How to Use Literature to Teach Reading
Learning how to read effectively is the single most important thing you can do to improve your life and the lives of your students. If you want to use literature to teach reading, be sure to choose texts that are both engaging and relevant. You can choose fiction or not, the trick is to get your students interested and involved as early as possible. Most states require that students start developing inference and deduction skills early, so be sure to incorporate consistent listening activities, especially for very young readers, as well.
Things You'll Need
- Internet access
- A list of parent names, emails and phone numbers
- Telephone access
- Library access
Instructions
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Use Literature to Teach Reading.
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Set the pace with a positive attitude and get students involved. Children will develop lifelong reading habits, even in the most earliest stages of learning, if it is enjoyable to do so. Use wordless books for very young children, so they can learn how to follow a plot. Have older students act out literature dialogue in small groups. Talk about characterization and foreshadowing. Students of all ages should learn how to anticipate what will happen next to characters in a story. Ask them "what do you think will happen next?"
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Establish connections. It is very important for a child to develop connections between ideas when they read. Have them use their own cultural background to analyze the material. This is a key element in developing better reading comprehension that will help them master the complexity of later narratives.
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Choose a genre and break off into groups. Rather than forcing a kid to read a book they do not like, choose a genre of literature to teach reading to them. Section off your classroom into themes and have kids move to different areas whenever they finish the readings. Be sure to address concepts like theme, causality and irony.
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Monitor student progress without workbooks or worksheets. It is not necessary to grade workbooks or worksheets everyday to see if a child is progressing. Make a checklist of questions you can have on hand to monitor a particular student or group. See if they know when to turn a page or if they can pick out particular words, for example. Use literature and texts to drive your observations.
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Use a variety of sources to teach reading. Literature is generally regarded as a body or collective of socially relevant work, this can include movies, music and the Internet. The term "socially relevant" is subjective, but know that movies and music are often driven by similar thematic or plot driven devices, for example. Current research also suggests that technology, like the Internet, can be thought of as its own genre or collective, as well.
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Tips & Warnings
Get a list of parent names, numbers and emails. If you want to use literature to teach reading, try to get parents to talk to their kids about their daily learning experiences. This may propel them to even continue reading at home.
Never assume anything about a child's potential. Seasoned educators often mistakenly judge students who have performed poorly in the past.
