I finished reading Harry Potter for the first time and I have to say that I enjoyed it. I remember all of my friends being so excited about it in school, but I didn't see what the big deal was about it. However, I guess now I can see why kids are so excited about these books. They bring a new world to these students that they otherwise wouldn't get to experience. When I was reading the books, I felt like I was right there with the characters. It introduced me into a world that I have never been to before, so I can see why students enjoy these novels. It helps them to get away from the daily life they live and explore new adventures.
I definately don't have an objection to teaching to novel in the classroom, however, I don't know that it would be my first choice in teaching something to students. We had this discussion last week on Twilight about letting students read their novels for pure enjoyment. If we would bring something they read for fun into the class and make them learn about it, it may take that away. However, they could feel that because they do know more about the novel, they may be able to find certain things. It could help encourage them, because sometimes it is a low easier to do something when your more comfortable with the subject.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that not all students have read this novel, so as teachers, we can't assume that everyone is going to be prepared for it.
As I said, I am sort of immpartial to teaching this in my class. I guess if it were dealing with the right subject of my lesson, it would fit accordingly. Maybe I could do something with a creative writing lesson. Obviously there is a lot of creativity in this novel, and we could analyze how creative writing is used in the text.
I thought the article brought up some interesting points. As teachers, we have to understand that there are many "world views" out there. Unfortunately we will not be able to cover them all in the course of a year, and we will have to be prepared for those parents who, no matter what you do, will not be happy with what we are teaching.
He makes a good point when he asks whether or not Harry Potter presents a strong case for one particular world view and if the book singles out a specific world view for attack. In his opinion, the book does neither. Although I would say that the book does focus on the ides of witchcraft, it is not in a way that is saying people should follow witchcraft. This novel was just written by a creative person who wanted to share their ideas with the rest of the world. As I said before, it seems like it is a novel that is meant for people to escape from this world and live in a world of fantasy. What is the harm in that?
I also liked that Glazner pointed out that we need to go beyond gender, class, and race when dealing with diversity. As I said before, we are not going to be able to cover every issue, but I think it is important to do the best that we can at exposing our students to many different types of diversity.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Twilight
I had already seen the movie for "Twilight", so already had an idea of what to expect in the story. I still enjoyed the book, and had it read in a couple days. It's, or course, a typical love story, with some twists.
Obviously we know that most students are very into these novels. I have to say, however, that I was one of those students who wasn't into the latest series that was out. I remember in High School, all my friends discussing Harry Potter. It was something I just never got into. The same goes for Twilight. It wasn't something that stuck out to me. I think that is something that we have to remember when thinking about using this in a classroom. Although it may seem that most teens are into it, not all of them are.
Before reading the article, I would have said that I probably wouldn't have taught this in my classroom. To me, it didn't seem like there was too much to get out of it other than pure enjoyment. However, I thought the article brought some interesting insights as to how a teacher could use this in a classroom. Rewriting parts of the story, using their own imaginations, I thought, was something that was very interesting. Looking at character development was something else that I thought would be neat to look at. Show students how the characters are described, and what their descriptions could say about other hidden information about them.
I teachers would have to be careful when teaching this novel, though. Since a lot of students have already read it, they may feel inclined to not read it again. Or you could have the students who watch the movie instead (which I know can happen with other novels too). I think we would need to encourage them to read it again, so that they can follow along with what the rest of the class is discussing. They may have missed something that the teacher would like to discuss when they read it for the first time by themselves.
Another thing with this novel, just like Book Thief, is the length. This is not a short novel, and it would take a long time to cover the whole thing. I know we said that for Book Thief, we could just focus on certain parts. Could we do that with Twilight?
Obviously we know that most students are very into these novels. I have to say, however, that I was one of those students who wasn't into the latest series that was out. I remember in High School, all my friends discussing Harry Potter. It was something I just never got into. The same goes for Twilight. It wasn't something that stuck out to me. I think that is something that we have to remember when thinking about using this in a classroom. Although it may seem that most teens are into it, not all of them are.
