The
first statement of this chapter states that teachers should explain to students
why they read. I have never thought
about explaining to students why we read.
It makes sense to tell students the importance of why we read and ask
them questions about why they think they should spend so much time reading. But as I read on, this chapter states that I
should share my love of reading with my students and explain to them about my
home library. But I must admit that I do
not have a home library and I do not love to read. These past few years, I have had to read text
books for my classes and I have not had extra time for pleasure reading. But I do enjoy reading and I do have several
favorite books that I can share with my students. One thought that occurred to me was the fact
that most of my students do not have access to books at home and have not been
exposed to excessive amounts of literature.
I
love the teaching tips at the end of this chapter that provides unique ways to
create more excitement among my students to develop a love of reading. Having students recommend books to friends
may help build enthusiasm for books that they might not ever receive from
me. Asking students to share favorite
books and creating a “top-ten” book list for the classroom is a great idea for
students to visibly see and remember titles of books when they go to the
library or are ordering from the Scholastic Reading Club.
I
have received encouragement from reading this chapter to be more diligent about
reading books of my choosing and I will share more of what I am reading with my
students.
Oh Melissa, I completely understand--I too have had limited time to read for fun in the past few years, too. In fact, I finally devoted some time today to reading an e-book I'd been working on for a few months. Sometimes I need that little treat to re-charge myself because the work always seems to pile up, no matter what! I love your ideas to create an environment where students can share their reading lives with each other. Reading is part of our experience as social beings!
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI love how this chapter gave you permission to choose what you read and to enjoy your reading life so that you can share your book love with your students. Sharing our personal libraries and opening up about what we read and why allows us to model not only reading strategies but a life long love for reading and this can be powerful in motivating our students to choose something they are interested in and gives them permission to read because they want to! Thank you! Dawn