This semester, we were able to explore many different types of literature to share with our future students. Though I am sure that no amount of preparation will be sufficient for the actual experience, I am much more prepared to teach English in my classroom. Though I have always had an interest in literature, I didn’t know exactly how to transform my passion for reading into a useful template for students. I enjoyed the idea that we first read about, as they are familiar. Though the stories we are comfortable with are important to to read, it was interesting to be introduced to new interpretations and cultural differences that were sometimes jarring and unsettling. I learned a lot about the reflection of society that books provide throughout time, and it was nice to read some classic fairy tales with modern and progressive twists.

I’m excited to have resources such as graphic novels and series books to get children interested in reading. I feel that I will have a good selection of books in response to students who otherwise do not enjoy reading. I’m proud to say that I have a good start to building a solid collection and I’m surprised and a bit sad that our four months together have flown by. Thank you Professor Jaxon and my fellow classmates for the experience.

I chose to read Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. I have to admit that I wasn’t immediately wooed by Willow Chance. When I got the book in the mail, I tried to read a few pages of the book but it was a little slow and I wasn’t interested enough to keep reading. By the time I picked it up again, I had to re-read the first few pages over to remember what was going on and I was still too bored to continue reading past the first few pages. I thought that Willow was unrealistic, naive and way too socially awkward. Honestly, I was only inspired by the book when I was forced to read it. A few chapters in, I realized that I have a lot in common with Willow. Certainly not her genius, but the inability to read some social cues, make lasting connections, and an interest in a wide variety of areas.

Counting by 7’s is full of important lessons and interesting facts and rich characters. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between Willow’s realization that people do not fit in neat groups and continuing to find Dell starting his organizational scheme based on titles such as “misfit” or “weirdo”. While some  parts of the story were clearly not based on the way things happen in real life, like the process that Willow was adopted, etc., but I learned quite a few things from the story. I learned that dehydration can cause fatigue, sunflowers only bloom for about a week, and that helium filled balloons end up in rivers and streams and are generally quite bad for the environment.

I think Sloan was trying to get people to think about loss and how something catastrophic can signal the start of something fresh. Other topics that are important in the book include acceptance, understanding and love. Overall, I learned to accept Willow, I started to understand her, and then I loved her.

1. I’m not entirely sure what Williams intentions are in the Red Wheel Barrow poem. I have a lot of questions about it. I don’t know what he means when he says so much depends on the red wheel barrow. Why are these items important? Who do they belong to? Why are these important to who they belong to? Do these items help this person survive? Is this person materialistic?

I think Williams is trying to describe a moment that he felt in his heart more than what he saw with his eyes. The poem feels nostalgic but clean and crisp without the haze of passing time. I noticed that the syllables of the poem are important because they follow a pattern. The first and last stanzas have a line with 4 syllables and the following line has 2. The other two stanzas have a first line with 3 syllables followed by a line with 2 syllables. The first line of the stanzas have 3 words and the second line has 1 word.

2.

so much depends

upon

heart in love

letters

i knew you

before

breathless i grew

blue

 

 

 

 

A Series of Unfortunate Events is one of my favorite series from my childhood. I distinctly remember spending the night at my friend Natalie’s house in the fourth grade, reading about the adventures of Violet, Klaus and Sunny by the light of her lava lamp late into the night. When we woke up, we grabbed the books first thing and continued reading right where we had left off when we dozed into sleep, dreaming of the evil Count Olaf and his comrades.

So far, re-reading these stories with a refreshed set of eyeballs, I can’t help but feel nostalgic and a little sad. While the kids in this series are extremely resilient, I feel horrible about their fate, knowing that it never gets better for them. However, I am happy to know that Violet, Klaus and Sunny realize that they must accept this part of their lives and use it to better themselves. At least the story is humorous, or else my heart would be broken.

I like the idea of using this series in a classroom because it helps remind us that life could always be worse, but that as humans, we can take negative occurrences and turn them into positives which help us grow as people. A Series of Unfortunate Events offers strong role models for girls. Violet is intelligent and an inventor, she can outsmart the most witty of adults. I like that boys can find an equally smart role model in Klaus, who loves to read and imagine.