Margaret Tiller: Blog # 3: Chapter 3: Routman “Share Your Reading Life” Reading Essentials

Chapter 3, “Share Your Reading Life,” from Routman’s Reading Essentials book shed a lot of light on the reading practices that I try to exhibit in my classroom. I do not think it is enough for teachers to just tell students about the importance and value of reading, teachers must also model this practice themselves. In other words, teachers must not only “talk the talk,” they must also “walk the walk.” Routman points out: “[…] examine your own reading life, make it visible to your students, and connect world reading with school reading. Many students will not see and feel the power of reading without your enthusiasm and modeling” (23). It is not enough to tell students how exciting reading can be; we must also show them how exciting it can be. During independent reading time in my classroom, I am usually reading my own book around the room with my students. Could I get a lot of planning and organizing accomplished during this time? Of course. But by my spending independent reading time doing something other than reading, students will infer that my daily tasks take priority over reading. This is not a message I want to pass along to my students. By students viewing me conducting my own independent reading with a book of my choosing, they are more likely to become enthusiastic about doing the same. I was particularly intrigued by Routman’s discussion of the importance of book choice. I have found that choice is the number one way to motivate readers and keep them reading. I agree with Routman, that all students are capable of becoming proficient readers if they are exposed to reading material that above all else, interests them. I experienced this recently with a child in my classroom who was struggling with not only reading, but the motivation to read. He began to excel in reading only after he found books that he actually took pleasure in and interested him. If students find material they are interested in, they will read more. If they read more, they will become more fluent and enthusiastic readers. They will become lifelong readers.