I remember being one of the best readers in class in early elementary but at some point I had trouble with comprehension. I hated SRA reading! We had to read little stories on cards and then answer questions. Ughhh! In college I had to read so much for classes, I really got an aversion to reading and to this day - I really don't read much outside of work. How about you?
Shelly- I rememer the SRA's as well. I was not a big reader in elementary. I did what was expected but that was it. I will be honest as well reading for me is minimal. I skim alot of material.
Shelly, I loved SRA's! I think I liked the competition of trying to stay ahead of everyone else, and get to the new color! Comprehension was not too difficult for me, but rather isolated vocabulary words that we were supposed to know.
I remember the SRA reading! I remember my freshman year we used SRA reading. I finished a full nine weeks before everyone else and had to find something else to do!
I don't like to read text books but I enjoy reading for pleasure. I usually read 5-6 books over the summer, but not much time during the school year to read.
I always read a lot, I lived in the country and not much tv access till I was older. I was big on horse books, my love at the time. Reading seemed to be my way to live outside of a small town. Shelly- I read all the time! am on the local Library Board and get books every week and sometimes they do the iner library loan for books for me. We also have a book club thru the library that I belong to, takes me out of my comfort zone at times, but that is good. My favorite now, true crime books.
Kim- I wish I loved to read at times. I have never really been a huge reader. I like self help books and books of encouragment but reading for fun is not really my cup of tea. I wish it was. :)
Kim-I lived in the country too! There really wan't much else to do, huh?!? I always liked to read the babysitting and mystery books. I'm like you...I still really like to read! I just wish I had more time to do it.
Kim, I too lived in the country and wasn’t allowed much TV time. If we helped clean house on Saturdays we were allowed to buy a new book. I had the entire Nancy Drew series and loved them all.
Kim, You have mentioned being on the library board to me in the past and I think this is an amazing way to give back to your community. I'm not sure I could stretch myself that far to read things I hadn't chosen, and true crime books might just keep me up all night despite a barricaded door, LOL! ;-)
Thanks to Playskool Magnetic letter school desk, church, & my parents, I began kindergarten reading. In the car, like the author, we read roadsigns. Also, I memorized codes from Colorado license plates that indicated the county they were from (I remember my dad and my insurance-adjustor uncle teaching me that).
Later, I loved my first-grade teacher who kept an unlimited amount of task cards on a working bulletin board. If you finished your work early, you got a task card and did what it said. I read things like, "draw an elephant" (which I probably didn't do well---art--not my thing) but it required reading to do the task and probably kept me out of the teacher's hair.
My favorite pastime about that age was asking my mom for people she knew; then, I would look up their names in the phone book, memorize them, then recite them to whoever would listen. Love of reading continued; mostly to find information in maps & phonebooks.
As a third grader, I got special permission to read the fourth grade biography books (dozens of them). My first biography I read was Annie Oakley. I was in third grade for about six weeks, then they promoted me to fourth grade. I was really bullied until about 6th grade. They called me "Worm" (short for bookworm) and wouldn't play with me. About 7th grade I was finally accepted into the group. I feel like reading is in my soul and would be really devastated if I ever lost my sight.
Ginger, I enjoyed reading biographies as well. I began reading those in 4th grade. I liked learning about people and their lives. Even in high school, when we had to choose assignments from a list, I would often choose reading a biography and reporting on that.
Ginger and Angela, I still feel that one of the most impacting biographies I read as a child was Helen Keller's. It made me appreciate the fact that I was able to learn to read and communicate. I wonder sometimes if that lesson still comes through to our student audience.
