Interview with Teacher Allen

This evening (September 13) I sat down with T. Allen to discuss reading within the classroom.

Are there childrens storybooks in the classroom?  MMM with eyebrow movement meaning yes... the P1 class have started reading some of the words but the baby and top class are still working on learning the sounds of the letters.  (I realized later that the books she was referring to were their literacy workbooks...I definitely need to get more books into the classroom!)

Do the students have books at home?  All children are sent home with their finished reading books but many parents don't see the importance of them and throw them away or use them to start their cooking fires.  Books are very expensive so besides the ones from school...No.

As a teacher, what is your view of books?  They are great for learning new words and showing the children how letters make words... words make sentences... and sentences make stories.

After explaining  the research project, Allen was excited to see what would happen when these children were read to.

From talking with Allen, the books they have in the classroom are more for teaching the child to read rather than for the pure enjoyment of reading.  Books are a means to an end rather than opening a world of possibility.  I plan on spending some time in the classroom next week truly seeing these books she is telling me about.  May also share a book or two in the classroom with the entire group of children.