Linda S This is like taking psychology, sociology, and a literature class all in one. I found the chapter to be very informative and it brought back the days of Erickson, Piaget, and such. I love that the chapter gives us so many wonderful books to refer to. Nowhere else have I found such a useful textbook (even if it was $92.00)! When the chapter discusses how we remember our first experiences with books, it is so true. I can remember so vividly, my father reading Call of the Wild to me at night in my bed. My twin sister and I completely engrossed in the excitement of the story and how it felt to hear him tell it. My father passed away just a few years ago, but I can close my eyes and picture every bit of the experience and what a wonderful memory that is for me. My sister is a librarian and she of course is a huge book lover. She “escapes” every time she reads a book and has since she was first able to read, and now her son is the same way. I completely agree with the chapter point that adults play a vital role in the children’s interest in reading. We have to model it daily and read to them daily. I have four children, all less than six years of age, and I love to see how they “interact” with the books in different ways. My youngest is one and he turns the pages, lifts up the flaps to see the pictures, makes the noises of the animals he sees. He just loves to sit in my lap and “read”. My oldest is six and she is reading on her own. I can remember the first book she read-Clifford gets a Valentine-and the ultimate joy that she felt. I was so proud! Having worked for the past eight years with students who struggle with reading, I always appreciate new resources to use. I worked with a boy who was supposedly home schooled for two years. When he came to our school he was of age to enter third grade but we enrolled him in second. He could not tell me how to spell his name, did not know letter sounds, and calendar concepts were foreign to him, among other issues. I worked with him for two years and he made amazing improvements. We read so many books together, and because his comprehension level was so high, I read upper-level books to him. I became good at finding books that interested him, challenged him, and books that taught the concepts that he struggled with like calendar (seasons, days of the week, everything). As an educator we have to take the time to be familiar with as many books as possible and make them accessible in our classrooms. The research is clear that reading is crucial to cognitive, personality, moral, and social development.
Chapter 1, The Child Responds to Literature, was an excellent way to introduce the impact that literature can have on children. The chapter vividly describes different books, and how, specifically, they can effect the child's relationships, environment, viewpoints, etc. There were very helpful charts that broke down characteristics of different ages, the teacher's possible response to idiosyncracies of children at particular ages, and also suggested books that may assist in the growth of the child through different developmental stages. Personally, the book brought to light several things that I have experienced as an avid reader. I never realized that feelings I had about grief and loss after reading Bridge to Terabithia, or self-esteem and confidence after reading The Cat Ate my Gymsuit were illicited responses that the author (and, perhaps, the teachers that recommended books to me) had thought out ahead of time. It's amazing how every person can have a completely different experience with a book, but they can teach the same common positive behaviors that we, as human beings, should exhibit everyday. As a prospective teacher, this chapter explained books on a totally different level, and made me postulate how I might use books with my students one day. How different recommendations for children struggling with difficulties may truly make a profound effect on someone's life. I've always known that books hold a special power over me, but now having read the psychological and emotional impacts the books can have, and the amount books can influence emotional development, I see how truly powerful they can be for everyone. On a side note, I think the chapter also lended itself to help with choosing books for a genre readings/reports. It gave new insight on historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction and concept books that I was in need of. In summation, this chapter was an excellent introduction into what this course is about -- using literature as a tool to entertain, enlighten, develop students.
Amanda Tommer I remember in Jr. High and High School that I didn’t like reading at all. So I just didn’t do it. Then I moved to a school that had an accelerated reading program, which is where you have to get a certain amount of points each semester by reading books and testing on them. This program was in place all the way from 1st grade, so all of my classmates had been reading story books their whole lives. I remember thinking they were so much smarter than me, and now after reading chapter 1 I realize why. As a result of not reading when I was younger I didn’t develop a very big vocabulary. It is hard for me to read something and remember it; or to put it into context, this is something I am working on though. I also know that whatever school I teach at I will try my hardest to get an accelerated reading program going if one is not already in place.
I must say that I agree with you Linda, this book is one that I will keep around forever. There are so many resources in this book, and we need to familarize ourselves with the different concepts and messages that books send out to the children of our future.
I have taught Total Reading and I am a huge advocate for the program. It begins early and encourages children to read at their level and to continually challenge themselves and to excel to new levels. It covers phonetics, comprehension, fluency-all the necessary components. I really think this is a valuable book for all teachers.
