Reviews by Matt

I can remember when I was in elementary, middle and high school that I hated reading. There is something about being forced to read that made me not like the activity. It was work, not fun. There is only one book I liked, “The Great Gatsby,” and that was because the teacher who taught it had a passion for the book and it was hard not to enjoy it.

This past semester I have been in a similar position. I have to read 50 children’s books. Only this time I am enjoying it (to some extent.) The key here is the choice. As long as the book fits into one of the categories provided by the teacher, there is no limit to what I can read.

So far the best book I have read during all this is “Frindle” by Andrew Clements. I went to the library about an hour before the weekly newspaper meeting and I finished the entire thing in one sitting.

This past summer I started reading the series of books that the TV show “Legend of the Seeker” is based on. I read more in that summer than I had in any summer before it.

The key with reading is the choice. When something is forced upon you, odds are that you already hate it. It is hard to look past the “this is work” idea and focus on the “this could be fun” idea. What I have seen in my limited classroom experience is that choice is very key. The students like to read if they have a say in what they are reading.