I was lucky to be
invited to share at the Southwest Virginia Reading Conference last week. Dr. Heidi Mesmer gave the opening
session which focused on “rural
readers.” One of her ideas was to
provide “bus books” for children who have a long bus commute. What a great project for a service club
or Sunday school class. Get a
plastic crate and invite people to donate old children’s books or
magazines. Put these on a bus and
you’re all set!
Dr. Mesmer
pointed out that children at risk are low in vocabulary, which can be addressed
indirectly by reading and talking – high quantity and high quality. Vocabulary instruction should also be direct
and systematic. And, wouldn’t this
be a perfect season to expand vocabulary by discussing “scary” words and “spooky”
things. Use an attribute web to
brainstorm scary words. Let
children draw pictures of ghouls, ghosts, or monsters and challenge them to use
as many words as they can to describe their drawings.
In discussing
literacy in families, Dr. Mesmer suggested children interview their parents and
grandparents on how they learned to read.
What were their favorite books or magazines when they were young? (You’ve got to love HIGHLIGHTS because
that magazine has spanned many generations.)
Of course, I
embraced her final comment – LOVE THESE KIDS! That’s our most important job as educators regardless of
demographics! City, rural, urban –
they are all children in need of our love and support!
