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NOTES ON REQUIRED READING & FREE VOLUNTARY READING IN MY CLASSES
READERS
In Spanish I & 2 my students read anywhere from 3-4 easy readers (written with a limited vocabulary) throughout the year. This is required reading for all students. Often we read a chapter at a time together in class. We rotate reading for meaning (translating to English to check comprehension) and discussing the storyline in the target language. In this way we ensure that the input (via reading) is highly comprehensible as well as recycled in meaningful ways (personalizing the discussion of the text to the lives of the students in the class). The discussion of the storyline, characters, cultural products, practices and perspectives is reinforced visually wherever possible with the use of graphic organizers, maps, photos and video clips to bring the text to life
In Spanish I we usually read Pobre Ana and Patricia va a California during the first semester, and we'll read Casi se muere and El viaje de su vida during the second semester. These novels provide a structure of my curriculum for these classes.
Here's a list of easy reader titles that I have used in Spanish II:
Casi se muere (generally Spanish I)
El viaje de su vida (generally Spanish I)
Mi propio auto
¿Dónde está Eduardo?
El viaje perdido
Viva el toro (I have also used this title at the beginning of Spanish III when necessary)
All above titles are published by Blaine Ray.
FVR
My students have time for Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) at least every two weeks. Eventually I like to provide weekly FVR time (as much as 30 minutes), especially in level II. In level I we start with just 5 minutes (usually after a read-aloud or storytime) to encourage them to explore reading short books on their own in the target language. Often students start with simple discoveries such as "Wow! They write books for children in French/Spanish! Cool!", or basic identification of familiar words on the pages. As the students internalize more vocabulary their ability to navigate the stories found in children's books gradually increases and therefore need more time for FVR. It is important for students to feel free to find texts that they find comprehensible and interesting. Often they will choose a text and then decide to replace it with something they can understand better. I try to encourage them to try the text again later in the year. Perhaps they will understand it better then. It is my goal for all students to eventually move into chapter books where the research shows that they make very significant gains in acquiring language. Encouraging students to explore COMPREHENSIBLE readers and children's books from level I boosts their confidence, fosters a love of reading in the target language. We can further encourage them to become life-long learners (the Communities standard) by modelling this ourselves. During FVR time in class we should be reading in the target language as well. Titles that I've read during FVR time (and outside of class) include the entire Harry Potter series in Spanish and the first two books in French, Mi Vida, la autobiografía de Celia Cruz, and La Sombra del Viento an AMAZING book by Calos Ruiz Zafón. We need our input as well!
Students' reading successes scaffold their recall to provide them with greater success in communication in general (listening comprehension, speaking and writing). Comprehensible reading activities allow students to reach ever higher levels of language acquisition and proficiency. If we TRULY want to build significant language proficiency for all students then READING must be the CENTERPIECE of our curriculum.
For a list of FVR titles that I suggest from my class collections click on the links below.
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