A Love for Reading
A Love for Reading
Christina – MEC Summer Corps
Detroit Public Schools Community District
The most rewarding part of my service experience has been watching students fall in love with reading. For some students, this comes pretty quickly and naturally but for others, it takes much more time and effort. One student that comes to mind enjoyed reading so much that his face lit up every time I pulled out a new story. He would get fully engaged in the passage and ask questions about things that happened in the passage. He would relate things that happened in the passage with things that happened in his everyday life. I feel like this helped to bring the passage to life and gave us a chance to really bond.
For some students this love for reading comes more gradually. With many of these students, I try to find passages that interest them and use more praise/encouragement and rewards to motivate them to get into a consistent routine of reading. Many of these students do struggle with their reading so praise and encouragement is vitally important. Even small successes like getting a word they missed during the first read is worth praising. I know in time that even these students will come to enjoy reading, but right now I am most focused on helping them to enjoy the journey.
