A Winter Bed by Donna Latham

           I read a book titled A Winter Bed written by Donna Latham. I was actually told by the teacher in the classroom to read this book to the students. The book corresponds with vocabulary words they are learning and it includes words beginning with the letters that they are studying.

            The children sat in a tight circle around me while I read the book to them. The children listened to the story as I read it and often said words that they knew as I was reading. I asked them questions about the book as I was reading. Some of the questions I asked included: Would a nest be a good place to live for the winter? Why would a nest not be a good place for the creature to live? Would a hole in a tree be a good place for the creature to live for the winter?

              I applied my class readings to the experience by remembering the different components that are critical to reading aloud. I read slowly, clearly and remembered to ask meaningful questions about what they thought about things in the story. Also, I made sure they could all see what was in each picture and knew what it was. All of these factors I learned in class are very important when reading aloud.

            I felt very good about the experience of reading to the students. They were interested in the book even though it was a little higher reading level than they were at. They informed me that their teacher had read the book to them before so they were familiar with it already. The experience benefitted the children because it helped them see several words they already knew in review. Some of the words they had been studying they were able to review by me reading the book to them.

            I didn’t have any problems when reading the story to the children. They were all very focused, attentive, and responsive to my questions. Having a small group to read to made the task quite simple. Also, having them very close to me on the rug made their behavior easier to monitor.