Final Reflection

Overall, I have really enjoyed this class. Out of all of my classes this was my favorite because I love books and I want my students to love books to. I have learned so many valuable lessons from this class about young adults and young adult literature. Part of the reason I learned so many valuable lessons was from the text book which I loved, and I am upset that I rented it and have to return it. I really like how often we participated in activities that were in our text book so that we could understand how they worked. I also love how this class was so different than any other classes. I liked having the opportunity to work in groups and have discussions about books in small groups and with the entire class. When I become a teacher, I hope that I can set up my class in this way so that my students are excited about coming to class.

Ch. 14 Finding the Right Book

I found all of the criteria students had for reading books very interesting and very useful because when I teach I will want to get these students interested in reading.

I loved her story about the student who could not go to Washington D.C. but wanted the itinerary so that he could read books from the library about the places the class would visit in D.C. I thought this was very valid because if students understand that they have the opportunity to learn about different places just by reading they might be more likely to read about places of interest to them.

I also loved her read aloud suggestion. It relates to the video I watched about Chris in which she states that even if kids do not like reading they have heard someone tell a story that they liked. By acting out the story and making it exciting for students to hear they might want to pick up the book and read it for themselves.

I know for sure that the read and teases work. When Dr.Pytash introduced books to us in class this way I wanted to get my hands on those books as soon as I could.

I also feel that it is important for a teacher to take her class to the library. When I was in elementary school we actually had a time every week where we would pick a book from the library and read it. I honestly really enjoyed this, so I am sure my students would as well.

I like the idea of placing a good books box in the library because students will think that they are special and not feel overwhelmed by all of the books in the library. I thought this story was hilarious but I saw how it worked. I hope my librarian is as cool as the one in the chapter!

I truly hope that I can help my students develop a love and appreciation for great literature. From reading about these strategies I feel hopeful in accomplishing this goal.

Ch. 13 Creating the Confidence to Respond

A section of this chapter that I really liked was the "Step Inside a Classroom" from "Keep Your Expectations High." The teacher did not back down when the students wanted to read Huckleberry Finn but she worked harder so that the students could understand the text.The students in her class ended up reading the same books as the students in the advanced class. This goes to show that all students have the potential to excel if teachers work hard to guide them.

Another section I enjoyed was "Create a Classroom that Encourages Risks." The teachers found themselves in similar situations that their students find themselves in everyday. Like the students the teachers felt uncomfortable speaking up at the conference because the did not know the other teachers and cared about their opinions. To make students more comfortable with speaking in the classroom Beers suggests that students should know each others names, teachers should celebrate diversity in the classroom, and not to tolerate put-downs. I thought these were excellent points in encouraging students to participate in the classroom and they are also areas I would have never guessed would promote confidence.

I thought the "Aesthetic and Efferent Stances Towards Reading" section was very relevant to today's students. I have witnessed a lot of students flipping through the pages of a book just to find answers that they need for homework.By taking on the Efferent approach alone students will never have the opportunity to relate to the text and enjoy it.While both of these stances are important, students need both so that they can find information from a text when needed and relate to the text in other situations. It is also important that students be able to switch back and forth from these stances when necessary.

I also thought that the" Types of Alliteration" section was important because as teachers we must be able to understand why our students choose not to read. By knowing and understanding these types of alliteration teachers can be more successful in changing students feelings towards reading.

Ch. 10 Fluency and Automaticity

This chapter made me realize how incredibly hard and frustrating it must be for students who struggle with word recognition and automaticity. Beers states that, " Fluent readers know the words automatically, spending their cognitive energy on constructing meaning" (205). Struggling readers; however, lack skills in automaticity and spend most of their energy trying to get through a text which makes comprehension difficult for them.

Beers, offers several suggestions for helping students with fluency. Her first suggestion that I found useful is to teach students high-frequency words and sight words. If a student learns to recognize words that appear often in texts they will spend less time struggling while they read.

Another suggestion that I found useful is to have students reread a text. They will not only correct mistakes they made previously but will also be able to see how their reading improves over-time. This might also help if the student has to read a short story for class, by re-reading the story they can improve their fluency and comprehension.

In her final suggestion she informs teacher to prompt students if they stumble over a word do not correct them. In my experience if a student stumbles while reading aloud the teacher tells the student what the word is and sometimes what it means. Most of the time the student carries on reading and does not repeat the word that they struggled with. This does not help the student because they will depend on the teacher to tell them what the word is rather than developing skills to figure out what the word is on their own.

If the teacher prompts the student by simply telling them to re-read the passage or giving them more explicit prompts, the student will develop skills that they will need to figure out words and become an independent reader.

I will definitely keep these Beers' suggestions in mind when teaching, and her final points as well.
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