THE ENGAGING

CLASSROOM

LITERACY AND
Travis Crowder
DEMOCRACY
(stephencrwdr@gmail
Engaging readers, nudging humanity
.com), an ILA member since
2018, is a middle school
English language arts (ELA)
By Travis Crowder

i
teacher at East Alexander
Middle School in Hiddenite,
NC. He has taught for 10
years and has experience
in both middle and high
school levels. He currently
teaches seventh-grade ELA
and social studies and works
with the gifted and talented
students in his school.
t’s Monday morning, and my students have just settled into independent
reading. The sounds of reading—turning pages and rhythmic breathing—
are subtle yet still audible as I make my way, clipboard in hand, to different
students.
I stop for a few moments with Hunter and ask, “Would you mind talking
to me about your book?” In this interlude, he discusses characters in Ray
Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (Simon & Schuster), questions they are asking, and
problems that have risen since the first page. After outlining our conversation
in my notes, I move to another student, Karina. When I ask if I can join her for
a moment, I jolt her out of the reading zone. She is reading Meredith Russo’s If

42 literacyworldwide.org | July/August 2019 | LITERACY TODAY


Their feelings matter, and where there
is disengagement, there is a story I want
to know.
I Was Your Girl (Flatiron), and when I
extracted her from such a deep state
of reading, she was in the midst of a
pivotal scene in the story. I tell her to
keep reading; we can chat later.
Other students are engaged
in their books, and in the time we
have left for independent reading, I
retreat to one side of the room and
just observe. When I announce that
our reading time has ended, several
students linger in their books for just
a moment longer, reluctant to let go of
the story just yet. Existing in an oasis
of story mesmerizes them. And I feel
honored to work beside them.
Karina’s and Hunter’s reading
lives have intersected with gorgeous
books and indelible characters,
moving them as thinkers in the world
they inhabit. Fahrenheit 451 provides
Hunter with a grim view of a world
without books and choice. Powerful
thinking about transgenderism in If I
Was Your Girl allows Karina to elevate
her own understanding of identity.
Both books enrich the humanity
of the reader, something I want all
students to experience. A reading life
offers pleasure, and I want students
to experience the joy of a voluminous
and varied reading diet. And, yes,
I want this for every student. But,
beyond that, I want kids to know that
books are models of the world, and
they equip readers with tools to nudge
the world in positive directions.
In conversations with Karina and
Hunter, I have asked them to consider
how these texts are nudging them to
promote change.
Nudging disengaged
readers
I recognize that not all students
come to my room prepared to plunge
into narratives and to examine all
LITERACY TODAY | July/August 2019 | literacyworldwide.org
that is noble or evil in our world—or
even just to find a book that they are
willing to read for a sustained amount
of time. Each year, kids arrive in my
classroom with their own personal
story about reading.
Prior experience with books
has stained or embellished
students’ impressions. Some beam
at the prospect of another year of
reading, whereas others bemoan the
expectation. I recognize the value
of engagement with texts and know
how books have the capacity to move
students to promote change in the
world. So often, though, students
enter as disengaged readers. I choose
to believe that I can reach them.
Students may disengage
because of access, low interest, an
overemphasis on “right” answers,
little or no validation of their visceral
responses, testing, or all of the above.
When readers come into my room,
I take their reactions to reading
seriously, knowing that above all else,
I am teaching human beings. Their
feelings matter, and where there is
disengagement, there is a story I want
to know. I meet them with books,
with options, and with patience. They
have a place in this world and their
experiences are part of the fabric of
humanity. I sit beside them and listen
to their stories. And I meet them with
books, ones I am certain will capture
their hearts.
This year, two students caught my
attention early on. Tanner and Grace
entered my classroom with a negative
Books breathe life into our thinking and open
our minds and hearts to the possibility of
change and progress.
opinion of reading. They refused to
do much reading outside of class, and
during independent reading time in
class, they would stare at single pages
for stretches of time. Conversations
with them were pleasant, but nudging
them forward was problematic. They
offered beautiful insights into poems
we discussed in class, mentor texts
we studied, and short stories we read.
However, developing a reading life did
not rank high on their lists. I refused
to give up hope.
Knowing students is a huge
part of the work I do to move them
as thinkers and readers. I have to
meet them where they are in their
learning journey and nudge them
from that point. Some kids come
to my class as disengaged readers,
certain that reading is not for them.
Like my friend Donalyn Miller, I tell
my students that not reading is not an
option and I work carefully to match
them with books that will speak to
their interests. But I do understand
their disengagement stems from
somewhere. Like Penny Kittle
encourages again and again, I listen
to them, and I take their resistance
seriously. I want to know who they
are and understand the stories about
reading they bring with them.
Nudging the world
Imaginative thinking thrives in the
heart and mind of a reader. Emerson
believed strongly in literacy’s power
to influence the world. In his eyes,
reading was a critical element of a
democratic society. I agree. I believe
that my students are the leaders of
tomorrow. Books breathe life into
our thinking and open our minds and
hearts to the possibility of change and
progress. I consider myself fortunate
43
 to see how hearts and minds can
change with the power of books.
Not long ago, several of my
formerly disengaged readers elevated
my thinking during their reading
conferences. Grace, whom I mentioned
earlier, was reading Clare Dunkle’s
and Elena Dunkle’s Elena Vanishing
(Chronicle). By reading this book,
she deepened her understanding of
eating disorders and, as a result, began
crafting poems that she wants to share
with a broader audience.
After Tanner finished Walter
Dean Myers’s Monster (Amistad), he
was curious about capital punishment
and the ethics surrounding it, and
sought more books to give him
answers. These students are reading
the world and witnessing through
story how people, real and imagined,
have wrestled with questions that
remain unanswered in our world. But
with reading, they are entering the
conversation.
44
Democracy demands a literate
populace. Our current political
climate demonstrates a need for
empathy. Again and again, the news
is replete with hateful rhetoric, and
without a voluminous and varied
reading life, kids will enter their adult
lives unprepared to combat such evil
and vitriol.
Reading has the capacity to teach
empathy. Books give readers—in the
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
The digital edition of Literacy Today
includes an additional Engaging
Classroom article from Denise
K. Frazier, Purdue University
Northwest, about grounding STEM
lessons in literacy and literature,
complete with a list of picture book
recommendations. Print readers:
Log in at literacyworldwide.org/
literacytoday to read the digital
issue.
literacyworldwide.org | July/August 2019 | LITERACY TODAY
words of Kelly Gallagher—imaginative
rehearsals, opportunities to stand beside
characters and see the world with them.
I lift my voice with a chorus of
other ones, believing that with books,
students are challenged, engaged,
and empowered. And, yes, I believe
that with books, students have the
power to nudge the world in hopeful
directions.
ILA 2019
Travis Crowder will join
Laura Robb and Evan Robb
on Saturday, Oct. 12, for a
panel titled, “A School Filled
With Readers: How the
Principal, Literacy Coach,
and Teachers Change a
School’s Reading Culture.”
For more information, visit
ilaconference.org/iplanner.