The value of literacy

Day 12 of 31 at Two Writing Teachers!

Today I went to the used bookstore after school.  A visit to the bookstore is always dangerous, because I just get lost in delight and end up spending way more time and money than I meant to!  The used bookstore is actually much more dangerous than a regular bookstore, because I'm looking for books for my students, and I know the books are cheap.  (Cheap means I can buy more of them, right?)

Now that I'm finally teaching ELLs, I'm trying so hard to turn my students into readers.  I would spend a million dollars of my own money if that would ensure that every one of my students would find at least one book that speaks to him or her. All students should experience what it's like to lose yourself in a book that's impossible to put down, a book that transports you to another time or place, or a book that puts into words the deepest feelings of your heart.  When students find those books, they will find delight in reading, and I hope they never lose it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a million dollars.  But I'm doing pretty well with Scholastic book orders and the used bookstore!  I'm doing pretty well with students too, slowly but surely letting the books win them over.  It's a never-ending struggle: search for the right book to hook a kid, find more books to keep the new readers hooked, subtly stretch the comfortable readers into new genres and topics.  I didn't realize how difficult this work would be, but those sparks in their eyes are more rewarding than I even imagined.

Today I came home with a slew of cute quotation bookmarks to give away to my classroom slicers, a few beautiful journals to give to the most prolific slicers at the end of the challenge, and a small enough pile of books that I could hold them all: a prudent but exciting selection.

reading and writing delight for my students!

After all, how can you put a price tag on the chance to turn kids into lifelong readers and writers?