I agree, Linda, that taking time to familiarize yourself with a wide array of books and/or authors is a great idea, so that you may recommend something that a student will really enjoy. I definitely need to get better at reading books geared toward boys, so often I read books with female protagonists, simply because that is what I relate to.
Amanda what you said is so true the earlier introduction that you have with reading the stronger reader you are! If you have not had much practice with vocabulary then you definitely will have trouble later. What I love about ELL is that they give so many strategies on teaching vocabulary to students. Every reading lesson I teach begins with enriching their vocabulary first! We extend that lesson out every day for that story so we get vocabulary practice with the same words but with different lessons and I seen my students improve so much in the area of word meaning!
In chapter 1, The Child Responds to Literature, summarizes some of the many benefits that can be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages and abilities through literature. Literature serves many purposes in the lives of humans it serves as the catalyst for transferring the culture and heritage of a particular group and other diverse groups to others, promotes language development, fosters understanding of different cultures, and helps builds social, emotional, and mental character. Books can be used to help children progress through the many theorized and factual stages of their lives from kids who have not yet entered school to an adolescent who is in the purported identity versus role confusion phase of their life. Books can help promote cognitive development by teaching children how to sequence events, summarize, organize, and analyze. Literature can also bolster positive social development since it can introduce children to situations that can help develop empathy and transmit upstanding morals. Children who read and are read to have also been shown to perform better in school and have a more positive view on education as well as a rapport with the adults who read to them. Books enriches the life of all since it can take children to places they have never been and may never get an opportunity to actually go or it can give them insights into the lives and situations of others.
Books can truly accomplish a lot of good in children. It makes me think of books that have helped shaped me and my character in positive ways. When I was younger my mother purchased a set of books that would focus on negative behaviors such as lying, stealing, and snooping and then it would present a character and a story. In all of the books the character who displayed such negative behaviors usually had a terrible consequence they had to face as a result of their negative behavior so I, the reader, could see the benefits of not developing such qualities. It is in that way those books can help shape a child that is just socially. Another book that comes to my mind is my National Geographic magazines that my grandmother use to order for she and I. These books introduced me to animals and cultures that I would have probably never heard of and thus as I grew older and partook in more experiences I was able to identify animals and cultural attributes because of being exposed to them by a book. Books such as "Home Remedies" show that books can help transmit knowledge that can even benefit us physically. The usefulness of books is too much to list here and our unit literature just barely scratched the surface and yet it brought out the advantages that is to be fount socially, emotionally, cognitively, mentally, physically, and academically from books.
This being stated, I will definitely reference the chart that was displayed in our literature that presents concepts to keep in mind when choosing books for certain ages. For example, if I want a book to help my 5th graders learn to infer then I would choose a book that provides many opportunities for inference such as Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China by Nikki Grimes or if I want a book for my 3rd graders to increase in their fluency then I would choose books such as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. It is essential that we provide our students with opportunities to engage in fine literature.
We have the accelerated reader program at my school as well and it has done a lot in the way of encouraging students to read. You are right about the earlier the introduction to reading the more effective a person will become. That probably explains why more and more parents are being encouraged to read to their children even while the child is still in the womb. Personally, I try to read to my 2 nephews one is going to the 2nd grade and the other to the 1st but, it is a challenge when they are not your own children and not under your schedule. It pains me because there are so many books that can expose them to concepts they will be learning in school and other cultures and ideas that they may never be exposed to in school. Furthermore, they enjoy reading and being read to and there are some exciting books they have chosen such as Duck for President and Where the Wild Things Are. No need for you to feel bad Amanda because if it is one idea that was consistent throughout this chapter it was that socialization, especially through reading, is an ongoing process and we are never too old to pick up a book and read. Recently, I am trying to regain my Spanish skills that have become terribly rusty so I have resorted to using a book to assist me so it is never too late for books to enrich our lives as this piece of unit literature has shown.
I loved reading this chapter and how it stresses how much reading can influence a child's development. Me and my daughter read all the time. she now will sit and look at the books we read and she studies them. she doesn't read the words but she studies the pictures and will make up her own stories to go along with the pictures. She also started talking at a very early age and i think alot of it had to do with us reading all the time.
In response to anniem I agree that I tend to read books with a female lead character. because they are easier to relate to. I feel that as teachers we need to make a consious effort to read more books with male characters so we can expose both boys and girls to different books.
