Week 9: Read for Fun, Read to Achieve, Read to Succeed

One of the most difficult things for me to see in my students at Oyler was their inability to read books appropriate for their age level.  I felt disheartened because reading was always stressed with such high importance in my house when I was growing up.  Nowadays, I yearn for relaxing weeks spent on the beach reading books.


I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the students' low reading levels, so I kept encouraging them to read as much as they could, whether it was at school or at home.  Many read to their younger siblings, so I praised them and used that as a fun and easy example of a way to do reading.


I encouraged the students to read whenever possible, even if they are reading street signs, posters, labels at the grocery, etc.  I want them to be successful in life, but it would be very difficult to achieve success without the ability to read.


They each filled out a sheet about three books they have read, and three books they want to read in the future.  I think it is always important to have goals, so I felt this would encourage the kids to keep reading.