Chapter 10 Discussion

Chapter 10 discusses the importance of bringing reading alive in the classroom. This was probably one of the most intriguing chapters that I have read from the book. I highly agree that we as teachers we must teach hem the importance of reading and encourage them to take it up to our best ability. Having the students just read text from the book, by themselves, silently, isn't going to encourage anyone and they won't learn a thing about what they are reading, except for the fact that they don't like to read. It is draining for them and they won't understand all the concepts from the reading. Students need to have discussion and some kind of involvement in an activity relating to the reading in order to get a better understanding. As teachers, we can find different methods to have our students involved in the reading. This can be as simple as reading the story outloud to the class. Students, typically younger students, hold their focus more when their teachers read the stories outloud and create different voices for the characters in the story. When I was in kindergarden, my teacher had our class sit and listen to the story and then she would ask us who we liked in the story and why. This was my first introduction to reading in the classroom and the first time reading actually sparked an interest.

Later on in my grade school experience, I had teachers that would assign the students different roles of the characters from the story and we would have to act out a scene for the other students. That was always fun and this way the students get to use their creativity and imagination and bring their own personality to the story. The students who watch the scenes learn more about the scene and have a visual of how it would look like if it were real. This is also a great way for us teachers to make sure that the students actually grasp the story and its understanding.

Another way to involve the students in their literature is by having them create their own stories that relate to the story, such as changing the plot or switching the roles of the characters. I feel that this was one of the most intriguing ways for students to get involved. They have the freedom to create whatever they want to that relates to the subject. Having the students publish their own work also brings an accomplishment and they feel like they have contributed to the class. The more involvement the student has in the story, the more likely they are to understand the story better and the greater it is that it will improve the number of those who will find and interest in reading.