I had not thought of children books as being helpful to the child’s development. Most of them just drove me crazy because the grammar in them are atrocious. I’ve always wondered how the writers and the editors of these books could expect a kid to grow up and be able to put a decent sentence together. I don’t know how many sentences in my children’s books start with “and”. I know my English teacher had a hard time pounding sentence structure into our heads.
In Chapter one, I was reminded of the importantce that literature has on the development of children. I remember as a child being read too, and loving it. I remember coming up with my own poems and stories as young as 6. I've always considered myself a reader. I've always loved books, but never really looked back and examined the impact that they had on my development. I've always been careful about the types of books that I picked out for my kids, but never really thought how certain books could affect thier development. I really enjoyed the rubrics that outlined different types of books that assist in development at different ages.
In response to Wendy P. I love that books experiment with language and grammar, but I see your point. I remember as a sophmore in high school arguing with my teacher over a grade received on an assignment due to poor capitalization and punctuation. I told him, that ee cummings teacher's probably said the same thing. I still got a C.
Children absorb so much through their personal experiences and interactions with literature. I know as a child I hated reading. I had a hard time with the subject all the way from grammar school up to senior year of high school. I was never really read to as a kid. Maybe if I had been read to, I may have acquired a desire to read. I often dreaded being called on to read in front of the class. Even in high school, I remember asking the teacher to skip over me because I could not calm my nerves and I would stutter as I read. She would not skip me and the torment continued throughout the year. I have no idea why I had such a hard time reading out loud. It was not until the end of my senior year that I began to read for myself. One of my best friends let me read “Flower in the Attic” by V.C. Andrews and after that I was hooked on all of her novels. Soon afterwards, I discovered as long as I found the subject matter appealing, I could read the book without a problem.
Throughout chapter one, I noticed how reading to a child affects them in so many different ways. You foster a child’s imagination by reading to them. You help them develop the language skills and vocabulary they need in order to be successful throughout their education and possibly beyond that. You introduce them to a world outside of their own and sometimes outside of ours too.
One thing I noticed I learned in this chapter is that each age group has their own stage of development which needs to be fostered in different ways. In other words, you would not expect a five year old to understand a story which revolves around the Theory of Relativity, but you may expect a twelve year old to understand it in a broad sense.
Trying to play catch up here. Chapter one basiclly is about how reading helps in a childs developmental process. I hated reading as a kid, finding myself always trying to get the shortest book possible for the book report. Or even using the same book for multiple reports through multiple years, just so I wouldn't have to read another book.
I still find myself not wanting to read, this attitude drives my wife crazy. I definately see the benefits in language development and intelletual skills, it's just that I never enjoyed sitting there and reading a book. I would of much rather been outside being active.
Summarization skills and the ability to imagine the possibilities are among other skills that reading at a young age will help develop. I like the idea, it's just something I never did. If I read a book it was about sharks (and that was mainly for the pictures). I can't really recall being read my first book or anything of that nature. It's just tough for me.
Cheryl p-h, Sounds like we had a lot in common with our child hood reading experiences, I guess just because I hate reading doesn't mean that my kids will. I do read them books and my oldest always seems to want to read. So I hopefully my bad habits won't rub off on them. I try to keep my negative comments to myself and encourage them all that I can
It is so important that we as adults do everything we can to help kids get into books. My wife and I used to read to my son every night when he was little. Now he reads on his own. We also did it with my nephews when they lived with us for a while. Not only did it make reading important to them, they just really enjoyed it. They got way more joy out of reading a book with us before bed than they ever did with watching a movie. You could do without the movie, but they were not happy if they didn't get to read. My son has lost that some now that he is 13, but he still enjoys books.
It is also really touching, especially to a father, that you have those fond memories like that with your dad. That's truly awesome.
Jason R I think that the thing that really stands out to me on a daily basis with literature, and development, is how kids I work with talk and write. The kids who hate to read have problems with talking and writing. I see the kids who hate books and hate to read anything, even magazines. They are usually the same kids that don’t do well with other interactions as well. As pointed out on page 11, “Children who grow up without a variety of experiences may be 3 to 5 years behind other children…” Where do these experiences come from? A lot of them are from adventures in books. Whether those adventures are fiction or non-fiction. Those experiences can help them interact with peers, and adults.
