Reading's Better Than Going to the Movies

One of my favorite first grade sounds is a room full of readers, and I'm thoroughly lucky enough to hear it every day.  (Well, minus the two days of the week that I'm tucked inside my quiet little house, which isn't such a bad deal either.)  For almost 30 minutes each day, kids spread out everywhere - in corners, on desks, under tables, on counters, laying on pillows, sprawled out in the middle of the floor, and they're all reading to themselves.  The collective sound keeps the room buzzing but in the best of ways.

Ah, but then the day comes when I hear that one particular sound I've been waiting for.  Some years it arrives sooner than others, but it's always worth waiting for and never ceases to put a smile on my face.  It tends to rise above all the other voices.  Sometimes it even distracts a few readers from their books, but I don't care because it's what I preach.  It's what I model.  It's what I want for all my young readers.  It's the storyteller's voice.  

One day, from across the room, I heard that sound.  It was Libby's storyteller's voice.  I told her I could listen to her read all day long.  During our Read-to-Self share time, I asked her to demonstrate her storyteller's voice for us all.  Then I reminded my kids, as I often do, "Reading's better than going to the movies."  I think some of them actually believe me.