Before reading the article, I would have said that I probably wouldn't have taught this in my classroom. To me, it didn't seem like there was too much to get out of it other than pure enjoyment. However, I thought the article brought some interesting insights as to how a teacher could use this in a classroom. Rewriting parts of the story, using their own imaginations, I thought, was something that was very interesting. Looking at character development was something else that I thought would be neat to look at. Show students how the characters are described, and what their descriptions could say about other hidden information about them.
I teachers would have to be careful when teaching this novel, though. Since a lot of students have already read it, they may feel inclined to not read it again. Or you could have the students who watch the movie instead (which I know can happen with other novels too). I think we would need to encourage them to read it again, so that they can follow along with what the rest of the class is discussing. They may have missed something that the teacher would like to discuss when they read it for the first time by themselves.
Another thing with this novel, just like Book Thief, is the length. This is not a short novel, and it would take a long time to cover the whole thing. I know we said that for Book Thief, we could just focus on certain parts. Could we do that with Twilight?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Teacher Inquiry Project : Teaching Textbooks
My project discusses the idea of whether or not basil textbooks should be used in a classroom. Several questions that I asked myself about this topic are:
1. How are students able to grasp the concepts of stories when there are only small pieces of the story in the textbook?
2. Would students rather read from a textbook or from novels and handouts?
3. Is teaching through these books a successful way of getting certain points across to students?
4. do these textbooks cover what students will actually need to know in their lives (good reading and writing skills)?
These questions a general view of what I have been thinking about for my project.
I have found several articles that will help my with their research project, including:
1. The Textbook: Aid or Hindrance to Modern Language Teaching
2.The Trouble With Textbooks: A View from the Profession
3. The Textbook Canon: Genre, Gender, and Race in US Literature
*I might also use the book "In The Middle" for this paper, as well.
I am interested in researching this topic, because I know how I felt about textbooks in school. They were so big and heavy to carry around all the time and the stories in them were not very interesting. I was someone who loved to read in school, but I hated reading from those books, because most of the time, the stories that we read were only short pieces to whole story. After we would finish reading, we would answer the questions at the back of the book and turn them in for homework. I didn't find this to be effective and helping me to learn how to write and analyze a piece of literature at all. I enjoyed reading novels and complete short stories, because I would actually know what was going on and I would be able to understand it better.
I know that there are other people who feel the same way, but I also know that there are people out there who defend teaching from textbooks. I am excited to see what I can find. Of coarse there is not definate right or wrong answer, but I'm curious to see if there is more of a pull to one side or the other. It will be interesting to see.
1. How are students able to grasp the concepts of stories when there are only small pieces of the story in the textbook?
2. Would students rather read from a textbook or from novels and handouts?
3. Is teaching through these books a successful way of getting certain points across to students?
4. do these textbooks cover what students will actually need to know in their lives (good reading and writing skills)?
These questions a general view of what I have been thinking about for my project.
I have found several articles that will help my with their research project, including:
1. The Textbook: Aid or Hindrance to Modern Language Teaching
2.The Trouble With Textbooks: A View from the Profession
3. The Textbook Canon: Genre, Gender, and Race in US Literature
*I might also use the book "In The Middle" for this paper, as well.
I am interested in researching this topic, because I know how I felt about textbooks in school. They were so big and heavy to carry around all the time and the stories in them were not very interesting. I was someone who loved to read in school, but I hated reading from those books, because most of the time, the stories that we read were only short pieces to whole story. After we would finish reading, we would answer the questions at the back of the book and turn them in for homework. I didn't find this to be effective and helping me to learn how to write and analyze a piece of literature at all. I enjoyed reading novels and complete short stories, because I would actually know what was going on and I would be able to understand it better.
I know that there are other people who feel the same way, but I also know that there are people out there who defend teaching from textbooks. I am excited to see what I can find. Of coarse there is not definate right or wrong answer, but I'm curious to see if there is more of a pull to one side or the other. It will be interesting to see.
Persepolis
I just finished reading Persepolis, I an enjoyed it. I like reading stories (or watching movies) that are based on true stories, or someone's life.
I like that this book shows the viewpoint of people from the middle east. Especially with what is happening today, I think that some people assume that all middle easterns' are bad. This book give us a view of what they have to go through when their country is at war. It reminded me of The Book Thief because it is seen through the eyes of the people that are usually generalized as the bad people.