When I was young I hated to read. I couldn’t stand to go to school because I struggled with keeping up, and I had a hard time with some of my peers. I don’t have the same memories as someone like Linda S., of having a parent read to me at night. I remember my dad sitting us down maybe once a week and reading the bible to us. Other than that, I don’t remember reading much or being read to. Even if we did read, it wasn’t something I was interested in. Finding the right books to get gets reading is really important as well. Our text will be extremely helpful with that. I really never realized how much reading could affect development before I started working in a school. I have also looked back at myself and noticed that I started to change more when I started reading more.
Today I read all the time. I always have a book to read. It helps me relax and deal with stress. If I have a bad day I can get into a book and escape for a little while. I try to help kids that I work with understand that as well. I let them know that it will not only help them with learning and developing a better vocabulary, but it will help them with dealing with other issues they may face, or just help them relax. I have also had the kid that said, “Why would I want to read the book when I could watch the movie?” The book and movie we were discussing at that time was Marley and Me. I told him, “I’ve read the book and saw the movie. There is so much more in the book than the movie.” He ended up reading the book and loving it.
Going back to the first couple of pages in the chapter, the ideas of culture and developing positive attitudes toward others cultures is so important. My son is mixed racial ethnicity. His mother is African American and I am Caucasian. We try to make sure that he finds books to read that can help him with knowing both African American and American cultures, as well as many others. I have read many books on different cultures and situations as well. For me, learning about other cultures is fun. I want my son to find that same enjoyment.
It’s never too early, or too late, to learn and develop through books.
I am sure that reading helps with her speaking early. My daughter was the same way. She would spend time sorting her books too. Pricess, Pooh, wtc. So cute!
This chapter is ringing very true to me and the position that I am in. I work as a Para educator and work with children in Grades K-3 in special education with a program called Pathways to Reading. I very much enjoyed that the text told us about how to help the children respond to what they are reading. I spent a lot of time reading with these children and the hardest part for them sometimes is retaining what they have just read. They have to spend a lot of time on the words and they may not be paying attention to story details. The charts throughout the chapter were extremely interesting and I can see myself referencing back to them. The text is completely useful and I can agree with someone else who said it is like Psychology and Literature combined. This will be a fun and very useful course.
22 comments:
Linda S
This is like taking psychology, sociology, and a literature class all in one. I found the chapter to be very informative and it brought back the days of Erickson, Piaget, and such. I love that the chapter gives us so many wonderful books to refer to. Nowhere else have I found such a useful textbook (even if it was $92.00)! When the chapter discusses how we remember our first experiences with books, it is so true. I can remember so vividly, my father reading Call of the Wild to me at night in my bed. My twin sister and I completely engrossed in the excitement of the story and how it felt to hear him tell it. My father passed away just a few years ago, but I can close my eyes and picture every bit of the experience and what a wonderful memory that is for me. My sister is a librarian and she of course is a huge book lover. She “escapes” every time she reads a book and has since she was first able to read, and now her son is the same way. I completely agree with the chapter point that adults play a vital role in the children’s interest in reading. We have to model it daily and read to them daily.
I have four children, all less than six years of age, and I love to see how they “interact” with the books in different ways. My youngest is one and he turns the pages, lifts up the flaps to see the pictures, makes the noises of the animals he sees. He just loves to sit in my lap and “read”. My oldest is six and she is reading on her own. I can remember the first book she read-Clifford gets a Valentine-and the ultimate joy that she felt. I was so proud!
Having worked for the past eight years with students who struggle with reading, I always appreciate new resources to use. I worked with a boy who was supposedly home schooled for two years. When he came to our school he was of age to enter third grade but we enrolled him in second. He could not tell me how to spell his name, did not know letter sounds, and calendar concepts were foreign to him, among other issues. I worked with him for two years and he made amazing improvements. We read so many books together, and because his comprehension level was so high, I read upper-level books to him. I became good at finding books that interested him, challenged him, and books that taught the concepts that he struggled with like calendar (seasons, days of the week, everything).
As an educator we have to take the time to be familiar with as many books as possible and make them accessible in our classrooms. The research is clear that reading is crucial to cognitive, personality, moral, and social development.
