Kylee Kerby
EDCI 4349
March 31, 2004
Adolescent Reader Profile
Introduction:
This adolescent reader interview was conducted on Saturday March 27, 2004. My interviewee is 10 years old and in the 4th grade. For his protection, I will refer to him as, Tom throughout this profile. Tom’s parents held him back in the fourth grade this year mainly because he socially interacted with the younger kids better and had a really rough last year. In that rough last year, Tom was diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disorder. His personality is very outgoing. He will talk to anyone about anything, especially politics and even more, George Bush. Although, he does have a hard time staying on task or keeping one train of thought. He often changes the subject right in the middle of a conversation because he has so many things to say. Tom is Caucasian, about 4”10” with light brown hair and light brown eyes.
Reading Habits:
Overall, Tom’s favorite genre is fiction. I really think he would enjoy science fiction, but when I asked him he said he had never read any. However, I have a feeling he will be on the lookout for a sci-fi book sometime in the near future. His favorite book is “The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog” (Hank the Cowdog, 1) by John R. Erickson. He has read several books in the “Hank the Cowdog” collection and has even written his own 20 page version of “Hank the Cowdog” using his own dogs as the characters. I even had the privilege of hearing him read the entire story to me. He also likes “scary” books from the “Goosebumps” collection by R.L. Stine. Overall, he said that he likes book that are “adventurous or scary.” When I asked him when he reads, he replied that he mostly reads for the Accelerated Reading program. He sometimes reads for pleasure, but said that his family is very hectic, which does not allow him adequate time to read for pleasure.
In/Out of School Reading:
When I asked Tom what his definition of “in-school” reading was he said that he is given 30 minutes every day to read to himself. He also recalled that every Friday, they have 45 minutes to read and are allowed to sit on the floor or in the beanbags at the back of the class. He also told me that he reads 1 book, in school, per week for AR. This book must be a chapter book. I also asked him what kind of reading he does in other classes like Social Studies and Science. He said most of the time the teacher reads about half aloud and the students are required to read the other half silently. When asked for his definition of “out-of-school” reading he said that it was for fun and excitement. He also said that he really enjoys out-of-school reading and wishes he had more time for it.
Advice to teachers/adults on reading:
When I asked Tom if he had any advice for teachers or adults in general on reading he was very serious and replied, “Don’t rush kids when they’re trying to read because it makes reading not fun and hard to understand.” He also said that his school pushes the ability to read fast and if you can’t, you are either made fun of or left behind. He also said that he wishes the library had better and newer books.
Reflection:
During my interview with Tom I learned many important things about adolescents’. First of all, I realized that they do have opinions and strong voices, but just need the opportunity to use them. I also learned that some of them do enjoy reading and wish they had more time for it. I was beginning to lose hope with my field experience class because it seems like none of them like or want to read and only choose the shortest books. They are 6th graders and still try to get away with reading picture books week after week for AR. I will use this information when I become a teacher to better my classroom, no matter what subject it is. I will make it my priority to provide new books for my students and let them enjoy reading at their own pace. The first text connection I had during this interview was when Tom replied that he wishes they had newer books in the library. I realized that he felt this way because the books in his library are old and the covers are also old and tattered. I think if these “old” books had new covers, he would feel differently about them. I automatically remembered our class discussion and reading over how kids judge books by their covers. In conclusion, I feel that I have learned many important things about adolescents’ and their reading and I will definitely use my new knowledge to mine and my students’ advantage.
Last Updated: April 15, 2004
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