Response to Nancie Atwell's The Reading Zone Chapter 4

I do not believe that all children learn to read (better) simply by reading. In an ideal world, students would learn the read well and to love reading just by reading a book, however, if that is the only model utilized in teaching reading, a lot of children will be left behind. I still believe that incorporating a lot of different methods for teaching reading is valuable in the process of growing as a reader. One of those is providing relaxing reading time, and plenty of it. However, I believe that direct instruction and practice of specific reading comprehension skills is vital.
I am not a fan of using novel sets in the classroom UNLESS it’s used to create “family” reading and for group discussion and teaching skills. Novels can provide ongoing rich text to reference that EVERYONE is familiar with. However, I believe novels are best when coupled with choice reading, or the workshop model. I believe it’s vital to allow each reader their choice, as well as monitor growth and differentiation; this is hard to do when everyone’s reading the same novel. However, great literature and reading enjoyment as a classroom family can be absent from students’ experiences in reading if novels are completely removed. As a student, I would not have picked up some of the rich literature I was introduced to if I had not had the opportunity in classes where we read novels. In addition, reading as a class allowed for wonderful “book club-type” discussions. I remember, even kids I wouldn’t have suspected reading the required text, engaging in debate and intelligent conversation about the novels we read as a class. So, as in every good thing, finding a balance of the best things seems to work best. Incorporating readers’ choice, discussion time, plenty of reading in “the zone”, direct instruction and practice of skills, and ample reading materials to meet various needs and interests will provide for a successful reading classroom forum.