Chapter 1, The Child Responds to Literature, was an excellent way to introduce the impact that literature can have on children. The chapter vividly describes different books, and how, specifically, they can effect the child's relationships, environment, viewpoints, etc. There were very helpful charts that broke down characteristics of different ages, the teacher's possible response to idiosyncracies of children at particular ages, and also suggested books that may assist in the growth of the child through different developmental stages. Personally, the book brought to light several things that I have experienced as an avid reader. I never realized that feelings I had about grief and loss after reading Bridge to Terabithia, or self-esteem and confidence after reading The Cat Ate my Gymsuit were illicited responses that the author (and, perhaps, the teachers that recommended books to me) had thought out ahead of time. It's amazing how every person can have a completely different experience with a book, but they can teach the same common positive behaviors that we, as human beings, should exhibit everyday. As a prospective teacher, this chapter explained books on a totally different level, and made me postulate how I might use books with my students one day. How different recommendations for children struggling with difficulties may truly make a profound effect on someone's life. I've always known that books hold a special power over me, but now having read the psychological and emotional impacts the books can have, and the amount books can influence emotional development, I see how truly powerful they can be for everyone. On a side note, I think the chapter also lended itself to help with choosing books for a genre readings/reports. It gave new insight on historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction and concept books that I was in need of. In summation, this chapter was an excellent introduction into what this course is about -- using literature as a tool to entertain, enlighten, develop students.
Amanda Tommer
I remember in Jr. High and High School that I didn’t like reading at all. So I just didn’t do it. Then I moved to a school that had an accelerated reading program, which is where you have to get a certain amount of points each semester by reading books and testing on them. This program was in place all the way from 1st grade, so all of my classmates had been reading story books their whole lives. I remember thinking they were so much smarter than me, and now after reading chapter 1 I realize why. As a result of not reading when I was younger I didn’t develop a very big vocabulary. It is hard for me to read something and remember it; or to put it into context, this is something I am working on though. I also know that whatever school I teach at I will try my hardest to get an accelerated reading program going if one is not already in place.
I must say that I agree with you Linda, this book is one that I will keep around forever. There are so many resources in this book, and we need to familarize ourselves with the different concepts and messages that books send out to the children of our future.
I have taught Total Reading and I am a huge advocate for the program. It begins early and encourages children to read at their level and to continually challenge themselves and to excel to new levels. It covers phonetics, comprehension, fluency-all the necessary components.
I really think this is a valuable book for all teachers.
I agree, Linda, that taking time to familiarize yourself with a wide array of books and/or authors is a great idea, so that you may recommend something that a student will really enjoy. I definitely need to get better at reading books geared toward boys, so often I read books with female protagonists, simply because that is what I relate to.
Amanda what you said is so true the earlier introduction that you have with reading the stronger reader you are! If you have not had much practice with vocabulary then you definitely will have trouble later. What I love about ELL is that they give so many strategies on teaching vocabulary to students. Every reading lesson I teach begins with enriching their vocabulary first! We extend that lesson out every day for that story so we get vocabulary practice with the same words but with different lessons and I seen my students improve so much in the area of word meaning!
In chapter 1, The Child Responds to Literature, summarizes some of the many benefits that can be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages and abilities through literature. Literature serves many purposes in the lives of humans it serves as the catalyst for transferring the culture and heritage of a particular group and other diverse groups to others, promotes language development, fosters understanding of different cultures, and helps builds social, emotional, and mental character. Books can be used to help children progress through the many theorized and factual stages of their lives from kids who have not yet entered school to an adolescent who is in the purported identity versus role confusion phase of their life. Books can help promote cognitive development by teaching children how to sequence events, summarize, organize, and analyze. Literature can also bolster positive social development since it can introduce children to situations that can help develop empathy and transmit upstanding morals. Children who read and are read to have also been shown to perform better in school and have a more positive view on education as well as a rapport with the adults who read to them. Books enriches the life of all since it can take children to places they have never been and may never get an opportunity to actually go or it can give them insights into the lives and situations of others.
Books can truly accomplish a lot of good in children. It makes me think of books that have helped shaped me and my character in positive ways. When I was younger my mother purchased a set of books that would focus on negative behaviors such as lying, stealing, and snooping and then it would present a character and a story. In all of the books the character who displayed such negative behaviors usually had a terrible consequence they had to face as a result of their negative behavior so I, the reader, could see the benefits of not developing such qualities. It is in that way those books can help shape a child that is just socially. Another book that comes to my mind is my National Geographic magazines that my grandmother use to order for she and I. These books introduced me to animals and cultures that I would have probably never heard of and thus as I grew older and partook in more experiences I was able to identify animals and cultural attributes because of being exposed to them by a book. Books such as "Home Remedies" show that books can help transmit knowledge that can even benefit us physically. The usefulness of books is too much to list here and our unit literature just barely scratched the surface and yet it brought out the advantages that is to be fount socially, emotionally, cognitively, mentally, physically, and academically from books.
