The
final entry in the Response Log part of the Journal should include an
individual self-assessment in which you reflect on your reading by responding
to, in particular:
·
What
have you learned about reading through this assignment?
·
How
do you feel about reading?
·
How
does your reading process relate to what you are learning in class about
reading instruction?
·
How
will this affect your teaching of reading?
·
What
goals do you have for yourself as a reader/a teacher of reading?
This reading assignment taught me how emotional a reading can be the first time around. It's hard to ask students to critic the themes and motifs right away because a good book will get them more emotionally involved. I think that this type of assignment would be good for teaching close reading. The guiding questions and chunking the reading helped me slow down and back away from the plot and emotion of the story and see the message. I believe that reading looks different for everyone and different people pull different ideas from the text. Our blog reflections showed me that people found significance in other details I did not focus on. As a teacher I think guiding questions would help a student find the details that they are meant to focus on if that is the point of the assingment but I think it's also important that they can respond to a text based on the emotions it brings. My reading process has become second nature to me so I forget that it is something I have learned. This assingment will make me a better teacher because it brought me to see what processes I automatically use when dechipering a text. I think that reflecting on how you read also makes you a better reader and can strengthen your comprehension skills. One goal I have as a teacher is to find appropriate books for my students reading level. Although this book was enjoyable and had great thematic value, the simple language did not challenge me enough. I could see how this could be dull for a student who excels at reading and I can imagine how frustrating it would be for a struggling reader with too tough of a book. This book was very relevant for junior high age students and the text was at a good level for most of them. I think that this assingment will help me be more knowledgable when picking appropriate books for my students and it exposes me to literature that could be easily used in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading The Diary of Laura's Twin, I read the novel for enjoyment as many students would do, but I also read as a teacher. Therefore, I engaged both personally and emotionally while also constantly looking for strategies to use the text in a classroom setting. One aspect that I love about literature is that there are so many different ways to read. You can read the same text multiple times and get very different meanings depending on the purpose and intention you set before reading. However, regardless of which perspective you choose to read from, if the teacher is excited, your attitude will effect your students. I think that having a very positive and optimistic outlook on literature and the reading process, the more likely you are to engage students. After 'hooking' students into the book, I think it is important to use various reading techniques such as blog reflections and book talk presentations to help with comprehension. It is also a great way to encourage students to reflect upon their first impressions and evaluate whether the novel has changed their opinions after reading.
ReplyDeleteEngaging in the reading process through a YA novel was a great way to remind me about what my students may be reading. By engaging in the reading process myself, I think it will help me to plan realistic and accurate expectations for my students. Reading the novel also allowed me to realize that reading levels do not necessarily determine grade level. The Diary of Laura's Twin is fairly easy to read, but the subject matter would make this an appropriate novel for junior-high and high-school.
As a teacher of literacy and a continual life learner, I hope that I can expand my knowledge base of literature by reading as many new and relevant books as possible. This will help me to make recommendations to students and to promote a love and/or appreciation of reading and literature. I also aim to really promote and celebrate the publishing aspect of the writing process. I think that encouraging and celebrating student achievement in writing will also reflect and promote the reading component of literacy.
I read The Diary of Lauras Twin for pure enjoyment first and then I went back to pull out things I thought were important. In class we spoke about reading the text multiple times and how each time you read it you get different or deeper meaning. I found that reading for enjoyment and then reading to analyze was very successful for me and that is a technique I would teach my students.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved to read and one of my favorite genres is historical fiction so I was thrilled to read this novel. One thing I wasn't counting on was the real connections to actual history. This novel was somewhat of an emotional journey for me. It hit home even more when I read the real life twinning stories at the back of the novel. Because it was so emotional for me, I would make sure to debrief and work through emotions with my students so that everyone would feel comfortable at the end of the novel.
My goal is to teach my students that reading is a gift to be enjoyed. I believe that reading enriches our lives and in my own school experience I was almost taught to hate reading. I hope to teach younger children and my goal is to geet them passionate about reading.
My goal for myself as a reader is to expand my horizones and to go back and re-read things to gain deeper meaning.
I originally chose The Diary of Laura's Twin because I was interested in the content of the novel and the way it was written. I truly never expected to enjoy it as much as I did. I found it very emotional and even re-read sections of it using the close reading strategy. I was impressed with how relatable the characters were, and how emotional I felt throughout it. I think students would take very well to this novel.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved to read, but now I find myself reading differently. I used to read for enjoyment and not think twice about it. Now I find myself reading with a different lens. I am constantly picking things out and trying to decide how I would teach specific themes or events to a classroom. Everything we have learnt about in class is always in the back of my mind now, presenting me with new questions and ways of thinking.
I think one of my favorite parts of this Canada Reads assignment was our group blog. It was interesting to see everyone's responses and the diversity of what was brought up. Each one of us had a different perspective and found importance in different events in the novel. This reminded me that as a teacher you are going to experience different levels of learning. Not every student is going to understand the novel in the same way and will see importance in different aspects.
As an English Language Arts teacher, my goals are to promote reading and hopefully inspire students to love and appreciate literature as much as I do, and learn how to chose new and interesting texts for the classroom.
I think that the main thing that I learned through reading this text was the importance of stopping and considering what you just read. This assignment forced us to slow down and read sections of the book at a time, followed by a response. This allowed me to make a much deeper connection to the text. I also allowed me to see different elements that I might not have noticed with just a quick reading. The fact that I was able to discuss and engage with my group members point of view was also an engaging element of this assignment. This project also changed my perspective of reading, in that sometimes it is important to slow down and do a closer reading of a text. We learned in class just how much a close reading can deepen the comprehension and engagement with a text and I definitely found this through this assignment.
ReplyDeleteI think that this project showed me a different way to teach reading. It integrated close reading, individual reflection and questioning, as well as group discussion and reflection. I think that this would be a great way to analyze a text in a classroom. This assignment combined with our instruction in class introduced me to the idea of close reading, and I can see how it would be important to integrate this into my own teaching.
One goal that I have for myself as a reader as well as a teacher is to be more open minded about the texts I choose to read. I had never considered a graphic novel before, but after hearing what my peers had to say, it is something I would consider now. As a teacher I also want to be able to choose new and engaging texts to integrate into my classroom. I had no idea how much choice teachers had when it came to the texts that we teach, and I want to be able to choose texts that interest and engage my students.