The Power of Reading

When I decided to go back to school to get my teaching certificate, I knew I wanted to major in Reading. I don't remember when I learned to read, but my mom said that it was "early". Age 4? 5? I don't know. I guess it's kind of inevitable when you have 4 older siblings reading to you and encouraging you to read. Reading was always my favorite subject in school (actually Language Arts in general).

While I was taking my reading classes for my program, my decision was affirmed. I was fascinated by all the research that has been done in the area of reading. And I was lucky enough to have some great professors, some that are very well-known in their areas of specialty. As I learned everything from phonics to motivation to spotting reading issues in kids, I became more and more excited to be in the "world" of reading. I listened to a talk that one of my professors did for parents at a elementary school in a neighboring town, and witnessed the courage of one mother who stood up and admitted that she couldn't read. I attended the Michigan Reading Association's Conference and was fascinated to listen to all the big names in reading research - Harvey Daniels, Richard Allington, etc. I was also starstruck at the sight of children's book authors. (Yes, I am quite a nerd. But at least I know it.) I realize more and more that reading is powerful.

In the last few days I have seen the power of reading in action. I told you in a previous post about one of my classes that was in cooperation with the reading clinic at my school. I was extremely lucky to get paired with the little girl I worked with. She is nine years old and going into 4th grade. We worked on her fluency and her comprehension throughout the 4 weeks we worked together. It was a pleasure to work with her. Not once in the 8 two-hour sessions that we had did she say that something was boring or that she needed the break (it was me who needed the breaks most times!). One of the main challenges I faced was bringing in the snacks that she liked. Once I managed that, she would save her treat to take home to her sisters. Yes, I know, she's an exception to the rule, but I sure learned a lot from her.

During our time together, reading took us to places far from our little room. Reading took us to New York, where we played in Central Park and rode the elevator in a high-rise apartment building. It took us to the ocean where we saw dogs on surfboards, or squirrels on water skis. It took us to castles where a princess with insomnia complained about a pea, or another let down her hair for the prince. Wherever we went, we felt like we were really there. This is what I remember as a kid, being completely consumed by a book to the point where I had a hard time differentiating between the book and "reality". That is pretty powerful, if you ask me.

I have also been tutoring a little girl this summer. She is going into 1st grade and needs some work in the basics of reading. I worked with her during the school year as part of another class I had, and her parents asked me if I would like to continue during the summer. I agreed, and we have been working together 2 days every week at the library. Most of what we do together is surround ourselves in print. I read to her, we take apart sentences, we talk about how different letters look and sound, and we do some writing. It is very different than working with a 4th grader, that's for sure! I need to keep my activities short and to the point, in order to keep her attention. I find that when all else fails and her attention span can't be pushed just one more minute on an activity, she will sit and listen to a story being read. I pack my bag with a lot of books knowing that this will do the trick.

The last time we were together, I pulled out The Cat in the Hat, and instantly we were in the house, watching the mother leave, and watching the cat come in. We saw that the fish was very upset by all the activity, and knew that the mother was going to be very angry if she came home to the mess. As I read the story, she was mesmerized. As was another little girl who was following her mom around the library. She stopped in her tracks and crept closer to us to hear the story. When her mom called for her, she stepped into the mom's view, but still close enough to us to listen. It brought me back to those times when I was little and chose a story for my mom to read. I would climb up on her lap where she sat on the cushion of the wicker rocker waiting. As I leaned my head against her chest, I would listen to the words she read from the pages and look at the pictures on the pages. It was a magical time. Everyone loves to be read to. It's a powerful thing.