Today I had the opportunity to read to a group of kids who are starting Kindergarten this year. They're part of a program to "kickstart" their school experience by getting them in the building for a week or so in the summer and showing them the ropes. I always enjoy this. They are excited about being in the school, and let's face it, is there anything more cool than being in the library and finding out that all those books are there for you to read!
Today we read the classic
Harry, the Dirty Dog. The story is older than me, but it holds up. They were smiling and talking along with the story the entire time. It just validates one of the major portions of the "gospel" that a friend and I have developed for reading instruction.
We believe in the power of story. If you read a good story or give a kid a good story they'll listen or read it.Nothing is worse than some of the instructional reading material we give kids, text that works so hard on the "blend of the week", that the story just doesn't matter. Who'd want to read that stuff!
Our county has adopted the
Superkids reading curriculum for grades K-2 and I'm very pleased about it. I listen to and read with a lot of kids every year and I think they have made great progress with this program. And the kids love it! The stories are just that, stories. The kids learn the characters and what makes them tick, and they feel like they know them. It builds a connection to the text, to the story, and to wanting to read. Win, win, win.
So as we begin another school year, I'm really watching with interest to see how our kids do after a year of Superkids under their belt. I expect great things and another bit of the gospel is...You have to have high expectations.
No comments:
Post a Comment