The Pleasure of Reading Aloud

I love reading books aloud. My wife and I usually have on the go a book that we read aloud to one another in those rare moments of peace. We enjoy putting the kids in the backseat of the car and heading off on a long-ish drive, knowing that we’ll probably make significant progress in whatever novel we happen to be working on at the time.

Right now we’re reading the controversial The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. We had to see what all the fuss was about. Halfway through the book our verdict is that it’s a well-told story.

I like the fact that part of my job is to read aloud with students. Next week I’m starting a unit with my Grade 12 English class that will involve reading both The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and The Catcher in the Rye. I’m really looking forward to the pleasure of re-reading both of those books and listening to students’ reactions.

I’m trying a lot of new things in this unit, and I wonder how they are going to work. Some of these include:

• Giving students the choice of which novel to read by using literature circles. Scheduling is difficult with this, since I still want to read the novels aloud with students. It’s making for a very complex calendar.
• Working with student-led discussion rather than teacher-led. Students will meet in small groups and discuss their reactions to what they’re reading.
• Using a wiki to broaden the discussion to another Grade 12 class. My colleague and I are referring to these as “virtual literature circles” for now.
• Having students create a book trailer as a culminating activity.

I’m trying to incorporate conventional literacy and 21st-century literacy in this unit. It remains to be seen how successful this will be.

Still, whatever the outcome, it will all be worth it just to hear the voices of Mordecai Richler and J.D. Salinger again.