I come back from lunch to join my second block of students, whom I always greet with “Did everyone have a good lunch?” There are the usual grumblings about the cafeteria food, brief interjections about someone who got in trouble for throwing food, or who left a mess that caused their whole table to have to stay behind to clean up. But inevitably, there is my ever-so-eloquent Violet, with her daily blotter on who is dating whom, or who just broke up. It’s still mind blowing to me that kids are dating at the ripe age of 12, which I have deduced (in general) to mean that they text each other in the evenings and occasionally hang out in groups on the weekends. Harmless, yes, but for many, this is the center of their social universe, and truly, kids want to feel a connection. It was this daily exchange with my second block that sparked my inspiration behind the analogy of “speed dating” to increase student exposure to choices for their independent reading.
Setting the Stage
I arranged my classroom tables in several rows with chairs on both sides facing one another. Any time students come into a classroom that looks different from how it did the day before, it always seems to spark intrigue. I asked each student to get out their independent reading book and take a seat on a chair of their choosing as I prepared to introduce my analogy to the class.
Me: As you all know, we take time each week to share as a class the books that we are reading. What I enjoy about this time is that I am able to add to my “to read” list the books that sound enticing to me, and decide which books just aren’t a good fit. Either way, good or bad, I am forming thoughts about what type of books are for me, and which ones may be better suited for someone else. Today, we are going to participate in a speed-dating activity, but not with each other, with books. I would like you to start by taking a moment with the people near you and discuss what you notice first in someone you might be interested in dating.
Whispers . . . Chatter . . . After a few minutes one brave soul raises his hand, red faced.
Student: Um . . . if they’re hot.
Giggles.
Me: So perhaps, before we approach or talk to someone, the first thing we may notice is their physical appearance. Doesn’t the same thing go for books? I feel like oftentimes, I am drawn to a unique or attractive book cover just as I would be someone I was interested in dating. Okay, so once you find the physical qualities you’re attracted to, what’s the next step?
Student: Well, you ask them who they are, maybe something like, “Hi, I’m Ben. What’s your name?” Or, “Where are you from?”
Me: Exactly—you start to try to get to know them. What could this step look like when we refer to books? Take a moment and turn and talk to your neighbor.
Student: Well, if I were trying to get to know a book, just the gist, I would read the inside cover,or skim the pages and see what I think.
Me: Yes, we want to do a quick skim of a text, just as we would want to get to know the basics of a person we are interested in dating. So finally, let’s say this “date” progresses to several dates. Would you agree if I said that you want to get to know this person on a deeper level?
A lightbulb seemed to go off in their heads, and my students nodded in unison.
I then talked my students through how we could read the first few pages or chapters to get a feel for whether or not this “book date” was worthy of moving forward with, worthy of a committed relationship (i.e., a full read). I provided my students with an expanded version of the chart below and asked that they use it as a way to record and reflect on each “date” they had.
Book Speed Dating: First Impressions
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Title/Author: |
Pros: |
Cons: |
Interested/Date Worthy?(Y/N) |
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“Pro” sentence leads:
- I was drawn to this right away because . . .
- I want to know more about . . .
- I was attracted by . . .
“Con” sentence leads:
- This isn’t my type because . . .
- I was unsure about . . .
- This doesn’t feel like a good fit because . . .
We worked from a running clock to mimic a true speed date, and each “round” lasted six minutes. Students would trade books with the person sitting across from them and take the first four minutes to preview the text in whichever way made sense to them. After that four minutes, they could ask their peer any clarifying questions about the text, or engage in further discussion. Once our six minutes were up, I asked readers to record their first impressions on their graphic organizer, and then we would rotate. This could go on for an eternity, but I found their engagement strongest for only several rounds at a time.
What I loved was that after we experimented with this, students began using these clever analogies throughout the school year when talking about books. For example, Connor shared that he felt jealous because the book he’d just “met” was being admired and received well by so many others, he didn’t want someone to take the extra copy from my library before he had his chance to “date” it. Another student came to me because the cover of his “true love” had been ripped off while in the possession of another student and that’s what initially drew him to read it. He didn’t want that to discourage other readers from picking it up based on its lack of cover. Although many of these comments were made in humor, students were beginning to form deep connections to text, to develop relationships with books, characters, and authors.
The passion that I hoped to create was apparent, and more than ever, my readers were talking about books and creating a buzz among their peers—even if it was while using a cheesy dating analogy. Of course, there were still initial attractions and breakups to follow once a reader found out that their book was not what it initially appeared to be, but hey, isn’t that real life?