This being stated, I will definitely reference the chart that was displayed in our literature that presents concepts to keep in mind when choosing books for certain ages. For example, if I want a book to help my 5th graders learn to infer then I would choose a book that provides many opportunities for inference such as Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China by Nikki Grimes or if I want a book for my 3rd graders to increase in their fluency then I would choose books such as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. It is essential that we provide our students with opportunities to engage in fine literature.
Amanda,
We have the accelerated reader program at my school as well and it has done a lot in the way of encouraging students to read. You are right about the earlier the introduction to reading the more effective a person will become. That probably explains why more and more parents are being encouraged to read to their children even while the child is still in the womb. Personally, I try to read to my 2 nephews one is going to the 2nd grade and the other to the 1st but, it is a challenge when they are not your own children and not under your schedule. It pains me because there are so many books that can expose them to concepts they will be learning in school and other cultures and ideas that they may never be exposed to in school. Furthermore, they enjoy reading and being read to and there are some exciting books they have chosen such as Duck for President and Where the Wild Things Are. No need for you to feel bad Amanda because if it is one idea that was consistent throughout this chapter it was that socialization, especially through reading, is an ongoing process and we are never too old to pick up a book and read. Recently, I am trying to regain my Spanish skills that have become terribly rusty so I have resorted to using a book to assist me so it is never too late for books to enrich our lives as this piece of unit literature has shown.
Gregg
I loved reading this chapter and how it stresses how much reading can influence a child's development. Me and my daughter read all the time. she now will sit and look at the books we read and she studies them. she doesn't read the words but she studies the pictures and will make up her own stories to go along with the pictures. She also started talking at a very early age and i think alot of it had to do with us reading all the time.
In response to anniem
I agree that I tend to read books with a female lead character. because they are easier to relate to. I feel that as teachers we need to make a consious effort to read more books with male characters so we can expose both boys and girls to different books.
Wendy P
I had not thought of children books as being helpful to the child’s development. Most of them just drove me crazy because the grammar in them are atrocious. I’ve always wondered how the writers and the editors of these books could expect a kid to grow up and be able to put a decent sentence together. I don’t know how many sentences in my children’s books start with “and”. I know my English teacher had a hard time pounding sentence structure into our heads.
In Chapter one, I was reminded of the importantce that literature has on the development of children. I remember as a child being read too, and loving it. I remember coming up with my own poems and stories as young as 6. I've always considered myself a reader. I've always loved books, but never really looked back and examined the impact that they had on my development. I've always been careful about the types of books that I picked out for my kids, but never really thought how certain books could affect thier development. I really enjoyed the rubrics that outlined different types of books that assist in development at different ages.
In response to Wendy P. I love that books experiment with language and grammar, but I see your point. I remember as a sophmore in high school arguing with my teacher over a grade received on an assignment due to poor capitalization and punctuation. I told him, that ee cummings teacher's probably said the same thing. I still got a C.
Chapter One
Children absorb so much through their personal experiences and interactions with literature. I know as a child I hated reading. I had a hard time with the subject all the way from grammar school up to senior year of high school. I was never really read to as a kid. Maybe if I had been read to, I may have acquired a desire to read. I often dreaded being called on to read in front of the class. Even in high school, I remember asking the teacher to skip over me because I could not calm my nerves and I would stutter as I read. She would not skip me and the torment continued throughout the year. I have no idea why I had such a hard time reading out loud. It was not until the end of my senior year that I began to read for myself. One of my best friends let me read “Flower in the Attic” by V.C. Andrews and after that I was hooked on all of her novels. Soon afterwards, I discovered as long as I found the subject matter appealing, I could read the book without a problem.
Throughout chapter one, I noticed how reading to a child affects them in so many different ways. You foster a child’s imagination by reading to them. You help them develop the language skills and vocabulary they need in order to be successful throughout their education and possibly beyond that. You introduce them to a world outside of their own and sometimes outside of ours too.
One thing I noticed I learned in this chapter is that each age group has their own stage of development which needs to be fostered in different ways. In other words, you would not expect a five year old to understand a story which revolves around the Theory of Relativity, but you may expect a twelve year old to understand it in a broad sense.
In response to Emmer
I am so glad that you love reading. I wish I had as a kid...it always felt like a punishment to me...well until I got older.
