I was delighted to present at Reading for the Love of It in Toronto recently. During a session on the importance of independent reading in our classrooms, I spoke about the pleasure of reading, of losing ourselves in a book. I quoted Thomas Newkirk who said, “I would argue that unless you have entered this state, the whole point, the whole gratification of extended reading, is baffling.” So true. And yet how many of our students have not experienced this gratification?
On the plane on the way home from the conference, I was reading My Friends by Fredrik Backman. My four-hour flight flew–pun intended! The gentleman beside me seemed oblivious to my gasps, my stifled laughter, and my tears. I even stopped to take pictures of a few pages so I could easily return to the words that stopped me short.
The men’s Olympic gold medal hockey game was earlier that day. Besides Canada WINNING silver, I’m sure you’ve heard about the U.S. men’s team being heavily criticized for some post-game reactions. How is this related to reading, you ask?
As Malorie Blackman has said, “Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” I truly believe that the more we read, the more we understand one another, and hopefully the more we think about how our words and actions might affect others.
As teachers, we have the opportunity to expose our students to powerful, thought-provoking literature. Read alouds are a way to ensure that all students can lose themselves in a book and learn from the experiences of others. We can create the conditions for this to occur during independent reading, but often it happens first during shared reading. A few of my favourites for this purpose:
- Picture books: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, Clara and the Man with Books in His Window by Maria Teresa Andruetto, Navigating Night by Julie Leung (coming soon!)
- Novels: The Giver by Lois Lowry, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
- Novels in verse: Ebb and Flow by Heather Smith, Louder Than Hunger by John Schu, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Reading matters: in more ways than one!