Quote: "The best books for reading practice are ones that students are interested in reading...students often choose 'pop' literature that's fun to read...children like them because the stories are humorous or fantastic..." (Tompkins, 211)
Comment: I find this idea to be so true. There are books that I loved as a child that I still love today because they were exciting or funny and not too hard to read. I was much more motivated to read these kinds of books than basal reading, and being allowed to choose what to read during DEAR encouraged me to want to read fun books on my own time outside of class for pleasure. These kinds of books are what really fostered and nurtured my love of reading, and I feel that my experiences of being able to choose what I wanted to read based on what interested me helped me to perform better on standardized reading tests and to grow overall as a reader.
Question: I am compiling my own library of children's books to take with me through life. What are some of your favorite picture or children's books that I should add to my collection?
I am so glad you asked, because I am doing the same thing! Some of my favorite storybooks are the Max Lucado books such as "You Are Special" and "You Are Mine" because they teach great lessons (with hidden religious symbols, more for your own children) however I don't know if young student would be able to read them. They would be good for a read aloud or just for pleasure reading. I also love the "Skippy Jon Jones" books about a cat that thinks he is a chihuahua, they are so funny, and pretty short for keeping young attention spans. There is also "Fanny's Dream" or "I Wish I Were A Butterfly", they're just feel good books :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as chapter books go, the "Junie B. Jones" books were my first chapter books and they're very fun for young readers (I think I started them in first grade). For older students, I loved "Number the Stars", "The Giver", "Where the Red Fern Grows", "A Wrinkle In Time", and "To Kill a Mockingbird".
Hope this wasn't too random, but I think its smart to start building up now, for it will seem much more costly if you are trying to buy them all the summer before you teach!