Dear Dr. Washington,
I was in your Children’s Literature class about two years ago and have been doing my practicum and student teaching at *** Academy this year. I have wanted to email you about one of the students in my practicum 2nd grade class first semester named T. He was so below-level in reading, my teacher asked if I could work with him one-on-one during their reading time. He didn’t appear to have any motivation to read on his own and she couldn’t figure out what the problem was. When watching him choose a book, I noticed that he selected an option way above his reading level with an African American student on the cover, and it clicked that he wanted to read literature he could “see himself in”- your advice to us throughout your class. I told his teacher this could be one of the problems, and just got a “shoulder shrug” back. Those books were the only options they had.
The next day I brought in Zeta Elliot’s “Bird,” even though it was above his comprehension level. I knew that we could avoid frustration by reading it together- he would do the words he knew, and I could read the others. I can not tell you what a changed child I saw! I think the drawings got his attention the most, and we would draw a bird together and then look at the word describing the drawing. For instance, one of the birds was “perched.” We would draw the picture, write out the parts of the word, “p-er-ch-ed,” so that he could see he knew the parts. T was sounding out words I would never have guessed he could have- it was just finding a book that motivated him enough to show his teacher what all he could do! At the beginning of reading EVERY day, he would ask, “Miss, did you bring the bird book?” We also looked at Zeta Elliot’s picture and talked about how we Skyped her in class and that if he loved drawing and writing, he could grow to create something like her one day.
Finally the semester ended, and I left the book for T with all of the drawings and hard words broken apart. I wrote his name on the inside cover so he would know it was totally his- he was absent on my last day. He knew that if he worked hard to get through the challenging words, he was going to earn the book to have for himself. I still see the students from that class and give them hugs, but I have to tell you how it felt to see him in the hall just a few days ago, and hear him burst out, “Miss, my mentor at *** (after school care) and I have still been reading “Bird” together. I love it!” He was SO excited and enthusiastic!! It was by far one of the most rewarding experiences I have had student teaching and have realized how important your advice two years ago was.
Thank you Dr. Washington!
Maya Gonzalez always urges us to keep our hearts open, even/especially during difficult times. That was my first thought after reading this beautiful letter from a new teacher who shared Bird with a struggling student. I “met” this young woman a few years ago when I Skyped into a class taught by Dr. Rachelle Washington. This is how we build readers—step by small step:
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