I remember beginning to read in first grade. I began with Dick and Jane books. I participated in the summer reading programs every year as well. We had reading groups in first and second grade, and I remember reading with those who could read the best. There was a group that really read slowly! In fourth grade, I came close to reading probably 100 Nancy Drew books. My best friend and I made a list (by hand) of all the books and crossed them off once we read them. Actual reading was always a positive experience for me as a child. The reading workbook pages we had to do in school were not so fun! As I became older, I didn't read as much in my free time. I enjoyed listening to top 40 music much more. What can I say, I loved and still love 80s music. In high school and college, I mainly read school material only, and worked when I wasn't in school. I didn't seem to have much free time to read. Now as an adult, I do read some. I like mysteries, true family stories, and christian books. I don't read a lot, it just seems like there are other things to do that are more important. . . laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc. I hope to read more when I retire - that will be awhile!
I completely understand Angela about not reading a lot now (even though I love it). I also always find myself needing to do the house stuff...dishes, laundry, etc, and when I'm done, I'm just too tired! Maybe when we retire we will have so much time that there won't be enough books to fill it!! :)
I have the Dick and Jane books in my classroom. One of my paras had them at home and brought them. I just recently started finding time to unwind and read and I love it. It's fun to talk to my students about the books we are reading.
I don't really remember when I actually learned how to read. I just remember in elementary school being able to read and that it wasn't ever hard for me to do. I always enjoyed reading as a kid, and I still do. I remember feeling like a confident reader and never minded reading out loud in class. I LOVED it when we did Book It and I was able to earn the pizza certificates. It was definitely a good incentive for me to read at home. My parents both enjoyed reading, so I guess I picked it up from their influence. Reading could always take me places that I could only go in my dreams...
My daughter is in high school now but when she was in elementary school she did the Book It program. She liked it but liked to read anyway so it was not much of an extra motivator for her. My son was in the program for only a short time and then the school quit doing it. He really loved the program and he needed to extra motivation to read since he is not much of a reader. He really loves pizza so it was a perfect program for him! Too bad, don't know if the elementary school here is still doing it or not?
Your experience sounds like the exact opposite of mine. Reading has never been easy for me. I remember listening to other kids read in early grade school and wondered how in the world they could do it so effortlessly. It was something that I had to work very hard at and it made me feel very stupid. Fortunately, I persevered and once I learned how to read I also learned to love books.
I didn't get to experience anything cool like Book It when I was in school. Guess I am too old! I don't remember any incentives for reading but we all learned anyway. I like to read, but don't always make the time.
I didn't get to do any cool incentives like Book It! in school. We just read in school because that was what was expected. I like to read, but don't make the time to do as much as I should.
I remember always liking reading. There are pictures of my mom reading to me and my brother when we were young. I think that helped instill the love of reading in me. The only negative experience for me was in the 5th and 6th grade. Since I was at a small perocial school, I had the same teacher for both grades. We would have a chapter book assigned to us and would have to read a certain chapter. Then there was a list of vocabulary words from each chapter that we had to define. I didn't particularily like reading the book assigned and the book I do remember reading is the Secret Garden because I had to read aloud to myself to understand what I was reading and to remember what I was reading. The worst part came at the end of the book when we had the vocabulary test. We probably had 100 words to memorize and only 10-20 would be on the test. I failed the test as did everyone else in the class. Then my reading grade at quarter was a D as there weren't many grades on the grading period. I was terrified what my mom would say/do. The next time mom helped me study, which took a long time, and I got the highest grade in the class with a C! I was so thankful to get out of those grades. I am also thankful that that experience did not ruin my love for reading.
Yes I understand. In high school Romeo and Juliet, The Hamlet and various others I did not understand the language at all. I wasn't interested and just didn't pay attention. Now I don't mind the stories but when I was a teenager it was dumb.
I also loved the Nancy Drew series. I was always bugging the librarian because our library didn't have every single one of the Nancy Drew books, so I had to join the boys and read Hardy Boys too.
By the way, I don't know why, but I cannot reply to a post so this is really a reply. If anyone can teach me, I would love to know how to reply.
Sorry you had that experience in 5th/6th grade with the Secret Garden. I did have a negative experience later on in 8th when a teacher made us lay around and listen to the Hobbit. I literally tuned her out because I was mad at her because I wasn't interested in that and we had to take all these tests on it all the time.
