Monday, February 20, 2012

Child's Interest


Children get more out of reading books that they are invested in.

Children are more invested in stories that interest them on some level.

Teachers need to be able to adapt their curriculum to their individual child’s needs and wants.

Teachers should know a little about their student’s interests.

            With these points in mind, I would like for teachers to have knowledge of some good children’s books and try to place a book with a child based on interest. I base this suggestion on prior experience. When I was in the fifth grade the whole class was reading a book entitled Weasel by Cynthia Defelice. Right before we started reading my teacher took me aside and said that she knew that I have trouble staying with stories and that fortunately the book Weasel seems like a book I could get into. Before I left she said listen really close when she reads the first chapter. When she did I was hooked. Honestly I feel it is the best book I have ever read even 10 years later.
              I think I will try this suggestion as well.  I have seen a student in this one classroom who is very bright but likes to get attention through his own brand of humor. He would much rather focus on something funny than schoolwork a lot of times. So I am going to try to suggest Louis Sachar’s Wayside School series. The student can handle the difficulty level and I think the humor in these books will be appealing to him as well. 
             Teachers can make a difference especially if they have the child’s interest at heart. In the article “Let’s Start Leveling about Leveling” by Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, they believe that children have the right to “be engaged” in what they are reading. A lot of time required reading will not spark the interest of every child in the classroom or even meet a child’s reading level. We want children to not only read but also enjoy reading. So teachers can do their best to advise students to look a certain books. Even if the student does not take our suggestion, at least we try to help them find a constructive interest.

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