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You want 'em to read? Get 'em to write!

Chances are if you're reading this, you love books. And if you love books, you desperately want your students to know the exhilaration of getting lost in a character, the joy of discovering a new world. But oftentimes, arming kids with the tools they need to be good readers can take away some of the magic - like when you have to explain a joke to someone: it's just not funny anymore.

So, what can you do to make them better readers? Let them try their hand at writing.

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia."
~ E.L. Doctorow

I think Doctorow was on to something. With writing, you get to play God. You're in the driver's seat, the one in control. The only hurdle a writing teacher has is getting her kids ready to face the dreaded blank page. And here's how: start with character. Many writers begin here and I totally agree. Think about it, how can you tell a story about someone you don't know? So here's what you do. Gather a bunch of books you think your kids would like and type the first sentence or so of each on a separate index card - shoot for a number to match the amount of kids in your class. Circle them up for a round-robin where each kid can read his or her sentence out loud, then ask the question, "Do you want to hear more?" If the answer's a resounding yes, take a look at those first lines. What caught your attention? What do you know about the character? What do you see? Begin a list on the board of traits connected to good beginnings and you're on your way.

Here are a few examples:

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck." This is the first line of M.T. Anderson's Feed, a futuristic satire involving teens with computer-wired brains. Who wouldn't want to keep reading?

The first paragraph of Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn does the same: "I've never been in a courthouse before. But then, I've never been in such deep shit before, either. The metal detector screams when I walk through, and a security woman tries to check my pockets. I pull away."Those four sentences say so much about this character, you'd be crazy not to want to know what he did to wind up in court.

Or how about, "It is my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache." The reader is right there with Laurie Halse Anderson's protagonist in Speak , just as she is when reading Gail Giles' Shattering Glass: "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." Don't even try and tell me you don't want to know more.

Did you notice something, though? All of the examples are in first person. There's lesson #1 for your students about point of view. Most YA lit is written in first person, allowing the reader to connect more closely with the protagonist. And here's lesson #2: tense. The first and last examples are in past tense, the middle two are in present. This is a great time to discuss the difference and why they might be used by an author to help express meaning.

Okay. So your kids are hooked. They have an idea about beginnings and have been talking about the possibilities facing each of the characters they shared. Now it's their turn. I use a character profile sheet with my kids where they fill out everything from height, weight, and hair color to hobbies, education and anger triggers. The crucial part of the profile, though, is this question: "What is the one thing about your character that nobody must ever know?" There's your conflict. Can't have a story without a problem, can you. Lesson #3.

See how easy this is?

Two more activities and they'll be begging you to get started. First, circle up with the completed profiles and have each student take a turn sharing their character. There will be stuck points and blanks, but you'll be amazed at how the kids help each other out. And those inconsistencies? Teens are the first to let each other know when something sounds contrived or too much like a movie they've seen. After talking out loud about their character, the students will be ready for the last activity: a journal entry or letter, something written by their character. This allows them to get inside the head of their creation. But be prepared, beginning writers usually "write what they know" and often their characters are mirror images of themselves. This is when the student can become the teacher, and you may learn more than you bargained for.

So, now you're ready to set them in front of computers and they're ready to begin writing. I tell my kids not to worry about trying to finish the piece; good short story writing is hard. What I want my kids to come away with is the understanding of story elements, the things they need to be aware of to make them good readers: pacing, structure, imagery, narrative, description, dialogue, characterization, point of view, tense, conflict. My goal is to have them be able to create a character and put them in a situation that needs resolving; to give them an opportunity to utilize language and grammar rules to communicate and achieve understanding. To learn to love writing and reading as much as I do.

Giving your students an opportunity to write fiction will give you an insight into their lives and a glimpse of what they're interested in. When you have those things figured out, you're well on your way to making them better readers.

Alternative Network Journal May 2003 Page 24-25,35

All speeches and articles are copyrighted by, and are the property of, Laurie Thurston, and may not be reprinted without permission of the author.