Reading for Pleasure

I have always been an avid reader.

My love of reading, which I believe is a gift, was given to me by my Mum and  

a teacher in high school. 

I have 7 siblings, lived in a council house and despite hard working parents (my Mum even had two jobs) we were not well off at all. But our house was full of books! We had two bookcases in the living room packed with books. One of my favourite games was playing 'library'. 

My Mum read to me and taught me to read before I started school, with the help of Dr Seuss. 

One of my favourite teachers in High school, an English teacher called Mr Birtles recommended we read a book a week. I remember thinking it was impossible! But I tried my absolute best to acheive it. 

Unfortunately I do not get the opportunity to read as much now. Particularly during term time and I have to admit that my daily blogging challenge has certainly not helped this.

I do however ensure that I encourage reading in my class. Reading helps children in so many ways. It improves spelling and punctuation, gives children experiences they can bring to their writing, provides them an escape, widens vocabulary and can provide lots of moral guidance (depending upon the book of course.)

Reading is an integral part of the daily routine in my class. The children have many reading opportunities:

The children in my class have a reading book to take home and read to their adult at home. Their adults writes what, and how, they have read and helps them complete an activity at the end of  book to check understanding. 

The children also have a book that they choose from the school library which they take home for them to share with their adult. 

We have a class library from which the children choose a book that they read themselves during silent reading time in class. During 'silent reading' they also choose a reading buddy (a cuddly toy taken from a box in the classroom) to keep them company. 

Once a week they do:

Guided reading

A reading comprehension

Reading Eggs or Eggspress

We have regular topics which are based upon books. These have included The Minpins by Roald Dahl and The Katie Morag stories. 

Finally I read a 'class book' to them as regularly as possible. So far I have read Georges Marvellous Medicine, The Angel of Nitshill Road and we will be starting Charlottes Web on Monday. 

As well as improving their 'levels' I hope more than anything the pupils in my class develop a love of books and reading. After all it is a gift that they will get pleasure from throughout their lives long after their 'levels' have become a distant memory.