Reading invisible books

The Awesome Sharks

Our first graders did something, or to be more accurate didn't do something, that brought tears to my eyes the other day. Good tears. I was reading two books to them about learning to read. The subject is timely because that's what most first graders spend a lot of time doing.

It can be a process fraught with emotion and worry. Nobody learns at exactly the same pace as someone else. And as careful as we adults are to be relaxed and discreet about this, kids still compare themselves. In a school for academically talented students like Seabury, it can be especially difficult for youngsters who are a little slower at reading, or even learning at a normal pace since we have a few kids who it seems came out of the womb holding book 7 of Harry Potter.

Back to the books I read to the Sharks: I Don't Like to Read by Nancy Carlson, and Hooray for Reading Day! by Margery Cuyler.

Both main characters, one a boy, the other a girl, struggle with reading. Confidence is a big issue. By the end both youngsters have made huge strides.

The first graders loved both of these books.

In "Hooray for Reading Day!" first-grader Jessica has big problems whenever she has to read out loud. She has trouble sounding out words and sometimes makes mistakes. Her classmates laugh at her.

At one point it's her turn to read this sentence: "The pot was hot."

This is what author Margery Cuyler wrote:

"Jessica took a deep breath.

'The p-p-pot was snot,' she read.

Everyone laughed at her mistake.

Jessica wanted to sink into the floor."

There are some words that are sure-fire laugh getters when read aloud to kindergartners and first-graders. Underwear is one. Dirty diaper is a winning phrase.

Snot should have been one of those words. But unlike Jessica's classmates, not a single one of our first-graders laughed.

I read another page and then commented that "snot" is usually a word that would make them laugh. "Why do you think you didn't laugh?"

"Because isn't nice to laugh when someone makes a mistake," was the chorus in so many words.

And that's what brought tears to my eyes.

I told them they were awesome for having such compassion for a little girl who isn't even real. What's cool is that you know they are showing that compassion for each other as well.

That was a few weeks ago, but feel free to tell them they are awesome, too.