Books.  It’s all about the books.

After spending seven days in Orlando, Fla., for the National Writing Project/National Council of Teachers of English/Assembly on Literature for Adolescents conferences in November, I’m STILL flipping through pages and pages of books I brought home—when I can pry them away from my students.

Call it decompressing or whatever you want, but it takes a while to get back into lunch duty, taking attendance and all those other things that make up the everyday life of a teacher.  And it also takes a while to get through stacks of new books.  But my students and I have steadily made progress.

On the opening morning of ALAN, I walked past the line of teachers waiting to officially register.  Inside the large conference room others were huddled together opening their boxes of books and checking out the titles they’d received.  Others settled into corners of the room, sitting on the floor and surveying their collections. 

I circled through the room, saying brief hellos to friends amid all the excitement.  And it hit me what makes ALAN so special—our rowdy enthusiasm about the books and the outstanding authors who create them.

We’re adults; we’ve spent hours of time creating lesson plans for the substitute, registering, and making travel arrangements—and lots of our own money (unless you’re one of the few fortunate folks who, in this time of budget constraints, have outside financial support) to travel to this event.  Yet, despite all the hassles, we’re still squealing as we rip open our box of books.

Wouldn’t it be great if we created an environment where our own students would have such joy at discovering books?

For years, I’ve made a huge production of bringing in boxes of books for my classroom—whether they’re from ALAN, a local book sale, or a commercial book order.  I know that seems counterproductive when we hear all the complaints about too much curriculum to cover in too little time, but it truly pays off in the end.  By spending classroom time unveiling the new books for my classroom library, I’m actually saving time and energy down the road. 

Continually, it’s my reluctant readers who join in the most.  My first year of teaching, I brought in a box of books and one of my most difficult students—the first student I ever had to do a formal behavior report on--offered to help.  To say I was skeptical about his motive was an understatement. Imagine my shock when he pulled out the books, reading bits and pieces from the book jackets to encourage his classmates. It was the most positive interaction I’d had with him the entire year.  One student, after a professor had given books to my classroom library, wrote a note explaining that he appreciated the books and that it was the first time anyone had ever given him a book.  A dozen years later, I still remember the letter…one of the few pieces that student had ever written voluntarily in my classroom.

Today, I try to bring in a box of books whenever possible—and make a dramatic presentation for my classes.  I also encourage my students to label the books and then arrange them for display around the room.  It’s amazing how students enjoy the sense of ownership—that it’s THEIR new books.

After ALAN this past year, I ended up taking a huge tub of new young adult literature into school the week after Thanksgiving.  That’s all they needed—they tore into the books and selected some to try.  And, to top it off, during my planning period, students who aren’t even in my classes appeared in my room to check out the new collection.  Word had gotten around.

So, as you remember how you bubbled as you dug through your box of ALAN books, don’t forget to give your students that same rush—whether it’s books from ALAN or a collection you gather from a yard sale.  Let them have that same opportunity to learn that it’s all about the books.  And then sit back and watch the books—and those amazing authors—do a lot of your work for you.

Lori Goodson has taught middle school language arts and high school English and newspaper in Wamego, Kan.  An instructor at Kansas State University, Manhattan, she received National Board Certification and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction.  She has received numerous teaching awards, including NCTE’s 2007 Hoey Award, being a 2008 top 10 finalist for the NEA Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Kansas Master Teacher Award.  A member of the ALAN Board of Directors, Lori serves on NCTE’s Middle Level Section Steering Committee.  She is the former chair of the NCTE Middle Level Nominating Committee and co-editor of The ALAN Review. She has had articles published in the English Journal, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Voices from the Middle, and Kansas English, among others.  Her Book Business blog can be accessed at bookbusiness.lorigoodson.com.