Learning Log 7

I think that a lot of teachers have the same worries about their students who move on in their academic careers as I know that I would if I were in her situation.  It just illustrates how important it is for teachers to get to know their students' reading likes and dislikes as well as their reading habits when they walk into the classroom in the fall.  This can easily be done through reading questionnaires, and then teachers will know which students are motivated readers and which ones are not and can plan accordingly.  I think that one of the worst things that a teacher can do is put the students back at square one instead of getting familiar with their students.  If we want students to become lifelong readers, then we need to keep them motivated by offering them choices in their reading material even if we may not think that they are reading classical literature.  I know that this is not an easy feat in our education system that is focused on standardized testing, and that it may seem easier to tailor reading instruction to the tests.  I think this approach of teaching to the test sets students up to become alliterate readers when they finish their academic careers.  I would like to point out that the author, who does not teach to the test, has had her students' test scores come out very high.  I think that the high test scores that her students have is because of the fact that she puts so much emphasis on reading for the joy of reading that it has a longer lasting impact on her students becoming lifelong readers.  I think that independent reading is so important to a student's academic success that I will try to find those wasted minutes in the classroom, and I will have my students use those times to read independently with books that interest them.

Learning Log 6

One thing that I found very interesting from this reading that I can actually compare to what I have experienced is the reading logs that are used to record the amount of minutes that a student has read. When I was in school, the teachers did not require students to record the amount of time that they spent reading outside of school. I read just because I liked to read; however, I also had reading role models at home as both of my parents were avid readers. My kids, on the other hand, have had to record their reading minutes at home since they started school. They had the Book-It reading program in which they get a free personal pizza in the early grades (My youngest one still has this program, and he is the only one who it has really mattered.). When my two oldest children entered fifth grade, they had to record their minutes for a letter grade in home reading. This was not an incentive for either one of them to record their reading time. My daughter, however, was reading all the time, wherever she found an opportunity to read. I remember her teachers constantly calling me telling me that she did not turn in her reading minutes, and I would tell them that she was reading all the time. At her eighth grade graduation, the communication arts teacher handed out awards to the students for the amount of minutes that they read throughout the school year. My daughter had only recorded around 3000 minutes, but I know that she read at least double that if not more. She was (and still is) a motivated reader who did not feel that she had to justify it; she knew that her dad and I were aware of her reading passion. My oldest son has not been very motivated to read, and it is not from a lack of trying on our part. I am an avid reader, and I have always made sure that there are books in the house as well as looking through the book orders with my children and buying books for them out of those book orders.

Learning Log 5

I remember when I was in school as a child that my teachers made the selections of the books that we were going to read for the year.  It was not common practice at the time to be able to disagree with the teachers, and I do not believe that teachers were completely honest with me about their reading habits or preferences.  I do not remember seeing very many of them that were reading for their own enjoyment.  In other words, I do not remember them being reading role models.  My reading role models were my parents, who were forever reading when they were not at work or had spare time after taking care of things around the house.  I do not understand how so many teachers can expect their students to develop a passion for reading when they do not have that passion themselves.  The teachers are the leaders of their classrooms, and as such, they must be reading role models for the students.  In order to fulfill this role, teachers need to reflect on what reading means to them, and it is critical that teachers communicate with their students on their own personal reading struggles.  This will illustrate to the students that they are not the only ones in the classroom that have struggles.  It will also show students that this type of a classroom is safe, and it is a community that supports learning.

Teachers can create a reading improvement plan to foster positive feelings about reading.  Teachers set a time for personal reading daily, and they select books that interesting to them.  Reading children's books are a great way to get in touch with what their students are interested in reading.  Teachers need to be aware and check out book recommendations either from the industry or from their students, which is essential in establishing and maintaining their role model status.  It is important for everybody not just the students to keep a reader's notebook in which to record reflections of the books that are being read.

Learning Log 4

After this week's reading,  I find myself thinking about what draws me into reading a book for my recreational reading.  First of all, I look at the genre of the book; my favorite genres are modern fantasy, historical fiction, and biographies.  I like to read books that are a part of a series, and I have several series that I have finished or am currently waiting for new installments.  Then, I look at the cover, the size of the book, and the blurb on the back or the inside cover of the book.  I like covers that grab my attention; some pictures on the covers of books that have grabbed my attention have had fanciful beasts or characters or something amusing that caught my eye.  I love to read books with page ranges from 500-1000 pages as I know that this will last me about a week.  If the blurb about the book does not entice me into reading it, then I replace the book back on the rack and forget about it.  This is what gets me started on reading the book; however, I will quit reading the book if it does not grab me in the first two chapters.  Before I started back to school, I could easily read forty books in a year.  However, for the most part now I read for informational purposes through textbooks and journal articles that are assigned reading, and I am probably reading more than the forty books per year.  In between semesters, I read at least two books for enjoyment; whereas, during the semesters I might read only one to two books for own entertainment.

As a future educator, it is essential to remember what motivates me to read as this will aid me in finding what will motivate my students to read.  Students need to understand what a genre is and what the different genres are.  When students find a genre that interests them, they will find more enjoyment in their personal reading.  I like the idea of having myself and my students individually keep reading notebooks for the school year.  This will help all of us to make a plan for our reading as we will keep a list of books that we have read, the different genres of the books, the books that we want to read in the future, and we can write entries in response to books that we have read.

Stone Fox

By John Reynolds Gardiner
HarperCollins Children's Books
1980
83 pages
Reading Level:  K-3, 4-6
Realistic Fiction

Willy is lives with his grandfather on a potato farm.  One day grandfather does not get out of bed, and the doctor tells Willy that his grandfather has lost the will to live.  Willy, with the help of his dog Searchlight, sets about trying to save the farm.  Unfortunately, there is no money, so Willy and Searchlight must harvest the potatoes themselves.  These actions are not enough though.  Willy decides that he has to win the dog sled contest as the prize money is the only way to save the farm, so he pulls money out of his college fund to pay for his entrance into the race.  Willy has a good chance, but so does Stone Fox.

I would rate this book as excellent.  The themes in this book are loyalty, family, and integrity.  I would use this book as a cross-curricular tool by tying together social studies and language arts.  The book also has a multicultural value as I can introduce my students to the Inuit culture.

Vasco Da Gama

By Allison Stark Draper
The Rosen Publishing Group
2003
112 pages
Reading Level:  7-8
Biography

This book contains the history of Vasco da Gama, who was a Portuguese explorer.  This book does not examine da Gama as a hero but as an ambitious man.  One thing that I like about this book is that there are several pictures of ancient maps and portraits in this book.  Due to the content of the book, I would list it as a 7-8 grade reading level. 

I would rate this book as excellent.  It is a more factual account of his actions, which are brutal at times; however, I would use this book when conducting a unit on explorers as I think that it will provide students with a better understanding of how indigenous peoples may have felt when they encountered these European explorers. 

The Story of Abraham Lincoln: President for the People

By Larry Weinberg
Gareth Stevens Publishing
1997
112 pages
Reading Level:  4-6
Biography

This book is the story of Abraham Lincoln.  The book begins with Abe's grandfather before he was born, and it has black and white full-page illustrations of Abe throughout the book.  The Gettysburg Address is presented in its entirety at the end of the book.
 
I would rate this book as excellent.  I would use this book in a unit on the Civil War.  I think that the book will offer students a better understanding of the feelings nad events that led to this tragic event.