How can i effectively engage students in literacy instruction using quality texts?
I explored how I could utilize quality literature to engage students in literacy activities. This is a question that I kept returning to year after year in my teaching career. As an early elementary school teacher, I have witnessed students' lackluster feelings toward reading in multiple grade levels. I wanted to find quality, research based methods to engage students in literacy activities that sparked curiosity and a love of reading. But I found that in order for these methods to be effective, students must have access to quality texts for both independent reading and mentor text purposes. Throughout this program I learned the importance of matching the text to the reader, rather than the reading level, and experienced firsthand how effective this practice can be in supporting young readers. I gained experience with utilizing digital tools to engage students in literacy practice. I observed the value in using mentor texts as tools to model their own writing after. Finally, I advocated for the importance of providing relevant and engaging texts for the students in my grade level and acquired new literature that will keep students motivated and engaged in reading. My findings indicate that there are many ways in which to use quality texts to engage readers, but the most important factor is that students must have access to interesting and grade level appropriate content in order for these quality texts to be beneficial to reading development.