Everyone who loves to read hopes to pass that passion to those they care about. In the case of teachers that ambition becomes even more compelling. We understand the impact early and avid reading can have on the students who value and practice it. Even the act of simply reading aloud to a child can have a profoundly positive neurological effect on their development. Fostering an interest and mastery early on is predictive of later academic success, increased social acclimation, and even linguistic mastery.
But how do we transfer our appreciation and our avid involvement in the process of reading to our children? I believe it begins with parents and teachers connecting them to the excitement of what a literary love affair can bring by inculcating interest within their own interests. That is, it starts with paying attention to what those interests are and an openness to being led by them.
One way we can prepare ourselves for that is to grow our libraries to reflect that individuality, to anticipate it in degree and kind by stocking our shelves or boxes with real variety, with considered breadth, from difficulty to genre.
Below are a few places I like to go to gather information and inspiration about what books to feature in my elementary classroom library. I'm confident they can help anyone searching for a novel approach to literary inspiration.
https://www.pinterest.com/explore/classroom-libraries/?lp=true
https://www.weareteachers.com/building-your-classroom-library-the-best-books-for-grades-3-5/
http://www.booksourcebanter.com/2017/02/10/books-for-classroom-libraries-2016-top-titles/
I'm a great fan of classics like Goodnight Moon, The Giving Tree, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Snowy Day, and Charlotte's Web, but I'm always interested in new and the now, because classics didn't begin that way, and the present has a way of connecting to the new little eyes searching through it. So where do you go for ideas? What sort of recommendations would you make for early readers? Curious teachers need to know.
You touched a very sensitive string, Andrew! Reading is a passion of most teachers and they know that once this fire is lit in the hearts and minds of their students, it will burn brightly all through their lives. But how do you lit this fire? Sometimes, it looks like it catches all by itself but with some kids, it doesn't seem to work. I like your idea of building up a personal library, but as a kid, I made the best of the three public libraries. I remember earning my first "distinction" in life: the permission to borrow 10 books for 2 weeks when the rules were just 5 books per person. I think it's great that the bookstores do public readings and book release events with theme parties for kids nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with books early. We had a family library and on Sunday's we talked about books during lunch. I spent my first two year's allowance on an encyclopedia of "Man, Myth, & Magic" and couldn't have been happier, waiting on a volume to appear at the post office each month. That's how my mother hooked me, by exposing me to myth and legend and then letting me find outlets for the curiosity that exposure burned into me. She let me follow my passion and connected it to the wider world of literature effortlessly. It seemed like my idea at the time.
ReplyDeleteI love public libraries. One of the proudest moments of my young life was when I was entrusted with my own library card. I can still remember the smell of that little old library and sitting in a corner on its cool, hardwood floors. I think I would have moved in if they'd let me. Oh, and I married a librarian.
My son had the same craving and I pulled the same "trick" on him. He went to preschool reading and has his own library. It's helping me create a palate of sorts. Thank you for sharing that with us.
One website I love to use is "Epic!" It is a website stocked of children's books that you can access for free! Last year, I did a unit on fairytales and Epic! was great! It provided the stories as well as activities to go along with them. It has the classics as well as the hot, new books the kiddos are interested in and provides instant access. Highly recommend!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add the link in case you're interested!
Deletehttps://www.getepic.com
Thank you so much for the note and link. I love discovering anything that will help me and I wasn't aware of that one. I'll put it in my "teach!" folder as soon as I click "publish." Excellent.
DeleteI love this topic, Andrew! I love to read. I begin and end my day with reading, and I have always loved it. One of my favorite stories about learning to love reading happened with my youngest child, Mimi. As an avid reader, I have always read to both of my girls since they were newborns. Smith, my oldest child, shared my love of reading early on. Mimi, however, never cared for it until last year. She had an excellent young teacher who began a book club. If you joined the book club and participated on a regular basis, you would not have to turn in a book report each month. After a lot of back and forth, I convinced her to join the book club. She loved the first book the club read, "Crazy in Alabama." She enjoyed talking to her fellow club members about the book. She truly became engaged. She has never been without a book since then! I believe that starting groups like this with interesting and age appropriate books are a great idea. It may take incentives like Mimi's teacher used such as not having to turn in a book report, but I am amazed at the difference it made for my child.
ReplyDeleteMary Helen, isn't reading grand? It's one of the few things we can continue to get better and better at as we grow older and older. I'm also a big fan of book clubs and would/will absolutely use them in my classroom.
DeleteI had a niece who couldn't be wooed to the love of literature by her two well-educated parents (book lovers both). They were becoming worried about it so I stepped in by presenting her (Rush) with a book I was certain would settle the problem to everyone's satisfaction.
I knew my niece loved jokes. She loved telling jokes. She loved hearing them. One joke book later and she was off to the reading races. We still drop notes to one another about books the other may have missed. All of which is my way of saying that like you I suspect the only difference between an avid reader and someone who doesn't care for it is the right experience and exposure.
Reading is a part of my everyday life as a speech therapist. One of the things that I have found working with my preschool babies who are beginning to attend to books are books on the ipad that are interactive. Often times preschoolers can become uninterested in activities that do not draw them in and I have found that implementing books on my ipad that are interactive seem to keep their attention. Since the books are interactive it helps with their listening comprehension skills and their ability to respond correctly to questions at the end of the story. I find a lot of my interactive books under the app store on the ipad. Great post and I will definitely turn to pinterest as well for great book ideas!
ReplyDeleteYou chose a very interesting and relevant topic Andrew. Passing down the love and importance of reading is crucial for children's reading development. With so much instruction and learning happening through technology, it is important to get kids interested in reading books that can be read by flipping the page with our fingers instead of the swipe of a screen. For me, the best way to get children involved in reading is by modeling reading and exhibiting a lot of excitement and curiosity through books. It is also great to come up with a craft or some sort of real life example that compliments the book. The books I enjoy are Pete the Cat, Llama Llama, and The Pout Pout Fish. They are all books for lower levels, but that works well for my area of interest.
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