Classroom Story: CliffsNotes And A Moment

I am old enough to remember when you could go to the book store and head over to the rack that every English Teacher warned us to stay away from. CliffsNotes were to an 80's and 90's kid to what ChatGPT is to today's kids.

Those yellow and black pamphlets were hard to hide from our teachers, but they got us through many tests, quizzes, and papers. The funny thing is our teacher's questions about symbolism and themes seemed to always have perfect match to what Cliff was saying. I guess nothing really has changed as today's teachers gripe about kids using AI, yet teachers are using it more and more for feedback, lesson planning, and anything else that makes the job easier.

Another thing that hasn't changed is that the minute you tell a kid to read a book, the majority won't want to. Most will do anything not to read that book, much like we did back in the 90's. Let's face it; not all of us read every single book we were assigned. We shared answers. We bought CliffsNotes. We did what we had to do. Our teachers cared and lamented about how we weren't reading, but they never stopped assigning us reading. It was our job to do it at home. Class time was for discussion, writing lessons, and, of course, quizzes.

Unlike our teachers, we teachers of today defaulted to reading entire novels to the class. The rationale was simple; if kids wouldn't read at home, they'll at least hear the story in class. It is rooted in good intentions as we have been trying to pass down the love of reading that we found later in life to a group of kids who are just like we were. They have more exciting things to do, just like we did. And, for the record, I am sure they will find that love of reading later when they can choose their own books.

There are many reasons why reading to a class is based on faulty logic. The main one is that even less kids will listen to a teacher reading for 42 minutes. It is a big waste of time. The kids aren't listening and they are bored. And, the teacher is bored too. Nothing is being accomplished. Yet, that was the default for the past decade.

This year, I decided to change that. We have to get kids reading on their own. At my opening department meeting, I launched into a whole speech with a catch phrase, "Expect more and they'll do more." On the first day of school with the kids, I told them they would read a whole lot more.

They just stared at me. It was almost a challenge.

Ok, it was a challenge.

It became apparent right away that my 10th graders were not into Fahrenheit 451. I mean, they were into the pre-reading talks, the links to today's world, and the battle over censorship. They spoke their minds, had strong opinions, and were knowledgeable of the issues. I even read the first page and did a close reading activity, which went pretty well. So, I was excited to see them read on their own. The vast majority of them didn't. 

This was going to be a struggle. Actually, the word I use with my colleagues is slog, but I am still not sure that is really a word. 

So, I had to get them to engage with the text. I started to give them note taking activities. For some days it was a Cornell Note taking sheet with a guiding question. Other days, it was a double-entry journal. This week it was a straight up, old fashion reading comprehension sheet that I made up, not AI. I also compromised with them and gave them some time in class to read and do the activities after I do my lesson of either writing, grammar, or a preview of what they are about to read.

The results?

Some are actually reading. Some are not, but getting the work done. It may not go by the name Cliff any more, but "Robot Cliff" is definitely getting some through. But, what I can say is this: yesterday, I gave an open book quiz on the reading. At one point, I looked up and saw all 28 kids reading the book in search of text evidence. In that moment, they were trying; I was proud of them for that. They were reading and were able to, for the most part, answer questions with support about the themes of part two of the book and how they relate to today's world (at an 80% success rate). 

Isn't that one of the big reasons why we read? So that they can make connections? 

The every day has not been pretty. And, tomorrow will present a new set of challenges. But, in that one moment, my crew were all reading on their own. Hopefully, this success will lead to more independent reading. A teacher would be a fool if they didn't think that kids are using AI to help. I think I am glad they are. At least they care enough to do that, much like we cared enough to ask Cliff for help. As a teacher in the year 2025, we must continue to develop that independence and reading stamina by varying the activities. I think the next unit will be a student choice/literature circle setup. 

As long as we can give kids tasks that have them synthesize the information and that require them to dive into the text, we can continue to slog through and kids will be alright. That will lay the seeds for them to develop a love of reading. I do plan to try more things this year.