I remeber HS having to endure Tale of Two Cities and not being a big reader myself it was very hard to read stories and stay intuned in something I didn't like!
I hate to read if there is a deadline attached. I never did well on books that we had to read in high school. Outsiders, TO Kill a Mockingbird, but after when I have read them I enjoyed them.
My mom read to me and my brother all the time when we were little. When we would go shopping we get to buy a book, the Little Golden Books. I remember having lots of books at home. A lot of times I was content to just sit and read in my room. This is a positive memory. However when I was in 6th grade I started struggling with spelling and grammar. During English class one day a teacher came and got me out of class and told me I was going to another class because I was not doing good with grammar. So in the middle of class I had to change classes! I can't believe they thought that was the appropriate way to handle it. Ever since then I was permanently stuck in the "average" English class. I think I had an invisible letter on me like the Scarlet Letter. I could not break free from that label. Which did not bother me much until high school. I liked the books the kids in the advanced English classes were reading better than the ones I had to read. So on top of reading what was required of me I also read some of the books the advanced classes were reading. That was a negative memory! Mostly because of they way they did it, in the middle if class and in front of everyone, was embarrassing. But also because I could not seem to move past that level and I don't remember anyone even trying to help me.
Think about all the times we go get kids out of class for testing and then their schedules change to start receiving our supports. We really should be sensitive to how these things can effect kids and their perceptions of themselves as learners and readers. Thanks for sharing Carol.
Golden Books bring back very fond memories for me. I remember as a child that whenever my siblings and I went to the grocery store with my mom, if we were good, she would buy us a Golden Book. I continued that tradition with my children and they have also kept the family tradition with their children. As a family, I think we have a collection of every Golden and Silver Book ever published.
In the early years I don't remember reading being a huge experience. I do rememember that I loved reading outloud to my babies and playing school as I taught them how to read. I remember comprehension being a huge deal when I got into school. I remember kind of like the AR Books today, we had these cards we would find the book and have to answer comprehension questions about it. I remember this being tough for me as I didn't like to read silently. In order for me to understand what I read I had to read outloud. In the classroom it is very hard to concentrate on reading and then being able to comprehend what I just read was huge for me. I have to read distraction free and be really interested in the book and relate to the book before I can understand what is going on. I did not like to read for pleasure, I was the kid who read what needed to be read for assignements and no more.
When I was in grade school, I remember being a good student and that reading was easy. I also remember seeing other students struggle with reading and I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t read. While I was in grade school, ‘word families’ was the method of teaching reading. It wasn’t until the college class for teaching reading that I learned phonetics. It was a shock to me to find out all the different rules letter patterns follow and how many exceptions to the rules there were!
I am loving reading all your responses! I wonder what our students would say to this question about early reading experiences if they were asked 10-15 years from now....
When I think back to when I was little I truly don’t recall my parents reading to me like I do my own two boys. I do however remember learning to read in Kindergarten with the Dick and Jane books. My next memory of reading was when I was in 2nd grade and knowing now what I do I know I was a slow reader and had to have special help. I can remember going with Mrs. Jackson to read on a daily basis in a one on one setting. After that I just know that even though I was a 4.0 student reading was not something I did for enjoyment and I struggled with comprehension. I can remember locking myself in my classroom and reading my books/assignments out-loud thinking hearing the words would help me to remember what I read. The only true excitement that I can remember about books and reading as a young child was our small town grocery store always had specials where each week you could get the plate of the week to complete a set of dishes. This one time the store had a special each week you could buy a Sesame Street Book 26 in all. I can remember loving to head to the store each week to get the new book and having someone read it to me. I kept those books and couldn’t wait for my boys to be old enough to break out those books and share with them.
I remember Dick and Jane too! I have an old Tip book in my office that I found in an antique store once with a copyright of 1957. It has Jack and Janet and Tip characters!
I really don't remember reading much at home either. I'm sure I did but I don't remember. I do however, remember how excited I was when we got books in first grade and I could take it home and read to my parents. I remember reading to my younger brother and trying to teach him how to read....or at least I thought I was. Reading was never a subject I struggled with in school so looking back I only have positive memories.
