Becoming Avid Readers
1/11/2019
This week we began our unit on becoming avid readers, readers who do not just read books, but love them, enjoy them, savor them, and share them with others. One of the goals in kindergarten literacy is of course for our students to learn to decode text, but perhaps the most important aspect of kindergarten literacy is helping our little ones fall in love with books, with reading, with stories and language, with the magic of reading to transport, transform, and make us feel. While I aim to help our students see the magic of literacy all year, this unit especially highlights it. Not only does it help our little ones fall in love with reading, but it emphasizes a few key skills that help them do so, skills that also help them become better readers: comprehension and connection. Through this entire unit, students are encouraged to truly become avid readers. We discuss what it looks like and feels like to be an avid reader. We note that avid readers read giant stacks of books, get excited to read, and enjoy each book or story. Our little ones are given the mission each day to enjoy their books, and to do this they really need to read closely and think about what is going on in the book. They need to connect with the text and think about how the characters are feeling, changing, and growing. As students put themselves into the shoes of the characters, their empathy grows. Some lessons call them to name the characters' feelings and capture it on a post-it note so that they can share it with their reading partner. Did I mention that avid readers cannot keep their books to themselves? They talk about and share their books with others. Not only does literacy connect us with characters, but it connects us with others as well. Seeing our little ones read to each other, claiming, "Oh this is the funny part. It's coming up." or "Here comes the gross part. Isn't that disgusting?" is often my favorite part of the day. Looking around the room and seeing their animated faces as they share their books with each other lets me know that our mission has been accomplished. They are learning to empathize with the characters, think about what is happening in their books, and truly enjoy reading.
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Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
April 2021
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