Fostering Early Creative Reading

• Published in: Language arts Vol. 52; no. 6; pp. 786 - 789
• Main Authors: Turner, Thomas N., Alexander, J. Estill
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana, Ill National Council of Teachers of English 01-09-1975
• Subjects: Children; FOCUS 1: Integrating Reading into the Total Curriculum; Music teachers; Reading materials; Reading teachers
• ISSN: 0360-9170; 1943-2402

Children come to school eager to read. Somewhere between the 1st grade & the middle grades this eagerness is often lost & changed to frustration. Some reasons for this change are described. 1 way to assist in preventing the change is to foster early creative reading. There are at least 4 areas that need to be considered when planning for the development of creative reading. These are: (1) the types of reading materials which provide the best stimulators for creative thinking; (2) ways of structuring oral questions & discussions that will arouse children to think creatively about reading; (3) reading tasks that will open--rather than close--doors to productive creative thoughts; & (4) types of "response environments" that will encourage creative behavior. Suggestions for teachers' use in facilitating each of the above areas are given. AA