What's my purpose now that I'm changing grade levels?

For the past nine years I have taught first grade with the purpose of teaching students to read through breaking the code of an alphabet through comprehending the text.  This purpose served me well until I found myself suddenly reassigned unexpectedly to fourth grade.  Hmmm...these kids know the alphabet and most are comprehending.  Looks like my purpose needs to change to meet the students where they are in their development as students.  So...I did first what most teachers do.  Put that project on the back-burner until I could successfully navigate myself through the finer points of teaching...updating my classroom management, navigating the curriculum, basically launching a classroom.

Now it's a few months into the school year and we're off and learning.  That's all good and well however I still need to reset my purpose so that it fits the new grade level.  Think, think, think...

what makes me a life-long learner?  Why do I want to learn?  How do I discover more about myself and my place in the world?  Through the love of reading and reading many different types of text both in traditional print and electronic form.  I read every day, sometimes for pleasure, sometimes to learn something new both personally and professionally.  That is what I want my students to do!  Read!  So, here goes:

My purpose as a fourth grade teacher is...

to inspire students to explore the world through reading various literary genres and media types to discover and develop their passion in life.

Now how do I do this?  More to come in my next post!