Springtime has finally arrived in Minnesota. It has been a very long and "harsh" winter that began last November. We have had snow, cold temperatures, more snow, gray skies, more cold temperatures, windy days, and of course more snow. As we head into the end of April and the beginning of May, I am finally seeing several signs of spring.
One of the most beautiful signs of spring is the growth that I have begun to witness. Just today as I was walking around my yard, I saw the growth of iris plants, day Lilly plants, and some of my ground cover plants. This growth sure put a smile on my face and a warm-spot in my heart.
During this walk I began to think about my fourth grade readers and all the growth they have made since the day they walked through my door last September. Recently, as I met with my small groups and/or individual readers, I would take a gander across the room and that same smile and warm-spot would begin to take existence as it did on my springtime walk.
I'm amazed at how all my readers are in their "spots", are in the reading zone, and are all doing exactly what I have been instilling in them since the first day we met. Here are a very of my readers that stand out in my memory…
Ilhan - Her springtime growth is that she has taken an interest in our "Breakfast with Books" book club and has even begun to purchase her own copy of the novel instead of borrowing one of my copies. I know she is a true reader now.
Lucy - When Lucy came into fourth grade, she had a very difficult time finding a book to read and normally would flit from novel to novel and not finish anything. Her growth has been tremendous and now whenever I observe her as a reader, he nose is right in the book.
Wilson - Wilson's growth has probably been the most exciting for me to see. He started the year in "pull-out" special education so was not with us for our reading zone. One of my goals this year was to get him back into the room. A few weeks back we made the big move and brought him into the classroom. It has been spectacular to watch him devour the books that he has been craving to read all year.
Will and Joey - This pair of boys have given me such joy this year when I think of their reading growth. I'm not sure how it began, but they decided they were going to read all the same books and they were going to be from a series. The fun part was how they would stay on the same page, the same chapter, and at times, the same line. The amount of books they have covered this year is simply amazing.
Kori - Kori is my reader. She lives for books and her reading time. When I think of her growth, I'm so pleased with how much she has read this year. Kori has been my reader that has pretty much covered my entire "personal" bookshelf and read all the books I wasn't able to introduce to my students via a read aloud and/or book club. To me there is nothing better than recommending a book to a student and watch them read it with the same satisfaction that I had when I "lived" with the novel. I know that no matter who Kori gets for a teacher in the future, she will continue to be the avid reader and will grow and grow and grow!
Springtime is a wonderful time of the year. The flowers and plants are growing. The grass is growing. The animals are growing. But the best thing about springtime is that as I look out over my classroom, I know my readers have grown more than any of these other things…
Happy Spring!!!
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