“Policy makers have either bypassed or dismissed the conclusions of a wealth of evidence-based research about the power of voluminous, independent experiences with books.  Instead, politics, ideologies, and commercial interests have set the agenda for how teachers teach reading” (Atwell, 2015).  

Relying on research, Atwell expresses that literacy is dependent upon students having access to books of their choosing within levels they can decode and comprehend, and independent time to delve into them.  She stresses the importance of surrounding students in the classroom with books that meet student’s interests and reading levels, and that from there, allowing students to make their selections.  She closes by stating, “ Nurturing that love is the rightful work of reading teachers everywhere.  It’s not just a nice-thing to do- it’s the essential thing to do if we’re ever to increase literacy achievement around the globe” (Atwell, 2015).  

First grade classrooms generally have a wide array of readers. Many enter reading books proficiently while others may just be emerging with their reading skills and strategies. This course is designed in a way to help first grade readers' progress so that by the end of the year their reading moves towards the benchmarks designated for their grade level. This course supports the reading of both fiction and nonfiction throughout the course. In addition, this course focuses on ways first grade readers learn how to integrate sources of meaning, so that the children understand that reading is not merely reading the words but also understanding the text.

The common core state standards emphasize that children should spend large amounts of time reading informational text and literature. This first grade course focuses on first grade readers reading just right text at increasing difficulty on a variety of genres to become researchers of the world and to know that reading can be a source of information to grow knowledge about new subjects and on topics that are new to them.