“What a ‘gift’, to be immersed in the world of reading” (Travers & Travers, 2008)
In the 21st century learning environment, the right for a child to read is often taken for granted. The readings I have done has made me question whether we are truly enforcing and supporting the choice of children to reach their true reading potential?
The Book Whisperer in this video claims that her students enjoyed the reading so much more when we remove the entrapments of reading lessons such as book reports and dioramas(Reading Rockets, 2015, August 5). I have explored this theory in my discussion post about the diminishing culture of reading for pleasure. Reading is so much more pleasurable when the act is by choice. At the core, the reader should have the choice to reject, skip, highlight, share, embrace, and critique the literature that they choose.
So how do we create that ‘initial spark’? Ford et. al (2019) states that it is the duty of educators keep that fire going. To find books that reflects their life image, leading to self-identification and academic discovery(Ford, 2019). Extending from that I believe Teacher Librarians are in unique position to foster the ambers of that glow.
Movements such as “Read like a Girl” (Stower & Waring, 2018) project are examples of how a reading culture can be empowered through collaborative efforts of information professionals and educators. Again, it is often the elephant in the room. It is not enough that we have books on the shelves, it has to the right kind of books. If you want a child to read, you must find them the incentive to do so. Their reading pursuits need to be validated and valued. There must be connectedness and diversity that reflects the needs of the reader. The intergenerational exchange of ideas in “Read like a Girl with your dad” (Stower & Waring, 2018) is a wonderful example of book events that foster this spark for love of reading. It creates connectedness and meaning to the literature.
What is a good fit book?
Travers and Travers (2018) explain that according to Rosenblatt’s transactional theory there are two kinds of readers. Efferent readers read for information whereas aesthetic readers read for pleasure. Though, these identifications are on the different parts of the spectrum, depending on the interest and response of the readers they can be both efferent and aesthetic. Hence the engagement of the reader depends on whether the book creates interest and enjoyment. This connection happens when the theme or the message of the book fits the developmental stage of the child.
Book selection should be adapted to the developmental framework of the child. It is not enough to identify their reading level but the biophysychosocial factors that determine the maturity of the reader to understand and put the book in context. Biological factors, Phycological and socio-cultural factors all play a part in determination of reader’s ability to relate to the text. The goodness of fit should be identified not only by the child’s ability to read the text fluently but also with the knowledge of the individual child’s Biopsychosocial make up (Travers & Travers, 2008).
Role of the TL
There are many aspects that TLs need to explore to fit the right book to the right child. The role they can play in finding a good fit book cannot be underestimated. However, the right kind of literature that fits the developmental stage of the child must be identified (Travers & Travers, 2008). Knowledge of the student body and the needs of the school community based on their biological, psychological, and social cultural makeup of the students must be reflected the development of collections. The scaffolding of learning occurs when the TL brings the book to life with intonation, facial expressions, gestures, questioning, and most of all the magic of immersion (Winch et al., 2014). Children inherently understand the library is a place for them to choose what they would like to read. This freedom is the gift of reading for pleasure.
References
Ford, et. al. (2019). I Want to Read About Me: Engaging and Empowering Gifted Black Girls Using Multicultural Literature and Bibliotherapy. Gifted Child Today, 42(1), 53-57.
Reading Rockets. (2015, August 5). Leading to reading [Video] [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jqgjvauQmYU
Stower, H., & Waring, P. (2018). Read like a girl: Establishing a vibrant community of passionate readers. Alliance of Girls Schools Australia. https://www.agsa.org.au/news/read-like-a-girl-establishing-a-vibrant-community-of-passionate-readers/
Travers, B. E., & Travers, J. F. (2008). Children’s literature: A developmental perspective. John Wiley & Sons. John Wiley & Sons.
Winch, G., Ross Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., & Holliday, M. (2014). Literacy: Reading, Writing and Children’s Literature. Oxford University Press.