Our middle school Book Buddies often have an innate sense of how to nudge our youngest readers into the world of reading. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding the right book.
By Anais Higgins
Both of my students are great readers, although it didn’t start out that way.
My first student, L., didn’t like reading at all when we first met. “Let’s roam around the library and look at the fish tank,” she’d say. I wanted her to read a chapter book and we went through quite a few. I knew it was very important that she love the book. The book we chose was definitely on the weird side, with a sort of poetic writing style that she had never seen before. At first she only wanted me to read to her. Now I read a chapter and ask a question and she will read the next chapter. I also let her have stuffed animals when we read because it helps her focus on the story. I am really happy that L. now is interested in reading stories!
My other student, M., at first only wanted to read picture books. After reading some grade-level books I realized that she could easily handle chapter books. I introduced her to one of my favorite authors, Roald Dahl. You can really latch onto his characters, which makes it easier to answer random questions, like, “Why would Matilda want to stray from her family?” or, “If Raina were there what would she do?” Now M. really loves them. I love telling her about the culture of England, where I come from, and about all of the different words used there. She comes up to me and successfully uses the words in an everyday sentence. M. now loves chapter books and the feeling when we finish three or four chapters in a session.
I have really loved being a book buddy, and the way my students’ faces light up when they see me each week. I am really happy with both of my students’ progress since September.