During the month of December, it seemed that everyday the forecast called for snow. It seemed to keep snowing and snowing with no end in sight. Having lived in Royal Oak for the past ten years, I was not prepared the lake effect snow in Grand Rapids. I have begun to simply expect everyday to have at least some snow with it! Luckily, I have a snow blower. Unfortunately, my last maintenance with my snow blower was several years ago. I have been able to make it run, but it has been pretty rough.
This snow blowing experience made me think about reading at CW...
I was talking with a teacher today about engaging her students in reading. At CW, our students take pride in reading and we read a lot. There is dedicated time in classes to give students the opportunity to read. Our expectations are that students are reading at home everyday. Why?
According to research done by Caldwell and Gaine (2000), they found that "the best predictor of reading achievement is the amount of time children spend reading books on their own." In addition, Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding (1988) found that "the highest achievers in 5th grade read up to 200 times as many minutes per day than did the lowest achievers." It is clear that daily independent reading matters for the future success of our kids! Books also provide a great way to connect with our students' interests both in school and at home.
Going back to my snow blower, I now realize that the rough engine noise is a result of its infrequent use. The carburetor has "gunked" up from being stored over the summer. If only I would have run the engine daily, it would be working perfect. Just like my snow blower, if we want our students to continue to reach their individual potential, we must to continue to provide resources and opportunities for students to read daily!
-Research and quotes were used from: http://www.booksource.com/files/TradeBookResearchArticle.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment