William’s put the image of a small farm in my head.  I pictured a small farm with only one farmer and his wife.  A day of rain would normally slow some down but this lonely farmer still has a days worth of work.  He is hoping that his old, reliable red wheelbarrow can make it through the mud and other challenges that a rainy day brings before quitting on him for good.

So much depends upon

My MacBook air

Lathered in stickers

Reminding me of home

Reading and assignments

Become much easier

For my artifact I used iPhoto to take photos of Dr Jaxon, some of my fellow peers, and myself.  With them I used an “effect” to alter the photos and portrait ourselves as to what we may look like if we had August’s rare conditions. Enjoy!

The concept of having Wild Readers is not an easy one to establish in a single classroom, during a single school year, and by one teacher.  It is a push that needs to be made as a community and school acting together.  There will always be individuals who perform daily reading, but the goal is to create a movement that engulfs everyone instead of the typical individuals.  As of now reading is considered as “uncool” and is not a social norm.  Kids are introduced the “negative stereotypes connected to reading bombard [them]: readers are intellectual snobs, socially inept nerds, and bookworms” (91).  The only way stereotypes like these are formed is through ignorance.  Reading and writing are so valuable in the fundamentals of children’s literacy and becoming an adult.

I really like Miller’s ideas on making reading more accessible.   Book recommendations are her thing!  She has quarterly book lists of recommendations that are generated by students, the librarian, and herself.   She will include recommendations in her newsletters and as well as her email signature.  Her goal and hope is to surround her students in reading possibilities.  She wants reading to become a norm and not an outlier.

As a future teacher I am excited to go through the discovery process with my students.   I want them to discover a new book they fall in love with, or discover something they read in a book that they can relate to or want to relate to.  Miller’s techniques on sharing these books with one another I think fostered the discovery process that kids love.

1)     My favorite story was ” The Tale of the Rose” because it gave an interesting alternative to Beauty and the Beast.  When the father returns home to tell his daughter that he has “sold” her the reader usually assumes to a man.  Even the daughter assumed that the beast was a male because she never took the time time to understand or get to know the beast.  I think the daughter begins to realize her wrong doings in not getting to know the beast when he asks her those different questions as they dine.  She found herself reflecting on these questions and wondering why she still judged him/her.  During her return for her father’s illness she found herself thinking of the castle and the beast.  She was growing found of that place and decided returning was best for her even if her father would get ill again.  When she returns she finds the beast weak and as actually a woman.  She had been hiding behind a mask as well as hiding from the daily routine and role of “Queen.”  When she finds out that she is a female I think she gains a sense of respect for her because there was “nothing monstrous about this woman who had lived alone in a castle.”  She learned that beauty can be seen differently in each viewers eye.

2)     Did not get to this question. Sorry. There is irony behind it!