Sierra Middle School
Riverside, California
(951) 788-7501

Mr. J. Myers
Art Teacher
[email protected]

http://www.rusd.k12.ca.us/ourschools/sms/

Silent Reading

            I have written this introduction to let you know some of my goals for your student during this class, the main goal being that I would like your child to know about the pleasures of reading for fun as well as listening to the written word read aloud..

            I will be reading aloud books that I consider excellent, ones that should the student like they may easily find more from that author and genre from our library and the public library.  I read many different types of books to them such as classics, mysteries, poetry, short stories, condensed versions of books, childhood favorites, popular works by today’s authors and even books that I have on tape.  From time to time I will ask for suggestions as to what is next.  I am starting out with short stories to get them used to listening to a reader.

            The idea of just listening and making mental pictures from words is not commonly thought of by people today as a skill needed and yet any time we converse we do just that!  When we tell others what we did over the weekend there is sure to be some sort of mental picture.  But do we listen to the radio for stories any more?  No, we expect the silver screen to do that job for us.  We go to movies to be told what a dragon looks like.  For some, that picture is never as scary as what we could make on our own if only an author would tell us.  How about a passage like this?  “It slithered cautiously towards me that afternoon.  I lay there hoping that it would pass me by, hiding as I was in the tall grass under the swaying tree.  It’s dark nostrils twitched as it gazed about, trying to find that elusive scent, the one of fear that it had been tracking for the past half hour.  How could its prey just vanish?  I quaked nervously, and hoped that the gentle breeze would still prevail.  As close as I was to the shore, I prayed to my gods that it would continue.  The offering that I gave only that morning would have to do . . .”  How big is it?  Does the passage say?  Only questions that you the reader supply will do unless the author states it.  Your answers are the best ones for you, that is why reading is so personal.

            This page is only a beginning.  I would like to add links to many different pages of books to read and notes of interest.  Please feel free to e-mail, at the link above, a list of your favorite books that you think kids this age may find exciting!  I only know of my own life's books by as found in my personal culture.  What books are in your culture?

 back to top