I was not a good reader until about the 8th grade and then it was like I couldn't get enough books. I remember as a small child my mother reading books to us. Being one of the youngest in my family, I remember my older siblings acting out stories as my mother read them. I remember in 4th or 5th grade being put in the lowest reading group and was heart broken. I contribute my lack of reading skills at that age to going to a 2 room school house when I was in the 3rd grade and at that time I was doing okay in reading and the teacher focus was on the other students.
Hello! It's been awhile since I've seen most of you, so this feels like a coffee club with friends! At least a few of you can remember back to some of my early reading materials -- Dick and Jane (who I fondly appreciate, actually) and SRA, up through high school, which probably made me more competitive, wanting to hone my skills. I still remember learning some of the first words and must have had a strong phonics background. My cousins had a huge encyclopedia-like set of children's' stories and nursery rhymes which were illustrated in color and I can remember being sucked into the world of reading because of those books. Overall, I have been enraptured with the process of learning to read as a child and I cannot imagine being illiterate.
Nursery rhymes seem to have gone out of style. Sad, I grew up on them! My son is in 6th grade and still likes to have stories read to him at night or for us to make up a story. Occasionally I recite nursery rhymes to him. I may be old fashioned but I think they are important to the reading process.
My earliest memory of reading is that it was torture for me. I just couldn't figure it out. I watched other kids do it and it seemed to be so easy for them, but I just couldn't do it. I learned to read in the Dick and Jane era when teachers would stand at the front of the room and read the book aloud to the class. I could memorize really well, so I would count the number of Round-Robin turns until it would be my turn to read and memorize that part. When it was my turn, I could "read" flawlessly. I faked it so well, that no one ever caught on that I couldn't really read. I don't ever remember receiving one single bit of help with my reading difficulties. I would spend hours on my own, privately trying to learn what all of those jumbled letters meant. Around the time I was in fifth grade, I finally started to figure it out. After that, I read everything I could get my hands on, but throughout my school years reading remained very hard for me. When I was 21 I went to a vision specialist in Denver who finally diagnosed my problem as dyslexia. I remember feeling so relieved that my problem had a name. It was a disorder and that meant I wasn't stupid after all. I worked with that doctor for about a year to improve my reading skills. That was a real turning point in my life. Later on, I made it my mission to help others who struggle with learning to read. Obtaining my full Reading Specialist licensure early last month was an achievement that I am mighty proud of and am making good use of in working with my students.
I often wonder how our students feel when they can not read the words or do not understand. If I was in that situation, I would not want to go to school or would act up in class so no one would know I could not read.
I remember asking my grandmother to read to me when I visited her house. I liked reading in first grade and it came easily to me. I was in a small class of 7 and we got lots of practice and attention. I enjoyed reading my nursery rhyme books at home. My mom was not a reader and has just recently told me she did not read to me when I was young. I liked to get books from book orders and read once in a while in grade school for enjoyment. I read books of my choice in high school quite often for enjoyment.
I remember my dad reading all the time when I was growing up. That had a major impact on me as a child. However, it was not until the 6th grade that I remember reading having a major impact on me. I had just finished reading "The Parent Trap" when the movie was on TV. I got such a thrill out of the experience that I think it provided a lot of motivation to continue reading. Even now, I read every night before I go to bed!!
testing ....
ReplyDeleteI remember being one of the best readers in class in early elementary but at some point I had trouble with comprehension. I hated SRA reading! We had to read little stories on cards and then answer questions. Ughhh! In college I had to read so much for classes, I really got an aversion to reading and to this day - I really don't read much outside of work. How about you?
ReplyDeleteShelly- I rememer the SRA's as well. I was not a big reader in elementary. I did what was expected but that was it. I will be honest as well reading for me is minimal. I skim alot of material.
DeleteShelly,
DeleteI loved SRA's! I think I liked the competition of trying to stay ahead of everyone else, and get to the new color! Comprehension was not too difficult for me, but rather isolated vocabulary words that we were supposed to know.
