The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA 385: Re-engaging Rusty Readers: A Stamina Building Lesson
Jul 9, 2025
Explore the challenges elite college students face with sustained reading. Discover innovative strategies to engage reluctant readers through dynamic activities and book tastings focused on dystopian literature. Learn how integrating book clubs can boost enthusiasm and foster a love for reading by providing choice. There's a focus on adapting materials for diverse learners and gradually introducing more complex texts, ensuring every student can build their reading stamina and confidence.
26:29
Reading Stamina Challenge
- Students struggle with reading stamina due to test prep, phone culture, and COVID impacts.
- Teachers need practical strategies to encourage longer, more engaged reading.
Cultivate a Reading-Friendly Space
- Create a classroom environment rich with student favorites, visible recommendations, and genre organization.
- Use displays, book posters, and digital resources to build a vibrant reading culture.
Start Small with Choice Reading
- Build reading stamina gradually starting with shorter, high-interest texts and daily 10-minute independent reading.
- Supplement with book talks, chapter previews, and encouraging book choice to boost interest.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Engaging Students with Dystopian Literature
02:15 • 16min
Building Engaging Book Clubs in the Classroom
17:47 • 2min
Meeting Students Where They Are: Adapting Reading Materials for Success
20:02 • 2min
Fostering a Love for Reading through Choice and Engagement
22:19 • 4min
Snake Falls to Earth
Darcie Little Badger
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Written in 1931 and published in 1932, 'Brave New World' is a dystopian novel set in a futuristic World State where humans are bred in vitro and predestined into a rigid social hierarchy.
The novel explores themes of technological advancement, social conditioning, and the loss of individuality and freedom.
The story revolves around characters such as Bernard Marx, an Alpha who questions the society, Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, and John, a 'Savage' from a reservation who introduces elements of emotion and individuality into the highly controlled World State.
The novel critiques the optimism of technological progress and its potential to create a society that values stability and happiness over humanity and freedom.
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
In this classic dystopian novel, Ray Bradbury depicts a future American society where books are outlawed and 'firemen' are tasked with burning any discovered.
The protagonist, Guy Montag, is a fireman who starts to question his role after encountering Clarisse, a young girl who loves nature and reading.
As Montag delves deeper into the world of books, he begins to see the emptiness of his life and the dangers of a society that values entertainment over critical thinking and intellectual freedom.
With the help of Faber, a retired English professor, Montag rebels against the system, leading to a confrontation with his fire chief, Captain Beatty, and ultimately joining a group of intellectuals who have memorized books to preserve knowledge for a post-apocalyptic future.
The Go-Giver
A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea
John David Mann
Bob Burg
The Go-Giver tells the story of Joe, an ambitious young man who learns the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success from a series of mentors introduced by the enigmatic Pindar.
These laws—Value, Compensation, Influence, Authenticity, and Receptivity—emphasize the importance of giving and adding value to others' lives.
By shifting his focus from getting to giving, Joe experiences unexpected returns and achieves greater success in both his business and personal life.
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Published in 1945, 'Animal Farm' is a novella that allegorically represents the Russian Revolution and the subsequent rise of Stalinism.
The story begins with Old Major, a boar, inspiring the animals of Manor Farm to rebel against their human oppressor, Mr. Jones.
After the rebellion, the animals rename the farm 'Animal Farm' and establish a utopian society based on the principles of equality and solidarity, known as Animalism.
However, as time passes, the pigs, led by Napoleon and Snowball, consolidate power and gradually corrupt the original ideals, leading to a dystopian regime that mirrors the oppressive human rule they initially rebelled against.
The novel critiques totalitarianism and the corrupting nature of power, reflecting Orwell's experiences and views on the Soviet Union under Stalin's rule.
Divergent
Veronica Roth
In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peacefulness), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (bravery), and Erudite (intelligence).
The story revolves around Beatrice 'Tris' Prior, who leaves her Abnegation family to join the Dauntless faction.
Tris's aptitude test results are inconclusive, marking her as Divergent, a secret she must keep hidden.
As she undergoes the rigorous initiation process of Dauntless, Tris faces physical and emotional challenges, including simulations that test her courage and wits.
She also develops a romantic relationship with her instructor, Four (Tobias), who is also Divergent.
The novel explores themes of identity, selflessness, bravery, and the complexities of a rigid societal structure, culminating in a climax where Tris and Tobias must stop a mindless uprising against Abnegation orchestrated by the Erudite faction.
Dante's Inferno
Dante Alighieri
Charles Eliot Norton
Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem, The Divine Comedy.
It narrates Dante's fictional journey through the nine circles of Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.
The poem is an allegory representing the soul's journey towards God, starting with the recognition and rejection of sin.
Hell is depicted as a realm of those who have rejected spiritual values, with punishments fitting the sins committed.
The journey is a spiritual rescue mission initiated by Beatrice, who represents divine revelation and guides Dante through his spiritual growth and eventual readiness to leave sin behind.
The Canterbury tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
Set in a post-apocalyptic North America known as Panem, The Hunger Games follows Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl from District 12, who volunteers to participate in the 74th Hunger Games to save her younger sister Prim.
Alongside Peeta Mellark, the other tribute from District 12, Katniss must use her hunting skills and wits to survive the arena.
The Games are a tool of oppression by the Capitol to remind the districts of their defeat in a past rebellion.
As Katniss and Peeta navigate the treacherous arena, they also manipulate the audience and sponsors to gain advantages, while sparking the beginnings of a rebellion against the Capitol's tyrannical rule.
Scythe
Scythe
Jamie Stegmaier
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
The story follows Thomas, a teenager who wakes up in a place called the Glade with no memory except his name.
He finds himself among a group of boys who have also lost their memories and are trapped in the Glade, surrounded by a massive stone maze.
The maze is inhabited by deadly creatures called Grievers, and the doors to the maze close every night.
Thomas and the other boys, known as Gladers, must navigate the maze and uncover its secrets to find a way out.
The arrival of a girl named Teresa complicates their situation and sets off a chain of events that changes everything.
The novel is a fast-paced adventure filled with action, mystery, and themes of survival, friendship, and the human instinct to escape captivity.
1984
None
George Orwell
Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism.
The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother.
Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative.
He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination.
The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
There's a lot of conversation happening lately around student reading stamina. Rose Horowitch's Atlantic article, "The Elite College Students who Can't Read Books," helped stir the pot. I'm sure you've seen evidence of the same issues she brings up - that students are struggling to stay focused through books, and often come to you having read a lot of excerpts and short pieces rather than full novels. Test-prep, phone culture, COVID - there are all kinds of reasons, but the bottom line for you as a teacher is, what can you do about it?
Today's request for our new "Plan My Lesson" series comes from a teacher looking for ways to help her students build their reading stamina. She's wondering how she can help her students work toward longer reads and more of 'em.
Perhaps you're wondering the same? This is a big question, and we're just planning one lesson. But let's zoom in on a snapshot of a class that could help students move toward longer, more-engaged reading sessions. We'll start, like The Odyssey, in medias res.
Related Links:
Episode 196: How Caitlin's Verse Novel Book Clubs Engaged Seniors 'Til the End: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2023/06/how-caitlins-verse-novel-book-clubs-engaged-seniors-til-the-end.html
How to Host a Book Tasting: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2019/03/how-to-host-book-tasting-free-resource.html
Episode 204: Students Need Diverse Texts and Choice, with Dr. Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica and Dr. Allison Briceño: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2023/07/students-need-diverse-texts-and-choice-heres-help.html
The Dos and Don'ts of Donors Choose: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2019/01/the-dos-and-donts-of-donors-choose-for.html
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