Reflection on sections 2 and 3....

As I have slowly read this book I have continued to really enjoy it.  Similarly to the first section, sections two and three contained an abundance of applicable ideas for the reading classroom.  These sections dove deeply into the best ways to build classroom libraries and how to best support children in their independent reading choices.  I feel like am much better equipped to do these tasks after reading Stead's studies and suggestions listed in this book.

Section two focused on how teachers can best build their classroom libraries.  In the three chapters that made up this section I gathered some really important information that I think I can apply later on.  One common theme that I have seen is that a teacher must get creative when making a classroom library.  Teachers must find books for their students and may have to look in uncommon places to find them that are affordable.  Teachers also need to think outside of the box and looking for non-traditional classroom reading materials. Maps, brochures, magazines, newspaper clippings, and print-offs from online resources all have their places in the reading classroom.  Stead even goes as far as to say that cereal boxes can contain useful classroom reading materials.  In an ever-growing world of technology, I like that Stead devotes one whole chapter to discussing the usefulness and needs of using the internet and research as a reading tool.  Not only can students have more interaction with text in this way, but they can also begin to learn to research.  This is a skill that I wish my teachers would have spent more time working with me on.  It would have made high school and college much easier!  As far as classroom libraries go, few of my teachers even spent the time to create them.  I only remember my fourth and fifth grade teachers making attempts to create classroom libraries.  Did any of my readers have better experiences with classroom libraries while in elementary school?  I remember always thinking they were inferior to the school library.  I know see that they are a necessary resource.  Below I attached a classroom library/environment example that I really liked.

A classroom library/reading centre set up with a beach theme.  When people go to the beach, they read!

Section three discussed the ways in which a teacher can support his or her students in their independent reading choices.  This involves explicitly teaching students how to choose books that best fit them.  They do not always have to be right on the students level, but level along with student interest should influence students' book choices.  Stead said that younger students could be explicitly taught how to find the correct books, and then as they grew older they would need less and less guidance in choosing appropriate texts.  He brought up the fact that students should only pick books that they can gain meaning from.   They should not be too difficult.  This reminded me of the analogy we had discussed in class that related picking books to riding a bike.  Sometimes you want to ride downhill, sometimes you want to coast, and sometimes you want to ride uphill.  Students should have choice to do these things as long as they can gain meaning.  When I was in school I felt very limited by the levelling of all of the books in our library.  It took the fun out of finding books.  When I saw a book that was not levelled I had no idea whether or not it was appropriate for me.  I really liked Stead's suggestion of levelling only portions of books in a library and slowly taking this way as students get better at selecting their own books.

This book has me really excited about building a classroom library.  It makes me want to head out the door and go to McKays!  I also see that I can find many other reading materials for a library around me for little or no cost.  In addition, I see the importance of teaching kids how to find books that fit them!  I had never thought about how important this is.  It does make sense.  If students are all different from one another, its only fair that every student should be equipped to find books that best fit them.  No levelling system can fit student needs as well as students can themselves.