A Question Can Feel Like Caring

Mary Kate, in her last post asked, “What’s the best book that you’ve read this summer and what does it show about your reading life?” Her question was recently followed by another reading question when I hosted a sleepover for my nieces and nephews.  As we sat at the breakfast table the youngest asked me, “What is your all time favorite book?”  That’s such a hard question for me, but as I think about it, the important thing was that he asked.  He cared.  As I turned the question back to him, he talked about his all time favorite book. Not surprisingly it was a book that marked him as a more sophisticated reader.  He justified that it wasn’t a challenging book but it was the first easy chapter book he could read and he reread it several times.  From there our breakfast table exploded into book talk. 

Both Mary Kate’s question and my nephew’s question have me thinking about the questions that many of us ask readers at the beginning of the year. 

As a reading support teacher and literacy coach I have the honor of learning about many readers.  As we complete our first weeks of school, many Developmental Reading Assessments (DRAs) are being give. Before I start a DRA I always ask the young reader to read a book from his or her book box that they love to read.  Just watching first and second graders dig through their boxes for that one book they can’t wait to share brings joy.  We usually chat for a bit about that book and then I listen to the child read.

I love the first steps for administering the DRA, with the focus on discovering more about the reader’s identity, a built-in reading conference.  You learn what are some of the student’s favorite kinds of books, you ask how books are chosen, about reading preferences such as would you rather read in a group, with a partner or alone, and for the earliest readers who do you read with at home.   Wow!  There is so much power in listening to these answers.  Not surprisingly, we uncover some challenges, as when students say they don’t have books at home or that their parents don’t speak English.  And the questions remind us of the power of our teacher words as when one girl told me that she reads to her baby brother because her teacher told her it would help him learn to read.

The best part of these conversations is watching their faces become animated as they talk about characters, books, or about reading to their dad.  And yes, sometimes these conferences reveal a reading identity that is concerning as when the young one is already thinking that reading is hard and feels that his or her reading isn’t good enough.

As I reflect on each of these young people and their responses I know I have been given a gift from each child.  Each one has revealed what brings him joy in reading.  Now my job, our job, is to keep that joy alive.  Yes, to nudge them as readers, to stretch and to introduce them to new authors and genres, but to also honor them as readers who have already developed interests and passions. 

Also, as I think about the questions we are asking readers about their identity perhaps the reader feels like I did when my nephew asked me about my favorite book. Or when Mary Kate asked about our summer reading. Someone cares enough about you to want to know about you as a reader.  I can only hope that our young readers feel that same way.  Yet I know it is through our continued teaching and interactions with that child, the building of the tools and strategies as well as the building upon their interests that will let them all know we do care about their preferences, about them as readers, about them period.

When Mary Kate and I started this blog we agreed to end each post with a question.  Later I asked if we could break that format.  Mary Kate wisely talked through the benefits of ending with a question.  Today I'm realizing the power in a question if we truly listen to the answer - a genuine question can translate to caring. And so I'm wondering...

What are some of your favorite routines that give you a glimpse into a student’s life as a reader?