Why do we read?

The first reading lesson I do with every class even when I had my own classroom is "Why do we read?"  Last school year I was able to do this lesson K-5 and it told me a lot about these students' lives.  Until last year I was a teacher (1st grade then 3rd grade), in a school district on the other side of my midwestern state.  It was a college town near a military base.  Just like every school, children entered my classroom at different reading levels.  However the majority of them enjoyed being read to and seemed to have a positive reaction to this question every year.  (Now there was always that one boy- yes, it was always a boy-I will blog on that eventually) who would say, "I hate to read or I don't want to read."  But the majority of students were cool with it.  It might take them a bit to get started discussing it, but it wasn't a crazy question.  Now let's go to last year.  Now I am a Literacy Coach at a more rural district outside of a metro area.   I ask this question,  I am now apparently crazy.  I especially remember some of the 5th graders.  What?  Because we have to.  No one has asked us that crazy question before.  What is the point of asking that anyway?

I hope you ask your students this question.  You need to DISCUSS it.  Not tell them why they should read or what you think.  You need to LISTEN to what they say.   So this is usually the first anchor chart in my room.  The anchor chart above was done with one of my first grade classes.