The reading mother

In spite of all the hellish work this week, I must say that it has been one of my favorites so far. Why? Because we’re dealing with reading and writing, two of the things I most enjoy. 

I started a Reading Project a few years ago with my students and the first ones to integrate that project are already at University. It was great to see them reading and enjoying it. I started with very short and simple stories taken from Short and Scary and Short and Spooky by the late Louise Cooper. Then we moved on to Roald Dahl and other writers of teen fiction. Last year, when that group was in the 12^th grade, about to leave school and move into higher education, after six years with me, we could see a good number of them reading complete, original works and presenting them in class with enthusiasm. It is so rewarding when something like that happens!

I also use literary texts in class to replace some outdated ones in our course book and if those texts are well chosen and somehow relate to their own experiences, their response exceeds all our expectations. I prefer that to the Extensive Reading activities that our curriculum suggests. Literature has to be integrated naturally and not forced upon students as something extra and painful.

As I am a bit addicted to reading, I have quite a nice library at home and I’m always ordering new books, but there are also many websites where I sometimes find excellent material. I have shared them in my delicious account and you can find them in the stacks Reading and Writing. Have a look and see if there’s something you may like or use: http://delicious.com/stacks/limaluisa

Writing is also important and sometimes one of the most difficult skills to develop. I like to start early and have them retell stories and do all kinds of activities. Sometimes I tell them to write 15-word or 50-words stories – it’s quite difficult and they really need to be creative. I like to give them pictures or a group of words and they create a story using them. I love using writing prompts, but what is really important is that they end up loving it too.

I seem to have made up my mind about my course of action for the final project. Well, not the whole course of action, it’s just an outline, a scribble, maybe, but it’s a start. I just hope that, with your help, I have some good ideas to put into practice.

And as this week was dedicated to reading I leave here a poem and the idea that, as there are not many reading mothers nowadays, maybe we, the teachers, can take that role (another one, why not?).

THE READING MOTHER

I HAD A MOTHER who read to me 

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea, 

Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth, 

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath

I had a Mother who read me lays 

Of ancient and gallant and golden days; 

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe, 

Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales 

Of Celert the hound of the hills of Wales, 

True to his trust till his tragic death, 

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things 

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings- 

Stories that stir with an upward touch, 

Oh, that each mother of boys were such.

You may have tangible wealth untold; 

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. 

Richer than I you can never be --

I had a Mother who read to me.

Strickland Gillilan