1. This semester has been one of dramatic growth for me. The booklist was a great developmental tool for
my reading. It has really created a strong interest in childrens literature for me. Now when I think of what kinds of childrens
books I would like to read many of the ones this semester come into my head. At the beginning of the semester I really wasn't
sure how I would be able to find books that were that interesting to me especially sixty of them, but I think even when this
class is over I will continue to use my booklist. I can refer to it whenever I need a book for my students. As far as my writing
goes, I have become someone who values reflection. This class has really made the reflection real and interesting. Each
week when I update my website I really think about the next week and how I can change what I have done so far to make it more
valuable for the students and for myself. Also the website and all the writing we have done on it will truely be useful to
me when I am teaching.
2. The skills and strategies I have learned this semester will make my teaching a lot easier and more valuable
for my future students. I wasn't sure what the use of literature circles even was and now I feel that they are a key to getting
students interested in literature and talk about it with their peers in a meaningful way. I have also learned a great deal
about how to find literature that is appealing to my students. It was really fun when the UNM students brought the vastly
different literature we all read and presented it to Penny's class and the students had choices. It gave the students the
responsibilty for their own reading which I think has helped the students take control of the literature circle. I also have
gained knowledge about different genres and literary elements that make literature all the much more interesting. I learned
so much about these things that I knew nothing about. The booklist and website has also served to be a great developmental
tool for me to keep track of my learning. I believe all of these were experiences I would never have had the oppurtunity to
be enriched by otherwise.
3. I feel like the knowledge I have gained about literary genres and elements has really effected my experience
with reading this semester. I have found things that I look for when reading. Also the way that these were presented really
showed just how different they all are. I found that when people presented their research on their topic it really helped
when they had examples and it made it a lot easier to classify books on the book list. I think this information will be helpful
when I am covering different topics in my classroom and if I chose books from all diffrerent genres it will make the studnets
knowledge of books greater. I have also learn how to implement a literature circle in the classroom and feel that I can adequately
apply this knowledge with whatever group of students I am working with. I also think that working with my peers has helped
to make this experience even more valuable and it helps to have different strengths and abilties to make things work in the
best way they can. Using the different characters and the emphasis on engaging students with the ability to love playing in
a classroom has been really interesting and has been something that has been hard for me, but something I feel the students
will love. When students are young I think it is even easier for them to be creative and express their love of play. I am
glad I have the knowledge on how to use these things with my future students.
4. When beginning this course I feel like I had some valuable abilities and strengths. When we
began working with our literature circles it has really shown that we each had unique talents to bring to the table. Also
when we did the work for our genres, we all had such different books and knowledge when we presented that it really shined
through. As far as my own strengths...I think that I had a love for reading and organization when we started this class. I
really wanted to learn more about childrens books and how to use them in a classroom. I feel I can take away experiences both
of these areas and feel very adequate. I also really wanted to continue with stengthening my organizational skills and feel
like the building of our personal website did just that. Now I also have a place to go to when I want to look over my work
for this class.
5. This semester has strengthen my reflection skill drastically. I felel that this class in particular has
really encouraged me to be insighful about my learning and how I can use what I am learning later in life. I think the weekly
reflections really kept me on task and thinking about what changes I could make to what I was struggling with. The booklist
seemed to really challenge me when we began but as the semester progressed it seemed to turn into a fun thing for me. I think
that reflecting on how I was doing with it and what I needed to do helped me to stay on task. The reflections we did for the
literature circles really helped me to think critically about how I would use it in my own classroom and if we needed to change
some things for our group. It also helped me to see what growth they made over the semester. I now believe more than ever
that reflection is a key to keeping yourself aware of what you need to do to strengthen your weaknesses and keep track of
what is working and not working for your students.
At the beginning of the semester I was kind of unsure as to what to expect, but now that the semester is
winding down, it is so much more than I imagined. I learned so much from the class content and I dont think there was any
better way to have it presented to me. Francis has done a great job, she is a very talented and experienced woman!! I think
that this class will be one of the most important to me in Kindergarten. I am now so excited to bring some of the books I
have read to the class and read with the students. There is no way I would have learned any of this important information
so effectively without this class!!! I am so glad I was required to take this class and I dont think there is anything I would
change.
I think I deserve an A. Thank you!!!!!
