Local teens take a bite out of reading

Local teens are being urged to put down the Play Station controller and pick up a book during the 11th annual Teen Read Week, which began Sunday and runs through Saturday.

Sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association, this year’s theme is “Books with Bite.” Schools, libraries and bookstores around the parish are encouraging teens to rediscover the love of reading, just for the fun of it.

Jennifer Deffner, Teen Services coordinator for the St. Tammany Parish Library, said a number of teen and young adult titles at the library have been specially tagged this week. By checking out the selected books, teens have a chance to win unique prizes.

“When the teen goes to checkout, a message will pop up that says ‘Congratulations, you’re a Teen Read Week winner’,” said Deffner.

Upwards of 50 books have been selected at each branch, and teens will be able to choose from various prizes, such as doubloons worth $5 toward any overdue book. There is no expiration date on the doubloon, so it can be used at any point in the future.

Deffner said the regular teen reading groups would still meet at regularly scheduled times, but the prize program was adopted to add something extra during the event.

“It’s hard to plan things during the school year because they’re already so busy,” she said. “This is just a low-key way to have some fun with reading.”

YALSA offers the following tips for parents to celebrate Teen Read Week at home:

• Visit the local public or school library with your teen to attend a program or to check out books.

• Set aside time each night for the family to read.

• Give books or magazine subscriptions to your teen as a gift or reward.

• Share your favorite book with your teen.

• Join a book discussion group at the school or public library.

The group also advises parents to surf the Internet with teens to learn about new books or authors. A good place to start is YALSA’s Booklists page, found at www.ala.org/yalsa, or www.teensreadtoo.com, a Web site devoted to young adult titles started by author and book reviewer Jennifer Wardrip.

While the Internet was once hailed as the death of books and reading, many teachers feel the age of technology has ushered in a new appreciation for the written word.

“The students have access to thousands of books at their fingertips,” said Marsha Bourgeois, English department chair at Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell. “They can research books and download them right to their laptop or a handheld device, and it’s just wonderful.”

Bourgeois’ students engage in their literary pursuits all year round through a program called Drop Everything and Read, or DEAR. Both students and teachers set 15 minutes for DEAR time at the beginning of each class for independent reading.

The program was instituted about 10 years ago, after Bourgeois attended an English seminar and learned of it from a fellow instructor.

A list of approved books is selected at the beginning of each school year, and every teacher has up to 20 titles available to their students. Each student may pick their own title, with the goal of completing two books per quarter, in addition to their required course reading. Students may bring in a book of their own choosing, but it must be approved by the faculty as a positive reflection of the school’s Catholic standards.

Included on the list are sports, current events, history and classics, to name a few. While some teachers keep a reading assessment log for each student, others encourage the teens to keep a journal. Bourgeois said that while lively discussion often follows DEAR time, the students often beg for another five minutes of silent reading.

“I think the most important gift we can give as a teacher is to help them appreciate literature,” she said. “English has to be more than just grammar and punctuation.”

Bourgeois said the program helps promote “good old-fashioned” exchange of ideas and communication, not only with teachers and other students, but among family members as well. Many times parents and grandparents will have read the same title when they were in school and can compare their thoughts and reactions with those of their son or daughter.

The school’s development director, Annemarie Furphy, has a daughter that participates in the DEAR program.

“As a parent, I love to look in that classroom and see everyone reading,” said Furphy. “It’s great to know they have that appreciation for learning.”