Blog #7

From what I gather between the readings and what we are doing as a class in the book club, I can see some benefits from being able to apply the readings to being in/running my own book club. I loved the activities in the coursepack that are easy to do and very beneficial for students who have trouble comprehending text in stories/books. I think the various activities and organizers are a great way to help students comprehend their readings and to be able to get more meaning out of what they are reading. They get the student really involved and it allows them to create their own path in deciding how to interpret what they have read. I think giving a student more of an option to dissect information is a better way and plus the student is more likely to enjoy what he or she is doing. I could see myself having these activities available to my class one day; maybe I could make a chart and the students could work in pairs, completely a different 'box' each week on certain readings or maybe if we are reading a book as a class. But most importantly I think that these activities could be used as a form of assessment in order to see which students are able to apply the stages of reading and writing. This is a huge step because we want our students to understand how their previous experiences and their current knowledge can help them comprehend how to make the most out of their work. I want to be able to motivate and encourage my students so that I can affect their reading and writing habits and skills. Knowing the ways I can help and encourage my students will allow me to suit their needs. Learning is very diverse and when I participate in the activities that I expect my students to do one day (like the ones in the coursepack) I can see why it would be beneficial to have my students do work like this. Furthermore, I can see which students (like I said) need the help and what students prefer to do/how they want to go about showing me that they understand something. Understanding that there is more way to something than just one way, is key and I hope that I learn many ways to accommodate my students.