Trying to play catch up here. Chapter one basiclly is about how reading helps in a childs developmental process. I hated reading as a kid, finding myself always trying to get the shortest book possible for the book report. Or even using the same book for multiple reports through multiple years, just so I wouldn't have to read another book.
I still find myself not wanting to read, this attitude drives my wife crazy. I definately see the benefits in language development and intelletual skills, it's just that I never enjoyed sitting there and reading a book. I would of much rather been outside being active.
Summarization skills and the ability to imagine the possibilities are among other skills that reading at a young age will help develop. I like the idea, it's just something I never did. If I read a book it was about sharks (and that was mainly for the pictures). I can't really recall being read my first book or anything of that nature. It's just tough for me.
Cheryl p-h,
Sounds like we had a lot in common with our child hood reading experiences, I guess just because I hate reading doesn't mean that my kids will. I do read them books and my oldest always seems to want to read. So I hopefully my bad habits won't rub off on them. I try to keep my negative comments to myself and encourage them all that I can
BenjaminW,
Good point about keeping those feelings to ourselves. I too don't want my children to feel the way I did about reading.
Linda,
It is so important that we as adults do everything we can to help kids get into books. My wife and I used to read to my son every night when he was little. Now he reads on his own. We also did it with my nephews when they lived with us for a while. Not only did it make reading important to them, they just really enjoyed it. They got way more joy out of reading a book with us before bed than they ever did with watching a movie. You could do without the movie, but they were not happy if they didn't get to read. My son has lost that some now that he is 13, but he still enjoys books.
It is also really touching, especially to a father, that you have those fond memories like that with your dad. That's truly awesome.
Jason R
I think that the thing that really stands out to me on a daily basis with literature, and development, is how kids I work with talk and write. The kids who hate to read have problems with talking and writing. I see the kids who hate books and hate to read anything, even magazines. They are usually the same kids that don’t do well with other interactions as well. As pointed out on page 11, “Children who grow up without a variety of experiences may be 3 to 5 years behind other children…” Where do these experiences come from? A lot of them are from adventures in books. Whether those adventures are fiction or non-fiction. Those experiences can help them interact with peers, and adults.
When I was young I hated to read. I couldn’t stand to go to school because I struggled with keeping up, and I had a hard time with some of my peers. I don’t have the same memories as someone like Linda S., of having a parent read to me at night. I remember my dad sitting us down maybe once a week and reading the bible to us. Other than that, I don’t remember reading much or being read to. Even if we did read, it wasn’t something I was interested in. Finding the right books to get gets reading is really important as well. Our text will be extremely helpful with that.
I really never realized how much reading could affect development before I started working in a school. I have also looked back at myself and noticed that I started to change more when I started reading more.
Today I read all the time. I always have a book to read. It helps me relax and deal with stress. If I have a bad day I can get into a book and escape for a little while. I try to help kids that I work with understand that as well. I let them know that it will not only help them with learning and developing a better vocabulary, but it will help them with dealing with other issues they may face, or just help them relax. I have also had the kid that said, “Why would I want to read the book when I could watch the movie?” The book and movie we were discussing at that time was Marley and Me. I told him, “I’ve read the book and saw the movie. There is so much more in the book than the movie.” He ended up reading the book and loving it.
Going back to the first couple of pages in the chapter, the ideas of culture and developing positive attitudes toward others cultures is so important. My son is mixed racial ethnicity. His mother is African American and I am Caucasian. We try to make sure that he finds books to read that can help him with knowing both African American and American cultures, as well as many others. I have read many books on different cultures and situations as well. For me, learning about other cultures is fun. I want my son to find that same enjoyment.
It’s never too early, or too late, to learn and develop through books.
Hannahutchinson,
I am sure that reading helps with her speaking early. My daughter was the same way. She would spend time sorting her books too. Pricess, Pooh, wtc. So cute!
This chapter is ringing very true to me and the position that I am in. I work as a Para educator and work with children in Grades K-3 in special education with a program called Pathways to Reading. I very much enjoyed that the text told us about how to help the children respond to what they are reading. I spent a lot of time reading with these children and the hardest part for them sometimes is retaining what they have just read. They have to spend a lot of time on the words and they may not be paying attention to story details. The charts throughout the chapter were extremely interesting and I can see myself referencing back to them. The text is completely useful and I can agree with someone else who said it is like Psychology and Literature combined. This will be a fun and very useful course.
Post a Comment