I remember the SRA reading! I remember my freshman year we used SRA reading. I finished a full nine weeks before everyone else and had to find something else to do!
DeleteSRA is something I can remember in grade school and I remember my first teaching job finding parts of one in the closet LOL!
DeleteI do not remember SRA. I hate reading text books but give me a book for pleasure and I read every chance I get.
DeleteI don't like to read text books but I enjoy reading for pleasure. I usually read 5-6 books over the summer, but not much time during the school year to read.
DeleteI always read a lot, I lived in the country and not much tv access till I was older. I was big on horse books, my love at the time. Reading seemed to be my way to live outside of a small town.
ReplyDeleteShelly- I read all the time! am on the local Library Board and get books every week and sometimes they do the iner library loan for books for me. We also have a book club thru the library that I belong to, takes me out of my comfort zone at times, but that is good. My favorite now, true crime books.
Kim- I wish I loved to read at times. I have never really been a huge reader. I like self help books and books of encouragment but reading for fun is not really my cup of tea. I wish it was. :)
DeleteKim-I lived in the country too! There really wan't much else to do, huh?!? I always liked to read the babysitting and mystery books. I'm like you...I still really like to read! I just wish I had more time to do it.
DeleteKim, I too lived in the country and wasn’t allowed much TV time. If we helped clean house on Saturdays we were allowed to buy a new book. I had the entire Nancy Drew series and loved them all.
DeleteKim, You have mentioned being on the library board to me in the past and I think this is an amazing way to give back to your community. I'm not sure I could stretch myself that far to read things I hadn't chosen, and true crime books might just keep me up all night despite a barricaded door, LOL! ;-)
DeleteThanks to Playskool Magnetic letter school desk, church, & my parents, I began kindergarten reading. In the car, like the author, we read roadsigns. Also, I memorized codes from Colorado license plates that indicated the county they were from (I remember my dad and my insurance-adjustor uncle teaching me that).
ReplyDeleteLater, I loved my first-grade teacher who kept an unlimited amount of task cards on a working bulletin board. If you finished your work early, you got a task card and did what it said. I read things like, "draw an elephant" (which I probably didn't do well---art--not my thing) but it required reading to do the task and probably kept me out of the teacher's hair.
My favorite pastime about that age was asking my mom for people she knew; then, I would look up their names in the phone book, memorize them, then recite them to whoever would listen. Love of reading continued; mostly to find information in maps & phonebooks.
As a third grader, I got special permission to read the fourth grade biography books (dozens of them). My first biography I read was Annie Oakley. I was in third grade for about six weeks, then they promoted me to fourth grade. I was really bullied until about 6th grade. They called me "Worm" (short for bookworm) and wouldn't play with me. About 7th grade I was finally accepted into the group. I feel like reading is in my soul and would be really devastated if I ever lost my sight.
Ginger,
DeleteI enjoyed reading biographies as well. I began reading those in 4th grade. I liked learning about people and their lives. Even in high school, when we had to choose assignments from a list, I would often choose reading a biography and reporting on that.
Ginger and Angela,
DeleteI still feel that one of the most impacting biographies I read as a child was Helen Keller's. It made me appreciate the fact that I was able to learn to read and communicate. I wonder sometimes if that lesson still comes through to our student audience.
I remember beginning to read in first grade. I began with Dick and Jane books. I participated in the summer reading programs every year as well. We had reading groups in first and second grade, and I remember reading with those who could read the best. There was a group that really read slowly! In fourth grade, I came close to reading probably 100 Nancy Drew books. My best friend and I made a list (by hand) of all the books and crossed them off once we read them. Actual reading was always a positive experience for me as a child. The reading workbook pages we had to do in school were not so fun! As I became older, I didn't read as much in my free time. I enjoyed listening to top 40 music much more. What can I say, I loved and still love 80s music. In high school and college, I mainly read school material only, and worked when I wasn't in school. I didn't seem to have much free time to read. Now as an adult, I do read some. I like mysteries, true family stories, and christian books. I don't read a lot, it just seems like there are other things to do that are more important. . . laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc. I hope to read more when I retire - that will be awhile!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand Angela about not reading a lot now (even though I love it). I also always find myself needing to do the house stuff...dishes, laundry, etc, and when I'm done, I'm just too tired! Maybe when we retire we will have so much time that there won't be enough books to fill it!! :)
DeleteI have the Dick and Jane books in my classroom. One of my paras had them at home and brought them. I just recently started finding time to unwind and read and I love it. It's fun to talk to my students about the books we are reading.
