Our goal is to show lower level students the joys of reading for pleasure from a variety of different formats.
I am the mentor to a special group of students called Academy Six. These are lower level kids who are hard working and were retained once in elementary. Instead of being retained again we promote them to 6th grade and offer them support. They complete a special program with remediation in the 6th grade and then go on to a normal schedule in the 7th and 8th grades. They spend 90 minutes every other day with me having re-teaching sessions and study skills. We would like to dedicate some time to reading for pleasure too. Most of these students have never read a book simply because they wanted to read it. They were always forced.
In our room we want to set up a special reading area with individual lights, posters and chairs you would normally not sit in at school. We would like to set the tone from the moment they enter that this is a fun place to read. This is broken down into 3 parts: the seats, the decor, and the reading material. First the chairs are being picked out to remind them they are not at a desk doing work. They will feel they are in a place all their own where they get to choose their seat and their own book. They can lay on the floor, grab a funky chair and relax with a book that fits their interests.
The next step is the books, which are the focus of this proposal. These books have been picked by the students. They will know they had a hand in selecting our own special library that they have daily access to during guided study.
We all believe that a well rounded student must be a well read student. This is our first step to developing avid readers. We will show the students first hand how enjoyable reading can be. We will prove to them that reading is more than something they have to do in order to complete an assignment. These students will benefit from having an area that is special and just for them. They will feel that reading is a special part of their day and eventually create their own reading sanctuary outside of the classroom.
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