Shells of Books I Read This Semester

Breaking Out of Reading Shells Shells of Assistive Technology Shells of Failure As A Tool Shells of Generalization Shells of Independence Shells of My Students' Favorite Books Shells of Teacher Responses Shells of a Blog Shells of Help for Online Learners Shells of Reading and Learning Quotes Shells of a Guestbook Shells of Graphic Organizers Shells of Books I Read Shells of Article Reflections Shells of Reading Strategies Shells of What Students Like or Don't Like About Reading Shells of Helpful Reading Websites Shells of Reading, Teaching and Learning Poetry Shells of Writing Shells of Student Comments on Twilight and Other Books Shells of My Life As A Reader Shells of More Reading Quotes Shells of Dyslexia Shells of Thoughts on Reading Shells of Turtle Poems Shells of Turtle Games and Activities Shells of What Makes a Good Reader Shells of Teaching Shells of Turtle Stories and Lessons Shells of Reading Help Shells of Social Issues Shells of Counseling Shells of Remediation Shells of Twilight Shells of Educational Turtle Games Shells of Vocabulary Shells of Memory/Test Taking Strategies Shells of Spelling Shells of Turtle Stories Shells of More Turtle Poems Shells of How Twilight is the New Harry Potter Shells of Twilight Lesson Plans and Ideas Shells of My Reading/Teaching Improvement Plan Shells of Vampires Shells of Shells

Twilight

I decided to read Twilight because so many students seemed to like it.  I also went to see the movie.  It was pretty good.  I think that it is always a good idea to keep up with the books, movies and other forms of literature that your students like.  I think it is also good to let them know what you are reading, whether those are books for kids or not.  Setting a good example for your students goes a long way.  If they see you reading, they will take note of that and will, in turn, be more apt to read, too.

My Thoughts on Twilight

I read Twilight and also saw the movie.  I saw the movie when I was about halfway through reading the book.  Now I think that it does matter how this happens for readers.  We can view the story and the movie differently depending on when or even if we read the book.  I have found this to be true based on what I have heard students and others say about their own views regarding this matter. 

Since I had read half of the first book at the time when I saw the first movie, I knew a lot that would happen in the movie.  Although it was nice to know what would happen as well as to see what I had previously seen in print come to real life it also made the movie a little boring and predictable for me.

I found it interesting to see what my students thought of the book or the movie.  This gave me a lot of interesting perspectives and insights that I feel can turn into useful teaching tools.

 

Types of Books I am Interested in

My favorite types of books to read are not fiction.  I love non-fiction, but also love to read about the what if types of things, the paranormal, the believe it or not types of scenerios.  That may be close to fiction, but I like to read about things that we do not know about, such as unsolved mysteries.  I love also reading facts. 

It is always a good idea to try to broaden your reading experiences.  I try to force myself to read things that I do not always regularly read, but this of course is not always such an easy task to undertake.  I like to sometimes stick to the things I like, of course.  This can be a problem with your students, too.  Tell your students that when you introduce new reading material that they might not like so much, that it is really important for them to broaden their reading experiences.  Explaining things such as this can go a long way in helping your students.  If they understand the purpose as to why they are reading something, it will help them to be more engaged in the new material.

Based on the book I felt that the characters in the movie fit pretty well what I had in mind or how I pictured them as I was reading.  I found this especially to be true of the main character, Bella.  She looked a lot like how I had pictured her to be in my mind.  I found that to be really interesting. 

Other Books I Have Read

I read a lot of other books besides Twilight.  I read quite a few books on reading strategies, including a curriculum handbook for special education.  I also read some comic books and some books on the afterlife.  I think it is a good idea to stretch what you read and to force yourself to read different things.  I find that I pretty much stick to reading the same kinds of things, but this is something I need to work on.  Everyone can benefit from this.  They can benefit from this if they read a variety of books, and they also can benefit if you do since you can learn so much from each other.  My students, too, will benefit from what I read as I will be better informed and prepared to teach them.

I read a lot of forums and websites on the Internet, especially about teaching and reading.  I read about books that students like and also about what teachers think about the books.  I also involved myself in looking at a lot of reviews of these particular books in which students are interested.  I looked at forums for teachers and learned a lot about what books are used in the classroom, what ones are best for students to read, as well as a lot about good and sound reading strategies. 

It is my hope to continue reading, learning and growing.  This will help to improve my teaching and it will help my students to be more inspired and to learn more as well.  I am one of their examples, and it is important that they know that I am a reader.  It is also important that I share with my students what I am reading.  I had a college course on reading once, and the professor read to the students.  Even though we were adults, I benefitted.  No matter how old we are, we still need to be read to.  We all need a sense of story, and that professor did a great job modeling for us exactly what we should do with our students.  I want to do this for my students.  To me that is the best teaching, where you model and have a lesson about what you want the teacher or the students to do.  This is what learning and reading are all about!

I read a lot about special and exceptional education.  I read articles about reading and helping students with special needs in this respect.  I learned a lot about how to best assist students with their reading to help them move forward in the right direction and to excel in academics and in life.