DeleteI don't really remember when I actually learned how to read. I just remember in elementary school being able to read and that it wasn't ever hard for me to do. I always enjoyed reading as a kid, and I still do. I remember feeling like a confident reader and never minded reading out loud in class. I LOVED it when we did Book It and I was able to earn the pizza certificates. It was definitely a good incentive for me to read at home. My parents both enjoyed reading, so I guess I picked it up from their influence. Reading could always take me places that I could only go in my dreams...
ReplyDeleteOh, the Book It! I did that too and enjoyed going to get my pizza. That was the only reason my parents went to Pizza Hut.
DeleteI loved Book It too! I remember I couldn't wait until the end of the month to receive my certificate!!
DeleteMy daughter is in high school now but when she was in elementary school she did the Book It program. She liked it but liked to read anyway so it was not much of an extra motivator for her. My son was in the program for only a short time and then the school quit doing it. He really loved the program and he needed to extra motivation to read since he is not much of a reader. He really loves pizza so it was a perfect program for him! Too bad, don't know if the elementary school here is still doing it or not?
DeleteYour experience sounds like the exact opposite of mine. Reading has never been easy for me. I remember listening to other kids read in early grade school and wondered how in the world they could do it so effortlessly. It was something that I had to work very hard at and it made me feel very stupid. Fortunately, I persevered and once I learned how to read I also learned to love books.
DeleteI didn't get to experience anything cool like Book It when I was in school. Guess I am too old! I don't remember any incentives for reading but we all learned anyway. I like to read, but don't always make the time.
DeleteI didn't get to do any cool incentives like Book It in school. Guess I am too old! I enjoy reading, but don't always make the time or have the time.
DeleteI didn't get to do any cool incentives like Book It! in school. We just read in school because that was what was expected. I like to read, but don't make the time to do as much as I should.
DeleteI remember always liking reading. There are pictures of my mom reading to me and my brother when we were young. I think that helped instill the love of reading in me. The only negative experience for me was in the 5th and 6th grade. Since I was at a small perocial school, I had the same teacher for both grades. We would have a chapter book assigned to us and would have to read a certain chapter. Then there was a list of vocabulary words from each chapter that we had to define. I didn't particularily like reading the book assigned and the book I do remember reading is the Secret Garden because I had to read aloud to myself to understand what I was reading and to remember what I was reading. The worst part came at the end of the book when we had the vocabulary test. We probably had 100 words to memorize and only 10-20 would be on the test. I failed the test as did everyone else in the class. Then my reading grade at quarter was a D as there weren't many grades on the grading period. I was terrified what my mom would say/do. The next time mom helped me study, which took a long time, and I got the highest grade in the class with a C! I was so thankful to get out of those grades. I am also thankful that that experience did not ruin my love for reading.
ReplyDeleteYes I understand. In high school Romeo and Juliet, The Hamlet and various others I did not understand the language at all. I wasn't interested and just didn't pay attention. Now I don't mind the stories but when I was a teenager it was dumb.
DeleteI think our tastes change as we mature and I know many things I thought were 'dumb' during school have turned out to be useful information.
DeleteAngela:
ReplyDeleteI also loved the Nancy Drew series. I was always bugging the librarian because our library didn't have every single one of the Nancy Drew books, so I had to join the boys and read Hardy Boys too.
By the way, I don't know why, but I cannot reply to a post so this is really a reply. If anyone can teach me, I would love to know how to reply.
