EDU225-Book Love- Relfections by Jamie Palmer

Alexis

2014-10-21 20:09:47 UTC

I really enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me of so many things. I really loved how Ivan had his own personality and acted like a human. I find that so amazing and I really liked how there were real life problems and experiences. It is important for students to see how Ivan had to overcome and adjust to obstacles that came into his life.

Iris

2014-10-21 20:36:34 UTC

I really enjoyed reading this section of the book because it reminded me of when I was in high school and didn't read much because the books that the teachers would assign were really boring and we would always have to do an assignment related to a section of the book. In all honestly I would never read I would just skim the book and look for the answers and there I finished my reading for the night. Its just the things that teachers do sometimes just makes students not want to read and then its really hard to try and get them back to reading a book that you think is really good. Students need choices and they would only read if its a book that they are interested in.

Alexis

2014-10-21 20:41:39 UTC

I really enjoy reading this book because it relates to my past with reading and books. I have never been a big reader and i think thats because from early on my teachers have made reading more of an assignemt that we had to complete for a grade than for enjoyment and a fun thing like it should be. I really like how this book encourages reading and shows how its a good thing that will change your life

Alexis

2014-10-21 20:48:21 UTC

I enjoyed reading the articles we were given because they are simple but get to the point. Reading is very important and teachers need to express this and encourage it more. I liked the one articles that made jokes about reading it shows how it is important but in a funny way to get people to understand the importance.

Cassie

2014-10-21 23:19:31 UTC

I find this book to be very accurate in describing my past reading life. Every book I was assigned to read in school required a worksheet or packet. My reading experiences caused me have a negative stigma towards reading. Reading became more of a job instead of something I could enjoy. Like Iris, I began to skim books to find the information so I could complete the worksheet for credit. I was missing out on a reading life because it didn't matter in school if I enjoyed the book. I was graded on my comprehension of the text, vocabulary, etc. I plan to keep BookLove as a reminder to stick to what has been proven to work; giving students choice in their reading life and not drill and kill the book. I also would love to share this book with future colleagues to prevent others from drilling and killing books. Books are to be used for enjoyment and pleasure. I am late to the game, but I am glad I have been enlightened of what reading can do. My list of books read keeps growing, as well as books I WANT to read!

Troy

2014-10-21 23:25:15 UTC

I thought this book showed exactly why I used to hate reading. Teachers wouldn't focus on the aspects of reading that really mattered which was enjoying the book and loving what you are reading. It was more about standards and reaching the goal that the teacher has set for you and if you didn't you were a failure. Even people that I knew that enjoyed reading did not enjoy reading for school. Teachers really knew how to suck the fun out of reading by giving packets to fill out just for one chapter and having a required amount of things you liked. I haven't realized how many good books are out there until I took this class and Jamie showed us her obsession of collecting books. There are so many great stories that I have missed out on and can only hope I can catch up one day!

Meghan

2014-10-21 23:34:28 UTC

I agree with everything that has been said. I like the idea of daily book talks, it leaves the children with choice (which is uber important) because if they didn't like the book from yesterday, they get a new book today or tomorrow. I think that just broaden the horizons of all your students. I also like having all the students favorites in the classroom, because especially with girls, they like to read what their friends have read. Just some good suggestions for any classroom, to get the students back interested in reading, overall!

Jenna

2014-10-22 00:09:06 UTC

My initial thoughts of the text follow those of everything that every one has been saying so far. I used to have essentially a loathing for reading books all throughout high school. Teachers would create such extensive, and rather not enjoyable worksheets, papers, etc that never enhanced my reading experience. More often than not these measures decreased my pleasure in reading. I developed a separate mindset of books I read in school and the books I got to read when school was not in session. I was not alone in this feeling, however, I had friends who would brag to me about being able to complete a whole analytical essay without ever opening the book. I even have books that I cannot even look at without immense hate because of the displeasure they caused me from the ridiculous amounts of work or irrelevant projects that were "connected" to the book.

I really enjoyed the sections of Responding to Reading, because Kittle highlights ways that take the actual text and allows students to make connections to the reading. Instead of simple short answers, students are writing down passages and developing ideas about how the passages relate and enhance the book as a whole. This is a type of close reading that I had to be taught in college through the classes I take for my English major, and Kittle is giving her students ways to do and understand this in high school. These section really shows way to help students analytically look at the texts without completely killing the joy of reading the book; it may even enhance it.

I also am thinking that this coincides with the article we had to read for today, "How Do Teachers Kill the Joy of Reading for Students?" by Ouora. The article is a sarcastic piece, while the textbook is more constructive on ways to make reading better for students. Overall, however, both pieces are suggesting that something different needs to be done about how teachers are treating reading books for class.

Alyssa

2014-10-28 18:17:26 UTC

I especially liked the chapter about the power of a book talk. I think that it is a wonderful idea to incorporate book talks into classroom discussions and also allowing students to ability to become part of the conversations and thoroughly engaging them in the learning about books and writing through teacher led book talks.

It really stood out to me when Penny Kittle describes how some students feel that there are preconceived ideas of how they will perform, therefore they do not try to go beyond their so called limits or expectations. Teachers need be the ones who expand the realm of students' thinking in regards to their own individual performance. Just because they are not strong in one subject, or at a given time, does not automatically mean that they will always be unable to grow and do better beyond that initial expectation.

I agree with Penny Kittle in the fact that it is beneficial for all involved to have students reflect on their reading and that the most effective way is not by having them take a test on each chapter they read or answering questions about every little piece of information. We as future teachers must focus on the bigger picture when it comes to our students' learning, are they growing a love for reading, or are they just going through the motions?