Group 2: Module 2 Video Reflection by JoDell Heroux

2025-09-15 20:54:42 UTC

The teachers in the video used many different strategies to generate excitement about reading and writing. The teachers share with their class how much they love reading which gets them excited and more into reading. One of the teachers has a “please read” bin where students can put books they want to read into the bin, and the teacher will eventually read it to the class. This makes students excited to have their book read aloud and makes them feel like they have a say in the classroom. Another strategy the teacher uses is “previewing” a book. She summarizes the book and makes it seem interesting to students so they will want to read it. The teachers never use reading or writing as a punishment which helps create a good relationship between reading and students. The teachers do fun activities such as buddy reading, flashlight reading, and pajama reading to help keep students engaged and enjoy reading. One of the teachers also has a book recommendations wall. Students can review books they have read and put it on the wall so when students don’t know what book to read next they can see what their classmates read and enjoyed.

2025-09-15 21:06:54 UTC

I think the teachers are successful in creating excitement for reading in their classrooms because they make reading so positive. Not using reading as a punishment is super important. This will help prevent students from viewing reading as something they have to do and more as something they get to do and enjoy. The teachers doing activities for reading makes students think of reading positively. In my classroom I am going to use these strategies so that my students will love reading and do it for fun. It’s important to create a love for reading at a young age so I will make sure to prioritize reading and keep it fun for students.

2025-09-15 21:19:03 UTC

The teacher motivates and engages students by letting them choose their own books to read and letting them play in the different areas of their choice. this makes students feel they have control over their own learning and can read books that fit their interests. The teacher will create writing assignments that have purpose and will be read by other people than just the teacher. This motivates students to do their best and gets them excited about the writing piece.

2025-09-15 21:22:51 UTC

Choice is important to students’ literacy development because it keeps them interested and engaged in learning. When students get to choose what books, they read and what topics they write about, it makes them feel like they have control over their learning. Students feel more engaged in reading and writing assignments when it is about a topic they care about.

V1

2025-09-16 18:06:34 UTC

The teacher builds excitement by making reading and writing fun and meaningful. For example, previewing books with students gets them curious and eager to read. Activities like buddy reading, flashlight reading, and pajama reading add variety and energy to literacy time. She also avoids using reading or writing as punishment, which helps create a positive association. Having students recommend books and share their favorites also builds a reading community and keeps students engaged.

V1

2025-09-16 18:06:57 UTC

I think she is successful because she creates a classroom culture where reading is seen as enjoyable and personal. Letting students participate in fun reading activities and giving them ownership over their book choices makes them feel more connected. In my future classroom, I want to use similar strategies, like giving book talks, creating a cozy reading space, and allowing students to share book reviews with classmates. I’ll make sure reading and writing are never used as punishment, so students always see them as positive experiences.

V2

2025-09-16 18:08:00 UTC

The teacher uses choice by allowing students to pick their own books and decide where they want to read or write within the classroom. This gives them a sense of independence and ownership over their learning. When students feel like their preferences matter, they become more invested in the activity. The teacher also gives them a voice in writing by letting them select topics that are meaningful to them, which helps increase their effort and creativity.

V2

2025-09-16 18:08:22 UTC

Choice is essential because it helps students stay interested and engaged. When students read books or write about topics they care about, they're more likely to put in the effort and enjoy the process. It also builds confidence because students feel trusted to make decisions about their learning. Over time, this independence helps them develop a stronger, more personal connection to reading and writing.

v1

2025-09-18 22:58:06 UTC

In the video, all the teachers have different ways of making reading and writing exciting, but the kindergarten teacher stood out to me the most. She shows her students that reading is not just something you do in school, but something you can enjoy in everyday life. She explains that she likes to read for fun outside of work, which helps students see that reading can be a hobby, not just an assignment. I also liked her idea of the “please read” bin. This not only keeps the kid's in the class from interrupting her with excitement but also gives students a chance to pick books they are excited about and share them with the teacher. When the teacher reads from the bin, students feel proud and eager to listen because it was their choice.

v1

2025-09-18 23:03:31 UTC

I think this teacher is successful because she not only teaches reading skills but also shows her students that reading can be fun and meaningful outside of school. By modeling her own love for books and giving students a voice through the “please read” bin, she creates an environment where students feel motivated and excited to learn. In my future classroom, I would implement similar strategies by sharing my own favorite books and reading experiences with my students, so they can see how reading connects to everyday life. I would also create a system like the “please read” bin, where students can suggest books they want to hear. This would help give the students in my classroom a sense of choice in their learning, while also keeping them engaged and involved in the classroom community.

