Learning Letter

1. Reflect on the work you’ve completed in the course (book talks, mini-lessons, unit plans): the book talk was an enjoyable experience because I was able to share with my peers a book that I really enjoyed reading myself in high school. It was fun to learn about different books as well that my peers introduced. The mini lessons were helpful because I got to practice teaching a lesson for the first time. It was also helpful to be able to create my own lesson and put my own work into it.
The unit plan was very difficult but it was worthwhile. There are a list of things that I wish I had done differently that I talk about in my reflection. I will continue to work on those things and make sure I get it down. The unit plan was also very enjoyable especially when we got to share a little bit with the class what our unit plans were about and the kinds of things we included in them.

2) The theories and concepts that we explored in readings and discussions were very helpful and interesting. We talked about theories that had to do with critical thinking, pre-writing, pre-reading, etc. The most helpful was the Cal State reading we had. There was also Readicide and Pedagogy. It was my first experience learning about Pedagogy. I think all of the readings and discussions we had about the different techniques of teaching were very helpful. It will be worthwhile and valuable to use these skills in future classrooms.

3) My participation in this course will help me as a teacher because of the discussions we had. I think being able to talk in extent about specific subjects or topics is a good skill to learn and have. Being able to stay engaged and involved in the discussions will help me help my future students. Showing the students how to participate in discussions will also help them with their learning.

Sherman Alexie Blog Post

What I really like about this book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, is the message that it sends to readers. It may have some difficult subjects like alcohol abuse, poverty, racial injustice and death but the inspiring aspect of this story is the themes hopes and dreams. These themes are shown through the main character himself, Junior. He has a dream to become a cartoonist and he holds onto that dream. Junior's struggles to find himself and live above the hardships that he encounters through his life. To live above the poverty and try to become the person he wants to be.

The other aspect of this book that I enjoyed is the humor that the author adds in. Specifically, the pictures that the author added in. I enjoy his illustration of his grandmother on page 69. I also liked the drawing on page 168 after his grandmother passed away from being hit by a car. He drew a door to heaven with balloons that say "Welcome, Grandmother Spirit" and "Heaven".

I also enjoyed reading about friendships in this book. Junior depended so much on the friends that he made. They helped him get through school and the hardships. The one friendship that stood out for me was the one he had with Rowdy. On page 24 in the book Junior says, "Rowdy might be the most important person in my life. Maybe more important than my family. Can your best friend be more important than your family?" I think this is very important to realize because Junior sees Rowdy more as a member of his family than his father, mother, or anyone else. He talks about how much time they spend together and because of that he says "Rowdy and I are inseparable" (24). I have certainly had friendships like Junior's and Rowdy's so this helps make the characters feel very relatable in that aspect.

Night by Ellie Wiesel blog post

Instead of writing about what I found interesting, I decided to write about why I think this book is a good book to teach to students. First of all, the author provides first hand experience. In the synopsis of this novel, it mentions  that he was a teenager when he was taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp and then to Buchenwald. Reading a novel about a teenager that went though all of these horrible events and tells us about his memories of losing his family is very sad to read about but it also gives the reader a different perspective on what people like Elie went through. I think the reader will be inspired by Elie's journey because of what he survived through. I also think this book would be very useful to teach to a history class. It can easily take place of just watching a movie about the holcaust and also take place of "the Diary of Anne Frank". (Although the novel about Anne Frank is also a really good read and inspiring as well.  "Night" is simply another choice for a teacher to use rather than using the same famous novel over and over.). A teacher could also pair the two novels together and compare the two characters and what they both went through.

Blog Post - The Black Cat

I chose to write my blog post on the Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. I mostly concentrated on the speaker's love for animals and then the overall treatment of his animals and how it changed as the story went on.

Like most of his other pieces of works (poems, short stories, etc) it starts out with a sorrowful tone. The speaker says he will be talking about some horrible events that occurred in this story. They open with the line: "most wild yet homely narrative" (203). The speaker also talks about how the speaker is especially fond of animals at a young age. He grew up loving house pets and his parents bought him lots of pets. His love for pets continued into his young adulthood and when he got married they bought their own pets. The one pet that he seems to have adored the most is a black cat. "Remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree" (203). He named the cat Pluto and he did everything for the cat. The cat even followed him everywhere, except when he left the house, which he felt was difficult to prevent himself from allowing the cat to follow him.

The sorrowful tone continues with "But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburned my soul" (203) What is the speaker unburdening his soul from? As I read the story, I learn he wants to unburden his soul from the events that "have terrified--have tortured - have destroyed me" (203). The first horrible event that occurred was when he cut out the eyeball of his beloved cat, Pluto, out of its socket. The man did this when he came home drunk one night and grabbed the cat viciously and the cat defending himself by biting his owner's hand.

I found it interesting that a man who loved his pets so much would do this; especially to the cat whom he loved so much. That is what makes this piece of work so interesting by itself. I think it mostly explores the mind; how our minds can be easily persuaded; especially when a drug such as alcohol is involved.

