Read a book a day to your students to connect, build community, and develop a love of reading starting on the first day of school.
Start out your school year with some excellent choices of Children's Literature. These masterful writers teach literacy and life lessons. Learning to read is enjoyable when literature is an integral part of the process. Enjoyable activities are often repeated. When children have authentic opportunities with reading, writing and engaging with literature, they learn to love books and reading. Do not overlook this essential component of literacy instruction. It is a best practice in literacy learning to incorporate high-quality children's books into primary classrooms to instill the love of reading. Engage your students with picture books, fiction and informational text. Children’s literature is powerful.
Children learn about themselves when exposed to the many books and book characters. They read and listen. Reading aloud exposes children to story language. They learn about people, places and experiences that they have never before experienced. They can learn empathy and social skills to use in their own lives.
We can think about a children’s book as serving as either a window or a mirror. “Window” books allow children to peek into other people’s worlds (Bishop, 1990). “Mirror” books, on the other hand, present familiar characters or worlds to children, and they allow readers to identify with characters’ experiences (Bishop, 1990).
Did You Know?
You can listen to Children's Literature on my youtube channel. Listen to the many great books and see the pages turn. Some favorites are:
Only One You Chrysanthemum The Perfect Square Wake Up Wake Up
Pete the Cat The Scarecrow's Hat Frog on a Log I love Animals I am Peace The Wonderful Book The Magic Fish and many more!
Reading aloud can significantly help with children's overall reading abilities and achievements. Some of the benefits of reading to children include: cognitive development, improved language skills, preparation for academic success, making bonds and connections with the child, improve concentration and stamina, improves imagination and creativity, and cultivates lifelong love of reading.
Creating and organizing your class library can be time well spent. Your students will access the many books easily when your library is organized. Be sure to include both "window" and "mirror" books in you class selections. Invite students into the world of reading with a simple bulletin board like the one pictured below. Read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. She is a teacher who inspires her students to read a lot and love reading long after they leave her class. Reading Miller's book will help you know the many reasons why literature in the classroom will benefit your students tremendously. Read books to ask questions, to get answers and to ask more questions. Write about the books you read and keep a reading log. Find the perfect reading log for your class, and try a reading challenge. Reading challenges encourage students to read in a fun way. They are able to read different books in different places and at different times.
