Reflection and Reading Program Summary

This blog has been very beneficial to my learning as it has allowed me to connect with the key ideas explored throughout the lectures and workshops and relate this to student learning in the English curriculum. It has also given me some ideas as to how I can record students reading and development in the classroom, and why particular books would be good/why they wouldn't be etc. I have gained many fantastic ideas to one day implement in my own classroom with my own students.

My reading program summary:

Novels:

1. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
2. Jillaroo - Rachel Treasure
3. Matilda - Roald Dahl
4. The Donkey who Carried the Wounded - Jackie French
5. Vicky Angel - Jacqueline Wilson.

Picture Books:

1. Billy Dog's Bad Day - Richard Scarry
2. Franklin is Messy - Paulette Bourgeois
3. Arthur - Amanda Graham
4. Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale - Marcus Pfister
5. Rosie Meets Mr Wintergarten - Bob Graham
6. The Ragged Old Bear - Leone Peguero
7. The Mermaid Princess - Shirley Barber
8. Roll Over, Pavlova! - June Factor

Vicky Angel

Vicky Angel is a short novel written by Jacqueline Wilson. This book by Wilson is complex, and explores themes that can have extreme effects on the readers. In saying that, I would use this book for year 6's and even year 7's to touch upon some important issues that students may have been involved with in some way.

Vicky and Jade are best friends and do everything together. One day, walking home from school together, Vicky is involved in a tragic accident which leaves her fighting for her life. Unfortunately she does not pull through and leaves Jade broken hearted and without her best friend. This is until of course, Jade believes that she can still see Vicky when she 'turns up' to visit her. At first, this is exciting for Jade as she has her friend back, however the problems soon started. Sometimes Vicky would be in a bad mood and treat her badly, sometimes she would be happy, and soon Jade begins to realise that this Vicky isn't the one she knew and loved. As the story progresses, Jade goes to see a counselor which can sometimes be hard for her as Vicky is 'there.' Eventually the counselor is able to break through Jade's silence and is able to help her. As Jade tries to move on, she is able to take control of certain aspects of her life. She is able to make new friends and also learns that she has the attention of a boy that Vicky never let her talk to. In the end, Jade is able to move on without having Vicky 'with her' all the time, and learns that she will always be in her heart no matter what.

Wilson has explored complex themes through death, friendship, family and bravery. These themes can be very tough to explore and Wilson has done it in a fantastic way. Not only is it about death and losing a best friend and a loved one, but also about Jade finding her own path in life, and how grief can be used to move forward in life. I believe that Wilson's underlying message throughout this story is that no matter what, that person will always be with you and would want the best for you. So live your life, make them proud, follow you dreams and never forget that they will always be with you in some special way.

As I previously said, these are very complex themes to explore for students, so I would not necessarily use it in a class setting, but it can be good for individual reading. I believe that students could really connect with this novel, as everyone has someone very special to them that they would never want to lose. It can be a very tough and involving read however I think that students would enjoy the book enormously and gain lots from it.

Roll Over, Pavlova!

Roll Over, Pavlova is a small children's picture book with pages and pages of short rhymes and sayings. I would not use this book for a specific classroom activity, however it would be another good book for individual students to read and enjoy for themselves.

This book portrays a lot of humour, with many silly rhymes which I believe is important to allow students to read. Sometimes it is important to have a book that is light hearted and and funny as they continue to engage students and allow them to enjoy reading.

This book contains a lot of rhyme, which makes the book flow and is easy for the student to read. Rhyme also engages the student as generally the words come naturally and this can also make students think of extra words to add into different places, extending their vocabulary.

The illustrations are in black and white and are extremely simple, however they show a lot of detail which relates back to the poem/rhyme. Again, the illustrations portray the humour which is shown throughout the book and once again keep the students engaged in the text.

I would use this book for year 3 students, even year 4 students as it is a good light hearted and simple read.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Mark Haddon’s novel for young adults; ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ – is a book which I read (and loved) during high school. I decided to re-read it as part of my blog because I believe it is very suitable for use in secondary schools. I was in year eleven when I first read this novel- and in retrospect, I think this was probably the best time to read it. Although the text might also be studied in year ten – I believe that its complex themes deserve to be explored in real depth, and would recommend the text for use in year eleven (or even twelve) classes so that the most can be gained from it.