Heather:
ReplyDeleteSorry you had that experience in 5th/6th grade with the Secret Garden. I did have a negative experience later on in 8th when a teacher made us lay around and listen to the Hobbit. I literally tuned her out because I was mad at her because I wasn't interested in that and we had to take all these tests on it all the time.
I remeber HS having to endure Tale of Two Cities and not being a big reader myself it was very hard to read stories and stay intuned in something I didn't like!
DeleteI hate to read if there is a deadline attached. I never did well on books that we had to read in high school. Outsiders, TO Kill a Mockingbird, but after when I have read them I enjoyed them.
DeleteMy mom read to me and my brother all the time when we were little. When we would go shopping we get to buy a book, the Little Golden Books. I remember having lots of books at home. A lot of times I was content to just sit and read in my room. This is a positive memory. However when I was in 6th grade I started struggling with spelling and grammar. During English class one day a teacher came and got me out of class and told me I was going to another class because I was not doing good with grammar. So in the middle of class I had to change classes! I can't believe they thought that was the appropriate way to handle it. Ever since then I was permanently stuck in the "average" English class. I think I had an invisible letter on me like the Scarlet Letter. I could not break free from that label. Which did not bother me much until high school. I liked the books the kids in the advanced English classes were reading better than the ones I had to read. So on top of reading what was required of me I also read some of the books the advanced classes were reading. That was a negative memory! Mostly because of they way they did it, in the middle if class and in front of everyone, was embarrassing. But also because I could not seem to move past that level and I don't remember anyone even trying to help me.
ReplyDeleteThink about all the times we go get kids out of class for testing and then their schedules change to start receiving our supports. We really should be sensitive to how these things can effect kids and their perceptions of themselves as learners and readers. Thanks for sharing Carol.
DeleteGolden Books bring back very fond memories for me. I remember as a child that whenever my siblings and I went to the grocery store with my mom, if we were good, she would buy us a Golden Book. I continued that tradition with my children and they have also kept the family tradition with their children. As a family, I think we have a collection of every Golden and Silver Book ever published.
DeleteIn the early years I don't remember reading being a huge experience. I do rememember that I loved reading outloud to my babies and playing school as I taught them how to read. I remember comprehension being a huge deal when I got into school. I remember kind of like the AR Books today, we had these cards we would find the book and have to answer comprehension questions about it. I remember this being tough for me as I didn't like to read silently. In order for me to understand what I read I had to read outloud. In the classroom it is very hard to concentrate on reading and then being able to comprehend what I just read was huge for me. I have to read distraction free and be really interested in the book and relate to the book before I can understand what is going on. I did not like to read for pleasure, I was the kid who read what needed to be read for assignements and no more.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grade school, I remember being a good student and that reading was easy. I also remember seeing other students struggle with reading and I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t read. While I was in grade school, ‘word families’ was the method of teaching reading. It wasn’t until the college class for teaching reading that I learned phonetics. It was a shock to me to find out all the different rules letter patterns follow and how many exceptions to the rules there were!
ReplyDeleteI am loving reading all your responses! I wonder what our students would say to this question about early reading experiences if they were asked 10-15 years from now....
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back to when I was little I truly don’t recall my parents reading to me like I do my own two boys. I do however remember learning to read in Kindergarten with the Dick and Jane books. My next memory of reading was when I was in 2nd grade and knowing now what I do I know I was a slow reader and had to have special help. I can remember going with Mrs. Jackson to read on a daily basis in a one on one setting. After that I just know that even though I was a 4.0 student reading was not something I did for enjoyment and I struggled with comprehension. I can remember locking myself in my classroom and reading my books/assignments out-loud thinking hearing the words would help me to remember what I read. The only true excitement that I can remember about books and reading as a young child was our small town grocery store always had specials where each week you could get the plate of the week to complete a set of dishes. This one time the store had a special each week you could buy a Sesame Street Book 26 in all. I can remember loving to head to the store each week to get the new book and having someone read it to me. I kept those books and couldn’t wait for my boys to be old enough to break out those books and share with them.