I think this book could be beneficial in a classroom, especially today, because it would give students a different perspective. Since it is another graphic novel, I think that a lot of students would enjoy reading it. There are many issues in this novel that could be worth discussing. Although the United States is not mentioned much, we can see some pretty strong feelings towards the country (and western civilizations in general). That could be an interesting discussion.
I like that this book shows the viewpoint of people from the middle east. Especially with what is happening today, I think that some people assume that all middle easterns' are bad. This book give us a view of what they have to go through when their country is at war. It reminded me of The Book Thief because it is seen through the eyes of the people that are usually generalized as the bad people.
I think this book could be beneficial in a classroom, especially today, because it would give students a different perspective. Since it is another graphic novel, I think that a lot of students would enjoy reading it. There are many issues in this novel that could be worth discussing. Although the United States is not mentioned much, we can see some pretty strong feelings towards the country (and western civilizations in general). That could be an interesting discussion.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Book Thief
I have to say that I really enjoyed this novel. However, I have always been interesting in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, so it wasn't surprising to me.
I think this novel has a lot of redeeming qualitites that would allow for it to have a place in a classroom. I think one of the major themes that could be focused on is adversity. When I was at Waynesboro this past week, one of the lessons that they focused on dealt with adversity and I really enjoyed it. It seemed lik the students did, too.
I think this novel would be interesting to compare with "The Diary of Anne Frank". It would give two different aspects of the time period and what things were going on.
When I read this novel, it reminded me of the movie that just recently came out "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas". This movie was great. It is about a young boy whose father is a very important soldier in the German Army. Because he was recently promoted, the family moves to a new house, which to close to a caoncentration camp. I don't want to give too much away, because I would recommend watching it, but the little boy befriends a young boy in the concentration camp. They become friends through the fence.
Although tells a different story compared to what we read in "The Book Thief", I think that it would be beneficial to show. Both the novel and the film show Nazi Germany through the affects that it has on children. That could even be a topic to focus on in a classroom.
Here is the URL if anyone is interested in watching the trailer :http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi751566873/
I think this novel has a lot of redeeming qualitites that would allow for it to have a place in a classroom. I think one of the major themes that could be focused on is adversity. When I was at Waynesboro this past week, one of the lessons that they focused on dealt with adversity and I really enjoyed it. It seemed lik the students did, too.
I think this novel would be interesting to compare with "The Diary of Anne Frank". It would give two different aspects of the time period and what things were going on.
When I read this novel, it reminded me of the movie that just recently came out "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas". This movie was great. It is about a young boy whose father is a very important soldier in the German Army. Because he was recently promoted, the family moves to a new house, which to close to a caoncentration camp. I don't want to give too much away, because I would recommend watching it, but the little boy befriends a young boy in the concentration camp. They become friends through the fence.
Although tells a different story compared to what we read in "The Book Thief", I think that it would be beneficial to show. Both the novel and the film show Nazi Germany through the affects that it has on children. That could even be a topic to focus on in a classroom.
Here is the URL if anyone is interested in watching the trailer :http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi751566873/
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
American Born Chinese
I really enjoyed this book. I had never really read a comic before (besides the ones in the paper), so I wasn't sure what an entire book based on that would be like to read. I thought it was very good and I think that it has many good aspects that can be used to teach with. I like the idea of dealing with stereotypes which goes right along with Monster, but I also like the idea of maybe teaching the students how to write their own comic. One of the things that we are discussing in my Methods class is that we shouldn't be to worried about what our students are writing about as long as they are writing. Of course there are boundaries to that, but I think that if writing comics is what gets students to write, then that's ok.
I thought that the article that we read was interesting, as well, although there were a few points that were a little questionable to me. When he discussed that " students won't explore their place in and influnce on society if they aren't confident writers in the first place" (8). I don't know if I completely agree with this, because I don't think that people have to be confident writers to be successful in society. I felt like he was saying that if you don't writer confidently, you won't be confident in your life. Writing may not be that important to many people, but that's doesn't mean that they aren't confident in their life now.
