Quote: "Strategies represent the thinking that readers do as they read, whereas skills are quick, automatic behaviors that don't require any thought...Strategies are linked with motivation" pg. 50
Thought: When I first wrote this quote I immediately thought that skills have to use thought because I feel that I think all the time when I am using skills to study or to do math, but then I realized that it was the strategy that lead me to the automatic skill, in which I was really thinking. Strategies are very thoughtful because you contemplate how to accomplish a task, or to read better. I also love the part of the quote that says that strategies are linked with motivation. Motivation is so important in a classroom because it shows how a person feels about themselves and their educational potential. I am a motivated person because I learned at a young age that I am persistent so I knew that I could finish any assignment, which caused my motivation to succeed and finish my work to increase. As a teacher I am going to have students who are highly motivated in my classroom, and others who aren't; so as a motivated and loving teacher, I need to teach strategies to increase motivation to read and write.
Question: How can I make the strategies to increase motivation to read fun and engaging? Is it just my attitude, or do I need to talk to the students and find out what they like to read and then respond to that?
Several things such as football and video games involve strategies just like reading does. By finding something that a student is interested in that involves strategy, you can relate more to the student and also help their motivation because they can get excited. Tell your students about your experiences using reading strategies and how much more fun reading is now that you know how to use these. If you are not excited and passionate about reading, than young learners will find no reason to be either. The attitude of the teacher makes a huge difference in how students view their own reading and reading overall. Getting to know each individual child is very important. Some children are self motivated whereas other children need help with motivation. By finding out a student's interest who is not as motivated, you will be able to help them find a reason for reading, such as finding more information on cars. I think that attitude and discovering students' interests are equally important and both are reasons that people typically like or dislike reading.
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