Both of these peer-reviewed articles, focused on reading comprehension, are based on first-hand experiences with students.
Indiana Reading Journal, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1, Summer 2005
- A Challenged Third-Grader Connects with Meaningful Books
Excerpt: As soon as nine-year-old Raymundo arrived for his tutoring session, he immediately started shuffling through my pile of books, trying to find the one that had made his eyes light up with excitement the prior week. . . All of a sudden, the youngster found the book, held it up high, and shouted, “Tha ook whockt my woahd!” . . . After countless readings and successful experiences with other books . . . He felt enthusiasm and that triggered him to practice his reading skills. . . The first time he took the third grade standardized test, his score was below grade level, but not far below. . . I vividly remember him standing there, and after he spotted me, running up to me, beaming. I could see the pride and delight . . . “I’m a fourth grader!” . . . when I saw that triumphant look on his face, all of a sudden I knew, “That look rocked my world!”
Affective Reading Education Journal, Vol. XXIII, Summer, 2006
- Blue Dragonflies are “Dandleflies”: Examining the Link between Affect and Imagination during Reading Lessons
Excerpt: When children construct meaning through reading, affect is a fundamental part of that reading experience. . . After close examination, I would have to speculate that much like Fredrick, children in general have the affective capacity to use their imagination to reason, discover, and identify with characters and pictures as they read. . . Taking all this into consideration, there is one thing above all others that I have learned – to listen to the words of wisdom that come out the mouths of babes. Once day, when Fredrick was hunting for a coin he had misplaced, he told me, “There’s a trickster piece of money in my house that keeps trying to hide from me. I find treasures around the house.” And rightly so that was happening to me as well, because there were trickster pieces of teaching that kept trying to hide from me. Even so, I found a good many treasures around Fredrick’s house.”
