Reading is "Sweet"

   Teaching reading is tough. Older students are exceptionally stubborn when it comes to analyzing a text- they just want to read what they want to read and be done with it. It is often hard to excite students who are not encouraged to read, to read. It is difficult to excite children who do not see reading being done in their homes to read in their homes. It is a challenge to get students to read when they believe reading is for"geeks". It is my passion to energize students about reading- I tell them to read movie reviews and tell me what new good scary movies are coming out. Yes, it is a trick, but it gets them excited about reading and they are able to comprehend, summarize and recall information from the reviews. I ask them to read me the directions on the back of my new Reading Horizons program box  - I act confused and unsure about the directions. Yes, another trick to get them to read expository texts without being so overt. It is amazing how technologically advanced these students are and their ability to identify the procedures outlined in the program's directions. It may take two or three students to work it out, but they work it out. I try to perform small tricks weekly on each student in my class- "Hey, someone is letting me borrow this book. Do you mind reading the back and tell me what it's about?" OR "Y'all , look at what my son wrote. What do you see funny in it?" Although reading for information in content areas can be a bit sour, allowing students to taste the sweetness of everyday reading may encourage more reading.

The Reading Flow

   I choose to read to my students the majority of the time... I model the reading process. I read with fluency and with inflection while changing my voice for different characters. I do not want a lull in the story's unraveling. Although I read aloud to my students most of the time, I encourage my students to read as much as they can on their own. I was so thrilled when I saw a student of mine looking up a book on the electronic card catalog. I asked her what she was looking up. She said, " You told us the more we read, the more we will know and want to read, so that's what I'm doing." REALLY??? A student listened to me and followed my advice - I knew at least one out of 100 would get it! I love it when students choose books they want to read- it is about their personal interest and choice- she chose two books dealing with slavery.
   Although I am told to teach the test- the dreaded CRCT- I tragically have witnessed a decline in reading for fun. Gallagher states, "When students read books soley through the lens of test preparation, they miss out on the oportunity to read books through the lens of life preparation. As a result, the imaginative rehearsals are lost, and when that happens, readicide sets in." As I have taught over the past 6 years, I have seen a decline in reading ability. Tests rule, books drool. If I can change just one student's reading habits, then I guess that will have to suffice- not good enough, but at least it gives me a glimmer of hope.