Chapter 2: Creating Independent Readers

I found this chapter to be extremely insightful, as I also found myself having numerous "ah ha moments". The various anecdotes that the author included really enhanced my understanging of the underlying principle of the chapter, Creating Independent Readers.

"Over the years, continued observation of students' reading behaviors and careful listening of their comments and conversations about this complicated act have helped me revise my understanding of how we assist students in becoming lifelong, independent readers. That knowledge has been refined most dramatically by my awareness that simply improving the cognitive aspects of reading (comprehension, vocabulary, decoding, and word recognition) does not ensure that the affective aspects of reading (motivation, enjoyment, engagement) will automatically improve." This quote from the chapter is what stuck with me the most. I thought back to my experience in grade school and I have to admit, I mostly remember focusing on the cognitive aspects of reading and rarely felt engaged with the text.

I certainly do believe that students need to be motivated to read instead of it being just another part of the lesson play. Through social interaction, such as, small group activities, projects and classroom discussions a readers motivation and enjoyment of a text can tremendously be increased. Lastly, as a result of motivation and enjoyment being increased, a student's comprehension will also increase.