Both of you have presented an ever present problem-getting the right book,
article, manual, etc, in children's hands.
Renee- I allow my students to "not" finish a book that isn't connecting with
them. I spend a great deal of time at the beginning of the year talking about
how to choose a "just right" book. (I taught 3rd grade.) I begin by bringing
in my stack of reading material which contains teacher books, my bible,
decorating magazines, my latest fiction read as well as a couple of my favorite
children's stories. We talk about the importance of knowing yourself as a
reader. We talk about the purpose and timing of reading. If it is right before
bed and I'm very tired I won't chose to read something that requires a lot of
thought. If I am very motivated to read I might tackle something above my
level. I really feel that metacognition is as important to the reading
selection process as anything else.There was a lot of discussion in my room
about books
starting with a read aloud. The students rate the book and we dissect what it
is that they like or dislike. We learn strategies for finding books. i.e.
author, recommendations, topics, etc. I do agree that until a reader finds that
first book that evokes an emotional connection within him all the strategies in
the world will not make the child a reader.
Conversations about books between myself and other readers are far different
than the conversations I had been having in my classroom. I found that children
were quite capable of thinking about what made a good read for them. We talked
about "the zone" and they became excited about finding a book to take them
there.Sorry if I'm rambling!
Christina
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