What to read? Anyone who craves for reading does not ask this question.
Pupils and students have limited reading experiences and insufficient reading materials. The teacher in a classroom setting guides the pupils and the students to induce productive readings. These pupils and students are exposed to different reading materials that are classified in accordance with the program that fits their needs.
Books are the prime instruments that promote reading in a class. Mark Twain once said that the man who does not read books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.
The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; and after an era of darkness, new races build others. But, in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again, and yet live on, still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men’s hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead.
According to Ernest Hemingway, all good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one, you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.
Carl Woodward refers to books as the instruments for perpetuating the body of knowledge painfully and slowly accumulated through the ages of man. They are also the means of preserving and sustaining the solid foundations of culture and learning. They provide the record of man’s progress and the point of departure for steps into the future. Through them, the resources of mankind become the birthright of generations too .
Aside from books, magazines, newspapers, and other reading materials increase learning. These materials are taken for granted too because many think that reading is a usual process. In fact, many have considered reading as time-wasted thing. The idea is wrong because readers usually read not only to find information but to look for enjoyment also.
Here are some suggested reading materials for the different reading programs:
1. Developmental Reading
The materials are scientifically prepared and aimed at developing the reading skills of the students.
2. Remedial Reading
Students with determined difficulties are referred to some materials specifically prepared for them to overcome reading difficulties.
3. Recreatory Reading
Recreatory reading materials provide for the development of appreciation and taste in selection and the enjoyment of reading materials.
4. Functional Reading
The materials in this program provide for the development of comprehension and utilization skills in areas of study, reference materials, and reading in other subject fields.
All the materials which have been introduced by Romero are purposely made to meet the needs of a student at the designed reading program in a certain stage and level of understanding. The teachers must select the materials before presenting them to the students for learning spontaneity to take place.
By: Vanessa V. Nava | Teacher II | Limay National High School
