All Info About Reading

 Reading for the sheer enjoyment of reading is great.  We as teachers and parents want to share the joy and the sense of accomplishment that we feel when reading great books.  Sometimes, though, it’s important to respond to what we’ve read.  Responding to literature provides avenues to share with others and also gives teachers and other adults the means to assess comprehension and the development of other reading skills.  The traditional vehicle for responding to a book in school is the book report.  However, there are many other techniques that can be used to accomplish the same goals.  Parents and homeschoolers, in particular, often search for creative ways to encourage children to share their thoughts on books with others.  Depending on your exact goals, here are some ideas that may work for you.
Book discussions aren’t nearly as formal as true book reports, but well-considered questions and discussion-starters will guide readers with less experience into sharing with family, classmates, or friends.  To begin with, you will want to become familiar with the book yourself so you know how to guide the discussion.  Your young readers will, as they gain experience, move away from needing such close guidance.  They will reach a point where general questions are enough of a prompt to get them talking. 

What aspects of the book can come up for discussion?  Nearly anything is fair game.  Be sensitive to your child’s age and stage of learning, and move from the concrete to the abstract.  Start with talk about the main plot points and the action of the story.  What is it about?  What happens first, next, last?  Older, more experienced readers can pick out plot devices like conflict or climax.

Character is another area for discussion.  Young readers can name and describe characters.  Older students will be able to talk about the characters’ roles and motivations.  Talk about setting, moving from simple description to considering how the time and place impact the action and outcome.

When kids are older, you can also bring literary devices, theme, characterization, mood, and plot development into the talk.  How does the author set the tone of the story?  How does he or s he help readers understand each character’s inner workings?  Look for particularly vivid words or wonderfully apt turns of phrase to share.

In addition to discussion, it can be fun to respond to books as a reviewer.  Have your student read a few published reviews to get a feel for how to write one.  Choose a book, give opinions about various aspects, and use examples from the text to support the opinions.  The review can be either positive or negative, as long as opinions are backed up.

Some students enjoy making visuals in response to things they’ve read.  This group of activities includes posters, dioramas, graphic organizers, or slide shows.  You can guide and shape a student’s response by requiring that specific questions be answered or particular aspects of the story be addressed.
One other category of responses to books is creative writing.  Try creating a newspaper that shares the book, or one that might’ve been published while the story was going on.  Writing an alternative ending or rewriting a scene or two from another character’s point of view can be fun.  Some students enjoy creating a journal or diary for a character or making a biography of a character.  For a creative challenge, see if your student can tell a story that involves characters from two different books!

Whatever device you choose for response, it’s important to keep students involved with a wide variety of activities. Try new things and help them grow.

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