For my graphic Novel, I read Smile by Raina Telgemeier. I have never read a graphic novel before, so when I opened this book for the first time I was a bit surprised. Before I even started actually reading the book, I flipped through some of the pages, admiring the artwork, expressions, and word bubbles included. After looking through the book, I started to get excited about reading this, especially since I had a lot going on during the week. I knew that I would be able to read through this book quickly, and still get the experience of reading a graphic novel.

Reading a graphic novel was a different experienced compared to other readings we’ve done in this class. I read the book in one day! I have never done that before, but I just couldn’t put the book down. The use of color, facial expressions, and big text allowed me to keep on reading. These also made the story interesting. As I was reading, I started to think about how this book would be if it were written in a ‘regular’ novel form. Without the pictures and word bubbles, I think this book would have needed to be pretty detailed, and it also just wouldn’t be the same. Since this story is based around the fact that Raina lost her teeth and went through a lot trying to fix them, actually seeing her teeth in the photos made it easier to understand what she was going through. I think that what Raina went through with her teeth wouldn’t have been seen as such a big deal without the pictures.

After reading this book, I thought about how great this genre is for students who may not like the idea of reading. Although this genre includes a lot of pictures, it still allows for the experience of learning new language, depicting emotions, and guessing what is going to happen next. Books with a lot of text can be intimidating to students. Graphic novels take away from this fear and allow children to dive into a book while still gaining the overall experience of reading.

I think that graphic novels can be used in the classroom in multiple ways. A fun project I thought of while reading through this book is to take maybe 5-10 pages out, whiting out the text, and making copies for a ‘mini book’. Students can fill in their own words, expressions, and sound effects to create their own graphic novel. This could also be done in a reverse way- leaving the text but having students draw photos to go along with the text. This allows for creativity and choice, two very big factors that are important in the classroom. I plan on purchasing more graphic novels in the future. I am so glad I was introduced to this genre of book and cannot wait to read, as well as recommend, more of these books.

I have finished reading The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. My initial thoughts about this book were first that it may be hard to read. I have never enjoyed poetry, neither reading nor writing it. I have always struggled reading books that are set up in stanzas. I think it is because I’m used to reading the regular, novel-style books that include paragraphs and full sentences. However, as I began to read this, I started to appreciate the way the author organized his words. There is a certain mood that becomes attached to a book that is written in this way. It is fast-paced, dramatic, and personal to the narrator of the book. The Crossover is written from Josh’s perspective, who is the main character. I like how the author did this because I like to know what characters are thinking as I am reading a book.

The form did change as I read the text. At times, the author would organize the words on the page in diagonals, zig-zags, and so on. I have attached a picture so that the reader can see an example of how Alexander (the author) does this. He usually tends to do this when exciting, heart-racing things are happening in the book. I interpret that by doing this, the author is showing how Josh’s mind is reacting to what’s going on as he explains it. For example, you can see that the word ‘shook’ is written in capital, large letters. This shows me that Josh was feeling excited that he shook up another player while playing basketball.

There are also ‘dictionary’ definitions throughout the book, which I love. For example, one of the words that Josh describes is calamity [KUH-LAM-IH-TEE] noun. This word is known as an undesirable event. Josh uses personal examples in order to tell us what the word is. For example, on page 39, he explains, “the HUGE bald patch on the side of my head is a dreadful calamity”. I think it is awesome how the author allowed the main character to use his own examples to explain a word. While reflecting on the dictionary words in this book, I thought about a way that this book can be used in the classroom. In doing a vocabulary lesson, students can pull a word that they like out of any line or passage from this book. Once they pull a word, they can describe the word to the classroom or a group of students and then give their own personal example using the word. This will be a great way for students to relate to the content they are learning, which will allow for more student engagement.

I think that these type of books can be used in the classroom many ways. First of all, reading these books inspires children to write their own poetry. As we saw in Love That Dog, the main character didn’t like poetry at first. As he developed his writing throughout the months, he became an excellent poetry writer without even realizing it. I believe it will be easier for students to write poetry after they have read multiple examples of different styles and themes of poems. Along with this, reading poetry can help with fluency and language development. Poetry gives opportunities for students to come across words they wouldn’t normally see in a novel, series, or other genre of book. Poetry books can certainly help with language development and awareness of words.

Here is the poem I wrote from my tablemates’ lines today!

When I walk onto the court

I prefer silence

so I can

watch

react

surprise

Your talent will help

you win games

but your intelligence,

that will help you

win at life

Sometimes

you have to lean back

a little and fade away

to get the best shot

and get ready to practice harder

Sometimes it’s the things

that aren’t said

that kill you

With less than two feet

between us

I feel miles away

from all of them

 

 

 

I’ll admit it- I was a fake reader for quite some time during elementary school. The problem was, my teachers never did anything about it. Perhaps they didn’t catch it or they didn’t know what to do about it. Either way, I’m paying for that now. It is still hard for me to get into reading. I have trouble finding a book I enjoy as well as finding the free time to read. Thinking back to my fake reading days, I become aware of what I am most afraid of: confronting students about fake reading. Luckily, Donalyn Miller offers some insight about what to do when you observe a student fake reading. Miller states that first she tries to determine if the students’ nonreading behavior is habitual or book related (pg. 29). I agree that this is the best place to start. It is important for teachers to not accuse or assume anything of their students. They must try their best to observe and go about confronting them the right way. Going on to talk about why this is happening can be a sensitive subject. Many students do not want to admit that the book they are reading is too challenging for them. That was one of the reasons why I never admitted my problem; I had a fear of sounding dumb as a young child. I didn’t want my classmates to know if I had to miss class to go into another room to get help with my reading. This experience of mine is why I will go about talking to my students who I observe fake reading sensitively and with care.

Although teaching reading comes with some fears, there are definitely some exciting things to look forward to. What I am looking forward to most when it comes to teaching reading is learning about the different ways to get my students to enjoy reading. I really enjoyed looking over the “My Reading Itinerary” on pg. 20-21 in Reading in the Wild. I would like to use this same form in my classroom. I believe that it helps students monitor their progress and feel a sense of achievement when they see how much their reading times have improved. I am hoping to find more ways to encourage my students to have a love for reading for a lifetime. I plan on using this book, Pinterest, and any other teacher-friendly sights to find ideas on how to do this.

The biggest take away idea from the Miller text so far is that it is important for teachers to incorporate reading time into their daily school schedule. The message Miller appropriately exaggerates is that time reading at school truly matters. Some students would not be reading at all if it weren’t for teachers setting a time during the day for students to read. Another big take away from this text is that teachers need to find the time to speak with students who they think are not reading outside of school. This conversation needs to be confronted in a sensitive way so that students feel comfortable enough to express why they may not be able to read outside of school. Teachers and students must work together to talk about the students’ schedule and find a time to fit reading into it. Getting students to read outside of school seems to be the most challenging task of all. Overall, I hope that I am able to encourage students to find a love for reading both inside and outside of school.