Friday, February 12

I was glad that Regie Routman devoted an entire chapter to creating an "outstanding" classroom library--bravo! Throughout my observations of various classrooms this past year at my placement schools, I have to say my first impressions often entail whether or not I see an inviting reading area in the classroom. Some have "it;" some are sorely lacking. In Gladwell's book, Outliers, and in other research about determining the success of young students, we learn that the presence or availability of books in homes is one of the key factors. Some homes simply do not have a lot of books lying about; some families don't take their kids to the public libraries. The classroom may be the primary place some kids have access to books. I have lots of fond memories of books as a child, and I can recall the joy of being faced with a plethora of books and knowing I had freedom to choose what I wanted to read. The library was this way for me, and so were many classrooms. Literacy and language are so crucial to all other subjects at school; it's no wonder that this should be a visible, accessible part of students' learning environment.

I liked Routman's suggestion that kids help set up the classroom library so they have ownership and so they can jointly become excited about all the possiblities! I also agree that we should not accentuate leveled reading with distinct labeling, etc. Choice is so very important to young readers. If a teacher can help kids understand how to pick "just-right" books, there should be no need for categorizing by level. And let's hear it for offering magazines and comic books! I grew up on comic books well before I became an avid reader of "real" literature. Parents mostly agree--just get my kid into books somehow...whether it's Captain Underpants, Walter the Farting Dog, Twilight, or Sports Illustrated...interest in reading is gradual--sometimes painstakingly slow. Written text is abundant all around us; let's expose kids to the variety and hook them into reading by letting them steer the way.