Reading History Assignment

READING HISTORIES: THINK-PAIR-SHARE

1. THINK: PERSONAL READING HISTORY

Think about your evolution as a reader, not just in your earliest days, but up through high school, and the present. Write in response to the following questions:

• What supported you in your literacy development?
• What barriers have you faced at various stages in your life as a reader?
• What were times you felt like an insider/outsider in relation to reading?

2. PAIR: PARTNER LISTENING

In pairs, take turns talking from your Personal Reading History notes for about 5+ minutes, without any interruption or even comments by the other person. This can be harder on the listener than the speaker, since our natural inclination is to chime in ("Oh, yeah, that happened to me too!") or to express support ("Wow! That sounds really hard!")

3. SHARE: In Pairs and Whole Class

After you have each taken a turn hearing each other, discuss the following questions:

• What similarities and differences did you notice in each others' Personal Reading Histories?
• Did anything surprise you about doing this reflection on your own history? Did anything surprise you about listening to your partner's history?