As a fourth grader, I do not remember specifically any books
I read. I find this strange because I
remember reading The Boxcar Children in third grade. In fifth grade I remember
reading The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss.
My fourth grade teacher (who I happen to have run into this past
weekend) read Sideways Stories from Wayside School as a read aloud. This is memorable to me because in that book,
each chapter is about a different student.
She put a name tag on our desk of one of the students in the book. We were all excited to find out who the
chapter was each day and awaited our turn.
While I do not remember the name she gave me, I know if I read the book
again I would be able to figure it out. Thinking
back on myself as a reader I had a lot of ups and downs. Now I absolutely love reading but there was a
time from 6th to 10th grade that I really disliked
reading. I remember not having a choice
in what I was able to read in school at that time. I did the bare minimum for reading during
those school years and remember not reading a single book assigned to me in 8th
grade. I am not sure exactly what
changed my reading habits but I am glad they did! I can’t imagine not enjoying
reading as an adult.
The Boxcar Children was absolutely one of my favorite series. The mysteries they solved paired with the drama of them being orphans kept me very engaged.
ReplyDeleteI completely relate to your thoughts about having down time in loving to read from 6-10th grade, in that there was a culture of no choice in reading then. Mostly, we read the "classics" that were expected of us. I remember liking them, but nothing that stuck with me or influenced my life. Those books I usually had to find myself. I try to remind myself of that since I teach 8th and 9th grade; they should be reading the books they want!