Chapter 3 Share Your Reading Life

I really enjoyed the article “Share Your Reading Life, “because that is something that I really have to work on as a teacher. It is extremely hard for me to share my reading life because, that is not something that I do often. I usually read for a purpose, not to explore text, or for the love of reading. As I was reading the article I was exposed to lots of opportunities to interact with my students and share a genuine interest of reading with them. As a teacher you expect for you students to read every day, several times a day, but it is important to Share text with them, as well as have them share what they have read with you.

When I was growing up I never read during my free time, I was always outside playing in the neighborhood, or over a friends playing video games. That was my escape, and path to explore. Now things are different and Reading allows some students to explore the world through the text they read. With this being said, this article provides lots of insight on how to get students motivated about reading and how to keep them excited about things that they are reading.

The headings in the Chapter that I personally enjoyed were:1. Discuss the importance and pleasure of having a personal library. I think this is good because having books that you are interested in at your home, or in your desk, helps to eliminate any excuse for not wanting to read. 2. Talk about your favorite authors and favorite books. I noticed that when we have classroom discussions on different authors and books, several students have read the same book, or a similar book by the author. This automatically leads to good discussions because the students are so excited to retell their favorite part of the book and the events that happened in the story. While reading this part I thought to myself that as we read our Journey’s stories, I could google other books by the author and encourage students to read more books by that author and ask if they recognize any of the books by the author.3. Tell Students why you read. All of the points and bullets in this section was extremely important because I think it is important for student to know why they are reading. Sometimes students look at reading as punishment, and often categorize reading as boring. Exploring these points with your kids and finding ways to make reading fun an exciting will improve literacy and develop smarter children with a passion for reading.4. Maintain a Reading Record. I have always been a fan of remembering what you read. I started the year off, having my students keeping a log of books they have read in a two week period, but with the demanding curriculum. I eventually let it go. However I do think it is very important to keep up with books that you have read.

I enjoyed this chapter, and it has encouraged me to read more, so that I will have information to share with my students. I have learned several strategies to encourage my kids to Share their Reading Life.