Tell us about your series. What do you like or dislike? Who would like this series? What resources are available related to this series. How could you use it in a classroom?

I am reading the Legend series,by Marie Lu and I absolutely love it. It is a mixture of The Hunger Game and Divergent series, and I think these books are really fun and engaging for students of a middle school grade level. I like that this book is written in the viewpoints of 2 different people, with completely different social classes, upbringings, and  opinions (at first). The book also utilizes different color and styles of fonts to differentiate the person who is talking/ their viewpoint.

I think that there are always different ideas of how to use a book in a class, this could easily fulfill a reading requirement for California Core Standards. I also think that there are mini projects that kids could do, book report style. Recreating a landscape from the book, changing or adding a character/ scene. When I read this book, I was thinking about all different ways that it could have ended if one scene was altered, or one character was included, etc. I think that books like this really get the creative juices flowing in a students mind!

What are your take-away ideas from the Miller text so far? What ideas are resonating? What seems challenging? What are you most excited about in terms of teaching reading? Most afraid of?

So far, while reading Miller, I have taken away a few important concepts that I may want to use in my future classroom. First of all, I love the stress she puts on encouraging children to chose their own books, engaging them and keeping them interested in reading. Secondly, I like that, in chapter 2, she talks about doing a sort of verbal “book commercial” to get students interested in reading different genres of books. I also like that the way that she chooses the lucky student who will be the first to read that book is based off of a random name drawing–this way every student has a fair shot. Miller utilizes several different methods to keep her students engaged in their reading lives, and I applaud her creativity! Another idea from chapter 2 was creating a preview stack. This is where she recommends  several books for a student to look at by physically creating a stack of books for the student to look at. The student then has the power to chose which book sparks his/her interest the most from a reduced stack of books, instead of the entire classroom library. It’s so intriguing to me that Miller knows what kind of readers her students are, and what types of books they will like– I hope I can acquire that skill when I am a teacher!

As far as my fears and desires for teaching reading, I have a few. First of all, I am excited to do what I previously mentioned that Miller has succeeded in doing– being able to recommend a book to a child that I know that child will appreciate and love. I think that their is nothing cooler than knowing that child’s interests and tying that together with a book. My fears? It’s hard to say, since I have never taught a class. I am mostly scared that the impending technology in this world does not take over childrens’ love and passion for books, and I hope that if that is the case, that I might remind them why books are so crucial in this world. I think the thing I am most excited for, when I become a teacher, is seeing a student progress throughout the year, and also watching that thing that they do not understand “click” when they finally do get it. I want to be the reason for that connection, and  I want my future students to look back on school, and have good memories of not only their teachers (and me) but also the curriculum and learning.

Hi everyone!

My name is Jamie Elliott and I am a senior here at Chico State! I was born in Walnut Creek, but my hometown is Livermore, Ca. I am a liberal studies major, like most of you, and I am also minoring in Spanish. I recently got back from my semester abroad in Costa Rica, which has opened my eyes to an entire new series of interests. I am interested in teaching elementary school, but after living and traveling abroad, I am also interested in either teaching in other countries, or teaching students who are second language learners. For fun, I like to adventure with my dogs, hang out with friends and family, play water polo, and use my mom’s money to shop. ;)

Excited for the semester!

 

Cinderella Riddle:

Don’t look at the story the speaks of a fish,

Or a hazel tree with a dove to grant your wish.

Keep away from the thoughts of a perverted male,

And the correct answer will prevail.