I love books that make me emotional. Books that get me angry or make me cry or really just having me gasping because of the suspense are my favorites. This past year I have read so many books that have evoked emotions in me.
Last year I read Esperanza Rising and I got so angry during that book. I literally wanted to punch a character. I cried a few times while reading and had to put it down multiple times so I could continue teaching. My students saw me get emotional and it led them to want to read the book as well.
This summer I read Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and that book gave me all the emotions. It was very funny, but also such an emotional read because of the topic of childhood cancer. It made me angry at the way that the main character handled everything, but it also helped me understand the emotions of a family member that is having to deal with a sibling with cancer.
Last week I read Crossover and while I could see the foreshadowing in the text I still wasn't prepared when it happened. I had to put the book away because I was about to start crying in front of my students. They wanted to read the book that made their teacher cry.
I had a student tell her reading partner that she needed to "read it like Mrs. Seibel reads." We both looked at her and asked her what that meant. She went on to do her impersonation of me. I understood. I told her partner that she wanted her to use intonation and emotion in her reading. She asked me how you do that. I told her it's a skill that she needs to practice.
My students struggle with reading comprehension because they don't hear the conversational flow of the text. They don't use the punctuation to develop emotions. They don't hear the change in volume and emotion during the paragraphs. I need to help them feel what they are reading so they can experience the joy in reading. So many think that reading is boring because they read in a monotone voice without pausing or stopping for punctuation. They don't lift their voices at a question. They don't raise their voices at an exclamation. They don't let a comma pause the flow of the text to let it linger in their minds.
I want my students to have emotional reactions to their books.