I also didn't the the part where he said that if there is a negative connotation spoken to a person (for example their race), they shouldn't be worried about it, because that shows more about the other person than them themselves. Although this may be true in a way, I still think that it will upset them. When someone is being called a name that makes fun of their race, they are going to take offense to it. I know from personal experience when I was in Chicago, we were in a prodominately black neighborhood, and went to a Burger King. There were 6 of us and we were the only white people there. Most of them stared at us, but we even heard someone say, look at the snow bunnies. It makes you feel awkward, and that's not even as bad as he N- word (in my opinion). I just had a hard time with this part.
However, I did like that he had examples of other teachers at the beginning of the article. I thought it was neat to read the different ways that they taught.
I thought that the article that we read was interesting, as well, although there were a few points that were a little questionable to me. When he discussed that " students won't explore their place in and influnce on society if they aren't confident writers in the first place" (8). I don't know if I completely agree with this, because I don't think that people have to be confident writers to be successful in society. I felt like he was saying that if you don't writer confidently, you won't be confident in your life. Writing may not be that important to many people, but that's doesn't mean that they aren't confident in their life now.
I also didn't the the part where he said that if there is a negative connotation spoken to a person (for example their race), they shouldn't be worried about it, because that shows more about the other person than them themselves. Although this may be true in a way, I still think that it will upset them. When someone is being called a name that makes fun of their race, they are going to take offense to it. I know from personal experience when I was in Chicago, we were in a prodominately black neighborhood, and went to a Burger King. There were 6 of us and we were the only white people there. Most of them stared at us, but we even heard someone say, look at the snow bunnies. It makes you feel awkward, and that's not even as bad as he N- word (in my opinion). I just had a hard time with this part.
However, I did like that he had examples of other teachers at the beginning of the article. I thought it was neat to read the different ways that they taught.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monster
When I picked up Monster to start reading, I thought that if I could at least finish half at that time I would be good. I completed the whole novel in about two hours, and from how it sounds, I'm not the only one. I thought this novel was an extremely easy read (after I got into it). I have to admit that, at first, it was hard reading in the form of a screen play, but once I was use to it, I was fine.
I thought this novel brought up some interesting aspects of right and wrong and the fine line that goes with them. It deals with racial issues, involving young black males and a young mexican male. It's ironic to me that none of the men involved in the crime were white (if I am remembering correctly. I'm not sure). This could be a good topic brought up about this novel if this were the case, though.
As far as teaching this novel, I believe that it would be challenging because it does deal with racial issues. However, I believe that it could be taught as long as I, the teacher, let out my own personal opinion about the situations going on, much like Hade said in his article. We need to let students develop their own ideas about this.
I thought Hade brought up some good points about multiculturalism. It is something that is very important that should be taught to students. America is no longer made up of predominately white people. There are more cultures in our country now than ever and it is important for students to know this and understand this. Even though it was at a college level, I took a class on African Literature, and it was one of the most interesting classes I had. Reading novels written from another culture showed me a different side of literature that I hadn't thought of before.
Although we don't have to actually teach African written novels, I believe that there is an important place for all cultures and "races" in a classroom.
I thought this novel brought up some interesting aspects of right and wrong and the fine line that goes with them. It deals with racial issues, involving young black males and a young mexican male. It's ironic to me that none of the men involved in the crime were white (if I am remembering correctly. I'm not sure). This could be a good topic brought up about this novel if this were the case, though.
As far as teaching this novel, I believe that it would be challenging because it does deal with racial issues. However, I believe that it could be taught as long as I, the teacher, let out my own personal opinion about the situations going on, much like Hade said in his article. We need to let students develop their own ideas about this.
I thought Hade brought up some good points about multiculturalism. It is something that is very important that should be taught to students. America is no longer made up of predominately white people. There are more cultures in our country now than ever and it is important for students to know this and understand this. Even though it was at a college level, I took a class on African Literature, and it was one of the most interesting classes I had. Reading novels written from another culture showed me a different side of literature that I hadn't thought of before.
Although we don't have to actually teach African written novels, I believe that there is an important place for all cultures and "races" in a classroom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
