You will hear me say these words several times over the next year, so learn them now: Reading is an experience. I read (and re-read) the letters you wrote me, and many of you expressed your differing levels of appreciation for books. Some of you are fellow bookworms. Others are not (yet). However, when I asked you to name one thing I could help you with this year, surprisingly, many of you wrote, “I don’t really like to read right now. I don’t think I’ve found the right book. I want to learn how to love reading.” Look no further.
Author Gary Paulsen's reasons for reading are the same as my own:
"Why do I read? I just can't help myself. I read to learn and to grow, to laugh and to be motivated. I read to understand things I've never been exposed to.
I read when I'm crabby, when I've just said monumentally dumb things to the people I love. I read for strength to help me when I feel broken, discouraged,
and afraid. I read when I'm angry at the whole world. I read when everything is going right. I read to find hope. I read because I'm made up not just of skin
and bones, of sights, feelings, and a deep need for chocolate, but I'm also made up of words. Words describe my thoughts and what's hidden in my heart.
Words are alive -- when I've found a story that I love, I read it again and again, like playing a favorite song over and over. Reading isn't passive -- I enter the
story with the characters, breathe their air, feel their frustrations, scream at them to stop when they're about to do something stupid, cry with them, laugh
with them. Reading for me, is spending time with a friend. A book is a friend. You can never have too many."
To anyone who thinks that reading is boring, I would encourage you to reconsider!
When you read, you are taken to new worlds. You are able to mentally travel to different time periods and locations, and the best part is that you don’t even need a passport! You meet characters whom you begin to care about. Some of these characters remind you of people you know in real life. Others are so fantastically amazing that books are the only places they belong because living in the “real world” might change them. You accompany these characters on journeys as they experience dilemmas and victories. Unlike movies, where a director already has decided the details for you, when you read, you get to be the director. How do you envision the characters? What do their homes and neighborhoods look like? You create these details with your mind, and your books start to come alive! If that is boring, then I would like to stay bored for a lifetime!
You need to allow yourself to get lost in the magic of a book. Focusing too much on individual “words” can cause people to feel flustered. However, think for a moment about watching a movie at the theater. Have you ever missed a couple of words that an actor said and then asked yourself, What did I just miss? Of course you have! This happens to all of us. But when I distract myself for a moment because I'm chomping too loudly on my popcorn, I don’t sit there for the next ten minutes thinking, What were those words?! How am I ever going to finish this movie if I don’t understand what those words were? Watching this movie is so hard! That's it. I don't like movies anymore. Should I let the rest of the movie become ruined just because I momentarily felt lost? No, because then I’m losing sight of the bigger picture—which is to enjoy what’s in front of me! When watching even the best movies, you leave thinking that you could have made a better ending. You miss words here and there. Certain scenes confuse you. Why should reading be any different though? Does something being slightly confusing or different than what you expected automatically make it boring or unimportant? I hope not! Remember this: You wouldn’t go to a movie theater and just stare at the screen and call that “watching.” Likewise, you can’t pick up a book and stare at the pages and call that “reading.” Your commitment to both the plot and the characters is important if you want to enjoy either situation!
As you finish your summer reading book reviews, which we spent a great deal of time going over, you should be sure that you are specific about the changes that your characters experience as well as the important events. Give details. Saying that your characters haven’t changed is like saying that people in the real world don’t change. This is simply not true. Some changes are positive. Some are negative. Some are big. Some are small. They’re there though! (Alliteration!) As I grade, I will be sure to look at rough drafts, checklists, rubrics, and final copies of the book reviews. Writing is not just about the product. It's about the process!
Write on.
Ms. Sanford
P.S. It's a bad day for paraskevidekatriaphobia! (See my Friday Fun Facts to understand what this means.)
Author Gary Paulsen's reasons for reading are the same as my own:
"Why do I read? I just can't help myself. I read to learn and to grow, to laugh and to be motivated. I read to understand things I've never been exposed to.
I read when I'm crabby, when I've just said monumentally dumb things to the people I love. I read for strength to help me when I feel broken, discouraged,
and afraid. I read when I'm angry at the whole world. I read when everything is going right. I read to find hope. I read because I'm made up not just of skin
and bones, of sights, feelings, and a deep need for chocolate, but I'm also made up of words. Words describe my thoughts and what's hidden in my heart.
Words are alive -- when I've found a story that I love, I read it again and again, like playing a favorite song over and over. Reading isn't passive -- I enter the
story with the characters, breathe their air, feel their frustrations, scream at them to stop when they're about to do something stupid, cry with them, laugh
with them. Reading for me, is spending time with a friend. A book is a friend. You can never have too many."
To anyone who thinks that reading is boring, I would encourage you to reconsider!
When you read, you are taken to new worlds. You are able to mentally travel to different time periods and locations, and the best part is that you don’t even need a passport! You meet characters whom you begin to care about. Some of these characters remind you of people you know in real life. Others are so fantastically amazing that books are the only places they belong because living in the “real world” might change them. You accompany these characters on journeys as they experience dilemmas and victories. Unlike movies, where a director already has decided the details for you, when you read, you get to be the director. How do you envision the characters? What do their homes and neighborhoods look like? You create these details with your mind, and your books start to come alive! If that is boring, then I would like to stay bored for a lifetime!
You need to allow yourself to get lost in the magic of a book. Focusing too much on individual “words” can cause people to feel flustered. However, think for a moment about watching a movie at the theater. Have you ever missed a couple of words that an actor said and then asked yourself, What did I just miss? Of course you have! This happens to all of us. But when I distract myself for a moment because I'm chomping too loudly on my popcorn, I don’t sit there for the next ten minutes thinking, What were those words?! How am I ever going to finish this movie if I don’t understand what those words were? Watching this movie is so hard! That's it. I don't like movies anymore. Should I let the rest of the movie become ruined just because I momentarily felt lost? No, because then I’m losing sight of the bigger picture—which is to enjoy what’s in front of me! When watching even the best movies, you leave thinking that you could have made a better ending. You miss words here and there. Certain scenes confuse you. Why should reading be any different though? Does something being slightly confusing or different than what you expected automatically make it boring or unimportant? I hope not! Remember this: You wouldn’t go to a movie theater and just stare at the screen and call that “watching.” Likewise, you can’t pick up a book and stare at the pages and call that “reading.” Your commitment to both the plot and the characters is important if you want to enjoy either situation!
As you finish your summer reading book reviews, which we spent a great deal of time going over, you should be sure that you are specific about the changes that your characters experience as well as the important events. Give details. Saying that your characters haven’t changed is like saying that people in the real world don’t change. This is simply not true. Some changes are positive. Some are negative. Some are big. Some are small. They’re there though! (Alliteration!) As I grade, I will be sure to look at rough drafts, checklists, rubrics, and final copies of the book reviews. Writing is not just about the product. It's about the process!
Write on.
Ms. Sanford
P.S. It's a bad day for paraskevidekatriaphobia! (See my Friday Fun Facts to understand what this means.)