Making "movie pictures"

Dear Reader,

Summer is a time when our lives might move a little bit slower. Being from Southern California, summer is synonymous with being at the beach. Sun, sand, and surf alongside with a good book. Personally, I prefer a romance novel that is in stark contrast to my own life. As I read, I am transported into the story that is so far removed from my own reality. Come to think about, I have created a movie in my mind that comes alive.

I am tutoring a child this summer, and we are reading Chalk Box Kid, about a boy who loves to draw, similar to my pupil. As she was reading to me, I tried to picture a movie in my mind, but she was reading way too fast, without any expression. Poor thing, I asked her to slow down and she looked at me confused. You see, she read every word right, decoding like a pro., but reading like a robot. In our state, there is a huge focus on DIBELS, the speed in which children read. Naturally, when I asked her to slow down so that I could imagine the words in my mind, this confused her even more, yet piqued her interest. She is an artist, and loves to create the images in her mind on paper. Poor thing, she was under the impression that reading was simply calling out the words correctly. How can reading be exciting? How can we get excited if we do not stop and make meaning from the words that are written?

Do you create images in your mind when you read? What do you see? What do you think about? There are so many processes that are required of the reader as they read and comprehend text. However, all these processes are being done simultaneously, effortlessly and without thought, as we are enjoying a good summer read.

-Maria