Thoughts about Reading Ladders

"Counterintuitively, but traditionally, we have expected our students to make the leap from chapter books to the oldest and most revered tomes in western civilization "'with nary a bridge to help readers cross successfully.'" 

(Blasingame 2010). 

The purpose behind using reading ladders is to provide transitional literature that scaffolds readers up through a variety of connectors: books written by the same author, books from a single genre that grow more difficult, books that share a common theme, books that share similar formats (think manga and graphic novels), and so on.

Having just subbed in a freshman English classroom today and having watched 14 and 15-year-olds struggle with The Odyssey, the need for transitional literature rings true. Reading ladders also allow for flexibility. Each reader's ladder could look quite different as teachers meet each of their students where they are and find an individualized route to get them where they need to be.

First and foremost, Teri S. Lesesne's Reading Ladders provides a great reading list for those in search of YA literature. For me, this book reiterates the importance of reading widely as a teacher. It's impossible to make book recommendations if I haven't read any books that match the student's interests and reading level. I particularly like how Lesesne suggests that the first step to creating a reader ladder is to determine the bottom and top rung. Which dearly loved story or familiar book can hook the reader, and once they're hooked, what more complex reading do I want them to build to?

I don't understand how to employ Lesesne's reading ladders structure in daily curriculum. In some ways, most textbooks seem to serve this purpose. Most textbooks are organized by units of instruction, and each unit contains various types of literature that are connected in some way.

 I see myself using reading ladders in SSR, especially as a way to stretch my avid readers and as a way to guide my reluctant readers. I especially liked the idea of using the ladder structure to teach a poetry unit. Middle schoolers make a large leap when they graduate from fun, giggly poetry in elementary to Robert Frost. A reading ladder structure seems like a logical way to help students transition into "deeper" poetry.