As far back as I can remember I have always loved reading. I can remember my parents and my older siblings reading to me as a child and teaching me how as I got older. I have two older siblings and a younger sibling. My parents would have my older siblings reading their homework assignments to me. As I began to read, I also shared my reading assignments with my younger sister. I was fortunate to have a Kindergarten teacher who was extremely passionate about reading and passed that love for reading on to others and myself in the class. I remember reading stories about a boy named Mike who loved to ride his bike. I was fascinated by words that rhyme. She also worked with us on word lists and had us practicing those words in class and at home. My first grade teacher was also very passionate about reading. I can remember listening to Green Eggs and Ham and how it inspired me to find Dr. Seuss books every time we went to the library. I still have my copy of Hop On Pop. It was the first Dr. Seuss book I read independently. My love for reading grew more and more as I moved up in school. I recall how excited I was when I could read chapter books. I was often caught reading in class when I should be working on other assignments. Today, I still love and enjoy teaching reading.

Even though I loved to read and work on any reading assignment, I had a difficult time with writing. I could write page after page about what I had read but the paper would not be in any particular order. I wrote without indenting paragraphs, without a proper introduction and without an ending. Throughout my school career, I had to teachers who worked one on one with me through the writing process. As I entered into college, I was required to take classes that assisted me with the writing process. I passed those classes by the end of my freshman year. Those classes helped me to realize that I had to slow down and organize my thoughts. I had other great professors and friends who helped me by reading and editing my papers. They gave me feedback and insight to the thoughts I had put into the paper. This helped me to realize that revisiting and reworking are very important in writing. As I began teaching, I once again realized how the importance of revisiting and reworking helps students to be successful with reading and writing.

As I began my teaching career a little over two years ago, I felt confident with the strategies I used in teaching reading. I had a wonderful group of readers during my student teaching experience. As my first year of teaching progressed, I realized that the strategies I used the previous year were not working with my current students. I spoke with other professionals at my school and revisited my original strategies and reworked them so that my students were successful. My second year of teaching has been the most inspirational so far. I had a class with a wide range of reading abilities. I had several high readers, some readers who made consistent progress throughout the year and two groups of students who were non-readers. Those students in the non-reader groups were still working on matching letters to their sounds. I worked with these groups each day. I had one girl who was very vocal and could comprehend anything that was read to her but she was not reading on grade level. She had begun to read some early emergent text but it still seemed that something had not “clicked” with her. She also had very low sight word vocabulary. After Christmas break, I continued to work with my low groups each day. One of the groups – the one she was in – had made some consistent progress. In early March when I tested her, I was shocked to see that her sight word vocabulary had grown significantly since December. When I tested her reading level, I was so excited when she read a book on grade level at 100% accuracy – I cried. It was amazing to see her read and use the strategies we had been working on as she read the book. She is now in the second grade and still reading on grade level. She is also one of the best writers in her class.

I feel that reading and writing are content areas that are closely linked together. Reading is a way to explore new and unique subject areas. It is also a way to introduce something new and exciting to students. Writing is a way to express your thoughts about literature. They work hand in hand to help students to comprehend new information and use that new information to explore any other possibilities. Unfortunately, some students have difficulty reading or do not comprehend what they are reading. As part of our curriculum this year, I am using the Breakthrough to Literacy program in my first grade class. This program allows the students to read books using strategies such as: predicting, recalling/remembering, integrating, creating, summarizing and analyzing the text. These strategies assist the students with comprehension and help to build ideas that the students will later use for writing assignments. Breakthrough to Literacy does a wonderful job of integrating writing. The program uses a variety of thinking maps and gives suggestions for writing assignments. I have seen a great improvement in the comprehension levels of my students and some have become more independent with their writing.

I believe that learning to read is a process that begins as simple as knowing how to use a book. When sharing stories to my students or having them read independently, I always use and encourage them to use what I call pre-reading strategies. By taking a book and looking through the story at the pictures/text, students can get an idea about the story. They can begin to make assumptions and predictions. When reading with my class, I like to make guesses about the story just by looking at the cover. The students use their imaginations and get anxious/excited about the book. Taking a picture walk through the story allows the students to make more predictions and recognize some of the text. The actual reading of the text allows them to see if they made an accurate prediction. I have noticed during silent selected reading that my students “mock” me as they read. They flip through books and turn the book as if they are showing it to someone. I have even heard one of my students ask the question “What was the story about?” as they read. Asking questions about the story allows the students to recall what they remember. This process was introduced to me during one of my first reading classes in college. I continue to use this process because I feel that students need to get excited about literature. Those students that have not begun to read often get discouraged and feel left out during reading times. This process helps them to feel like part of the class.

The strategies I use as I teach reading are often changing on a daily basis. I rework and revisit whenever I see the need. I believe that I am still evolving as a reading instructor. I stay open to trying new strategies and fit them in accordingly. I firmly believe that all children can learn when given the opportunity. I also believe that all children are readers – some are just in a different stage. All strategies do not work for every child. Children must be shown multiple ways of instruction so they will have a chance to comprehend the material. They also need the support of a nurturing teaching to assist them. By showing children they are in a loving and caring, they will be open to you and what you have to offer.