by Corinna Craddock

Created on: November 20, 2009   Last Updated: November 23, 2009

In considering the question, "How does one become an effective reading support teacher?" One thing that can challenge thinking is the question, "How might a teacher instill intrinsic motivation into students in order to foster a greater love of reading in them?" The answer that might be returned, "Let them take turns choosing the book."

When a nine-year-old boy shares his favorite music with his mother; that mother will probably know that it is important for him to share his music with her. The mother will sense that it means a lot to him. Mom can try to get her son to be a "good friend" and let Mommy have a turn to choose; but no, this is his time to share.

There is more than one reason for this mother's insight into why it is so important for her son to share his music with her. She can remember one day being a child and getting her own grandmother to let her share some Ozzy Osbourne music with her. It had involved that particular grandmother saying something very funny about listeners "banging their head" and this insight offering memory of her childhood has the power to induce smiles.

There is the value that the younger son's preschool places on being allowed to bring an object from home to school every day. There is a big plastic barrel as you first walk into his preschool room; and this is where he is allowed to drop in his favorite object of the day from home. This made a great difference when he was taken out of preschool at age one; and then had to readjust as a two-year-old at the new school.

It helped him get into the swing of his new school and his new routine and most of all, in no time at all, he was forgetting to say good-bye to his mother.

When you are a mom dropping your child off at daycare, it really is a great feeling when they no longer cry but they are so happy to be at their preschool that they don't even wave goodbye! It is a great feeling knowing that your kids are happy when you are away. Making his day easier was the good idea of the preschool that lets kid personalize their experience with something from home.

The experience of reading could likely be enhanced just as the relationship between a nine-year-old was when he got to choose the song his mother and he listened to; and also as a preschooler's endorphins get flowing for his school-environment when he is able to bring a part of himself to the attention of others when they hold their daily "showing" time and the personal object is shared with the rest of the class.

Letting children choose the book by letting each child have his or her turn to pick and to read out-loud (in a group of peers who share the same reading skill - that is not a large group)

Some of those reading may remember being a child and having the classroom split up into groups of five or six students each; and the groups were essentially the "poor readers" the "better readers" and the "best readers." If you enjoyed this, it may be because you had been in one of the higher reading groups... but what about the ones in the lower group functioning in the same room, at the same time? Were they motivated to excel, because it was possible to be moved into a higher group? Or was this an injury to their potential love for reading?

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