"Dear potential students,

My name is Kimberly, and I have a great zest for reading. Comprehension of prestigious literary works is not always easy and enjoyable for everyone. Reading a story should not only take you to a different world, but help you understand things from a different perspective. It should challenge your ideas and makes you think about things that you normally would not. I have enjoyed these experiences since I was in grade school. I was the one who finished their summer reading list in the first few weeks and helped the other kids with their book reports. Reading should be fun. The more a child enjoys reading, the more possibilities there are for them to develop original thoughts and ideas. It is not just important to read the stories, but to understand the message the author is trying to convey. This is where I step in to help.

Although my degrees are in Business management and music performance, reading has always been a passion for me. Helping someone interpret what an author has written sparks discussion about many issues and feelings. Readers constantly make connections as they read- connections to their own lives, another book, or real world events. Bringing those connections out and discussing them can lead to more interaction and interest in a text as well as deepen comprehension. When readers question the text before, during, and after they read, they attend more closely to the text, clarify meaning, make predictions, and focus their attention on what’s important. By assigning questions and having discussions it keeps them more involved and vested in the story. It is critical for readers to understand some of the most interesting questions we have are not always answered in the story. When reading there are a few of the questions that I ask my students to help them. Here is a sample of them:

• What does this book remind you of?

• Have you experienced any of the events or situations in this book?

• Can you understand how the character was feeling? Why?

This helps us create an o" less...