Journal – Due 3/14

Last class we talked a lot about graphic novels. I was not able to voice my opinion in class, so here it goes. I have had NO experience with graphic novels, except for American Born Chinese. I was only iffy about the book in general, just because I don’t think it’s my type of book. When I read, I get lost in the book and sometimes I even feel like I’m in the book with the characters. This time, I wasn’t able to feel that way, which made it slightly less enjoyable for me. I felt like it was hard to connect to the book and it felt draggy to me. This is the first time I ever read a graphic novel so maybe I just need more experience, or maybe they just aren’t for me. On that note, I am also unsure of whether or not I think these tyes of books should be taught AS PART OF THE CURRICULUM. If students can relate to these books and they like them and find it easy to read, they can read them for outside reading or a book report or research paper. I am just not sure if I think that they should be taught to the whole class. I know that there was a lot of discussion in class about everyone’s feelings about this but I am just not sure. I probably just haven’t had enough experience and exposure to it yet.

Journal – Due 3/7

Last week in class we talked about Historical Fiction young adult books in the classroom. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction, just because it’s just not my favorite genre to read. On the other hand, I do think that teaching Historical Fiction is very important to teach in the classroom. It’s important for students to be exposed to other culture’s and their literature and historical fiction pieces are a good way to achieve that in the classroom. I also think historical fiction is important to teach because it might give different insight into event that have happened in the past. Maybe the students will learn about this event (like the Holocaust let’s say) in their social studies class, but when they read The Diary of Anne Frank, they can see the Holocaust from a slightly different perspective. I believe students will find that very interesting and hopefully that would spark their interest in the book even more.

It’s also very important to try to connect the historical fiction piece to the daily lives of the students and make the book be more relateable. When students can relate to the book, they are more likely to understand it more and be more interested in it. When we spoke about this in class, we talked about how the themes would be an effective way to connect historical fiction to the daily lives of the students. If they can see that the people in the book might go through similar situations or feel similar ways, the will be more likely to be interested in reading historical fiction.

In class, we also discussed how to use the SmartBoard. Before last class, I did know a lot about how to use the SmartBoard. My high school had them, and I was able to work with them a lot in a previous field placement. I did learn much much more and I think it’s such a cool piece of technology to get the students involved and keeping their attention in class as well. I can’t wait to learn more and use the SmartBoard more, especially as I start student teaching next semester.

Journal – Due 2/21

The book we had to read for last class was Things Fall Apart. I have read this book in a previous class here at Hofstra and I absolutely hated it. I hated it the first time and I hated it the second time around too. It’s such a dry book and it’s not the most interesting of subjects. I did think it was interesting though how we talked in class about some of the major themes in the book. These themes apply directly to the characters in the book but the themes can also apply to the things that students may be going through. I think if I were to teach this book in a high school classroom, I would majorly stress the themes so the book can become more relateable to the students.

I also think it would be important to teach this book with other non-fiction articles to give background information. The historical knowledge in this book may be knowledge that the students don’t have or are not familiar with yet. It will definitely help them to understand the context of the book. I also think that this aspect is important in general for any book that the students will be reading. First of all, Common Core requires teachers to use both literature and non-fiction pieces in the classroom. Second, the non-fiction pieces will be able to give the students a sense of the realness to the issues being discussed in the novel they are reading. It will help them to understand a time period better, gain knowledge on a certain topic, or just learn more about what they are reading.

I really enjoyed the literature circle activities that we did. I have a really good group and we worked very well together. I think the activities we did for the literature circle were extremely helpful to understanding the book more. After doing this for the first week, I truly enjoyed it and I would definitely want to use this in my classroom in the future. It’s a great way to get every student reading and participating.

Journal – Due 2/14

I absolutely love the Hunger Games. I think the whole concept of it is interesting and very different than anything I have ever read before. One of my favorite things about this book is that Katniss is not the normal female character, like we discussed in class. She is not the damsel in distress, but in fact she is strong and almost self-sufficient. She takes on many adult responsibilities at a young age and is a very strong character, in my opinion. By the way, I’m Team Peeta all the way!

Something that we talked about in class yesterday got me thinking a lot. I think audio books is very interesting and something that I would have never really thought about for education. My grandma used to listen to audio books a lot and I never really understood why. After talking about it in class though, I see them in a much different light than I have before. Usually in schools you think about students NEEDING to read directly from the book. Audio books would have meant in the past that students were not reading. I think nowadays we look at it differently and say that they can read while they listen to the book and they might understand it easier if it is being read to them on a tape. I think that it is something different to consider using in classrooms, especially using it as differentiated instruction.

At the end of class, there was a very important question posed. Are all Young Adult books a “coming of age” story? Now, I haven’t read all of the YA books out there, but I definitely have read a lot of them. I do think that all YA books in some way portray a coming of age story. The general target audience for YA books is around 12-18 years old and this is the age group where the children are coming of age. Puberty hits, they learn how to drive, they learn how to be responsible and mature. I think the literature they read is purposefully geared towards them so it makes it easier for them to relate. If they can relate to a character in a story that is going through what they are going through, they may be more inclined to share their stories or be more comfortable dealing with the situation. I think this is something really important to think about as we go through the semester and as we read more of the YA books.

First Journal – Due 2/7

Last week we had our first class and I was pleasantly surprised. I am extremely excited for this class and all of the amazing books that we get to read. I have only read 2 books on the list so I am excited to read the other books. I also really do love young adult literature so the fact that I get to spend an entire semester reading young adult literature is very exciting and I am truly looking forward to it.

Before last week, I had no idea what a literature circle was. I am very intrigued to find out how it works with my group. I hope it is something that I really enjoy doing it because I would love to use it in my classroom in the future.

I am looking forward to learning about the technology that we can use in the classroom too. Last semester during the education class I took (SED 152), we actually had a conversation one day about wanting to learn about the technology, like the Smart Board. I know the basics of it but I would love to learn all of the tips and tricks and the in-depth explanations of how to use it.

I decided to become a teacher when I was in high school because I absolutely loved English. I love reading because I always get so into it. I get into the book so much that sometimes I feel like I am actually in the book with the characters. I also love to write and be creative. I love voicing my opinions and feelings. Writing always makes me feel like I am in control. I fell in love with English and decided I wanted to teach to inspire children the way I was inspired by English.