Final Reflection

Over all I found this class and whole experience of reflecting my opinion on a certain pieces of literature to be very interesting and helpful for my future classroom. I think by writing these reflections forced me to evaluate the text more by looking into the purpose of the text and how I could incorporate it in to my classroom rather than just reading a book just to read. Though the text set was a lot of work it made realize how just one topic has so many ideas and sources to explore it with. I think the main thing I will take away from this class is the value and impact literature can have on one's classroom. It is truly privilege to have the ability to read in general, but the fact that we have all of these options to be explored and to enjoy is amazing

A Poke in the I

This was my favorite of the poetry books to read! This poetry collection is tons of fun to read and visually amazing! The poems come alive with creative illustrations throughout the book. In many cases, the poems type font or the way it is laid out on the page determines the poem. Many of the poems take a specific shape in the way they're laid out on the page. The illustration style of broad lines, bright colors and bold patterns is captivating. I think all the people not enthusiastic about poetry will become a little more interested after reading this book, It adds a whole new spin on poetry

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

I hadn't read Shel Silverstein for years until I recently and this poem book is the best yet. I have never read any poems as funny as the ones Shel Silverstein writes."A Light in the Attic" is a book for people of all ages. Silverstein is one of my favorite author of children's books. I never truly liked poetry until after reading some of his works and this one has to be my old time favorites. With characters in his poems ranging from any animal to any human, this book definitely has variety. I love the way Shel is able to rhyme things together and come up with such great stories in his poems. It is a great book to pull out on a rainy day, I never get bored with it, no matter how many times I read it. The poems are all funny, and they can cheer anyone up

Dirty Laundry Pile by Paul B Janeczko

Once again I chose a collection of poems. This book was unique in the fact that they chose to tell the poems in different voices or different perspectives such as from an object, animal, or creature, which I really liked and think kids would have a lot of fun with. My favorite happens to be the same as the title in which a pile of laundry is the voice for the poem. I found most of these poems to be really funny. I think this would lead into a great activity of trying to create poems from different perspectives or voice and would be a lot of fun! I would definitely look at this book when doing a unit on poetry or just to read some fun poems and the illustrations are great!

The Big, Bad and a little bit Scary by Wade Zahares

I loved this collection of poems! I found this book incredibly funny and inspiring, and I feel children will feel the same. Each poem focus on a different animal from a lion to a porcupine. I found myself laughing out loud and sharing the poems with my roommates. I think younger children will like this book because it shows that poetry doesn't have to be strictly about your feelings as many people have the misconception of, that they can be fun and have a topic that your interested in such as animals. I wasn't a huge fan of the drawings, but just because they aren't my style. They are full of bold colors and the animals stand out which would be enjoyable for children. I would take a minute to look at this book it has some really funny poems inside!

Around the World in Eighty Poems by James Berry

I’m not a huge fan of poetry myself, but I found this collection of books very interesting and at some points funny. I think it’s great that it includes some other countries such as Guyana to the Arctic Circle, that you would never think to include besides just your standard Mexico and European countries. Some poems are lighthearted, some are serious, and together they evoke a world that's both exotic and familiar. With poems from more than 50 different countries and beautiful illustrations, Around the World in Eighty Poems invites children to share in the richness of cultures around the globe. Can be used it in both reading and social studies classes. The drawings are stunning and the selected poems are wonderful.

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech

I loved this book! I found it so unique with the whole way it was written and combined as a book. This is a great story told in a child's point of view and his understandings or confusions on poetry. I think this book was perfect in capturing some children's misconceptions on poetry and their hesitation when writing it. I know when I was a child and still at times now don’t really understand poetry and was shy about presenting my work in fear of it being incorrect. This book also shows how fast kids progress through out the year and how encouragement and praise raises their self esteem and willingness to show their work. This book is a fast and easy read that young reader would both enjoy and connect to. For teachers this book presents a lot of great activities within the text that you could utilize in the classroom. I definitely recommend it. Once you pick it up you won’t put it down out of curiosity of where it is going next.