Suzanne Forest felt a bit out of place in the midst of thousands of reading teachers and experts at the conference here May 3-6. I'm an art teacher. N.J. But Ms. Forest, who helped lead one discussion on reading and the arts, was not necessarily alone in the crowd. Speakers in more than a dozen other sessions were content-area specialists with no particular expertise in reading. A teacher for 28 years, Ms. Forest believes art class is particularly appropriate for building reading skills.
Art is one of the first ways children express themselves before they understand text.
It is an excellent place to integrate reading instruction. Reading skills should be taught in any subject area. After investing millions of dollars in the development of reading programs and book series for elementary students, publishers want to make sure they get teachers' attention. The exhibit hall at the conference was a virtual playground for the enthusiastic reading teacher. Publishers displayed their books, software, and other materials against brightly illustrated backdrops.