If you give a child a book, they’ll probably want to read it. If they want to read it, chances are they’re going to want to read it again. My favorite series of books as a child, and now as a future educator, are Laura Numeroff’s If You Give A Mouse a Cookie and the other books that follow. Each book in this series holds a place in my heart that was developed early when I was in elementary school. As a teacher, I want to give the gift of reading to my students at an early age to allow for the love of reading to grow, just as mine did. When a child is given a book, it becomes the window of opportunity to develop the love of reading and of literature, as well as creating a foundation for future learning.

Dr. Seuss states, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” A diverse variety of books should play a large role in children’s lives, so the more books a child is exposed to will enrich their lives and open opportunities for them. The library in my classroom would not be complete without a variety of literature. Utilizing multicultural literature in the classroom is important because it opens up the students’ knowledge level of the world. Multicultural books allow students to become aware of other cultures and ways of life. As teacher, I will utilize multicultural literature in my lesson plans throughout the school year and to expose children to cultures different from their own. There are many topics in the world that adults have a difficult time discussing to children, whether it be teachers or parents. Books that teach students about other subjects are extremely useful because it breaks the discussion boundary between the student and adult. I will have books on many topics in my classroom readily available for my own use to teach, or to provide to parents to read at home. The variety of literature is important to have in the classroom and be accessible and useable for the students.

A literature-rich classroom environment is especially important for the love and understanding of literature. A literature-rich classroom library is of utmost importance to young readers and to promote the love for reading. I will create a creative, colorful, and interestingly decorated classroom library corner to encourage reading. My classroom library will include a 3-D tree made out of construction paper stapled to the wall, book related posters offering printed knowledge about books, authors, and book events, a teacher chair, seating for the students with a rug and bean bags, and an assortment of books such as fiction and non-fiction, picture books, and big books. If students have an inviting corner to read, they would be more inclined to want to go to the reading corner to read. My reading corner of my classroom will have a diverse assortment of books sorted by genres, reading levels, and subjects. My students will learn where to find the books they want to read and how to choose the books they want to read.

To get the full effect of a piece of literature, the base or foundation needs to be in place including choosing the correct book, and checking if it is quality literature. An effective read-aloud needs to be delivered to the class which will provide the students the comfort and understanding of the book. I will practice reading the book aloud, come up with a variety of comprehension questions from Bloom’s taxonomy levels, and make sure that the books is of quality literature. After the literature is read and comprehension questions are asked, there needs to be a following reader-response activity to connect to the literature, to the lives of the students, and to process learning and knowledge. In my lesson planning, I will create effective reader-response activities to accompany the literature that I read in my classroom aligned with the state standards. During reader-response activities, students should utilize guided literature circles to discuss what was read, write in journals to evaluate the individual thinking, and create a literature chart to recall details from the story. As a teacher, I will implement these aspects of reader-response activities throughout the year along with my lessons. Before, during, and after reading any form of literature there needs to be questions asked to relate to the students’ lives, assess comprehension of the content, and evaluate the learning or knowledge gained from the read-aloud.

Each and every day should bring a new literature for students to develop a love for learning. As a teacher, it is my professional goal to encourage the love for reading and develop the minds for the future through a diverse variety of literature. Reading creates opportunities for success throughout school and life from developing the imagination and critical thinking skills. I can encourage the love of reading by giving each of my students a book to read because if I give them a book, they’ll probably want to read it. If they want to read it, chances are their going to want to read it again!