I agree wholeheartedly with everything you wrote about reading. Before all testing all the time took over, the NYS curriculum required 4 and 5th grade students to read 20 books each year--and gave them the time (40 minutes as I remember) to do it in school. However, I am not a fan of graphic novels taking over the libraries. It saddens me when children tell me they are reading a classic novel and it turns out to be a graphic novel. They are missing out on creating the wonderful stories in their minds. GNs are mostly dialogue. They lack rich literary language. So, they have their place, but we need to be careful of how much the schools promote them over novels.
I remember when my school had DEAR time - Drop Everything And Read. It was about 15 minutes a day when everything stopped and everyone read - students, teachers, assistants, secretaries - everyone. I am sure that many would consider that a waste of time these days. Sigh....
Made a career at elementary and secondary levels encouraging students to read. And that led to more reading.
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you wrote about reading. Before all testing all the time took over, the NYS curriculum required 4 and 5th grade students to read 20 books each year--and gave them the time (40 minutes as I remember) to do it in school. However, I am not a fan of graphic novels taking over the libraries. It saddens me when children tell me they are reading a classic novel and it turns out to be a graphic novel. They are missing out on creating the wonderful stories in their minds. GNs are mostly dialogue. They lack rich literary language. So, they have their place, but we need to be careful of how much the schools promote them over novels.
If y'all missed this, it's appropriate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwkdGr9JYmE
I remember when my school had DEAR time - Drop Everything And Read. It was about 15 minutes a day when everything stopped and everyone read - students, teachers, assistants, secretaries - everyone. I am sure that many would consider that a waste of time these days. Sigh....