- Would you rather your students read the newspaper every day OR a novel once a month?
- Would you rather your students read lots of a series like Animorphs OR a very occasional Newbery winner?
- Would you rather your students always did their homework but rarely read for enjoyment OR that they often read for enjoyment but often did not do their homework?
I wished that we could have it all, but I do have the hopes that if our students learn that reading is all right, we might just be able to. I have to have a little hope. So, to sum up the points that the authors want us to keep in mind for all of our students:
- Care. I don't think that anyone would be in this class or any other if they didn't care about their students, but talk to them. Get to know them. Help them find texts that they might like.
- Inquiry based learning. I read a book by Daniels and Harvey about inquiry circles. Kids love to learn when they think it is their idea. How many times has a small child asked the question "why" over and over but when you start a long explanation, they lose interest? Same kind of thing.
- Text selection is vital. Remember that blog about the level of text being "just right"? Well, keep in mind that no one likes to feel incompetent so have a variety of text levels available.
- Make it social and fun. Now, I am not suggesting a party every day, but keep learning as fun as you remember it when you were really small. I know that blogging has been a lot more fun than writing papers!
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