Reflecting upon today’s lecture, it has become clear that ‘Reading for pleasure’ cannot be taught. It is my role as a teacher to create a culture in my classroom that introduces, encourages and supports learners in embarking upon their reading journey. Personal preference plays a big role in this and it is vital that I take this into consideration when trying to encourage reading for pleasure. I can model my love of reading and make sure that I immerse myself in children’s literature to ensure that I have sound knowledge of the books my pupils might be interested in. I need to have an open attitude to the types of literature and reading that my pupils might want to read. I can support them in their choices and try and advise appropriate reading options but it is ultimately their decision and it is important to not take away their right to choose.
‘The Rights of the Reader’ poster by Daniel Pennac clearly outlines the important factors of reading for pleasure. Looking at the factors from a critical point of view, I am slightly concerned about the implications some of these may cause for the classroom. For example: the right to read anything. There are some genres of books that I feel would be totally inappropriate for primary school aged children. Although these couldn’t be accessed in the school environment, teachers do not have supervision of the types of books children have access to at home. The right to not finish a book is an interesting factor. I believe that this is correct and that children should not be forced to finish a book of their choice if they are no longer enjoying it. However, I would be concerned that this attitude could begin to penetrate other areas of their learning and children may start to decide not to finish classwork because it is ‘their right to choose not to finish.’
When I am a teacher, I need to ensure that I create a reading culture within my classroom that encourages children to have free choice over books. I would like to have a section of time during the week where children could share what they are reading with the class and make recommendations to each other about books that they like. I feel that this would encourage reading for pleasure as children would be given the time to voice their opinions and be listened to. It would also be nice for children in class to know what each other are reading and it could create good discussion opportunities.
