Read, Run, Ramble

I met with my group of third graders today to discuss 26 Fairmont Avenue (as noted in yesterday’s post) and it went FABULOUSLY!

There is nothing better than sitting down with a group of kids and feeling their excitement - their love - for a book! Especially something historical. Add to that it is a historical autobiography!

I had 5 students show up (out of 8, which is a good turn out) and they all claimed to enjoy the book. Each of them had excellent opinions and thoughts to share about the book - I was so thrilled. We spend their lunch time discussing, which boils down to about 25 -30 min and my group could have easily spent another 30 - 45 chatting!

Additionally they all seemed to pick up on the major themes and events of the story and I was on CLOUD 9 without a doubt!

This is what happens when you let kids enjoy books; when you encourage them to read for the fun of it instead of focusing solely on how man words per minute they read; when you encourage thought and imagination; when you give them an open environment not filled with criticism and judgement; when they aren’t expecting to be unnecessarily tested to death over a simple story. In summary, this is what happens when you aren’t limited by the ridiculous structure and requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (will not get on my soap box I promise, but I had to get that in).

*Side note: I had one supposed “struggling” reader who freaking ROCKED this discussion - her comprehension and interest levels far exceeded what her teacher and associated reading specialist are able to produce (not totally their fault in my opinion). I had one girl tell me at the end that she was going to “join every chat and chew there ever is”. Each of the students told me it did make learning historical events easier and more fun and each also said they would be looking to read more DePaola books for that reason (one even suggested we do a separate chat and chew group to just read his books). A-MAZ-ING…favorite part of my year are these groups and the corresponding responses I get from the kiddos!