Content and Knowledge
I feel, well, I KNOW that I have gained so much knowledge about genres and books! Before this semester I had an ok idea
of what genres were, even mid-semester I had a pretty ok idea of what kinds of books were out there for children. I feel now
I am well prepared to discuss genres and books with any student I may have in the future. I know I said this in my genre page
but I am so glad I was given Anime and Manga for my genre; because for me it is the farthest genre out there for me! And I
know I will come across at least one student who loves this genre, and I can have a connection with that student. I also feel
I have gained knowledge from the Tibbetts experience. I was able to work with Middle School students which is new for me.
And I learned that I really like that age group.
Skills and Strategies
I have discovered a skill of mine that I just recently started working
on is using the Library as a great resource!I have been to the Library many times before this class, but I learned so much
more about the children's resources at the library and the teacher resources which I did not know before. I have gained the
skill of using the Library's website as a great resource as well to find information that I am looking for. I have learned
strategies to use when working with students from the experience at Tibbetts. I learned how to work with certain situations
and how to react to other situations, very good experience for me. I learned communication is a great tool for students and
their teacher! I learned that making the student own their assignment, project, etc. is very important. The Tibbetts experience
really taught me alot.
Independence and Confidence
First, I feel I have learned so much about genres, literary elements and children's
books that now I feel much more confident about these elements. I feel now I can go out on my own and find the recources and
information I need to help students in children's literature. I also feel I have gained confidence in working with students
thanks to Ms. Penny's sixlets. I felt that as the semester went on, the more my confidence grew, the more I connected with
the students, and the more it felt like a student-teacher relationship. I feel not only did I grow confidence, but the sixlets
did as well with reading and talking out loud. It was great for a number of people.
Use of Prior and Emerging Experience
Working with younger children in the past has given me experience to literature,
although it has been children at a younger age it has helped me feel more comfortable to the sixlets. Just in my own
childhood, reading and learning so many different books and ideas has really prepared me to work with sixlets and to create
my booklist. When I was reading books this semester, lots of memories came back to me to when I was a child, and it reminded
me of a certain book or subject I was reading. It was a great experience to feel like parts of me were going back in time.
It really brought out the best of me for this class and the future.
Critical Reflection
Through reading children's literature this semester, it has brought
out the inner child in me that I sometimes forget I have. It has aloud me to connect with not only the students in Ms. Penny's
class, but with other students I am working with as well. I found that children need to interact and feed off eachother's
ideas and learned to work in a group. I have learned there are more ways to learn than individually.This semester has aloud
me to gain so much confidence in reading and working with children. I feel I will be better prepared in this area than I ever
would have before this class. I have found that I love to read, discuss and reflect books with children. It has been a great
experience to see students react to what their reading and discuss it. I feel that in my future classroom, my students and
myself will really benefit from this class.
