© SUSIE FITZHUGH
Didn’t they know that mosquitoes
caused yellow fever? Why do we know
this now, but no one knew it then?”
“Well,” I tell her, “scientists’ study of
infectious diseases like yellow fever has
occurred over time, and years ago, we
didn’t know what caused many illnesses
or how to treat them. There is a great
nonfiction book called An American
Plague by Jim Murphy (Clarion, 2003)
that can give you more information
about the 1793 yellow fever epidemic.
Would you like to read it? We have a copy in the school
library.”
Emily agrees to read Murphy’s book next and heads off to
science class, where her newfound interest in infectious
diseases will serve her well. During the 10 minutes between
the first bell and the second, I discuss the Japanese invasion of
Burma during World War II with Brian, who is reading
Roland Smith’s Elephant Run (Hyperion, 2007); debate the
negative consequences of time travel explored in Rebecca
Stead’s When You Reach Me (Wendy Lamb, 2009) with Hanna;
and define and pronounce crenellated for Grant, who declares
Young readers learn
what life readers
know—keeping a
book with you
alleviates boredom!
that Christopher Paolini overuses the
word in Eragon (Knopf, 2003). None of
these students is in my first period
language arts class, but their books
provoke questions that cannot wait. As
a reader, I enjoy these conversations,
but as a teacher, I appreciate the intellectual power these students are gaining
through reading.
The Need to Read
Numerous studies prove that wide
reading improves children’s comprehension, background
knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing (Krashen, 2004).
Unfortunately, in many schools the poorest readers read the
least, often as much as three times less than their peers
(Allington, 2006). Many students identified as struggling
readers early in their educations continue to receive reading
intervention and tutoring throughout their school lives, never
catching up with their peers. No matter what instructional
methods we employ, students must spend substantial time
applying the reading skills and strategies we teach before they
develop reading proficiency. To become good readers,
