A book has the power to do several things to a reader. One effect a book can have on someone is for him/her to be entertained by the words they digest. This type of reading is known as aesthetic reading. People are transported into a different time, a different place, and get caught up in the characters' various situations. On the other end of the spectrum, there is efferent reading. This is done with the intent of learning. Here a reader is to absorb for an educational purpose what is presented on the page. Aesthetic and efferent listening are done with the same purpose; to entertain and learn respectively. When I read, it's most of the time so I can learn more about what the teacher is discussing in class. However in an English class, the variety of literature that is given to be read serves both purposes. By being entertained the reader learns things along the way.

Reading doesn't just happen-it's a combination of processes that result in one being able to read. The first step is prereading. Here, a student will have a purpose for reading, have a plan for reading, and remember or learn background information that will help him/her understand the story better. An example is knowing that Dr. Seuss writes with rhyming words. This will help a student to realize in what way the story "The Foot Book" will be written. Stage two is reading, the student is reading the text. There is more than one way to read a selection. Students can engage in independent reading, reading with a buddy, use shared reading, participate in guided reading, or listen to the story while it is read aloud. An example is a student reading "The Foot Book" independently. The next stage is responding. Students have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the book or seek more clarification on something in this stage. An exmaple is the student responding to the open-ended questions: This book reminds me of... or I noticed that Dr. Seuss is... in his/her reading log. Stage four is exploring. Teachers help students to explore by, "rereading the selection, examing the author's craft, focusing on new vocabulary words, and participating in minilessons" (pg. 79). For example, the teacher could bring in other Dr. Seuss books and compare and contrast "The Foot Book" to those selections. The fifth and final stage of reading is applying. Here, students choose some way to express what they've learned as a result of having read a particular book. For example, a student could make a collage of all the different types of feet that are mentioned in "The Foot Book."

Capable readers have four acquired four necessary factors . They are word identification, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Word identification refers to the number of words in a student's vocabulary and the strategies he/she uses to learn, and eventually recognize, the unfamiliar ones. The second factor is fluency which refers to being able to read, "quickly and with expression" (pg. 82). Within fluency are three additional factors: reading speed, word recognition, and prosody. The goal is 100 words per minute. The more words a student knows, the faster his/her reading speed will be. Prosody means reading with the correct intonation and appropriate phrasing. Without doing these things, the meaning of a sentence will be lost of confused. The next factor is vocabulary. Reading is a great way for students to increase their vocabulary. A larger vocabulary helps fluency which helps to create a more capable reader. The final factor is comprehension. A capable reader understands what he/she read and why he/she read it. Comprehension occurs throughout the reading of a particular selection and then at the end, a new, whole, and complete understanding is achieved.

There are five different ways in which students can read. They are shared, guided, independent, buddy, and participating in read alouds. To encourage the use of these different types, teachers could have literature focus units, literature circles, reading workshops, and special thematic units in thier lessons. There are, of course, a whole lot more options teachers can do. Anything that contributes to a studen'ts reading is valuable and helpful. I also think that the reading a child does outside of the classroom can do nothing but help him/herself as a capable reader. Anything a teacher does just needs to be educational, engaging, fun, and contagious!!