Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Jennifer Wolff's Favorite Childrens Book



After reading the topic for this week's blog, I couldn't just pick one favorite children's book. Throughout my whole life I've loved reading. I was probably one of the "losers" in the class with my nose buried in a book. Now, I believe books are an escape; however, when I was in elementary school, depending on the age, I loved the pictures and tones of the books. When I was younger, like first or second grade, I couldn't read that well. I had to leave the classroom for speech and reading, so I was never with my classmates. I didn't want to be the only student leaving, so that would make me work ten times harder at home. Before bed, my mother would always read me a book. I remember my favorite, at this time, was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. After reading the books, my mom would always explain to me the importance of each book. I think that is why I loved the giving tree so much. She would explain that the tree was never selfish, and someone always has something to give, no matter how big or small. I could reflect this onto my life because at the time, I felt I was the "stupid" one. I would always think to myself, "why would anyone need my help?" My mom would explain that I always have something to give/help others with and I should always try. Therefore, I believe I can easily incorporate this book into my classroom. Even during the first week I would read this book to my students and explain that we want to have a "giving" atmosphere in the classroom. No matter how big or small, we can always help others. For a younger age, I could give them a picture of the tree, and they could draw it. I could even create a discussion between the students and each student could say something their good at, and could maybe help another.

My second favorite book during Elementary School was Holes by Louis Sachar. My teacher read this book to my class during fifth grade, and I remember always being intrigued. I have not read this book since fifth grade, but I loved it. I do not know if it is the way the author wrote the book, or if it was the way my teacher read it, but it was great. My teacher was the fun type that would always change his voice for different characters to make it more fun. I have never been the type of reader that likes a type of book like holes, but it opened my eyes to the possibility. I always liked the sappy animal, or princess books, and Holes was the first actual mystery book I read. I think I could incorporate this into my classroom if I'm at an older grade, and even just read it to my students. After I read a chapter, we could discuss what happened. The students could even fill out worksheets or split into groups and explain what they think will happen next to work on predicting. I think there is a lot I could do with this book, I would just have to dig deeper.

Here are links to amazon.com where I found the books:

http://www.amazon.com/Holes-Louis-Sachar/dp/0439244196/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253031055&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Giving-Tree-Shel-Silverstein/dp/B000NY2R40/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253031111&sr=1-2

1 comment:

  1. The Giving Tree was one of my favorite books growing up as well. Its a great example of compassion, and reading it at the beginning of the year would be a nice way to introduce the desired atmosphere of the classroom. I like your idea of drawing trees and it could easily lead into a discussion about nature.

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