Middle School ENL and Library collab on a Blind Book Bonanza

Warwick Valley Middle School teachers Chelsea Iasello and Jackie Ahearn partnered with librarian Eleanor Glover to host a Blind Book Bonanza in the WVMS Media Center last week. The after-school event was aimed at promoting reading engagement among students who are English Language Learners!

The event grew from the Dynamic Duo professional development program, which Ms. Iasello, Ms. Ahearn, and Ms. Glover have been participating in through BOCES. The program is designed specifically to equip and enable ENL teachers and librarians within a district or school to collaborate on ways to boost literacy for their ELL students. The goal was simple yet powerful: Prove to students that reading can be enjoyable; not just another graded assignment!  

"Across the board, students are showing less of an interest in reading for fun. Instead, they associate reading with being graded," said Ms. Iasello. "The goal of this event was to prove otherwise! We want to show students that reading can be an enjoyable experience that allows them to imagine other worlds and ideas."

The WVMS Blind Book Bonanza invited students to a "blind tasting" of books. The available selection of books was carefully curated by Ms. Glover, based on student interest surveys that had been previously taken in class by Ms. Iasello and Mrs. Ahearn. Each book was wrapped in colorful construction paper. No titles, no authors, no covers, just pure intrigue.

After all, you know what they say about judging a book by its cover!

Each wrapped book had a brief plot summary taped to the outside. The summary also included the book's genre. To help students navigate their choices, they were given a Genre Menu that explained different categories of fiction:

• Adventure
  A story where characters go on exciting journeys or face challenges in new places.
• Fantasy
  A story with magic, imaginary worlds, or creatures that are not real.
• Graphic Novel
  A long story told with pictures and words, like a book made of comics.
• Horror/Thriller
  A story that makes you feel scared or tense, with danger or surprises that keep you on edge.
• Mystery
  A story about finding out what happened, often by solving clues or figuring out who did it.
• Romance
  A story about two people who fall in love and work through problems to be together.

Oh... and for some added ambience, the teachers decorated a corner of the Media Center like a delightful cafe, complete with checkered tablecloths, candles, and, yes, snacks and beverages.

The first step in the blind tasting was for students to take a look through the selection of books and begin choosing which ones they wanted to explore. 

"And remember, this is a blind book event," Ms. Ahearn said with a smile, "so no peeking!" 

The students rotated through the collection, spending three to four minutes reading each description before deciding which ones captured their imaginations. Some students gravitated toward books from all one genre, while others varied their selections, and they all eventually arrived at step two--writing down their Top 3 choices.

Once that was done, step three had the teachers doing their best to match each student with their highest-ranked choice. Then, it was time for the big reveal and the unwrapping began. Most of the students were excited about the titles they received, while a few did swap with one another. By the end of the hour-long blind tasting, everyone was ready to head home with a new book to read... for the fun of it!        

"We are firm believers that students don’t 'hate' reading, they simply have not found the right book yet," said Ms. Glover with a smile.  

The Blind Book Bonanza was a great first initiative in what will be an ongoing partnership between the ENL department and library, with more activities planned for the future. By letting student interests guide their book selections, the event will hopefully transform any reluctant readers into enthusiastic book lovers—one mystery (or romance, or thriller, or adventure) package at a time!