Hello,
Today, one of my students made a wonderful breakthrough with his reading!
This is a third grade boy who is not shy about telling me how much he does not like to read. I told him that’s fine, but I love to read so I asked if he would mind if I read to him. He said no, he wouldn’t. So, I read a picture book and part of a chapter book he had been trying to read and then I read some poems. Last week I introduced to him Shel Silverstein’s, Where the Sidewalk Ends. I read a few of my favorites to my student and he really enjoyed them. I suggested he take the book home and share them with his family.
Today, I asked him if he had any favorites. Right away he turned to a page with two and he read them both to me! And, he read them quite well. I was nearly teary-eyed with joy for him and I told him so. Of course he thought I was silly but at the same time, he was beaming with pride. We spent some time reading more poems together and he borrowed the book for another week.
My student’s success today was a very much needed boost to his reading confidence. Sometimes as educators or parents we forget about the value of poetry reading, especially with the tomes on the bookstores with movie tie-ins are luring kids in. Often times those books are too challenging and frustration ensues. For now, this student and I will be reading more poetry and the smaller the book, the better.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
