• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

January 3, 2022 Confessions of a Teacher

How VH1 Inspired the Way I Taught Novels

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Lanee Higgins

Lanee Higgins taught high school English and middle school ELA and AVID in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore County, Maryland. After seven years of teaching, she left the classroom in May 2021. Now Lanee is passionate about uplifting educators through her writing.
  • Chalkboards and Beats - June 29, 2022
  • A Q&A with Baltimore Teachers Union President, Diamonté Brown - May 20, 2022
  • Getting Honest About Teaching: An Interview with Honest Teacher Vibes - April 26, 2022
  • Finally An Afrofuturist Textbook! - March 16, 2022
  • "This Book Saves Lives!" Why You Should Teach The Stars Beneath Our Feet. - January 12, 2022
  • How VH1 Inspired the Way I Taught Novels - January 3, 2022
  • Please Stop Using Blaccent With Your Students - November 24, 2021
  • Throw Your Perfect Attendance Award Away - October 26, 2021
  • Want the Best Instructional Feedback? Ask Your Students. - October 20, 2021
  • First-Year Teachers: Raise Your Hand If You've Been Bullied Too. - September 24, 2021

Maybe my millennial is showing, but VH1’s “Watch and Discuss” campaign had an incredible impact on how I taught novels in my grade 8 standard ELA class. I wondered, what if I took the same concept and applied it to reading in English class? I made reading a novel as engaging as watching a VH1 reality TV series by:

  • Keeping it episodic: reading a few engaging chapters or passages at a time 
  • Welcoming reactions: setting ground rules, but allowing students to have authentic reactions to the text
  • Creating a Common Ground: reading the same chapters or passages together so we “watched the same show” at the same time

And it worked. VH1 inspired me to create "Read and Discuss." Having students "read and discuss" novels together during class time with live, unfiltered reactions and questions created classroom community–in-person and virtually. 

Read and Discuss Created A Common Ground

A reality that some ELA teachers have yet to accept is that there are students who simply will not read the book. No matter how many quizzes, assignments, projects, and essays you give there are some students who will not make it past the title page. And honestly, that’s ok.

There is a place for independent reading. I believe that it’s important that students complete some reading independently, but it can’t be the end all be all of the novel-reading strategies in the classroom. It’s inequitable.

Consider who is excluded when independent reading is the only reading completed. There are students who are unable to read at home for various reasons. When they are assigned reading at home that they did not complete, these students are eliminated from the conversation the next day in class. Sometimes life happens, and a student simply cannot complete the assigned reading. They shouldn’t be punished and alienated for matters out of their control. Even in college, there are classes where you read and discuss passages together aloud in class in addition to reading independently.

Read and Discuss welcomes students instead of excluding them. Reading together as a community gives students access to the text and the conversation. Voices that originally would have been left out now have the opportunity to be heard. 

The Reactions Reinforced Good Reading Habits

I will never forget the time several years ago that a student screamed, “That bitch!” in the middle of reading chapter 25 of Walk Two Moons. If you’re familiar with the antics of Phoebe Winterbottom, then you know exactly what chapter I am referring to. I told the student, “I agree with the sentiment, but let’s use  more appropriate language.” Reading the novel together, students have the opportunity to react and see their classmates’ reactions in real-time. When you read independently you may have those same reactions, but you miss the feeling of seeing what everyone thinks too and the discussion that comes with it. 

Reading together—whether aloud or collectively listening to the audiobook— facilitates deeper discussion and reinforces good reading habits. Students ask questions, make comments, share ideas, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. This encourages other students to do the same because they see it's ok to do so. Students see firsthand that reading is so much more comprehension and analysis. It’s more than just the author, characters, and plot. They see that reading actively includes them. Their reactions and opinions about the text are just as valid as the text itself.

Read and Discuss Empowered Student Voice

While teaching virtually, I created an activity called “React in the Chat '' while my students and I listened to the The Stars Beneath Our Feet audiobook. What I found is that students would pose questions or make comments. Then their peers would respond to them before I could even finish typing. They were leading their own conversations about the text without my need to facilitate and it was incredible! 

Reading novels together as a classroom community empowers students to use their voices. Seeing that it’s ok to share their ideas, empowers them to actually do so. Being able to challenge the text, their peers’ or teacher’s ideas during discussion allows them to stand behind and support their own ideas. Students also become leaders. They help each other navigate the text by clarifying understanding, answering each other's questions, and tapping into each other’s knowledge and experiences. Soon students began arguing over our class novels the way that they did television shows. 

Thank You, VH1!

Reading novels creates an extraordinary opportunity for adventure, but my students made it clear that they did not feel the same way. That challenged me to figure out how to make reading an engaging experience for them. With the help of VH1, I think I changed their minds. 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

In Defense of Standardized Testing: A Reflection The Politics and Pedagogy of Immigration Policy 6 Tips on Teaching Social Studies in a Politically-Charged Era Civility in the Classroom and the Rise of American Fascism
« 9 Fresh Voices in Education You Need to Hear in 2022
We Should Seek to Make Our Schools Communities, Not Substitute Families »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.