Goose Girl, Shannon Hale
...and more : )
