Homework—Reading for the Fun of It

In Chapter 3 of Comprehension from the Ground Up I tell the story of Sofia, my seven-year-old granddaughter, becoming so totally engaged in putting together her craft jewelry box that she lost track of time. And how two hours later she resurfaced with a gorgeous sparkly jewelry box to show for her efforts. I compared that experience to the type of experiences we should try to create for students in our classrooms and families should provide at home. We want students to engage in their reading and read voluminously. But how…how can we make reading experiences sparkle so that children will love to read so much that time simply slips away?

One way is to make sure the homework we assign doesn’t involve the heavy-lifting feel that accompanies so many of children’s in-class assignments. Homework should be relaxing and fun. Kids should look forward to their home reading as a much needed and well-deserved break from the routines and rigors of the day.

When Sofia visited us over the President’s Day Weekend, I was thrilled to see that a transfer from arts and crafts to reading had taken place. Sofia read nonstop. She read Sharks while she was eating breakfast. She read Muggie Maggie while waiting for Eva to get dressed so they could go out and play. She read Owls in the afternoon when she needed a break from playing with cousins Jack and Danny. And at night her Mom read to her from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows! And the best part is that all the while Sofia was doing her homework—reading, simply reading. So thank you to Nicola Davies, Beverly Cleary, Gail Gibbons, and J. K. Rowling for helping to put fun back into homework. And thank you to Ms. Steele for letting these fine authors do what they do best. (And btw: Sofia still loves arts and crafts, soccer, basketball, and cooking...in addition to reading.)