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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Confessions of a voracious reader Day 18 #sol15



I love to read. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you that I enjoy reading a wide variety of genres and talking about the books I read. The smell of a new book is enticing, while the sound of the pages turning makes me smile. I will admit that I do a lot of my reading on my iPad these days, but I much prefer real books. It makes me sad to think about kids who may never develop the enchantment I have with books because of the easy access to an ebook. There is an upside to ebooks, I guess. Kids can have a book in their hands at all times if they are in the vicinity of a mobile device. 

The students in my class are always welcome to bring their own device for reading, but I notice most often that the kids gravitate to book books. Yea! I have iPads loaded with rich literature available for students to checkout during Read to Self, but these kids also seem to enjoy turning the pages in a book. Research has shown that turning those pages helps to internalize learning. My kiddos practice the skill of tracking their thinking in their books, and that is much more fluid with a book in hand. 

I will continue to offer a variety of access to text for my students. I believe it is important to offer my students choice, not only in what they are reading but also in the way they choose to receive the text. I just will not be one of the many educators I hear of who throw so much technology at their students it becomes fake or forced. Our kids deserve authentic experiences with text, and sometimes that means letting them decide - even if that choice is a good old book!

Sincerely,
Tara Reed

7 comments:

  1. I LOVE this post and love that your students prefer a "good old book!"

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  2. I still love good old books! It's nice to know some kids do too.

    BTW: I recently finished a fantastic novel in case you're interested. It's called The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Here's the link to it online: http://www.amazon.com/The-Nightingale-Kristin-Hannah/dp/0312577222. Literally finished it three days ago and can't seem to start anything else because the characters are still living inside my head.

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  3. I cannot imagine a world without printed text to smell, touch, and experience. I read on my Ipad sometimes, but I too prefer turning pages. Unfortunately, I have found myself in a book slump during this spring break. Hoping to find my mojo soon. Makes me think of Donalyn Miller's post from this time last year.

    https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/guilt-trip-accepting-my-reading-slump-by-donalyn-miller/

    P.S. I hope you were able to find The Energy Bus. I have heard it is a great book, but I've never actually read it. I think Yesi has.

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  4. Amen! Amen! Amen!

    The sound of a turning page delights me to my soul, but I'm becoming more appreciative of my secret bookcase housed within my kindle.

    Love sharing books with you, my friend!!

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  5. I'm still a book fan too...for writing as well as reading. It's been a transition for me to blog on the computer without writing it out first. Time constraints have pushed me directly to the computer. It's getting easier, but I will always keep a journal.

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  6. I teach seventh grade and find that most of the kids prefer a real book. As for myself, I like reading off an ebook, especially with the lights turned off at night. There's something comforting about this, but the reality is i much prefer a real book.

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  7. I, too, have found that once the novelty of being allowed to use a device to read has worn off they prefer physical books. This year our librarian has been trying to push ebooks with my students and hasn't had any takers!

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