Reflection

I really enjoyed this class. It really helped me start thinking as a teacher rather than a student when it comes to reading. Enjoying all the book demos and sharing each others' choice projects my book list is very long. I thought the book we had to read and write the blogs about was WONDERFUL. It helped in every way to think about every type of student that could be in the classroom and how to relate to their reading habits. Doing the book reviews was a great way for me to understand what makes a book useful in the classroom and enjoyable for students to read.

Chapter 14

This is what I think the fun of being an English teacher would come in. How to find the right books that fit the class personality and the content. When Beers brings up the point of choosing books strategically according to the length of the book, personally I believe that it is how the book is presented that decided whether students are going to read. But I do like the theory of choosing books that that student can relate to their characters and who may be facing similar choices. This could bring up great discussion in the classroom. When dealing with non-fiction, teachers should try to collaborate it with another subject or lecture to tie everything together for the big picture.

Chapter 13

When it comes to confidence, especially the point where teachers are to keep their expectations high, I kept thinking about Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Teachers need to know where that line is from too hard and too easy to get students to learn. It really frustrated me that teacher,like that ones mentioned in the book, basically refused to challenge their students with work. A great way to get students involved in a challenging text is to get them thinking about it in a creative manner. "We need to give students the opportunity to form their thoughts, mull it over, and decided what they want to say or ask about what they've read." (pg 268).

Chapter 10

This chapter is so important because it is basically the foundation of good reading and comprehension.Teachers need to be able to pinpoint those readers who are dependent or independent. Measuring fluency is a great way to provide this. One stratgey I thought was a great idea was to read aloud to the students. Using the educator as a model, the dependent students will be able to learn appropriate expression, phrasing, and pacing. Another important suggestion Beers has is that teachers should prompt students when reading, not correct. If students are constantly told their wrong, it will not only discourage them from reading but also it can be hard for them to correct their own mistakes.

Chatper 9 (The right chapter 9)

When I was in high school I HATED, DESPISED, AND LOATHED vocabulary. I thought it was a total waste of time to learn words that I most likely was not going to pick up and use later in life. And continuing to my freshman year of college, I was write. Yes, I feel that having an extensive vocabulary is important, but I feel it is more important of how one takes those newly learned words and works them into their writing. For me, my new vocab words seemed so foreign in my writing that it just felt unnatural in the piece, and teachers commented on it; "You're trying to hard." they would say. When I stopped trying to add in words that teachers shoved down our throats in high school I feel that I slowly became a better, more fluent writer. I think of good portion of why I didn't like the vocabulary part of school is that not one teacher I had made it interesting. It was just 20 extra points to memorize in homeroom and get by the end of the day. Going back to the book, I really like that the vocabulary tree gave a student a sense of creativity towards the words. It also could help the slowly progress to learning how to input these words into their writing.

Chapter 9

A major topic for a teacher to be concerned about when discussing their student's reading capabilities is how they construct meaning in what they read. The chapter gives a list of multiple things an independent reader need to be able to do to construct meaning such as: identify the main character, plot, and ideas, visualize the text,and know the difference between fact and opinion. A strategy the author gives that I really like is the "Somebody Wanted But So". This is a great way to help students keep the plot of a piece of writing in order, especially if it is on the longer side or if there is many similar characters. A good example to use this is The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. Because most characters do not have specific names like John or Jim, and are commonly named "the young solider" or "the loud solider" students could get confused quite easily. I feel that this is a great way to keep student actively involved in the reading and also keeping it clear and concise. Retelling is also a great way to start a lesson. As many English teachers know, many students dislike Shakespeare because they have no clue what is going on. I feel that if teachers had student try to retell what they think happened in their own words or actions clarity may come with the help of fellow students and the teacher as a guide.

Chapter 7

As I said in previous chapter blogs, I really like to use the "Say Something" strategy in order to see my student I am tutoring for the OGT gain a greater understanding of what he is reading. After reading paragraphs or stanzas he tells me what he thinks he's read. Next time, I think I am going to try to have him make a prediction of what will happen next. I really like the idea of the double entry journals, because they are very similar to a class blog... but without the blog. I think that this can get the class very engaged with the material and take notes at the same time. I think the bookmarks would be a great way to ask questions about material. Personally, on various types of novels, I would like to have used bookmarks during readings at home, and use them in the classroom to help understand the plot, and characters. Although I think syntax surgery is a great idea in theory, I think that if a student would look back on the paper dependent readers could get confused, discouraged, and want to give up.