In September, when we started the Impact Learning Center back up, Savannah was behind in reading. This was obviously a daily frustration for her, and it was a challenge for me as her classroom leader to encourage her and get her excited about reading each day. I kept telling the kids that our classroom goal was to "fall in love with reading." Savannah was skeptical, to say the least. I remember one week I had to send Savannah to our reroute room (a place kids go if they need to work on behavior changes) for 4 days in a row, before she could sit through one entire class. As the quarter progressed, she went to reroute less and less, and her interest and skills in reading peaked. While Savannah was reading out loud to me one day an observer came through our classroom and listened to Savannah. Though she struggled with a few words and the story wasn't necessarily read smoothly, Savannah put a lot of heart into it. She couldn't make it through a sentence without using her hands, and she had so much expression in her voice. Before she sat back down, the observer told Savannah that she was a great reader, and that very few people read with such enthusiasm. That day, Savannah was sold out on reading. Since then, she has started bringing beginner chapter books to class from her school library and she is constantly recommending new books to me. Just yesterday I filled Savannah's binder with stories at the 7th grade reading level. I honestly believe Savannah will succeed in school and be a reader for life.
1.07.2008
Fall in Love with Reading
By Ashley Larson
In September, when we started the Impact Learning Center back up, Savannah was behind in reading. This was obviously a daily frustration for her, and it was a challenge for me as her classroom leader to encourage her and get her excited about reading each day. I kept telling the kids that our classroom goal was to "fall in love with reading." Savannah was skeptical, to say the least. I remember one week I had to send Savannah to our reroute room (a place kids go if they need to work on behavior changes) for 4 days in a row, before she could sit through one entire class. As the quarter progressed, she went to reroute less and less, and her interest and skills in reading peaked. While Savannah was reading out loud to me one day an observer came through our classroom and listened to Savannah. Though she struggled with a few words and the story wasn't necessarily read smoothly, Savannah put a lot of heart into it. She couldn't make it through a sentence without using her hands, and she had so much expression in her voice. Before she sat back down, the observer told Savannah that she was a great reader, and that very few people read with such enthusiasm. That day, Savannah was sold out on reading. Since then, she has started bringing beginner chapter books to class from her school library and she is constantly recommending new books to me. Just yesterday I filled Savannah's binder with stories at the 7th grade reading level. I honestly believe Savannah will succeed in school and be a reader for life.
In September, when we started the Impact Learning Center back up, Savannah was behind in reading. This was obviously a daily frustration for her, and it was a challenge for me as her classroom leader to encourage her and get her excited about reading each day. I kept telling the kids that our classroom goal was to "fall in love with reading." Savannah was skeptical, to say the least. I remember one week I had to send Savannah to our reroute room (a place kids go if they need to work on behavior changes) for 4 days in a row, before she could sit through one entire class. As the quarter progressed, she went to reroute less and less, and her interest and skills in reading peaked. While Savannah was reading out loud to me one day an observer came through our classroom and listened to Savannah. Though she struggled with a few words and the story wasn't necessarily read smoothly, Savannah put a lot of heart into it. She couldn't make it through a sentence without using her hands, and she had so much expression in her voice. Before she sat back down, the observer told Savannah that she was a great reader, and that very few people read with such enthusiasm. That day, Savannah was sold out on reading. Since then, she has started bringing beginner chapter books to class from her school library and she is constantly recommending new books to me. Just yesterday I filled Savannah's binder with stories at the 7th grade reading level. I honestly believe Savannah will succeed in school and be a reader for life.