Blog 3- Lauren Imelio

For my series book, I chose “A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning,” written by Lemony Snicket. The book tells the story of three orphaned siblings named Violet, Claus, and Sunny. These children lose both their house and their parents when their house suddenly burned down. They go to stay with the nearest relative they can, Count Olaf, who turns out to be a horrible man who mistreats the children terribly.

Unlike most, I had never read this book when I was younger, so I had no idea the premise or plot behind it at all. To be honest, it is nothing like I expected it would be. I believe it is pretty dark, considering the demise of the house and parents, but children probably would not realize. I like the book, but since it is such an easy read it can almost be boring at times in my opinion. I feel like this book would be very ideal for younger elementary children, since it is so easy to read. This novel is full of suspense, so I think this series would be a great choice to introduce to young readers. In a classroom, students could draw what they think each character in the novel would look like.

 

So far, in Donalyn Miller’s, “Reading in the Wild,” I understand the importance of dedicating time to reading, and to love what you are reading. I really enjoyed when Miller suggested breaking up reading into smaller chunks and reading for 5-10 minutes at a time rather than for 30 minutes to an hour or more. She offers really great techniques that would help someone like myself who does not enjoy reading certain things for long periods of time. I also really enjoyed how she incorporated her daughter, and how reading takes part in regular day activities.

As a future teacher, I am excited to let my students figure out how they are as a “reader.” I will never teach using a reading log, since I found them so useless. I am afraid my students won’t be comfortable enough to tell me what they understand and what they do not. I want my class to be a safe zone and students to be extremely comfortable there. Being a teacher seems incredibly difficult, but so rewarding, and that is the reason people choose to be teachers in the first place.