v2

2025-09-18 23:18:26 UTC

The kindergarten teacher motivates her students by making choice a part of their reading routine. She gives them multiple ways to make choices, such as the chance to decide which book club they want to be a part of, which allows them to connect with books on topics that interest them. Each student also has a personal book bin, and they get to select the books that go inside it. The classroom has a wide variety of texts, including informational books, stories, and books related to what they are currently learning. Students can explore the different book baskets around the room and add new titles to their bins whenever they find something that excites them. By giving these choices throughout the day , the teacher shows that their opinions and interests matter. The ability to choose what they are reading is going to make students more eager to read, more willing to participate, and more engaged in building their literacy skills.

v2

2025-09-18 23:19:35 UTC

Choice is important to literacy because it helps students connect with reading in a meaningful way. When students get to pick books that interest them, they are more motivated to read and more likely to stay engaged. When children have options they will get a sense of independence and ownership, which makes reading feel less like a task and more like something they enjoy. By exploring different kinds of books, students can discover new topics, expand their vocabulary, and build stronger reading habits. Giving students choice also encourages them to see themselves as readers, which builds confidence and excitement about literacy both in and outside of school.

V2

casza1m — 2025-09-19 16:57:32 UTC

Choice is important for a student's literacy journey because it keeps them eager and interested in learning. If a child has the choice on what to read rather than being forced to read something they do not like, they are more likely to enjoy learning and seek it out for themselves.

V2

casza1m — 2025-09-19 17:04:28 UTC

A teacher used choice to motivate students by giving them plenty of options and giving them the opportunity to choose what interests them. With a choice, students can learn about their interests, see what sparks their enjoyment in learning. If they have control to choose what they read, they will be more engaged and likely take more interest in school and learning.

V1

casza1m — 2025-09-19 17:08:53 UTC

I think she is successful because she created a space where her students enjoy reading. They have true excitement for reading and are eager to learn. She offers the students choices and creates enjoyable lessons along with it, which makes them see reading as fun. hope to implement similar things in my classroom, by giving students a choice and offering a more engaging assignment or activities rather than a standard reading log.

V1

casza1m — 2025-09-19 17:13:13 UTC

The teacher created excitement in the classroom which kept students engaged. She previewed the books as if they were movie trailers in order to pique the students' interest. I know for me, I never know what to read because it is hard to get a feel for the book with only the small description on the back. She created fun activities that the kids would actually enjoy, rather than the standard reading log most of us are used to. Also, having a positive attitude about reading rather than having a negative connotation behind it helps the students see it as fun rather than a punishment.

V1

brookwhite4999 — 2025-09-21 04:11:15 UTC

The teachers made learning exciting, which helped the students maintain interest in the classroom. The teacher explains her love for books to the classroom to help fuel their excitement about it as well. She does not use reading or writing as any sort of punishment, to assure that it remains a positive activity. The teacher had a "please read" bin that her students could books into for the teacher to read when the time was appropriate. There was also a teacher who explained that she showed her excitement to her students about new books that she brought in. She shows the class the books, and gives a brief explanation of the new ones to the class. Reading buddies, and pajama day reading is another way to reward reading, and create it to be a positive behavior.

V1

brookwhite4999 — 2025-09-21 04:14:22 UTC

I really enjoyed the idea of being creative to make reading fun. Growing up, we also did reading buddies and it was one of my favorite days of the week! Having different ways to bring positivity to reading, it a key way for kids to enjoy it. One of the ideas I also liked was having the drawer for special occasion/rewards only that she would read to the class in order, the kids got excited every time the drawer opened! I would love to implant that method into my future classroom.

V2

brookwhite4999 — 2025-09-21 04:20:06 UTC

Letting the kids choose what book club they would like to be apart of is one way she allowed the kids to make choices. The students also get to choose which area of the classroom they would like to go play in during free choice play. The next teacher explained how they did the persuasive essays, and let the students pick the area that they loved, and it was their job to convince the people to want to go there. If a student is given the opportunity to have choice, they are more interested. She also gives the kids choices on their homework, while reading is required every night, they can pick educational websites and explain why that would be a good source.

