Artifacts These artifacts, completed as earlier endeavors during this class, support my claims about the progress I speak of in my reflective essay.
Artifact 1: My "Rambling Autobiography" - Part of my "Me Portfolio"
I have always had an interesting relationship with reading; not necessarily a “love-hate” relationship, but more of a “I want to love you, but something holds me back sometimes” type of relationship. I have always loved being read to, and when I do complete a novel, as I close the book on the author’s final thought, I love the feeling of accomplishment that consumes me. However, I think where my issue lies is that I am a slow reader, the type of reader who feels the need to understand each sentence before moving on to the next sentence-so I have always struggled getting into a novel. I hate this relationship. I want to be the individual my father is, who read 54 novels last year in the midst of his busy life. I want to discuss books, the authors who wrote those books, and know what the rest of the class is speaking of when they talk about popularly read or classic novels. This is the person that I strive and am working to be.
I grew up being read to constantly by my mother, especially right before falling asleep at night. I loved looking through picture books with her, especially Jan Brett’s books, being marveled by the incredible art work, and detail that each page held. The transition of me reading aloud to my peers occurred in first grade, as I still remember Emily Beamesderfer reading a Dr. Seuss novel to the class and me thinking to myself, “I want to do that.” I went home that night and practiced for hours reading “Green Eggs and Ham” in front of the mirror, which I would read to my classmates the next day. I felt so proud that day, so tall in my first grade body. Then in fourth grade, I remember understanding the impact that books and therefore words can have on someone as I watched tears stream down my teacher’s face as she read the conclusion of “Where the Red Fern Grows.” I remember seeing Mrs. Van Kirk more as a human that day. When I grew to be a bit older, and as my mother found a love for audiobooks, we would listen to a book either together or separately and discuss where we were in the novel. I remember specifically listening to novels on our 3 hour drive to the beach, her in the front seat with her walkman on, me in the backseat with mine. Still, when I reached middle school and where everything including reading turned into a competition, reading became a turn off. The only novels I remember reading in middle school were ones that my teacher read to the class in 6th grade, such as “The Giver” and “The Cay,” ones that were assigned, but a struggle for me to complete such as “Rascal” and “A Wrinkle in Time,” and for enjoyment, the first book of the “Harry Potter” series. However, I always felt lucky in the regard that Language Arts always had two components, reading and writing, and in middle school was where I began to experiment with writing, something that I was fairly decent at. It became my safe haven, and still to this day, is.
A desire for reading began to peak again in high school when novels such as “The Lord of the Flies” were read, but during my 4 years at Ephrata High School, I was primarily known as “the girl who writes.” I loved that title as it earned me editor-in-chief of the school newspaper my senior year. Additionally during my senior year, my English teacher rekindled my love of reading. He introduced me to novels such as “1984,” “Anthem,” and “Fahrenheit 451.” I had never heard of these books before, but as I read each one, not only did I love the language, the writing style, and noticing the influence they had on more recent works, but I found myself flying through these novels, experiencing that accomplished feeling that I had forgotten about for so long. I found a love for the classics, and this would lend to establishing of a passion for reading again in college.
In college, I have been required to read the classics such as Shakespeare’s Othello and due to my major choice of Middle-Level English Education, I have also been required to read young adolescent books. Both of these genres and levels of reading have found a special place in my heart, but especially the young adolescent books. Reading for the first time novels such as, “The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963,” “Walk Two Moons,” “When You Reach Me,” and “Nothing but the Truth,” I fell in love with these books, and reflecting on it now, I honestly think that I have such a passion for these novels and others like them, because of the gap created during my middle school experience, during these novels’ “appropriate” time.
As I continue on the path of becoming an educator, I do not look at my relationship with reading as a downfall, but rather as a motivator. My history with reading motivates me to continue reading a novel once I start, not getting caught up on every single sentence trying to decipher what each means. It motivates me that there are novels out there that do grasp my attention; all I have to do is search for them. And it motivates me, but also reminds me of why I am in the teaching profession: to recognize that reading isn’t just second nature to every single student, and to be there to help my future students stay on track and keep pushing them through their reading struggles so that they don’t look back years later and wish they were a certain type of reader or wonder what type of reader they could have been. I will become the person described officially, and am in the process of doing so currently, one step at a time
Artifact 2: My "Goals and Hopes as a Reader" - Part of my "Me Portfolio"
To read one novel a month
To visit the public library more often
To listen to an audiobook on my way to and from school
To begin collecting books for my eventual classroom library
To keep a journal or blog of my thoughts & feelings about the books that I am reading
To find a book that inspires me to do something different or plan something in my life
To become a stronger and more active reader
To laugh out loud and/or shed a tear because of a story
To pick up a book in my free time
Artifact 3: Daybook Entry: 4/11/12 - "How to Encourage a Teen to Read Classical Literature"
Although this article is geared toward parents, some of the tips here can certainly be used in the classroom and modeled by the teacher.
