Today, Valerie, a dear student from last year, invited me to listen to her read. I walked in, she grabbed her book box and I was a little skeptical. The books in her box looked more like second grade books to me. Valerie is smart, but I wasn’t sure these books were going to work… I wanted her to feel proud about her reading, but this was her show and I was just her audience.
She pulled Sammy the Seal from her box. This is a long book. The first thing she did was flip to the last page…
“Look, it’s sixty-four pages,” she pointed out.
“Can you read the whole thing?” I wondered.
“Oh sure, I read it this morning, here, elbow to elbow and knee to knee,” she instructed me.
We buddy read this way in kindergarten and I was happy to see she either remembered it or was continuing the practice in first grade.
She read Sammy the Seal with more zeal and enthusiasm than I think the author ever intended. I soaked up her every word. I was aghast. She was not just reading, she was more fluent than I could have ever anticipated. I kept giving amazed looks at her first grade teacher.
When Valerie finished, I just looked at her.
“Wow, you have become a wonderful reader!” I exclaimed.
She smiled.
“Who do you read with at home?” I asked.
“Mainly just myself,” she said.
“Well, you keep it up. Keep learning from Mrs. ________ doing your best… remember how smart you are and how being smart can take you anywhere,” I finished.
“I know,” she replied.
“Well, you made my day, thank you so much,” I finished.
I’ve had enough of the smart girls aren’t cool routine I see and I don’t want Valerie falling into that trap. With that I gave her a hug and headed back to my class. She really did make my day.
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