Flora and Ulysses was what I believe a great book for a gateway into graphic novels or the other way around. If a child likes graphic novels using this book can be a great way to help them adjust into reading chapter books. Because this book was not all graphic novel it was not so different from the other reading it just had more pictures in it. I have not really read a lot of graphics because in my school they were not able to be tested on for AR. When I thought of graphic novels I thought of anime and comic books.  If I had read more it would have change how I thought about reading and what it means to be a reader. If I read more I would have seen that many types of books in many different types of styles is still considered reading. As a future teacher it is important to know that each student has different likes and interests and they will like different books. Reading graphic novels, poetry, or other genres will help you find books for your students.

I imagine using graphic novels and comics in my classroom to help students learn all subjects. Sometimes math can be hard to figure out and having the students write and create their own graphic novels to explain how to solve the problem. This can be done for science and also social studies. Creating a comic about historical events can help the students understand the information better.

1. Write about your verse book (Monster, The Crossover, Inside Out & Back Again, Enchanted Air, OR Brown Girl Dreaming). What are your initial thoughts about the book? What was it like reading a text that plays with form and structure? Did the form change how you read the text? How might you use these books in a classroom?

I read, Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson, and my initial thoughts on the book were confusion and questions. When I started the book I kept thinking about the authors writing style and I was unsure how to understand it. Each poem in the book was different and the poems go in chronological order. The author first talks about being born. I can honestly say it took me a few rereads to get it. Since getting it I really like it. The poems had depth and character. The other put thought into each poem and made each one unique. Even every “How to Listen” changed. This book definitely plays with form and structure. The lines are longer that the book Love That Dog, but the sentences were made in a way that could be followed. The form did play a part in how I read it. I first thought I should read it fast because the lines were shorter but this book I found myself reading slower for some parts and faster for others. When I was reading this book some of the texts are in italics (the italics were people talking) and I found myself giving those parts different voices. I would use this book in a classroom because it is a book shows kids that poems do not have to rhyme. I would read this book with a class, but I would start off by letting the students explore the book finding poems that they like or do not like. Once they have done that I would then read it from start to finish. I like the idea of the students digging thought the book and searching for things that they like. I did that after reading and I was able to look at the book differently. If you do not read it in chronological order it is a book with different poems of this girl’s family. If you read it in chronological order it is the girl’s life from birth. In class we created the Centos and I think that is a good task to do with children. They can find lines in the book and make their own poems.

1. Cento work: Create your own poem using lines from the texts we’ve read in this class (any of the books are fair game).

Even the silence/ has a story to tell you just listen. Listen

This is all we know how

Let me introduce myself. Then just starts going on and on

I didn’t know how much I loved being everyone’s baby girl until now

when my life as a baby girl is nearly over

Bad won’t be forever and what is good can sometimes last a long

long time

 

I choose to read “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” by Jeff Kinney. I have never read these books before and I have never even seen the movie before. So this was a great experience for me because I was reading it for the first time. I chose to read the first one from the series. It is about a boy named Greg Heffley. Greg writes in a journal about the challenges and events that take place in middle school. It is a funny story that makes you giggle and for me reading this I went back to middle school and remembered what it was like for me. Jeff Kinney has written eleven books in this series. I like the fact that he uses pictures to explain situations like when it is Greg’s first day and he wants to sit in the right spot. Kenney uses arrows to point to the morons that Greg had to sit by. I also find it interesting that the font he uses looks like it is handwritten.

This series is made or could be read by second graders to fifth grade. It is relatable to children who are in middle school because Greg is in middle school. The readers could connect with Greg. Greg is a bit of an oddball, but he is just trying to fit in. I think children could relate to that, they could learn from some of his fail attempts. Greg has a friend name Rowley. Rowley is someone that is in my opinion has parents that are over protective so he has not gotten to experience a lot.  Greg has a mom, dad, and two brothers. Rodrick is his older brother and he likes to pick on Greg. I could relate to Rodrick because I like to prank my younger sister. Greg also has a younger brother named Manny.  Any of these characters could be relatable to someone.

As a future teacher reading these stories can help us learn what the students are interested in and it could help us apply their interests into the classroom. I would read this book in the beginning of the year. After I have finished the book, I would have the students create their own diary. I would give them time each day to write in it. They could be prompted questions or it could just be a free write. Throughout the school year I would read more books from the series. This way we would stay focused on writing in the diaries plus it would reintegrate why we are writing in the diaries. Writing in the diaries would help with penmanship, but also developing the student’s thought process. When the year is over I would give the diaries to the student’s parents. I would show the parents what the students learned, what they enjoyed in the class, and what they thought was important to write about. I would suggest that they keep it so the students could look back on it is ten to fifteen years. It would give them a little glimpse back in the past life of a middle school student.