Allington readings Ch.2-3

       I have personally always loved to read and I was never opposed to doing it in the classroom, however, not all elementary aged students have this in common with me. I strongly believe that reading is for everyone; there are so many different genres, plotlines and levels of books that there is surely books out there that fit every child. We have to give students the opportunities, resources and chances to fall in love with reading. There are many ways that we can accomplish this goal that the reading talked about.
        Reading is such an important skill especially now that standardized tests are required in a lot of schools. Whenever I was in elementary school the teacher would pick out a book for the entire class to read and you had to read it regardless of whether you liked it or not. I don't see this in schools as much now, instead students have reading logs where they write down the books they have read along with the date, length of time they spent reading and a short summary. I think this is a great way to get children to love reading, giving them the opportunity to pick a book that they are interested in can be very powering to them. When I was younger we had DEAR day, (drop everything and read) where we brought in our sleeping bags, stuffed animals and as many books as we wanted. We spent the whole day sprawled out on the floor reading. It's something everyone looked forward and it's a great way for kids to get many hours of reading in.
       Another way to get students to love reading the article suggested was by leveling the books in your classroom so they know they are reading an appropriate book for their level. I liked how the article suggested the 3 finger rule, if you can find 3 words that you don't know in the text then a student should think about choosing something else. It's a good thing to suggest to students so they won't get frustrated with the reading and become discouraged. I also love the idea of reading magazines, when I was in elementary school we got to read Time for Kids. This magazine is wonderful, it's very informational with things that are happening around the world and it changes things up from what they are used to reading.