Step 1: Introduce your teen to classical literature through film and television adaptations --> This connects to our studies on Golden!
Step 2: Lead your teen towards novels with themes relevant to their life.-->This connects to Wilhelm and is a great motivational tool!
Step 3: Get involved with your local libraries
Step 4: Encourage your teen to buy classical novels for themselves
Step 5: Make sure that your teen has an encouraging reading environment --> This connects to Schoenbach!
Also, at the end of this article it mentions "teach by example" which implies the fact that if teens never see you reading and you are not establishing your passion for reading, they will be less likely to pursue reading themselves. This is so true and something that every teacher, especially English teachers, should hold close to heart. We are models!
Artifact 4: Daybook Entry: 2/10/12 - NCTE Guideline Quote from "On Reading, Learning to Read, and Effective Reading Instruction. An Overview of What we Know and how we Know It."
"Readers continue to grow in their ability to make sense of an increasing variety of texts on an increasing variety of topics throughout their lives as they learn more spoken and written language, acquire more knowledge on an ever expanding variety of topics, and have more and more life experiences."
"Perhaps most important for adolescent readers, fluency grows as they have opportunities, support, and encouragement to read a wide range of text types about a wide range of topics."
Artifact 6: My Reading Partner Profile
Here a link to my RPP, our capstone project and the enterprise that enabled me to grow and develop most throughout this course. Refer to the Reflective Essay for rationale as to why this artifact supports my progression in this course.
Artifact 7: My B-Project
The completion of the B-Project really emphasized my understanding of keeping an open-mind and focusing on students as individuals. An open-mind was needed to pick a collection of books with interlocking themes and that would appeal to a multitude of students in the classroom, which also connects to the understanding of knowing your students as individuals.
My Goals and Hopes as a Reader · To read one novel a month · To visit the public library more often · To listen to an audiobook on my way to and from school · To begin collecting books for my eventual classroom library · To keep a journal or blog of my thoughts & feelings about the books that I am reading · To find a book that inspires me to do something different or plan something in my life · To become a stronger and more active reader · To laugh out loud and/or shed a tear because of a story · To pick up a book in my free time 3
These artifacts, completed as earlier endeavors during this class, support my claims about the progress I speak of in my reflective essay.
Artifact 1: My "Rambling Autobiography" - Part of my "Me Portfolio"
I have always had an interesting relationship with reading; not necessarily a “love-hate” relationship, but more of a “I want to love you, but something holds me back sometimes” type of relationship. I have always loved being read to, and when I do complete a novel, as I close the book on the author’s final thought, I love the feeling of accomplishment that consumes me. However, I think where my issue lies is that I am a slow reader, the type of reader who feels the need to understand each sentence before moving on to the next sentence-so I have always struggled getting into a novel. I hate this relationship. I want to be the individual my father is, who read 54 novels last year in the midst of his busy life. I want to discuss books, the authors who wrote those books, and know what the rest of the class is speaking of when they talk about popularly read or classic novels. This is the person that I strive and am working to be.
I grew up being read to constantly by my mother, especially right before falling asleep at night. I loved looking through picture books with her, especially Jan Brett’s books, being marveled by the incredible art work, and detail that each page held. The transition of me reading aloud to my peers occurred in first grade, as I still remember Emily Beamesderfer reading a Dr. Seuss novel to the class and me thinking to myself, “I want to do that.” I went home that night and practiced for hours reading “Green Eggs and Ham” in front of the mirror, which I would read to my classmates the next day. I felt so proud that day, so tall in my first grade body. Then in fourth grade, I remember understanding the impact that books and therefore words can have on someone as I watched tears stream down my teacher’s face as she read the conclusion of “Where the Red Fern Grows.” I remember seeing Mrs. Van Kirk more as a human that day.
When I grew to be a bit older, and as my mother found a love for audiobooks, we would listen to a book either together or separately and discuss where we were in the novel. I remember specifically listening to novels on our 3 hour drive to the beach, her in the front seat with her walkman on, me in the backseat with mine. Still, when I reached middle school and where everything including reading turned into a competition, reading became a turn off. The only novels I remember reading in middle school were ones that my teacher read to the class in 6th grade, such as “The Giver” and “The Cay,” ones that were assigned, but a struggle for me to complete such as “Rascal” and “A Wrinkle in Time,” and for enjoyment, the first book of the “Harry Potter” series. However, I always felt lucky in the regard that Language Arts always had two components, reading and writing, and in middle school was where I began to experiment with writing, something that I was fairly decent at. It became my safe haven, and still to this day, is.
