Shells of Teacher Responses

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

What the Teachers Have to Say

I asked teachers how they help their students with reading or what reading strategies they suggested.  Here are their responses.

 Try phonics i think they still have the board game! :)
I used that when I was reading and use note cards with words the common words and have the kids sound the words out and superkids.

BUT I LOVE HOOKED ON PHONICS!!!

Hope this helps.

Other Teacher Comments on Reading

Read to them. It doesn't matter the age, children love to be read to -- actually more like a radio drama.

Have children read in pairs, each taking turns. Have questions they should ask of the listener.

Be sure that the book is the right reading level. If it is too hard it will only frustrate the child.

With young children, a systematic system of phonics should be included in what is taught.

And More...

Harry Potter is well-written and has the essence of literature. Twilight is like a soap opera, definitely NOT literature.

I would never suggest Twilight. I hate to see students waste thier reading time on junk. However, If a student asked me, I would approve Harry Potter.

Teacher Thoughts on Twilight, Harry Potter and Other Books

Why on Earth would I get the Students to read Twilight or Harry P ?
There are Much better books out there !

 I love both books not a teacher though but i would read shilogh. the giver is good for middler schoolers and up.

Well, they both have gotten students who normally hate reading, to read..and LOVE it =] My 10 year old just started the Twilight series...and although a little tough, she is diving right in and is almost finished after starting a week ago!

Content wise, the Twilight series is very clean (written by a Mormon) and Harry Potter is 'clean' although it gets pretty dark and scary towards the end of the series.

I would vote for using the books in class, but the movies may be subject to parental discretion...as movies don't always stay true to the book.

I am not a teacher of English Language/Literature...I am a teacher of Mathematics..........well if you are talking about the movies...........Twilight is not a good movie.......but may be a good book...........and Harry Potter movies are good.......and the HP books are great...........I think Harry Potter books can be added as text books to syllabus...or portions from them.....

And I can recommend the Golden Compass.......

Some Positive Comments on the use of Twilight as Classroom Literature

I'm not a teacher OR a parent but I do want to give you a couple suggestions.

#1: You might have a couple choices for books, I recommend The Giver or The Hobbit as another choice.

#2: Send home a note to parents asking whether it would be okay to read Twilight or Harry Potter as some might say no due to religion, plot, cursing, or their children's want to continue with the fourth book which has sex.

#3: If the parents say yes, they can read which ever book they want, but if no, they read the other book.

On the movie, it should be okay, but make sure it is afterwards that they see it. Since there are many differences, it is good to read the book first.

I disagree with the Twilight negativity because it is REALLY descriptive and has great vocabulary that could benefit your students. It might not be a classic but it is what people like and it uses proper grammar and all. If they want to read it and it is approved by parents, I would have no objection if it is what they want to read.

Good luck!

More Teacher Comments...

What age I wouldn't recommend it.  Not everybody likes it and it's a long and huge book and takes awhile for you to read unless you read it to them it's diffulcut to understand and if they're under 8th grade absolutely not, maybe 8th but nahh probably not,  try something smaller.

I would not use either in my classroom (well I teach history so I could not use either even if I wanted to).

If i was an english teacher I might use Potter as it has far more across the board appeal. It is geared towards both boys and girls, while Twilight is just geared to girls of a certain age.

I would not use them in my class room but I would encourage students to read them if that gets them reading.

 am a teacher and I think that anything (appropriate) that students get excited about is a terrific teaching tool. It is always wonderful when students actually talk about books and share their ideas. The Harry Potter books are pretty safe. Aside from the mild violence, there is nothing else inappropriate. However, some religious parents will argue against using the Harry Potter series because of the witchery. If you think that may be a problem, you might want to discuss it with the parent ahead of time or come up with an alternative assignment for him/her. The first book of the Twilight series is okay. It tends to get more sexual after that. If you're working with teenagers you can have a lot of discussions around lust vs. love and being an independent teenager. Edward and Bella fall head over heels for each other to the point of obsession. (I find Bella to be quite an annoying character.)

I would not use any of the Twilight books in a literature class. I have read the whole series and I do not believe that they will become "classics". However, I would use a Harry Potter book. Those books have themes that resonate with people. What is family, friendship, how choices can shape you. Conflicts are man vs. man, compassion vs. selfishness. But some parents might have objections because of the magic in it, and the fact that non-magic people are called muggles. But that might be a good springboard for a discussion on prejudice.

More Comments...

I don't like Harry Potter.  Twilight is so much better

My conclusions:

Most teachers do not want to use either book in their classrooms, but Harry Potter would be the one they would be more apt to lean toward if they did.  Twilight really seems to be frowned upon in the educational realm.  Some do like it though and feel that it does have value.  I think a lot of students have already read these books and that these might be books they would typically read on their own.  I think though that they could be incorporated into other literature that is being studies or a least referred to.