Types of Text That Captivated Me

Reading was always an area that I have always enjoyed as a young child and even now as an adult. As a young child, (Kindergarten) the type of text that captured me were picture storybooks with strong storylines. I liked rhyming books because of the repetitive sounds. I also liked fun-toy like books that had pop ups, lift the flaps or pull outs.

I always went after books that were large in size, had bright colors and pictures on the front covers. The photographs had to be not only on the outside but on the inside of the book. I liked the photographs inside the book because they helped me to comprehend the story better. When I first began to read, I liked reading text that was simple to read with large print and had spacing between the words. As I got older the books had to be a topic that I was interested in reading. I enjoyed reading books by Dick and Jane and the Little Golden Books.

Something positive I remember about reading ...... I always remembered being so interested when my Kindergarten and first grade teachers read a story. I always wanted them to read multiple stories (one after the other) because I enjoyed them so much. The other thing I liked about reading was when my teachers use to act out the stories or use "expression" when they were reading. I don't know if anyone remembers the "bookmobile". The bookmobile was a large van filled with books that use to come on the school grounds once per week. Students use to be able to borrow books from this vehicle. I looked forward to choosing books from the bookmobile because my library did not have the greatest selection of stuff. I was a very fluent reader and my teachers always called upon me to read aloud in the class. I felt like a star.

A negative experience was that I always had trouble with comprehension and some problems with vocabulary. I could not stand it when I was unable to comprehend and it frustrated me a lot. I could never figure this out because as you can see I really enjoyed reading.


Teresa Duardo

Expand Your Knowledge

I feel there are many ways to expand knowledge about other racial/ethinc groups. You need to start early if you plan on teaching young children. Exposing children as early as Pre K allows children to appreciate different cultures and identify bias early on.

I think since students spend a lot of hours inside a classroom I feel that the room itself should have signs, banners, posters and bulletin boards that show diversity. It is important that a classroom envioronment be a welcoming and accepting envioronment for all types of racial/ethnic groups. I also think that a classroom library should have a variety of books about different racial/ethnic groups regardless of what district/community you are teaching in. Children's literature and Social Studies are great subject to expland knowldege about racial/ethic groups because they deal with real life issues and people.

Another way to expand knowledge about racial/ethnic groups is to have parents and family members of the students come into the classroom during a holiday and share with the class about their practices. Guest speakers are a great sources for teaching diversity. My mom actually did this when I was in elementary school and she talked about how important Christmas Eve is to the Italian culture. It was a wonderful experience for my classmates and the teacher to learn about the Italian culture. Field trips to local museums are also another great way to expand knowledge. A change of scene can help open students minds more.

The one experience I had that taught me about my own bias was the school observations we did in the Abbott District. Before I observed the Abbott District I thought to myself, " I would never go back to my roots and teach in an Abbott District". In fact, this was a false belief. The more and more I observed I now feel very strongly about teaching in an Abbott District. The schools in these areas are nice and more importantly appear to be more on the ball and on top of everything.

Creating Community In The Classroom

I feel a way of creating community in the classroom is through writing. There are plenty of writing samples in Walking Trees showing how students express themselves through writing. I liked the Half Autobiography story that was written on page 120 in Walking Trees. When students write autobiographies it can serve many purposes. First, students will get to know themselves better, second, they will have the chance to learn about each other. Writing gives students the opportunity to talk about their families. It will also give them the chance to talk about what is important to them and what they value. This leads to community building, students create a place in the community to which we belong. By sharing autobiographies, it allows others to hear and understand who we are in ways that support the view we have of ourselves. For a teacher, reading students writing can help you learn about students' interests and structure the classroom around them. In parent teacher conferences writing shows parents that you value their child's individual needs.