Reading in the Wild

I think Miller’s book Reading in the Wild is very educational.  It is filled with good ideas about how not only to teach reading, but how to make students love reading.  She really focuses on how important it is for students to have books that interest them.  She also shows the importance of giving students time to read in class.  Teaching reading is a huge responsibility.  As a teacher they way you teach literacy could affect the way your students view reading for the rest of their lives.  I want to make my students excited about reading, I want it to be an activity they enjoy and choose to do even outside of school.

This book not only gives me good ideas on how to turn students into readers but how to help myself become a better reader.  Miller makes me see I should be bringing a book with me everywhere I go, and that I should really make reading a habit of mine. I think it is helpful for a teacher to be a reader so that their love of reading can rub off on their class and so they always have good books to suggest to their students.

It seems challenging finding books for all of your students to read.  You have to know a student well enough to know what kind of topics interest them, you also have to know what level of reading they are up to, and you have to have hundreds of suggestions ready because each student will read multiple books throughout the year.  Another challenge that she brings up is catching students in the act of fake reading.  You can’t just yell at a student to read, in order to stop them from fake reading you have to dedicate time and effort into find good material for them, helping them set goals, and watching them to make sure they aren’t slipping back into the habit of fake reading.