1 Being a reading role model
Students’ attitudes to reading are strongly influenced by their teachers. This unit suggests many ways in which you can explicitly model the enjoyment to be found in reading a wide range of texts.
You will start by reading a case study of a teacher who discovered a way of introducing her students to the pleasure of reading.
Case Study 1: Reading the newspaper
Ms Rabia teaches a large group of multigrade students from Classes III–V in Sagar. Here she describes how she used newspapers to demonstrate reading for pleasure to her class.
Unfortunately, the demands of family responsibilities and work mean that I don’t have as much time to read as I would like. It is nevertheless very important to me to make my students appreciate the value and pleasure of reading.
One morning earlier this year my students came into the classroom while I was reading a story in the daily newspaper [Times of India, 2014]. When they had sat down, I put the newspaper down and said, ‘I have just been reading the most interesting thing! It is about the “Delhi Eye” – the biggest ferris wheel in India!’
I showed them a photograph of the giant wheel and continued: ‘It says here that from the top one can see monuments like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Akshardham temple, Lotus Temple and Humayun’s Tomb.’ My students were captivated by this news.
I explained how there are many interesting things to read in the newspaper. I asked my students how often they came across newspapers outside school. One or two students said they noticed the newspapers with their photos and large-print headings in their local shop. Another said his father went to the community centre every day to read one. I learnt a little more about my students through this discussion.
From then on I shared a piece of news from the paper with my students every morning. Each time I let them observe me turning the pages, before selecting something that I thought would interest them. This was enjoyable for me, as it gave me the opportunity to read the paper every day. My students also seemed to look forward to finding out about local or international news. Through a short discussion, I was able to connect the news item with my students’ knowledge and experience, while introducing them to any new language it contained.
Soon I had a pile of newspapers and magazines in my classroom, which I encouraged my students to browse as they waited for their classmates to arrive in the morning. After a while I decided to set aside the first 15 minutes of class time for all my students to browse and read from these publications every day. Some students did this alone. Some did it together. On a few occasions I heard those reading together use the same expressions as I used with them myself, such as ‘Isn’t this interesting!’ and ‘Let’s see what this says!’ Sometimes I asked the older students to read with the younger ones. Occasionally I heard them explain what particular words meant. Recently my students have started recommending articles to one another, using expressions like ‘Have you read this?’ In these short sessions I could make informal observations of my students’ reading interests and skills.
 Pause for thought
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Ms Rabia modelled the activity of reading a newspaper to her students. She showed them how she could select from its content, sharing with them the news items that she thought they would find most interesting and inviting them to talk about their views and related experiences.
By setting aside a reading slot each day, Ms Rabia demonstrated to her students the importance of undertaking this activity on a regular basis. By providing her students with newspapers and magazines to browse, she encouraged them to choose what interested them and to share their selections with their classmates. By giving them the space to read aloud, silently or in pairs, she enabled everyone to engage with the activity at their own level. By inviting older students read to younger ones, she validated the older students’ developing skills.
One drawback to this activity is that most newspapers and magazines demand a minimum level of reading skill in order to be able to engage with them, even at a basic level. Similarly, many news items require knowledge and understanding that is beyond that expected of early grade students. The activity is therefore not appropriate for younger students or very early readers.
Whatever their level, your students will have some experience of reading. Whether positive or negative, they will also have attitudes towards reading, based on such experiences in school, at home or in their community. What kind of regular reading activity would work for your students? How can you make sure every student is included? Discuss your ideas with your colleagues.
In the next section, you will learn about the value of ‘book talk’ in the classroom. This is a regular activity that you could incorporate into any of your lessons.
Why this approach is important