Learning to read starts long before a child enters school, and reading is what helps a child
become a good student. Prior to entering the academic world, a family’s involvement can affect the child’s literacy skills dramatically. I truly believe that one’s love (or dislike) for reading starts at home. If, however, a child is not fortunate to have this love nurtured at home, then it is the responsibility of the educator to instill it. Having success in fostering a love for reading in a child involves selection—a selection in the forms of literature, book styles, books themselves, and how you present it to the classroom. Each child will be different. Perhaps a book club would be useful, depending on the age group. Regardless, most children appreciate authenticity. Oftentimes, children need authentic and meaningful objectives to build on their literacy and writing skills. What are they writing? Who are they writing to?
Another thing to consider when trying to build enthusiasm for literacy and reading comprehension is EXCITEMENT. If we want our children to be excited about it, then WE need to be excited about it!
-Peer interaction
-Games
-Contests
-And involvement from other resources that display enthusiasm are great means to unraveling a well-rounded child. For example, take a trip to the newspaper print building, the library, or have a guest speaker come in.
Excitement for books is a good thing to have in the classroom. The obvious qualities in the classroom such as the teacher reading with excitement and having a lot of books available are important but selecting texts which children can relate to and form a connection to are really important for planting the seed of literacy. When they love something, they will work hard at it and always seek it out, whether or not it is in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWriting without explicit meaning can get repetitive and boring; using everyday experiences and things from the child's environment is refreshing and useful for them.
I really loved your idea of a book club. I think that it is so important to find out what every child is into. It is great that you brought up the importance of each child being different. It is so important that we see that children learn so much before they even reach us. It is really important that no matter their previous experience that we establish a strong literature foundation and a love for reading and communication!
ReplyDeleteOne important key that i got from your post is that even if your student was not fortunate enough to be taught to cherish reading at an early age, it is still not to late to instill excitement in the child. Reading development is key and I believe being excited to read is important to reading development. It will make learning easier and more enjoyable. By also listing possibilities to get children excited, I think you instilled some hope into parents who might have thought it was too late.
ReplyDeleteEach child will definitely bring a different reading experience to the classroom whether it is good, bad, or none at all. It is up to the educator to encourage a love of literacy by personalizing the experience with a topic that a child is really interested in. You presented great ideas to get children excited about literacy.
ReplyDeleteExpanding on the topic of authenticity, making meaningful ways for children to develop their literacy is the best way to get them excited and involved. When they feel like they are accomplishing something or making someone that they admire happy, they will be much more engaged and likely to desire a higher level of literacy.
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