Learning to Love Reading
By Melissa King
How does someone become an independent, lifelong reader? According to the Book Whisperer, by Donalyn Miller, a love of reading can be created by providing students with book choice, the opportunity to read, and exposure to a variety of texts. After School Programs across the district are striving to help students become independent, lifelong readers.
Assigning students books to read is not enough to create lifelong readers. Students need access to books and the power to choose which books to read, so in the After School Program, students are being provided with the opportunity to check out books from the school’s library to read during program hours. Each week students check out new books that they are able to read alone or with some help during our homework and reading portion of the program.
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Students at Lake Superior Elementary reading in After School Program.
In addition to access to books, student choice and time to read are essential to creating lifelong readers. At the beginning of the school year each student completed a reading interest survey. After reviewing these surveys, teachers and assistants in After School Programs have been better able to help students with selecting good fit books. Students are also making recommendations to each other so all of our readers are able to find books they will enjoy.
During independent reading time, students formally conference one-on-one or in a small group with an After School Program teacher about the book they are reading. The students are asked higher order thinking questions to gain a better understanding of the text. Not only are students retelling their story during this time, but they are answering questions about character traits, text features, and author’s purpose on a frequent basis.
Students selecting books from the library to check out.
Our love of reading in After School Program goes beyond independent reading. Once a week students listen to a selection of read-alouds which cover a variety of genres. The read-alouds expose students to different authors, illustrators, and topics with the hopes of inspiring future independent reading selections. During read-alouds students are given the opportunity to think about the text by stopping frequently to make predictions, summarize, make connections, and ask questions.
Sam Brill using expression and fluency as she reads 50 Below Zero
Students love reading in the After School Program. They no longer read just to fulfill their reading homework requirement. Students are enjoying the books they have chosen, sharing what they read with each other, and becoming lifelong readers, who truly love to read.
