Blog #2

In the beginning of reading You Gotta BE the Book by Jeffrey Wilhelm, I was interested about the author’s discussion of his case study students.  Although chapter one started to drag on about his research, it is important to learn where his findings came from.  I think his case study students were very important to his understanding of how children learn to read.  His interviewing of students let him get an inside look of what different students really thought about reading.  Whether it is students like Marvin in chapter one who says “Reading is stupid!” or students like Cora, Joanne, and Ron who fully enjoy their time when reading. Some students will appreciate reading more than others.

            So what gets a student engaged in reading?  Wilhelm found that students need the freedom to read what they enjoy and be able to do what they wish with the book afterwards.  Ron, for example, would love to act out his stories about the good and evil people and relive the characters through drama, while his friend Chris would rather reenact the big scenes with explosions.  Although some students may not relish the idea of being in front of others, I believe that drama and acting in the classroom is a technique that could get many more students involved and interested in reading.  I can remember acting out Julius Caesar in my tenth grade honors English class.  The story itself was what some of the students in my class called “an old, dry classic.”  The teacher realized we were not as enthusiastic about it and made the class into something interesting and got every student involved. Even having students just talk to each other about stories can get them more active in the reading process. If students can relate to each other through reading, then they have reason to read and talk to each other.  Cora and Joanne might not have been friends if they did not share their love of reading. 

            I was interested in the Symbolic Story Representations (SSI) that Wilhelm had in his classroom.  It sounded like the students were very interested and engaged in participating in these activities.  The students were able to be creative with the reading.  Less engaged students were also able to get insight on how the more engaged students (like Cora, Joanne, and Ron) thought through and about their stories.  I would love to see students participating in an SSI and see how all students really are affected by this activity and their reading.

            The students should be involved in the literature as much as possible. Skilled readers let the story into their minds and affect their emotions. Connecting literature to students’ life may be one key factor of getting students to care about reading.  I love the quote the author uses in chapter three that says, “without the bringing of personally lived experiences to literature, the reverse operation, bringing literature back to life, did not occur.” Students need to see how the literature connects to their lives and how it can become a part of them. If they can see themselves in the story or parts of their lives within the story, they will better connect to literature overall.

            Keeping a teacher journal also is a great idea to be able to learn from past mistakes and also from what worked well.  It is important to note what students did and how they reacted to different things in the classroom.  Teaching strategies that worked for individual students are important because they may work for another student in the future as well. Writing what did not work well or surprises that came up are also important because they may not have to happen again if they are well noted.

            The attitude and the assertiveness of Wilhelm with his students really made me think about how to teach reading.  I have always wondered why teachers did not “try harder” to get less engaged students interested in reading.  Maybe it was because they did not know how. Wilhelm goes out of his way to get students to become readers in their lives, not just in the classroom.  When students can get a different perspective of reading, they may see that it is not “really stupid!” or a waste of time.  If students can see how other students like Cora, Joanne, and Ron think about reading, that it becomes part of who they are, the students can understand how to relate to the characters and connect with the author.