ReplyDeleteI remember Dick and Jane too! I have an old Tip book in my office that I found in an antique store once with a copyright of 1957. It has Jack and Janet and Tip characters!
DeleteI really don't remember reading much at home either. I'm sure I did but I don't remember. I do however, remember how excited I was when we got books in first grade and I could take it home and read to my parents. I remember reading to my younger brother and trying to teach him how to read....or at least I thought I was. Reading was never a subject I struggled with in school so looking back I only have positive memories.
ReplyDeleteI was not a good reader until about the 8th grade and then it was like I couldn't get enough books. I remember as a small child my mother reading books to us. Being one of the youngest in my family, I remember my older siblings acting out stories as my mother read them. I remember in 4th or 5th grade being put in the lowest reading group and was heart broken. I contribute my lack of reading skills at that age to going to a 2 room school house when I was in the 3rd grade and at that time I was doing okay in reading and the teacher focus was on the other students.
ReplyDeleteHello! It's been awhile since I've seen most of you, so this feels like a coffee club with friends! At least a few of you can remember back to some of my early reading materials -- Dick and Jane (who I fondly appreciate, actually) and SRA, up through high school, which probably made me more competitive, wanting to hone my skills. I still remember learning some of the first words and must have had a strong phonics background. My cousins had a huge encyclopedia-like set of children's' stories and nursery rhymes which were illustrated in color and I can remember being sucked into the world of reading because of those books. Overall, I have been enraptured with the process of learning to read
ReplyDeleteas a child and I cannot imagine being illiterate.
Nursery rhymes seem to have gone out of style. Sad, I grew up on them! My son is in 6th grade and still likes to have stories read to him at night or for us to make up a story. Occasionally I recite nursery rhymes to him. I may be old fashioned but I think they are important to the reading process.
DeleteMy earliest memory of reading is that it was torture for me. I just couldn't figure it out. I watched other kids do it and it seemed to be so easy for them, but I just couldn't do it. I learned to read in the Dick and Jane era when teachers would stand at the front of the room and read the book aloud to the class. I could memorize really well, so I would count the number of Round-Robin turns until it would be my turn to read and memorize that part. When it was my turn, I could "read" flawlessly. I faked it so well, that no one ever caught on that I couldn't really read. I don't ever remember receiving one single bit of help with my reading difficulties. I would spend hours on my own, privately trying to learn what all of those jumbled letters meant. Around the time I was in fifth grade, I finally started to figure it out. After that, I read everything I could get my hands on, but throughout my school years reading remained very hard for me. When I was 21 I went to a vision specialist in Denver who finally diagnosed my problem as dyslexia. I remember feeling so relieved that my problem had a name. It was a disorder and that meant I wasn't stupid after all. I worked with that doctor for about a year to improve my reading skills. That was a real turning point in my life. Later on, I made it my mission to help others who struggle with learning to read. Obtaining my full Reading Specialist licensure early last month was an achievement that I am mighty proud of and am making good use of in working with my students.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how our students feel when they can not read the words or do not understand. If I was in that situation, I would not want to go to school or would act up in class so no one would know I could not read.
DeleteCongrats on your Reading Specialist licensure!!
I remember asking my grandmother to read to me when I visited her house. I liked reading in first grade and it came easily to me. I was in a small class of 7 and we got lots of practice and attention. I enjoyed reading my nursery rhyme books at home. My mom was not a reader and has just recently told me she did not read to me when I was young. I liked to get books from book orders and read once in a while in grade school for enjoyment. I read books of my choice in high school quite often for enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteI remember my dad reading all the time when I was growing up. That had a major impact on me as a child. However, it was not until the 6th grade that I remember reading having a major impact on me. I had just finished reading "The Parent Trap" when the movie was on TV. I got such a thrill out of the experience that I think it provided a lot of motivation to continue reading. Even now, I read every night before I go to bed!!
ReplyDelete