The story follows fifteen year old Christopher Boone – who (although it is never explicitly stated in the book) has a form of Autism. Most readers speculate that Christopher has Asperger Syndrome – however Haddon claims he did not write about a specific condition as he is not an expert in the field. Christopher is both the protagonist and the narrator of the book – which makes for a very involving story. Readers experience every event through Christopher’s eyes and so are drawn into his unique world.

Christopher takes readers on a journey of discovery as he attempts to solve a mystery and in the process uncovers much more that he first imagined. There are some strong themes within the book- including relationships and love, autism, being “different”, identity, spirituality, memories, stability and change. At times the subject matter becomes quite confronting and this is emphasised through Christopher’s matter-of-fact style of narration (no details are spared and no attempt is made to ‘soften’ the impact of difficult topics/events).  

Overall, I found this book to be moving, poignant at times profound. I would definitely recommend its use in classrooms as I feel that it provides some valuable messages and insights. Additionally, the text provides an excellent opportunity for students to practice literacy skills and learn about literary techniques- as there is plenty of material for analysis (symbolism, narration style, structure, language selection, character development, use of dialogue etc).

Reading Program and Reflection

This personal reading program and blog has allowed myself to become familiar with children’s books, developed my understanding of the content for teaching English and helped engage myself with profession writing practices. This has been a great learning tool and could be used in the classroom especially to keep a record of what students are reading and whether students are creating meaning from the texts.

The books chosen for my personal reading program are:

Chapter Books read:

·         The Hunger Games

·         The Golden Door

·         Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot

·         Rowan of Rin

·         Looking for Alibrandi

Picture Books read:

·         Cat and Fish

·         The Road to Goonong

·         Nighty Night!

·         The Peasant Prince

·         Two peas in a pod

·         No Bears

·         The pocket dogs

·         The Lorax

The Donkey Who Carried the Wounded

The Donkey who carried the Wounded is a touching story about three ANZAC legends at Gallipoli, written by Jackie French. 

This book describes the story of Simpson and his donkey. Simpson continually risked his life, taking wounded soldiers on the back of his donkey from the battle line to the beach for evacuation. Unfortunately, Simpson was killed by a Turkish machine gun fire while he was helping a wounded man. Amazingly, the donkey obediently continued along the track taking the wounded man to safety. A little later throughout the story, Richard Henderson from New Zealand took over Simpson’s work and continued to guide the donkey while they carried wounded men.  

French has told the story from each of the different characters perspectives which as Gamble and Yates (2008) state, “is dialogic perspectives.” (p.76) By doing this, the reader to able to get to know each character and understand their own feelings about the situation they were in rather than just hearing from one narrator.

French has also used lots of descriptive language which allows the reader to build images in their head about what the setting may be like, what the characters might be like etc. This is an important aspect of writing and reading, because if they reader cannot build up an image, it can be boring and and frustrating for the reader.  

 I believe that this would be a fantastic book for teenagers and would be a good resource for students to begin allow them to begin to understand the importance of the ANZAC landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula. 

The Mermaid Princess

The Mermaid Princess is a children's picture book written and illustrated by the very talented Shirley Barber. I selected this book to look at specifically because it was one that I loved reading when I was younger.

The book is basically about mermaids being discovered by innocent children who are at the beach on a holiday. A little pixie who also resides at the beach sees that they need help to get the mermaid back to her family who got separated from one another in a storm. The pixie goes on an adventure to find her family while the 2 children, Jon and Wendy looked after her. Eventually, the mermaids family are reunited with her. It is a holiday that Jon and Wendy would never ever forget.

I would not use this book for a whole class activity, as obviously this genre would not appeal to everyone, however I would have it in my classroom for independent reading as this book is one that most young girls would love to read. All young girls love reading about mermaids, pixies, dolphins, princesses and magic which is what Barber has incorporated into this picture book.

Along with the fantastic story line, the descriptive language that Barber has incorporated makes the book interesting to read and I believe also allows students to build upon their vocabulary while reading a book that they enjoy. The language also allows the reader to clearly understand what is happening in the illustrations etc.

Barber's illustrations throughout this picture book are absolutely spectacular. They are extremely detailed, with lots of bright colours which capture the readers attention. The illustrations really portray the 'magical' theme to Barber's books, which her readers really enjoy.