How can educators promote a love of & for reading?
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”– Frederick Douglas
Reading is one of the most fundamental life skills that children must master in order to succeed in school and in life. Almost everything that we do involves some form of reading; yet many students I work with lack the interest and enthusiasm to read. Children now live in a world full of technological distractions, and I fear that this may be contributing to the demise of such a lifelong skill.
Teacher: Why do you read?
Learner: Because you and my parents tell me to.
If I reflect upon the reasons for my own reading habits, pleasing my parents would certainly not feature on the list. As adults we know and make effective use of all the benefits that reading affords us. Reading has helped me to do the best job in the world, to travel, communicate with others, relax, and occupy my mind; and ultimately reading has enabled me to bring Planet Castor to life. If we wish to provoke similar responses from learners, this will be accomplished only if they are able to read.
There are many effective methods that teachers can adopt to promote a love for reading. I like to enthuse, motivate and encourage students to read by using a reading racing-track. When my students have read a book they move their vehicle closer to the finishing-line, where a treat awaits them. When a student has completed a race they then embark upon a new lap. All students are racing with themselves and will be able to proceed towards a treat at their own pace.
Planet Castor is passionate about teaching language through narrative. Should teachers choose to adopt a similar approach (journey towards a Castor total eclipse) and make effective use of our wealth of resources, then they too will have such resources to help them bring a love of and for reading to life.