Blogs 6 and 7- Lauren Imelio

Blog 6

1. The website I looked at was http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/. This website is a guide about graphic novels that is really helpful for educators and librarians. There are articles on the site with the monthly “Top 50” graphic novels. The website also includes a tab about the history behind the creation of graphic novels which is really interesting.
2. The graphic novel I chose to read was “Smile,” by Raina Telgemeier. This novel is an autobiography, telling Raina’s true life when she was in 6th grade and busted out here teeth in a fall. When I read a graphic novel, I read each picture’s caption, and then I look at the picture and visualize the words for each picture. I feel like most people read this way because it’s easier to visualize when you immediately look at the picture.

Blog 7

I. a. On page 166, the teacher asks students to pick their favorite genres of books. I think giving students the option to give their opinion would be very beneficial in the success of the students. I would love to give my students the chance to read whatever books they wanted, as long as they enjoy what they’re reading.

b. I have realized that I like to read in phases. Sometimes I’ll read 3 books a week, and sometimes I’ll go 3 months without picking up a book. My favorite genre of books are memoirs and biographies. When I was younger, I was a huge fan of the “Pretty Little Liars” series and other fiction books.

II. c. The main character in the novel “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas, is Starr Carter. Starr is a sixteen year old black teenager living in a primarily black, lower class neighborhood. She attends a primarily white, upper class prep school a little bit away. This story tells her story after her friend, an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a police officer. Starr interacts normally with the white people at her school. She is dating someone and interacts with her basketball team well also. Starr stands up for what’s right when her friend is shot by a police officer after he’s pulled over for a broken headlight.

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?” -Starr page 252

d. I think “The Hate U Give,” is such an important story, especially right now with everything that is happening in the world. The brutality that black men and women face everyday is sickening and needs to be stopped. This tells a story can open the eyes of many people. This would be a great novel to introduce to middle school aged students.