Robin Pyrchalla Reflects on Tips for Inspiring Love of Reading, Writing in Kids

PHILADELPHIA, PA, May 27, 2013

Robin Pyrchalla is offering her thoughts on a new piece that details easy ways that parents and educators can help to get kids excited about reading and writing. The article notes that providing children with easy access to high-interest reading material helps to keep them engaged. When students have a range of choices available to them, they feel more empowered, and therefore are more likely to want to pick up a book. These pieces of literature should provide a challenge to students, but should not become so difficult that the reading process is unpleasant for the pupil.

Having older children read to younger boys and girls is another effective tool that can serve multiple purposes. When kids begin to read to others, they feel that they have a purpose, thus helping them to feel more connected to the act of reading as a whole. Reading out loud also helps them to get more comfortable with the rhythm, intonation, and fluency that they will need to fully master the English language.

Robin Pyrchalla, English teacher, agrees with this piece of advice stating, "Children feel important when they are tasked with reading to younger students. While this helps their self-esteem and interest in the act of reading, going over the words in a book out loud also helps them to become stronger readers. There are many benefits to this act. Additionally, the children on the receiving end of the story get to enjoy the words of the book. This is an important strategy that teachers should employ in their classrooms."

Talking about literature can also help to keep kids more engaged. Adult readers frequently talk about the titles they are tackling, so it is useful to get younger people to do the same. Teachers and parents should ask children about the plot of the story they are reading, and ask for their thoughts on a potential ending. Having kids continue to think about a book more deeply helps them to feel more invested in the title. This also ensures that the kids are actually absorbing what they're reading, instead of just skimming over the worlds in order to finish quickly.

Getting kids actively involved in the writing process is a strategy that many educators and parents find useful when it comes to fostering a love of the written word in young people.

Many children learn in a hands-on fashion, so enabling them to write their own stories and create accompanying illustrations helps to make literacy enjoyable for them. Give kids a prompt and have them create their own story based on the idea. They will feel proud of the works they have created, and will gain insight into the writing process.

Teacher Robin Pyrchalla supports this idea stating, "In today's world, kids are so used to do things for themselves. They want to become an active part of whatever they're involved in. Allowing them to create their own storybooks is a way to play off of children's natural curiosity. Get them directly involved in the process and they'll feel more invested." Robin Pyrchalla also encourages teachers to let boys and girls share their finished works, for an additional sense of pride and self-esteem.

ABOUT:

Robin Pyrchalla is an English teacher who focuses on inspiring youth to understand the benefits of learning. She currently serves as an 11th and 12th grade instructor at Flushing High School in Queens, New York. She teaches several classes at the school, which serves 3,000 students in a diverse area. She received her Bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Cortland in 2005.