Reading Instruction: The Start of It All

Reading shapes lives. Being taught how to read properly offers so many
possibilities to a person. It opens hundreds of door to them, allowing them to
develop and create themselves. Reading takes you on an endless journey that is
like life itself. Reading instruction is the start of it all. Understanding non fiction
text, comprehension of fiction books and creating lifelong readers can all be
achieved by teaching reading instruction that includes effective strategies to
help develop readers. Reading is one of the few things we truly need in life. How
do we convince the ones around us to reach the same conclusion?
Nonfiction is everywhere! Though, have you ever wondered why nonfiction text
is important? It is the best place you can explore to help you in your inquiry,
learning and research. Nonfiction reading helps develop children with
background knowledge, as a study by Marzano2 showed. The same study also
proved that background knowledge actually accounts for 33% of the variance in
student achievement. As stated by http://press4kids.com/blog/2014/01/why-isnonfiction-reading-important-for-kids/. It is important that people read nonfiction
text, but it is critical that they also understand it. Comprehension is the reason
for reading. If readers can read the words but do not understand or connect to
what they are reading, they are not really reading. Good readers are both
purposeful and active, and have the skills to absorb what they read, analyze it,
make sense of it, and make it their own. States www.readingrockets.org
Everybody uses nonfiction content in their lives, even if they dont realize it.
Thousands of people do not enjoy reading fiction (stories), but love to learn new
things from nonfiction. What the majority of the population uses it for differs
depending on the age, interest, interest areas, education and access they get.
For example: students and children usually use nonfiction for educational
purposes, like studying, homework, assessments, research and inquiring. They
can read to also learn more about their interest areas and to stay up to date with
the thing that are going on in the world. As people grow, the level of complexity
will also develop, possibly making comprehension of text harder for them. An
interesting report from ACT in 2006, Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT
Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, states that the clearest
differentiator in reading between students who are college ready and students
who are not is the ability to comprehend complex text. According to experts,
nonfiction is a great way for kids to develop critical thinking and analytic skills
and, you guessed it, the ability to read and understand complex text. Declared
http://press4kids.com/blog/2014/01/why-is-nonfiction-reading-important-for-kids/.
This is why reading instruction should include effective strategies to help develop
readers. If strategies are taught well, practised and learned from an early age
students will be able to use them later on in life.
Nonfiction has its own text features (the building blocks that make up the
structure of the text) and strategies that can be used to understand it better. The
website www.readingrockets.org stated: Strong readers think actively as they

read. They use their experiences and their knowledge of the world, vocabulary,
language structure, and reading strategies to make sense of the text and how to
get the most out of it. They know when they have problems with understanding
and what thinking strategies to use to resolve these problems when they pop
up. The text features that nonfiction mostly contains are: title, subtitle, table of
contents, index, glossary, graphics (pictures, tables, map etc.), captions, labels
and special print. These things help you find the information you are looking for,
and to understand the text better. Before, during and after your reading it is
important that you also use some strategies. These are some strategies that I
was taught and use now: choosing reading material that is appropriate in the
difficulty level, taking notes while reading (there are many methods to take
notes: Cornell note taking, bullet points, paragraphs etc.), summarizing,
pausing to think and make connections, asking questions, using post-its or flash
card, highlighting, text/colour/symbol coding, indentifying main words and taking
time to reflect on what you have read at the end (you can use the 1-2-3 method
for this). These strategies allow readers to comprehend what they are reading
better and use it later on in life.
The comprehension on non fiction text should be valued more in reading
instruction. The fluency, difficulty level and the speed students are reading at will
develop more as the readers gain more experience and comprehend text.
Reading instruction should be able to develop functional and honourable reader.
Teaching effective strategies will help to achieve this goal.

When someone says fiction I immediately think of stories, adventure, suspense,

action, entertainment and imagination. Fiction helps readers develop skills that
are needed to make stories come to life. Reading fiction books also helps you
learn some narrative elements and what techniques writers use to create stories,
which may even influence later on in life.
Reading fiction is one of the things I love to do most. Whether it is realistic
fiction, fantasy, fairytales, graphic novels, mythology, science fiction or historical
fiction I will devour it (though I do admit I prefer science fiction, fantasy and
mystery). I enjoy it so much because when I read it I can travel to so many new
places, have tons of adventures, make many new friends, I can get rid of all my
stress or sadness, I am able to view different worlds from many different points
of view and I can let my imagination go wild! I think that a big factor of why I
enjoy reading so much is because I can really comprehend the book. I feel like I
am really there with the characters, I read so actively and I am extremely
entertained. I know that is why I adore it so much. I am lucky I was taught many
strategies I can use to understand the text better and be a true reader. Many
people dont get the type of reading instruction I had, where I was taught how to
read actively and what skills true readers posses, encouraged to do it and
learned many strategies that I can use while I am. I know that if people were
taught reading in this way it would have a positive impact in the way the view

