Classroom Reading for Enjoyment

“This inspiring text will support all teachers who want to develop children's desire to read. Drawing on the author’s research, it is a delight to read- it’s accessible, engaging and highlights the social, affective and relational nature of reading for pleasure. Read it and make more of a difference.” — Teresa Cremin, The Open University, UK “It is well established that reading for enjoyment is central to a learner’s future success in life. Rich in both research evidence and excellent classroom practice, Mellie Green’s Classroom Reading for Enjoyment: Bestowing the Beauty of Book Blether, is a must-read for every primary teacher. Each chapter showcases the enthusiasm and expertise of an inspiring classroom teacher as she engages learners in aesthetically enjoyable classroom reading experiences that lead to meaningful booktalk and nurture learners’ love of quality literature.” — Robyn Ewing AM, Professor Emerita, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, Australia This book provides guidance for improving primary classroom reading instruction. As education stakeholders now recognise, there is an urgent need for policy and practice beyond phonics and for improved reading outcomes. This timely text supports a well-balanced, effective and affective classroom reading programme. The author describes the co-generative work of Belinda, a Brisbane based primary teacher and her Year Three class. In a sequence of 24 descriptive vignettes, she provides details of the activities in which Belinda engages her students­, in weekly sessions dedicated entirely to literary appreciation and educative reading for enjoyment. The project illuminates the beauty of book blether – the significance of students’ literary talk. The author applies John Dewey’s philosophy on aesthetic experience in explanatory responses to Belinda’s teaching, and demonstrates how this work might be replicated in the primary classroom. The book will appeal to pre-service teachers and educators, academics in the field of reading instruction, dialogic pedagogy and literacy improvement, as well as primary school practitioners. Mellie Green is an experienced primary teacher and lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Southern Cross University, Australia. Her areas of research passion are: use of children’s literature in the primary classroom, reading instruction, curriculum and pedagogy. She is a Literacy and English teaching lecturer with a love of high-quality children’s books. Mellie is also an active member of the Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) group.