Sharing Your Reading Life
by Ms. Cunningham
In the fall of my third grade year, my teacher was doing a class read aloud with Charlotte's Web. We sat at our desks after recess every day, sometimes with heads down or eyes closed, to listen to the story of Fern Arable's pig. We were captivated. It was a Friday afternoon before a long weekend, and she had completed all but the last two chapters. When she closed the cover and announced that we would pick up with "The Last Day" on the following Tuesday, I thought I might die. Incredulous that my teacher could leave me in such a state and knowing that something very important was about to happen, I believed it my only option to slink into the school library, tuck a copy of the book into my book bag, and promise myself I would return it without anyone noticing.
I had to finish the story.
When I got home that day, I readied myself for what would happen next. I curled up under a blanket in my mother's bed and began to read. I'm not going to tell you what happened in case you haven't read it yet (and EVERYBODY should read it), but I will tell you that it is the first book that ever made me cry. To this day, it is my favorite reading memory. After finishing the book, what remained was that feeling of heart ache you get when you finish a story you love--when you say good-bye to characters who mean something to you--who lived with you for a while and you fear might (and probably will) fade away into and among all of the other memories of beloved characters you have known. There were also lessons to be learned in Charlotte's Web. Lessons about friendship and justice, loss and resilience. Sigh.
I guess where I'm going with this is that, as a community of readers, we are sure to have strong feelings about the books we read. These feelings can range from pure joy to absolute disgust--even indifference. Books make us feel stuff. Isn't it great?
Your ELA blog is a place where you can share reactions to your reading. In the busy real world where it isn't always easy to get a group together in one place to talk about a book you've shared, you have the online world. You can log on any time and share your feelings about a beloved (or despised) character, a theme that made you think about the world in a different way, or an inspiration (you can't tell me I'm the only person to want to be a wizard after reading Harry Potter). Anything.
Of course, this IS still school, so we'll have to make sure we are using our writerly skills to share our thoughts. There will be rubrics and guidelines as always, but the IDEAS are YOURS. So, I hope you will embrace this opportunity. You will be publishing your thoughts in a very real world way (Yay!).
I look forward to your posts!
Sincerely,
Ms. Cunningham
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand--Neil Gaiman
I had to finish the story.
When I got home that day, I readied myself for what would happen next. I curled up under a blanket in my mother's bed and began to read. I'm not going to tell you what happened in case you haven't read it yet (and EVERYBODY should read it), but I will tell you that it is the first book that ever made me cry. To this day, it is my favorite reading memory. After finishing the book, what remained was that feeling of heart ache you get when you finish a story you love--when you say good-bye to characters who mean something to you--who lived with you for a while and you fear might (and probably will) fade away into and among all of the other memories of beloved characters you have known. There were also lessons to be learned in Charlotte's Web. Lessons about friendship and justice, loss and resilience. Sigh.
I guess where I'm going with this is that, as a community of readers, we are sure to have strong feelings about the books we read. These feelings can range from pure joy to absolute disgust--even indifference. Books make us feel stuff. Isn't it great?
Your ELA blog is a place where you can share reactions to your reading. In the busy real world where it isn't always easy to get a group together in one place to talk about a book you've shared, you have the online world. You can log on any time and share your feelings about a beloved (or despised) character, a theme that made you think about the world in a different way, or an inspiration (you can't tell me I'm the only person to want to be a wizard after reading Harry Potter). Anything.
Of course, this IS still school, so we'll have to make sure we are using our writerly skills to share our thoughts. There will be rubrics and guidelines as always, but the IDEAS are YOURS. So, I hope you will embrace this opportunity. You will be publishing your thoughts in a very real world way (Yay!).
I look forward to your posts!
Sincerely,
Ms. Cunningham
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand--Neil Gaiman
