I really can't believe that the semester is over. I enjoyed this class so much. It's not that is was easy, we completed a lot of work, but that it really taught me and made me think like a teacher. There are some classes that you dread every week but I was excited to see what we were going to read next in this class. It is going to be very useful in my later classroom. Below I will list the things that I really enjoyed about the class and how it will help me later.
-Read alouds--When I was in elementary school one of my teachers would read like a chapter out of a book a day. Within a month or a few weeks we would finish that book. This is like the read alouds that Dr. Pytash did in a lot of classes; although, I liked how she read just a few pieces out of different books because that got us intrigued and made us want to pick up the book later. I think this is a great idea to get all students involved. All you need to do is pick a variety of books to read throughout the classes. That way one of the books will probably relate to all of the different students.
-Hands on activities--I enjoyed how the class was not a lecture. Dr. Pytash taught us so many strategies to use with the students from reader's theater, to tableau's, to jigsaws. I'm glad that we got to participate in these activities so we could see how they pan out. By being a part ourselves, we got a chance to feel what it's like to be in the students position and to see what we would change with the activity.
-Admit Slips--This was a way to see if we actually were prepared for class but it was not a hard sheet to fill out. I think this would be very popular with high school students because it does not require a lot of thinking. Obviously if you prepared for class then you would easily be able to fill out the sheet and if not, then you would stick out.
-Online literature circles--I'm glad that we got to participate with literature circles because I had never been involved in one before. This type of discussion seems to be really popular with teens. As we all know, teens are obsessed with the latest craze and technology falls under that category. So, anything that they can do that involves something that is cool will be fun and interesting to them. I would like to use online literature circles later on because I think it would really speak to students but I don't want to use it solely because I think they still should be able to have a discussion face to face.
-Book pass--I use to be a huge reader when I was younger, but nowadays I don't seem to have the time. I miss the joy of reading and my huge imagination that let me see the books in my head. I love the library but just seem to make it to the magazines anymore. So, when we had the book pass I was so excited. Afterwards I wanted to run to the library and check out all of the books that I starred but I knew I just didn't have the time to read them with my other school books. Although, this did make me interested in reading more. I'm going to try to make the time to read because it's very important as a teacher to be able to suggest good books to your students. I admire that a lot in Dr. Pytash because she has so much knowledge about the current young adult books today. Hopefully I will soon enough get back to reading and have relished seeing all of the great books out there.
Overall, this was a great class. I learned so much in it that I will be able to apply to my future classroom. I also enjoyed being able to share ideas with my peers and learning from this as well. The textbook was fabulous as well! I usually hate textbooks because they are so dry and boring but this one was fabulous! Great class altogether!
