Dead Girls Don't Write Letters

Yes I know, I'm on a reading roll tonight! I have officially finished another book, Dead Girls Don't Write Letters. It was a very easy read, which really helps when I'm trying to read War and Peace at the same time. The book kept my interest and had me flipping pages so much so that I forgot I was at home and when my mother would attempt to talk to me I was so immersed in the book that I didn't even realize it. The ending was confusing but after letting it sink in for a few minutes I understood what was being conveyed.

I have noticed a trend in many of the adolescent books I've been reading. Most of them either mention other book titles or the importance or advantages of books in general. In this book the main character, Sunny, explains, "Books were my best friends. They are there when you need them, and when you shut them they stay closed." Though she is talking about books being the only friends because she was such an outcast because of her sister, Sunny really is foreshadowing the rest of the book.

Another thing I've noticed lately is I've been enjoying stories told from the perspective of a child rather than an adult. I'm not sure if it is because the simple language seems like a relief after reading Tolstoy and Homer or because the voice of a child makes it seem like a more relaxed work for me. Either way I realized that a child narrator really is a powerful thing that many authors have explored and something I really do enjoy.

Fahrenheit 451

I just finished Fahrenheit 451 and I surprisingly loved it! At first some of the futuristic ideas had me very confused but after a while I just got used to them and realized that it was all part of the story. I feel like one of the main reasons that I really liked this book is that it is party coming true. No we don't have firemen coming to burn our houses down because we are reading books, but books are becoming more and more obsolete. First off because less and less people are interested in the act of reading and secondly because the Ipads, e-readers and other electronic devices that allow for books to be read without physically holding one. My favorite character was Clarisse because she represents those that still take the time to read and look deeper into texts and life rather than just reading at the surface.

I could see myself using this book in the classroom in the future. Students could see how reading a book has become a less practiced act than when I was little. When I was young everyone I knew enjoyed reading, I enjoyed it even more than most. I would take time to read a book and enjoy it rather than attempting to skim it and let it all sink in. I still do this today and I feel that others are so rushed in their everyday lives that they don't take the time to sit down and just read anymore.

Reflection On My Progress So Far!

As of right now...I'm freaking out just a bit. I finally got my draft together last night and have a clear thought process for my presentation, but I'm scared I got it all wrong. I guess once I get your feedback I can either rest a little bit or understand where I have to expand or change things, but as of right now I'm pretty stressed about it. I chose my audience as aspiring teachers (or those that are already teachers). It speaks to how teachers can help and how students can benefit from blogging.

I'm developing my research still and trying to find how blogging can be specific to the English classroom, but all I'm finding is how it is beneficial to those students who are still learning English as their second language. I guess this is where I should come to you and ask for help to find some better resources.

I'm still working on my takeaway. I feel like as of right now it is just how blogging is beneficial to all students in the classroom as well as the teacher. Seeing as I'm both a student and kind of acting as a teacher in presenting this problem to you, I feel like I should take the stance of a teacher who is still learning the process. I have examples of classroom blogs, different ways that students have benefited, problems that may arise and what teachers can do to help.

Number the Stars

I've just finished Number the Stars and I really enjoyed it. I'm one of those people who get stuck on a subject, mine particularly is the Holocaust, and read books that seem to all sound exactly the same. Fortunately this book helped to diversify the thoughts that readers consume of the events that happened. I liked that like most books about the Holocaust it was told from the perspective of a child, but what really caught me was that this child wasn't of Jewish descent. Rather she was a dear friend of a young Jewish girl who was forced to run away from her home. The book didn't really focus on the grim details of what happened once people were "relocated" which really put things into perspective for me in other books, but I realized that since I have so much background information on what happened I didn't need to know. Through Annemarie's story there are lessons learned that can by applied to everyday life such and I think that can help students relate to the characters even more. It showed me that a young adult, even if they are fictional, can be more aware of situations than I actually thought they could be, even if they don't know all the facts. The book has many quotes that foretell what will come in following pages. It was very predictable from the beginning and I even could flag quotes that showed something that would come up later and this was my first time ever reading the book. If I could change one thing about it, that would be it. I knew how the ending would turn out and even some of the events that happened in between. It was an easy read, something I've been looking forward to and was a page turner, even though I knew what would happen. I kept hope alive for something to throw a curveball at me but that curveball never came and it was a little disappointing, but it's a disappointment I can live with and work through in order to like the book as a whole.

Look through Blog

I've realized that through my blogs I've not only become a more in depth reader as I've gone along, but I've also become a reader who is now aware of who I might be teaching these books to some day. I've noticed the inappropriateness in some of the books that would not be suitable for some age groups that I could be teaching. I’ve also been thinking about how I could be teaching these books and what points within the books that I'd like to zero in on.

The comments are actually very helpful. At first I thought it was just going to be you commenting on how efficient we are being with our blogs and some pointers on how to teach the book in a class but it's so much more. Your questions help me to look deeper into the book and really look at it from an aspiring teacher’s standpoint. You help me think of other questions that I could be asking my students and how I should be thinking about the book as I read it. With your questions I've moved from just telling what I think of the book to blogging about the themes and places I'd like to look at more. This is something I hope to be doing with the students in my classes. Blog posting has really helped me realize that I do more than just read the book. As I read I now point out themes, think about them in an educational setting, this is something I didn't even realize I was doing!