Affective Dimensions of Reading

I like to think of myself as a good reader. I read books, instructions, Comics, magazines and I am able to interpret and apply what I have read. I understand it and can visualize it in a very real and personal context. I prefer to read mystery books. I love trying to solve it in my head before the characters have the chance to solve it in the book.

I loved reading through my 5-10th grades years the very most. It was a stage in my life when I was really trying to figure out life. My books were a way for me to see life as more than just what was going on in my life. I knew that there was a whole other world out there and couldn't wait to be able to be a part of it!

I didn't like reading when I got to the first few years of my college experience because I just felt like I was overwhelmed with reading assignments. It wasn't readings that I felt like I could identify with so it became more of a chore but as I became more and more centered on my discipline, I came back to my love of reading.

Growing up, I felt like I got a ton of mixed signals on reading. I felt like a nerd around my friends that didn't like to read but at the same time, I was encouraged to read by my parents, church leaders, and my teachers. I would just read because it eventually was something that I recognized made me happy and helped me improve my understanding of things around me. It gave me understanding for so many different aspects of life.

Stemming from my personal experiences with reading as a child, I would really like my students to feel comfortable with and enjoy reading. I want them to understand that there are lots of varieties and everything that they can get into. I want to incorporate reading and promote it in my classroom so I will present the texts in a way that will catch the students' attention and spark their interests to want to read the texts from Family and Consumer Sciences. I also want my students to be able to see themselves as good readers so that their desire to read will continue to grow. I will have them evaluate themselves after few months to see if they think that they have improved and why or why not.