reading and how they comprehend fiction. Students benefit from teacherdirected instruction in comprehension strategies. Most struggling readers (and
many not so struggling readers) benefit enormously when we can construct
strategy lessons that help to make the comprehension process visible. States
Reading: Comprehension Strategies That Work (This is a book that I found on the
internet, then downloaded and printed it. Though, it did not say the author).
When I talk about reading instruction including effective strategies I mean that
schools should also take time to teach students strategies and have different
activities that will help and encourage students in their reading. The activities I
am referring to are: book clubs, free time for reading, book recommendations,
book talks, read aloud time, mini lessons that could include teaching points, and
contests for reading. Many schools have some of these activities, and I truly
believe it impacts the students. For example, at my school we have two book
contests called Thirsty Vampire and Blind Date with a Book. In the Thirsty
Vampire challenge some of the best books of the year (they can also be older)
are selected by the library staff. Then, the students have a few months to read
as many of them as they can, and afterwards the Battle of the Books takes
place. This is where students test their knowledge and information on the books
against other teams. This contest encourages students to read for fun, and it
makes it a lot more fun for kids. Some of the theories I think schools should also
teach are: making theories and predictions, using post-it notes to write your
thinking down, having questions about the books, making theories and
predictions, making connections with other books you have read and your life,
thinking about your prior knowledge and how it relates to the text, visualizing the
events, using tables or graphs to organize your thinking better, trying to look at
the events from other characters perspectives (not only the one the story is
narrated in) and setting goals along your reading. I think that if reading
instruction would include and teach a few of the things I mentioned above it
would truly change the students reading lives in a positive way.
As a very dedicated reader I cannot deny that I also had mountains and valleys
to cross before I was able to comprehend text the way I do now, before I could
make stories come to life and before loving to read. Till 3 rd grade I attended a
Romanian school, where the main focuses in reading instruction were the speed
we were reading at, our fluency and our vocabulary. I know that these things
impact comprehension of text in some ways. We were encouraged to read books,
but I am not able to say that comprehension was really in their focus that much.
There I enjoyed reading, but I never felt a passion for it. In fourth grade I moved
to AISB, an international school. Here, reading instruction is taught very
differently. Last year was my first year at this school, and I did notice some pretty
big differences. At AISB we have: read aloud time, free time for reading, book
clubs, book talks, book recommendations, mini lessons, teaching points, contests
for reading and the Fountas and Pinnell guided reading was is also in the
curriculum. We were taught the strategies that I mentioned in the last paragraph.
After I learned about them, how to use them, and practiced them, it impacted me

as a reader a lot. Now, I am reading a lot more than before, I can understand the
text, I read actively and I love to do it!
I know that if the same type of reading instruction that was applied to me
(including teaching effective strategies, having mini lessons and organizing some
of the activities) would be applied to other reading instruction it would make a
huge difference in the comprehension of fiction books and the way students view
reading. As George R.R. once said, A reader lives a thousand lives before he
dies. The man who never reads lives only one.

Including effective strategies in reading instruction will help students become

lifelong readers. In life, reading is required daily. From advertisements, emails,
messages, signs, labels, contracts, newspapers, advertisements, articles and
books text is everywhere! Sometimes we are required to read it, and sometimes
of it we do for our own pleasure. Since reading is required so much, it is very
important that people get proper reading instruction.
Many people dont like reading, and only do it because they are forced to. They
dont have a love for reading, and I understand that. I know you cant teach a
person to love something. You cannot tell whether someone likes a thing or not,
and teaching reading strategies does not guarantee that everyone will start
having a passion for reading. It is human nature to have things we are better at
and enjoy more, so it is normal if people dont love reading. Though, I am asking
you: Isnt it a lot more likely that a student will enjoy reading more if they do get
this type of reading instruction that if they dont? We all know that reading
instruction is one of the most important skills you can teach a child. It lays the
foundation for a childs success in school and in everyday life. For this reason,
one of the most precious gifts we can give our students is a book. Books stir the
senses, inspire imagination, and spark a love of reading that will last a lifetime.
states www.scholastic.com
The way people view themselves as readers is a big part of developing lifelong
readers. There is a difference between looking at yourself as a person who can
read and a true, involved, and passionate reader. In the article Donalyn Miller
Teaches Important Lessons about Fostering Lifelong Readers she says that a few
very predictable things lifelong readers do are that: 1) Lifelong readers spend
time reading, a lot of time, reading. 2) Lifelong readers successfully self-select
books. 3) Lifelong readers have a social life around reading. Lifelong readers use
strategies while reading (making connections, visualizing, asking questions,
taking notes, making theories and predictions etc.), but they also do something
after they are finished with their reading. After they finish reading for the day/a
book/ an article... true readers stop and reflect. They reflect about what they
have just read, what they have learned, what they have experienced and they
think about it. Then, they use the knowledge and skills they have gained later on
in real life. How do they do that? It is actually nothing very complicated, the way

I just said it pretty much gives it away. What you do is, you take what you
learned and you use it later on in your life. You make connections about it while
you are reading new things, while you are having a conversation, while you are
listening to the radio or watching television and you ask even more questions
about what information and skills you have gained. You inquirer around it and
you share it with others. This is what true readers do after they finished reading
something.
As you can now see, if reading instruction develops lifelong readers they will
benefit greatly afterwards. Right now 775 million people can read around the
world, but I wonder how many of them are truly lifelong readers. We will never
be able to know since you cant know whether someone loves to do something or
not. Reading isnt only about being able to read, it is more about how you do it.
Thats what makes the difference.
Now that you have read my thinking and arguments, you can see that the
purpose of my writing was to convince you that reading instruction should
include effective strategies. There is no arguing that teaching reading is a very
hard job. Regardless of the toughness and complexity, there is no disputing that
if effective strategies are taught readers will understand non fiction text better,
comprehend fiction books more and most likely become lifelong readers.
Therefore, I firmly believe reading instruction should include effective strategies
to help develop readers. Do you?