Eddie and the Blue Man

Book Talk - the five people you meet in heaven

Kelsey Bergman

ENGL 493

Agriss

Book Talk

February 27, 2017

What is this book about? In this novel, an old man and war veteran named Eddie works as a maintenance man for the local amusement park. Eddie learns about the connections with his earthly life in the afterlife. He dies trying to save a little girl from one of the rides and learns what heaven is really like. Eddie’s life is explained to him by five people, all of whom he meets in heaven. These people were a part of his life in one way or another whether he knew them or not. Eddie wakes up in the same place he died; at the amusement park. The first person Eddie meets is a Blue Man. The Blue Man explains that Eddie is in heaven. He soon learns that he is in the Blue Man's heaven. Throughout the rest of the book, when Eddie meets all five people, he is visiting their personal heaven. Eddie learns that he will soon be in his own personal heaven.

Why I chose this text: the first reason is because the first time I read this book I really enjoyed it. The second reason that I chose this text is because it deals with one of the big questions of life: what is the afterlife like and what is heaven like? I read this book my junior year of high school and it really made me think more about how we live out our lives and what we do with our time. That is how the book so interesting. It makes the reader question what they are reading about and question what the author brings up. I think high school ages are the best years to introduce this book because it is an easy read. It is also not too long so it is not one of those books that will take weeks for you and your students to get through. I think many students would find this book interesting like I did because it is one of those page turner books. Once you start the book, you can’t put it down. You must find out what happens to Eddie next.

Please include some teaching ideas. How do you envision this text being used in a secondary classroom? Provide at least 3 specific ideas for what is possible with this text.

Some teaching ideas would be utilizing group discussion. This would be good especially in a secondary classroom. The book does raise a variety of questions and it would be a good idea for the students to talk about the questions they have about the book. This book also brings up a topic that may or may not be difficult for some students to talk about. It is a topic that challenges the norm but at the same time provides learning experience with how we live our life and what we do with our life.

Another idea for teaching this book is simply to read! This book is not very long and the chapters and sections are also on the short side. I think having a book that does not contain so much detail but enough to tell a story and for the reader to enjoy it is a good idea especially for a secondary classroom. Students who do not enjoy reading that much may find this book easier to read. The chapters are short so the students won’t feel like they are trying to remember so much material at once.
This book would also be a good tool to create a writing assignment. I think it offers up enough ideas for students to be able to write a paper. Students can either do research on this book or simply write a paper stating what they learned from the book, what they thought about the book, or what specific detail or moment stood out for them in the book. Being able to express your thoughts is always a good thing, especially in school.

Please consider some obstacles to using this text. What are the potential issues that may arise from using this text? Predict an administrator’s response to the use of this text. Predict parents’ responses. Predict students’ responses.

Some obstacles may be that students’ parents may not like their child reading about a topic like death. They may also be against their child reading about heaven. It all depends on if they have a religious background or not. As a teacher, you must be careful when picking a book for your students. I think these are the only potential issues that might arise but letting the parents know what books you are planning to have the students read for the year is a good idea. That way parents have a heads up on what material is going to be provided. I think an administrator’s response to this text may be more on the positive side as long as you have an appropriate goal for the use of this text. As for students, it is always a hit or miss. Some may enjoy the story and some not so much. But the short chapters in this book could potentially play a positive factor in the students liking the book.

Anything else you think is important for us to know and understand about this text and its use with students.

I think it is important to keep an open mind when you are reading books. Every book you read must be given a chance. This book teaches lessons about life, death, and afterlife. It causes us to think about our life and if we are living it in the way we choose to. Are we doing the things that make us happy? Are we surrounding ourselves with the people we love? I believe it is important to live life with an open mind and can experience everything you want to experience. I think this similar message could be sent to students. They may learn something from this book but as a future teacher, I do hope that every student learns something from every book they read.

Blog Post: "I Read It, But I Don't Get It"

Since this was a text rather than an article, I decided to just focus on what stood out to me the most when I read this text. I really liked the way Tovani discusses good reading and learning how to be a good reader. I like how he uses examples with his own experience as a teacher. In part one, he begins with fake reading. I like that he starts with this because there are many students who have mastered this. While reading this section, I like that he almost gives the reader a guide to what to do when students are fake reading. In his own experience, he relates to the students and shares with them that he used to do the exact same thing as a kid in high school: fake reading!

I also enjoyed reading about his experience with teaching himself how to read! He joins a book club and he not only teaches himself how to read but he learns how to examine what he has read. Tovani talks about strategies too with his class. He says that a "strategy is an intentional plan that readers use to help themselves make sense of their reading" (5). Tovani also states that "good readers use lots of strategies to help themselves make sense of text" (5). This is so true, especially when you are using a text for a class. Teaching students how to analyze a text and understand what they have read is very valuable.

In part 1.2, Tovani talks about the realties of reading. He says that people often have a perception of reading being "simplistic" (13) and that reading is just "sounding out words" (13). I believe this to be true because sometimes people who are not in school think it is an easy task. But that is not always the case; especially for kids and even older students who struggle with reading. There are different ways of struggling with reading, too. The obstacles that some students have to go through are tough. There are usually teacher assistants who take select students who need extra help into the hallway so they can help those students with their reading.