Create A Love Of Reading for Aspiring Engineers

How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading...

OK… I have an Awesome Idea… bare with me as I explain.  I want to get my High School Engineering Students to love to read. 

Read to the end to figure out how you can jump in and participate in this Awesome project. The short answer is you can buy a book for my Mechatronics Engineering Students off this Amazon list "Create A Love Of Reading for Aspiring Engineers" 

Stuff Teachers Do On Summer "Break"

I have been thinking a lot about how to help my students develop a love of reading.  This summer I have been doing some prep for next year's Mechatronics Engineering class. One of the things I did was listen to Jennifer Gonzalez' "Cult of Pedagogy", podcast number 84 "How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading". (On a side note, If you are a teacher, I think that Jennifer's podcasts are a great resource.)

This podcast was all about how to get kids to learn that reading can be fun, and is not always about a grade.  Rather than focus on Quizzes, Questions, and Summaries.  Jennifer and her guest Pernille Ripp, spend some time exploring how to get students to enjoy reading for pleasure.  Reading for fun.

Jennifer said, "If I had to pick one thing that makes the biggest difference in the quality of any person’s education, the quality of their life, really, it would be reading. And I’m not really talking about basic literacy—not about the ability to read—I’m talking about reading for pleasure, to satisfy curiosities, to understand how people work and find solace in knowing we are not the only ones who think and feel the way we do. That kind of reading."  

Jennifer also asked how to turn our students into people who love to read? The answer is: "The only thing that can do that is books. Reading actual books alongside other people reading actual books."

They talk about reading for skill and reading for pleasure.  The problem with many school reading programs is that they are all about reading for skill, and never about reading for pleasure.  No wonder in our school years, students start to hate reading, and then, if we are not intentional about reading, in our Adult years we never really pick it back up again.

So… That is what I'm going to do. I'm going to create a time & space in my classroom to read…  Just read. 

And here is where you can help!

My goal is to expand my students'  opportunities to read about Engineering, Science, Scientist, Engineers and Luminaries in the early days of understanding Physics and Math.  I want to show them a world they can find by reading.  Hard Science, Astro-Physics, Robotics, Biographies, Technology Articles… Even some great Science Fiction.

Two to three time a week, I'm going to create a space and time for students to read for about 15 min.  This will be time where my students can pick a book or magazine off my shelf and read.  I'm not going to have quizzes, questions or tests about what they have read.  I'll probably have them write a few sentences about what surprised them? Why it was interesting? Or other random thoughts... but I'm not going to grade that.  The grade will just be reading participation.  They can participate at what ever level they want.  I'm planning to have a mix of books and magazines that range across many reading levels.  Maybe a few in different languages too.  I'll probably have some days where they can use the Interweb to dig deeper and follow up with current events... but for the most part it will just be them and a book.  Just reading.

STEP One: To do this, I will need to curate and then build a library, both on line as well as a hard copy book shelf.  That's where YOU come in.  I need you to tell me about STEAM books that tell awesome science stories. 

• What are your favorite books about Engineering, Science, Physics, Math?  I want books that tell about these topics in a good story format.

• Who are your Science and Engineering Heroes?   Who's Biographies should I have in a collection?

• What are the Science Fiction books that every aspiring Engineer should read?

• What Books or Stories got you excited about Science and Technology?

Comment on social media, send me a PM or email at jim.The.STEAM.Clown@gmail.com.  For each one, please tell me why you think this specific book is important. Why did you pick it?

STEP Two: I'm going to build a curated list.  I'm also going to create an Amazon wish list.  You could support my classroom by buying a book or two off that list. As you tell me about your favorite, I'll start adding them to the list. If you can support this project, it will be much appreciated. 

• Create A Love Of Reading for Aspiring Engineers