Literacy Journal - Reading for Pleasure

I wonder how often the best-intentioned reading programs succeed in their immediate purpose, but fail in the deeper purpose of helping children to become lifelong readers. Some kids, of course, are destined to fall in love with reading. Others, however, may need time and encouragement and opportunity to discover the joys of reading. One of our great challenges as teachers is to ensure that students receive the support necessary to develop a strong foundation in reading skills, without turning reading instruction and practice into drudgery.

Once a voracious reader, I lost the joy at some point during junior high. At the time, I attributed it to what I saw as too frequent book reports, but perhaps that was merely a false attribution. Whatever the case, it took years to rediscover my love of reading. Now my stacks are every-growing and my shelves overflowing.

Regie Routman is clearly a woman who can't imagine her life without books. As an educator, she is determined that her students experience the joy that comes with a really good book. She writes, "While it is true that we want our students to be able to read and comprehend well in all curriculum areas...let's not lose sight of the fact that if they don't read for pleasure they are not likely to make reading a lifelong habit or goal. Perhaps even more important, I want students to know that I am compelled to read...Reading pervades my life and sustains me the same way friendship and love do. Reading give me joy, comfort, perspective, new ideas, questions to ponder, and connections to other lives. I want nothing less for my students." (Reading Essentials, p. 24)

In my internship placement, a sixth grade classroom in a public elementary school, I see a lot of evidence that the students find pleasure in reading. Each student has at least one choice book on his/her desk, and most have several. One of my favorite conversational subjects with the kids at lunch time (which happens in the classroom) is their latest book. Reading Routman reminds me that I should make a point of bringing in a couple of my latest reads, and display them prominently on my workspace.

In November and December, I had the opportunity to run one of the Revolutionary War novel literature circles. My little group and I read My Brother Sam Is Dead. Each meeting I came prepared with my thoughts, questions and vocabulary, as did the students. Sharing the novel with the students, I thought more deeply and understood it more fully than I would have by myself, and I am confident that they would say the same. There is something deeply satisfying about sharing a book.

The district reading program is a Houghton series. Most selections are excerpts from "quality" literature. For example, last week, the class was working with a selection from E.L. Konigsberg's The View from Saturday. Even with thoughtful discussion and well-chosen activities, however, the experience is different than sharing an entire book. My perception is that many students are less invested in the story and characters of excerpted stories, and that the reading itself and accompanying activities feel more like "schoolwork" and less like reading and sharing with a community. While the series seems to serve a function as a manageable way for a teacher to approach teaching certain comprehension skills, for example, I think the balance of class novels and literature circles is critical in helping students along the road to reading with passion.