Jen McDonough
June 29, 2012
I have fallen in love...again! I have been buying new picture books like crazy lately. When I really looked at the books that I had to have, I noticed a theme and that a new dimension to my reading identity had emerged. For example, the last three books I couldn't leave the book store without were as follows: Amanda and Her Alligator! by Mo Willems, I'm a Shark by Bob Shea and I Don't Want to be a Pea! by Ann Bonwill. When I thought about what I liked about the books I realized that they were the kind of picture books where the characters talked to each other and to the reader. They are fun to read because you can imagine the voices of the characters and read accordingly. The text is informal and conversational. The authors play with punctuation in fun ways and the way the characters talk to each other makes me crack up every time.
It had been a long time since I had really taken some time to think about my own reading identity so I thought it was important thinking to share with my first graders. After all, my biggest hopes and dreams for them is to find their own reading identities and a life-long love of reading!
I sat the kids down and pulled the books out again (we had read them over and over of course) and talked to them about why I liked the books so much. I had them think and talk with a partner about the kinds of books they had been reading lately to see if they could also notice a pattern. Many of my students were able to talk about what kinds of books they are likely to grab which not only helps me, as the teacher, find books I can recommend but also helps build a community of readers that can recommend books to each other. For the kids who weren't seeing a pattern yet, I reminded them that reading is like that and now as they read they can start to pay attention from this point on to see if they notice a pattern, just like some of their friends had. I also helped a few notice what they weren't able to see yet, especially the emergent readers who were reading a lot of pattern books. Maybe the books they were reading gave them a lot of support for now and helped them feel good about reading. In the end it was a great conversation that opened up a lot of possibilities.
This summer I plan on taking some time to find more of these "characters who talk to each other" books to add to my collection. Take some time yourself to think about what kind of books you are grabbing off the shelf and if you can notice something about your reading identity. Begin the new school year with these types of conversations to help build a reading community right from the start! I hope it will bring lots of possibilities to your classroom as well. Happy reading!