I try to not only teach my students to read, but to also teach them to be lifelong readers. Motivation and engagement are essential components of reading instruction, and I am constantly trying to think of new and creative ways to get my students excited about reading. Having engaging tasks and most importantly, engaging texts, is a key to reading growth, especially for our struggling readers. After reading countless research articles in graduate school, I also try to aim to incorporate authentic reading and writing tasks into my lessons.