I know we read from the same textbooks as the rest of the class, but I"m sure we received more attention from our teacher. We worked a lot on phonics and spelling in that class. I did not excel in spelling. This probably helped with my slow reading ability. I really never had a desire to excel in school, I think I was preoccupied with other things. Since then I consider myself a pretty slow reader. I cannot read without speaking the words. .
I have had some really good teachers in my school career. I have read many books and novels for class, or at least started to read them. In seventh grade we read A Christmas Carol and I felt this really helped me comprehend old English. My teacher was Mr. Daibriel. He was a strict teacher, but it was one of the best teachers I have had in my school career. He stressed reading aloud and following along in our textbooks. We also read books that were interesting and kept the class motivated. We did most of our reading in class but light reading at night. I think light reading is good because it takes a lot of stress off poor readers. Poor readers are less likely to start an assignment that contains many pages or reading. At least in my case, I would not bother reading the assignment if it was fifty pages long. I figured I wouldn't understand it anyway and it would take me two to three hours to read it. I guess I was intimidated easily. I think this was a better idea, the more accomplished readers could read ahead if they wanted to, while the not so good readers could still keep up with the class work. Just by finishing the reading, these students felt like they are up to date on what is happening in class and in the book. I also felt that I could contribute during discussions. This is how I felt anyway in the class and is why I thought this teacher had the most influence on my reading skills. .
In high school, the only reading I remember doing is for class.