V2

brookwhite4999 — 2025-09-21 04:22:34 UTC

Students want to feel that they are in charge of their work. By presenting different options for them to choose from, they become more engaged in the topic because they care about it. For example, if a student is allowed to pick the book they are reading, versus being handed a book, they will fine more interest in the one they picked. It goes the same way for a paper/writing. If it is a topic that the students pick and are passionate about, they're going to have more interest in the topic.

Jenafer Ostrander

ostra1j — 2025-09-21 18:41:12 UTC

Many different strategies were used by the teachers in the videos to generate excitement about reading and writing. The teachers would preview a book to help engage and get students more interested in the book. They let students pick books that would be read aloud in a "please read" bin. Some other strategies are buddy reading, flashlight reading, and pj reading. The teachers also shared how the enjoyed reading outside of school. They also did not use reading and writing as a punishment.

Jenafer Ostrander

ostra1j — 2025-09-21 18:48:33 UTC

I think the teacher was successful because she shares her reading story with the students and encourages them to enjoy reading outside of school. I plan on using similar strategies in my class. We already do some of them as a whole school.

Jenafer Ostrander

ostra1j — 2025-09-21 18:53:22 UTC

The teacher uses choice to help motivate and engage students by letting them choose their own book, that meets their needs and abilities. They are also allowed to read around the classroom where they want. Both of these options makes students feel like they are in control of what they are doing and they will enjoy it more. The teacher created writing assignments that others were going to be able to read, so the students wanted to prove to others that they were engaged and knew what they were doing.

Jenafer Ostrander

ostra1j — 2025-09-21 19:13:44 UTC

Choice is so important because it makes the students feel like they are being heard and if they are more comfortable they will be more engaged. Making the connections with the students helps them feel more involved.

V1- Generating Excitement

2025-09-21 20:55:00 UTC

Throughout the video the teacher explains they put new ideas into their classrooms to generate excitement about reading.

One big problem the teacher wanted to fix was having reading be a positive consequence not a negative one.

Some of the ideas included a recommendation conner where students and guests are allowed to recommend books to kids searching for a new one.

The teacher also introduces new books to the class in a way they show each student why they would like the book and what is good about it.

The teacher also adds books kids want to have read out loud in a read aloud basket in order for the students to feel included when they read a book out loud to the class.

Lastly the teacher generates excitement for reading by creating positive reading environments such as a reading sleep over, where the class will read for a section of the day and it wear pajamas and have a good time.

Overall, the teacher uses positive tactics in order to get the students to read more.

V1- Productivity Explanation

2025-09-21 21:00:47 UTC

The teacher is successful by motivating students to enjoy fun things in life. The teacher changes a strong effort of negative consequences into a positive reinforcement for the students to love.

An example if this includes having to read in the hallway instead of play time. Instead changing a consequence to sitting out during play time. When teachers use an educational standard as a negative consequence the child then builds hatred for the particular consequence.

This teacher saw this and flipped the script. The teacher is successful because she changed the way her classroom views reading.

V2- Motivates Choice

2025-09-21 21:07:59 UTC

The teacher is able to motivate the students to engage in reading and playing by letting them choose. The teacher allows time frames for different activities for the students to do, however lets them pick anything they want. The option of choice engages the students to be creative and sets a standard for enjoying their time no matter what they are doing. This allows the students to grow as individuals and learning what they like.

The teacher also puts in effort for engaging assignments, such as writing.

Overall, the teacher's effort to foster an engaging environment and allowing choice into her classroom allows the students to grow.

V2- Choice is Important

2025-09-21 21:10:59 UTC

The option of choice in younger students makes them take ownership and pride in their pieces of writing. The environment is built for them to grow as individuals and want to continue to learn more.

An example of this includes the students being able to take charge in their writing. Having an umbrella topic allowed the students to write more about what they love.

Overall, giving students a choice in their writing motivates them to put in full effort and continue to write.

V1

2025-09-22 01:31:39 UTC

The teachers shared many different strategies they use in their classrooms to help generate excitement about reading and writing. Both teachers shared about the strategy of modeling. They talked about how they always talks about reading, how it’s one of their hobbies, and something they enjoy doing at home. The next strategy they both talked about was not using reading or writing as a punishment. They talked about how they want reading and writing to be viewed as a positive thing in their classrooms. They mentioned how it wasn’t something students “have” to do but rather “get” to do. They treated it more like a reward. One teacher then talked about her “Please Read” bin and how when students have a book that maybe they’re struggling to read on their own, or just want to hear read aloud, they can put it in the bin and she’ll eventually read it to the class. This allows students to have some sort of say in the literature they’re exposed to and the classroom content. The other teacher talked about using positive peer pressure to excite her students when it comes to reading. She mentioned how she previews the new books she gets in the classroom. She does this by doing a short book talk on the book to get her students excited about it.