A desire for reading began to peak again in high school when novels such as “The Lord of the Flies” were read, but during my 4 years at Ephrata High School, I was primarily known as “the girl who writes.” I loved that title as it earned me editor-in-chief of the school newspaper my senior year. Additionally during my senior year, my English teacher rekindled my love of reading. He introduced me to novels such as “1984,” “Anthem,” and “Fahrenheit 451.” I had never heard of these books before, but as I read each one, not only did I love the language, the writing style, and noticing the influence they had on more recent works, but I found myself flying through these novels, experiencing that accomplished feeling that I had forgotten about for so long. I found a love for the classics, and this would lend to establishing of a passion for reading again in college.
In college, I have been required to read the classics such as Shakespeare’s Othello and due to my major choice of Middle-Level English Education, I have also been required to read young adolescent books. Both of these genres and levels of reading have found a special place in my heart, but especially the young adolescent books. Reading for the first time novels such as, “The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963,” “Walk Two Moons,” “When You Reach Me,” and “Nothing but the Truth,” I fell in love with these books, and reflecting on it now, I honestly think that I have such a passion for these novels and others like them, because of the gap created during my middle school experience, during these novels’ “appropriate” time.
As I continue on the path of becoming an educator, I do not look at my relationship with reading as a downfall, but rather as a motivator. My history with reading motivates me to continue reading a novel once I start, not getting caught up on every single sentence trying to decipher what each means. It motivates me that there are novels out there that do grasp my attention; all I have to do is search for them. And it motivates me, but also reminds me of why I am in the teaching profession: to recognize that reading isn’t just second nature to every single student, and to be there to help my future students stay on track and keep pushing them through their reading struggles so that they don’t look back years later and wish they were a certain type of reader or wonder what type of reader they could have been. I will become the person described officially, and am in the process of doing so currently, one step at a time
Artifact 2: My "Goals and Hopes as a Reader" - Part of my "Me Portfolio"
Artifact 3: Daybook Entry: 4/11/12 - "How to Encourage a Teen to Read Classical Literature"
Although this article is geared toward parents, some of the tips here can certainly be used in the classroom and modeled by the teacher.
(Link to article: http://www.wikihow.com/Encourage-a-Teen-to-Read-Classic-Literature)
Step 1: Introduce your teen to classical literature through film and television adaptations --> This connects to our studies on Golden!
Step 2: Lead your teen towards novels with themes relevant to their life.-->This connects to Wilhelm and is a great motivational tool!
Step 3: Get involved with your local libraries
Step 4: Encourage your teen to buy classical novels for themselves
Step 5: Make sure that your teen has an encouraging reading environment --> This connects to Schoenbach!
Also, at the end of this article it mentions "teach by example" which implies the fact that if teens never see you reading and you are not establishing your passion for reading, they will be less likely to pursue reading themselves. This is so true and something that every teacher, especially English teachers, should hold close to heart. We are models!
Artifact 4: Daybook Entry: 2/10/12 - NCTE Guideline Quote from "On Reading, Learning to Read, and Effective Reading Instruction. An Overview of What we Know and how we Know It."
"Readers continue to grow in their ability to make sense of an increasing variety of texts on an increasing variety of topics throughout their lives as they learn more spoken and written language, acquire more knowledge on an ever expanding variety of topics, and have more and more life experiences."
Artifact 5: Daybook Entry: 2/10/12 - Schoenbach Quote
"Perhaps most important for adolescent readers, fluency grows as they have opportunities, support, and encouragement to read a wide range of text types about a wide range of topics."
Artifact 6: My Reading Partner Profile
Here a link to my RPP, our capstone project and the enterprise that enabled me to grow and develop most throughout this course. Refer to the Reflective Essay for rationale as to why this artifact supports my progression in this course.
Artifact 7: My B-Project
The completion of the B-Project really emphasized my understanding of keeping an open-mind and focusing on students as individuals. An open-mind was needed to pick a collection of books with interlocking themes and that would appeal to a multitude of students in the classroom, which also connects to the understanding of knowing your students as individuals.
My Goals and Hopes as a Reader
· To read one novel a month
· To visit the public library more often
· To listen to an audiobook on my way to and from school
· To begin collecting books for my eventual classroom library
· To keep a journal or blog of my thoughts & feelings about the books that I am reading
· To find a book that inspires me to do something different or plan something in my life
· To become a stronger and more active reader
· To laugh out loud and/or shed a tear because of a story
· To pick up a book in my free time
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