Being a reader or a writer is not about being at all—it is about doing. Students need to read and to write in order to develop these skills. Just as it is impossible to expect to put on skates and be a gold medal figure skater within a day, or to score the winning goal at the World cup without having ever kicked a soccer ball, it is impossible to expect to be a comfortable and competent reader or writer without practice.
This practice, imperative to the development of literacy, can’t just be in the context of assignments done for grades. Students should not associate reading and writing only with school, and do it only for grades. If students are given the opportunity to read and write without the teacher looming over them, without the pressure of writing for any audience other than themselves, it takes the pressure off and can begin to be something that is enjoyed by students.
Routman (2003 & 2005) emphasizes the importance of reading and writing daily throughout both Reading and Writing Essentials. But this can’t be a chore. It has to be fun. Reading shouldn’t always be one type of book—unless that is the type of book that students want to read! When I was in elementary school, I only read books if they were about animals, because that is was I wanted to read. By fourth grade, I expanded that to include fantasy novels, because they had dragons and other magical animals in them. Then I realized that the main characters in these books were people, so I expanded my interests further to include pretty much any book about anything. Except science fiction, I still can’t get into that. The fact of the matter is, had someone forced me to read books about people, I wouldn;t have been interested in them. Because my book choices were allowed to evolve on their own, I was always reading books that I enjoyed. Students need to develop their own interests, and to do so by reading often and making their own choices.
When it comes to writing, it is sometimes difficult to get started. Inspiration is not always there. Yet the more students write, the more they will think about writing. It is important to develop this. There are many ways that I will try to encourage daily writing. I will look for topics students enjoy, I will allow them to read it to the class if they want, or not to show it to anyone if they prefer. They will be able to choose their own topics, or choose one from a list that I provide if they aren’t feeling inspired on their own. Students could use pictures as motivation, and as a teacher, I will bring in photos and have students bring in their own photos. The Rainbow of Dreams assignment that is included as an element of this portfolio is a perfect example of how to inspire writing. There can be group writing and journal writing, story writing, reflective writing—students should have a period to write for themselves as often as possible. After all, practice makes perfect.
Of course, not all reading and writing should be free choice. Students need to be exposed to different types and styles of reading and writing, and of course, evaluation and assessments need to come from somewhere! Of course, students can compile their independent writing in a portfolio for evaluation if they would like to share it, however there are somethings that students need to learn about literacy that can only come from assigned readings and writings. It is about finding a balance between students reading and writing for themselves, and reading and writing for school.