V1

2025-09-22 02:02:51 UTC

I think the teachers are successful mainly because they model reading to their students. In a previous class, we spent a whole module talking about how important modeling is to young students. When students know you enjoy reading and writing, they tend to do the same. I also think the teachers are successful because they don’t use reading or writing as a punishment. Using reading or writing as a punishment would do nothing but give students a negative perspective of it. Like the first teacher mentioned, she wants students to view reading and writing as something they “get” to do rather than “have” to do. It’s all about perspective. One strategy that I will definitely be using in my classroom is the “Please Read” bin. I actually really like this idea as it gives students a chance to choose what literature they’re being exposed to. It also gets them excited knowing that it’s the book that they picked that’s being read.

V2

2025-09-22 02:33:35 UTC

The teacher talks about how for the unit she lets the students pick what book club they’re apart of. She then lets the students read those books during independent reading time. Not only is this allowing students to pick their book club but also allows them to pick the content they’re reading during independent reading. The teacher also talked about how her students all have their own special book bins. She talked about how they have time to look through the different book baskets in the classroom and pick the books they’re interested in to put in their bins. Lastly, she mentioned how she lets her students choose what area in the classroom they go to. She also talked about her different dramatic play areas that she sets up.

V2

2025-09-22 02:52:03 UTC

Choice is so important to students’ literacy development because it makes them more engaged in their learning. When given the chance to choose what books they’re reading, the topics they’re writing about, or even simply where they sit in the classroom it allows them to feel like they have some sense of control within their learning.

2025-09-23 02:15:48 UTC

It is very important to give students choice in literacy. Giving them choice helps them connect with what they are reading. If you were to assign them a book to read and expect them to make connections to their lives and learn something from it, chances are they won't. I know from experience. I can't tell you how many times I was expected to read a book and make connections to it. It always seemed like a chore to me and actually made me kind of hate reading. I was never interested in those books and they never kept my attention. This really impacted my literacy development. It just makes me wonder if I was given choice, how much of an impact that would have made. This is why it is so important to me to give my students choice when it comes to literacy.

2025-09-23 02:27:07 UTC

I think she is successful because she expresses her excitement for reading and the students pick up on that. Also, creating a comfortable space and giving choice allows children to be excited to read and explore their interests through reading. I want to use similar strategies like these in my classroom. I want my students to feel that reading can be fun and enjoyable. By allowing them the cozy space to read and providing several varieties of books to choose from, they can have a positive experience and will be more likely to learn from it. I also want to encourage my students to interact with their classmates about what they are reading. I've actually seen this in a classroom before. Students shared books they've read and one student actually ended up reading a book that their classmate suggested because it sounded really interesting to them. I just love seeing the excitement on their faces when they talk about the books they've read.

2025-09-23 02:38:51 UTC

The teacher allows students to choose books that they want to read, which helps them engage in what they are learning. When they get to pick a book that interests them, they are going to have the motivation to read it and explore more books like that. She also gives a choice in where they want to read in the classroom. This gives the students a sense of control, which will give them a more positive experience. In elementary school during independent reading time, my teacher let us do the same thing. We got to pick where we wanted to read. Some of us read under our desks, some of us sat in the beanbags she had in the classroom, and some of us just read in a corner. I think I usually read in the same spot but there was a couple days I chose to sit in a beanbag and read and it was so exciting.

2025-09-23 02:49:50 UTC

In the video, we are shown creative ways to make reading and writing exciting for children. One thing I thought was important was to lead by example. One teacher really likes to read in her free time, no one is making her read but she wants to. This allows her students to see that reading can be fun and exciting. I also think it is important to keep reading and writing as a positive thing rather than a negative thing. It should never be used as a punishment. All that is going to do is create a dislike for reading. I also really liked the activities the teachers do with the students like pajama reading and buddy reading. It seems to really keep the students engaged with what they are reading and overall makes it fun. I hope to incorporate activities like these in my classroom and create a positive reading experience for my students.