Poerty

I choose to talk about poetry is because the author I studied, Janet Wong, is famous for her poetry collections. I have always loved poetry and anything written in free verse. However, I think poetry can be one of the hardest types of literature to explain to students. The best way to introduce poetry to younger students is through nursery rhymes and lullabies that they are familiar with. The benefits of poetry are that you are able evoke emotions. There are a many types of poetry including folk poems, lyrical, narrative, free verse, nonsense verse, sonnets, ballads, limericks, haiku, and concrete poems. When teaching poetry you do not focus on characters or plots as much as you focus on rhythm and imagery. I think poetry contributes largely to writing skills because often times when teaching poetry you then challenge students to create a poem of their own whether it be a haiku or limerick. Poetry allows for emotions and for words to become beautiful in a rhythmical way.

Historical Fiction

Historical fiction can sometimes be one of the hardest types of literature to find and evaluate but can add the most content to your curriculum as a teacher. Historical literature is the most crucial to be evaluated because you must confirm that historical information is correct. You must also be looking for any type of bias concerning the event discussed in the text. Historical fiction is also the most important for building connections to your curriculum, mostly related to social studies. I think it is great if you can find a piece of literature to match each lesson you teach about history because it helps students to understand how people felt during certain time periods. The categories found in historical fiction just detail time periods in our world starting with ancient times, then medieval times, colonial times, the revolutionary era, early frontier era, civil war, post-civil war, WWI, great depression, WWII, Post- WWII, and the civil rights movement. I recently read a book called Pink and Say that detailed the lives of two soldiers fighting in the union during the Civil War. The book moved me tremendously but also showed me how dedicated people were to equal rights and putting an end to slavery. It was the first time that I felt like I could really imagine what it was like to be living during the time.

Modern Fantasy

In modern fantasy, anything is possible. When you read modern fantasy you get a break from the real world. Flying can occur, magic can be real, and crazy characters became our favorite. I think modern fantasies has become one of the most popular forms of literature in recent years. Books such as the Harry Potter series and Chronicles of Narnia have been known as favorites to my generation. Melissa Thomas says "What is most important about fantasy, what separates and frees it from the boundaries of other genres, is that it is undistilled version of human imagination- momentary worlds and magic that may be at odds with the rational truth, yet continue to reflect our culture and times. " I think that what she says here is very important. Modern fantasy is unlike any other type of literature. It is the type of literature that can take children away from their world and entire an unreal world with made up characters. The types of fantasies shown are animals, toys and objects, miniature worlds, time warps, unreal worlds, ghost stories, magic powers, preposterous characters, and quest tales. I think modern fantasy is the most important to build a child's sense of imagination.

Traditional Literature

There are six types of traditional literature. There are fables which are brief stories in which the moral is clearly stated. There are myths which explain aspects of culture or provide an explanation of how something came to be in the natural world. There are legends which are narratives based on historical facts. Religious stories are told of important events or people that represent different religions. Tall tales are exaggerated humorous stories of characters that complete impossible acts. And lastly a folktale is a tale passed down by word of mouth usually about humans or animals. Fables, tall tales, and folktales are not told as fact whereas myths, legends, and religious stories are. The biggest benefit to traditional literature is that it provides students with lessons of life and society. Most of these texts provide some form of entertainment in a humorous light, they can often be silly or exaggerated. I remember that I loved folktales and myths as a child because I loved hearing everyone's different thoughts about why or how things in nature occurred. I recently read a folktale called Coyote and it is supposed to explain why coyotes are gray in color. When reading traditional literature, it is important to remind children that not all of the stories are told with accurate facts and that some are just meant for entertainment.

Characteristics of Good Readers

I've always been interested to know what makes the difference between a good reader and a poor reader, there have been many things that define this. The six aspects of reading that include phonics, phonological awareness, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary,and oral language are ways to determine if a student is a "good reader". One characteristics that stuck out to me is that students make predictions when reading, I think this shows that students are paying attention to what they've read and looking forward to what could happen based on the information they already know. I've learned a few strategies to help students make predictions, such as visual indicators, or writing stories before reading. I also think it's important for students to be able to compare and contrast things they have read in the past. This shows that students are using their prior knowledge to understand what they are reading. I think as a teacher it is extremely important to know your students' weakness so that you can improve upon them. You must also know their strengths so that you can boost their confidence and use their skills to improve their reading.

How children respond to literature

In chapter two of our book it discusses the different ways children respond to literature. Most of this has to do with how the child connects to the text and I especially liked the section that says that children respond based on their experiences. I think this goes for all aspects of education, every child is different with their own experiences that make them unique. For instance, one child may think that a book is great because it is about cats and they have cat. Whereas another child may hate that book because a cat scratched them once. I think this is a simple example of how children think and the exact reason why our jobs as teachers can be very difficult. The book also discusses the teacher's role as investigators. It is our job to find meaningful books for all students. We have to ensure that the books are culturally authentic and accurate, as well as engaging. If we are able to connect the books to our lessons that makes them just that much better and more relatable. It is important to try and keep the books within the child's zone of proximal development,t this is the in-between point where children are comfortable with their learning and what challenges them. If you keep books within a child's ZPD you are sure to keep them much more stimulated. Another idea to consider is that the way children respond to literature will affect their opinions about reading. This is why it is so crucial to provide them with books that they will enjoy. I believe this is how children can become turned off by reading because they do not develop the interest early in.

Summer reading, had me a blast.

I think it is ironic that I am taking a literature course during the summer because the few months between school is my favorite time to read. I remember every summer my mom would bring my brother and I to the library each week and we would pick out two or three books to read. I loved reading in the summer because I got to choose what kind of books I would read. I think it is a great idea to encourage children to read during the summer. I read this article http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/summer-reading/ that offers tips about how to get children interested in reading over the summer. A few tips are model by example, show your kids that reading is fun by grabbing your own books at the library. Another fun idea is taking children to public readings, I know my library offered these reading theaters over the summer where volunteers would dress up like characters and read books to children for free. You can also set designated times for reading but you want to do this in a fun way. Something I think that would encourage children would be bringing books to the beach or setting up a hammock outside and giving them time to wind down and read. Another great way to enhance their reading during the summer is to always have books on hand during vacations, sometimes visiting with family can leave the kids with a lot of down time. A book is a great way for them to escape and pass the time. Overall, I think reading is always important but it is definitely crucial for parents to continue the reading process during the summer. You don't want your children to lose all of the skills they just worked on the past year, if anything you want them to grow more and be better prepared for the next year.