The Importance of Reading & Writing

One of my favorite quotes by Dr. Seuss is, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."  Both readings from this week really enforce this idea.  Research by Michael Knapp shows that teachers who provided many reading and discussion opportunities, emphasized higher-order skills, and integrated reading and writing into subjects like science and social studies had high achievement gains (Cunningham & Allington, 2011). However, Allington (2002) reports that many students are only reading and writing for about 10% of the day.  From this data, it is no wonder that many children are still reading below their preferred reading level.  If students are not encouraged to enjoy reading and discussing or writing about their reading, they will do it less.

It is highly apparent that teachers need to put more focus on encouraging reading since it benefits students in all aspects of their learning.  I loved the ideas Cunningham & Allington (2011) had about sharing book bins with other classrooms and reading different types of books aloud. I remember my teachers doing similar things, which made me wonder what other ways teachers could spark students' interests in reading? Many teachers make cozy corners for reading. Would making a home-like reading environment in the classroom encourage more reading outside of it? What are some ways to make reading more appealing to reluctant readers?

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