Appearing Acts: Creating Readers in a High School English Class

Asking how she, as a teacher, can motivate students to discover the joy of reading, Joan Kernan Cone explores students' self-perceptions as "readers" and "non-readers." By engaging her students in this question and through her willingness to respond to their ideas Cone experiments with methods to cultivate "readers" — those who read on their own for pleasure and knowledge. Through the use of student journals, reading materials matching their interest and cultural backgrounds, and group discussion, she inspires a passion for reading. As a result of her in-class research and collaborative reflection with her students, Cone advocates creating a "community of readers" in which students can choose books, read them, talk about them, and encourage each others to read.