Corporation
of New York
Vol. 1/No. 4
Spring 2002
Moving Beyond Storybooks: Teaching Our Children to Read to Learn
Carnegie Corporation in Africa
Also in this issue:
Privacy in the Information Age
Studying Ways to Protect Privacy in an Era of Terrorism
Carnegie Corporation Holds a Journalism Forum
Past Issues:
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CC: Do you remember when you learned to read?
Sam: In the first grade.
CC: Do you remember what it was like?
Sam: It was cool.
CC: Why?
Sam: Because it used to be like just looking at symbols for me and then I could understand and read. So that was cool.
Christopher: When
he was starting to read, I remember that he would slowly read out loud
from little books and then Mom and me would correct him when he needed
help. After a while he got really good at it and
didn’t need help anymore and he started reading bigger books.
CC: Sam, did you read in school in the fourth grade?
Sam: For 15 minutes every Friday we had DEAR—Drop Everything and Read. And we read in literacy class.
CC: What happened in literacy class?
Sam: We read books and then the teacher asked us questions like, if your book has a superhero, what are the characteristics about him or her that you like? And we had to write about the book.
CC: How do you choose books that you want to read on your own time?
Sam: My teacher read us a book called The Great Brain* and then I liked it and asked if there were anymore. And she sent me to the library and I got five more Great Brain books.
CC: How about you, Christopher? What are you reading?
Christopher: Salamandastron.** It’s part of the Redwall series.
CC: Do you like to read?
Christopher: I like how it gives me something to do and how it can let me think about stuff—and learn, too. I read some books on World War I and II and that taught me what it was like during those times for people who were involved in the wars.
CC: What else do you like about reading?
Christopher: It helps me in school. The more I read by myself, the better I do in school. Like when you’re required to read something for school, if you’ve got practice reading already, then you can read faster and appreciate more. And if I do well in school, I think it will help me do better in my life.
CC: So reading helps you learn. What is it you like about learning?
Christopher: It makes me feel good.
CC: Did you have a reading class in school last year?
Christopher: We had it for half the year, every day for forty-five minutes. In the classroom, there’s a few big chairs and lots of pillows and you just kind of lay down on a bench or a chair and read. You still have to try to read different genres—but other than that, it’s pretty free. Sometimes the teacher will give out work sheets, but usually she just gives you a deadline and says, read this book by such-and-such a date.
CC: In the seventh grade, how did your friends feel about the reading class?
Christopher: I think that most people thought it was their favorite class.
CC: Why?
Christopher: Because they really like just being able to go and relax and read.
* John D. Fitzgerald, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2000
** Brian Jacques, Philomel Books, 1993