For my final reading class exam this past year, I wanted to do something valuable, not just another show-me-what-I-know-that-you-already-know exam to fill a column in the grade book. I wanted to learn something from the students about how they saw themselves as readers, how they had grown as readers, and how important reading was to them. Each student chose an influential person in our district and wrote a letter to him or her about the importance of every student reading every day at school. I gave them the prompt and the choices of recipients, but the students composed their own letters from their experiences, research, and personal feelings. Continue reading →