Portfolio+-+Kylie+Naugle

English 486 Teaching Reading and Literature with Young Adults By Kylie Naugle
 * __ Portfolio __**

If I were to be asked to name the most important thing I’ve learned in this class, I would say it was the experience itself. This class has taught me just as much about being an inspired reader myself as it has in teaching me how to inspire others to read. I’ve also learned that the books we choose to teach in our classrooms makes up only have of our jobs as teachers, the other is in how we choose to present these books to our students. I came to this class with the knowledge that I was a strong reader and with this skill, I would be able to teach others. What I learned is how important our teaching methods are to our students. My Reading Partner taught me how damaging a bad teacher can be and also how a lesson that only scratches the surface of a book can deprive a student of the wonders within it. I found out how important background knowledge can be in a student’s comprehension of a book as well as the necessity of sparking a student’s interest in a book before they even open it. Through this class I have grown as a teacher and a students, and my eyes have been opened to a greater realization on how closely those to roles are related. (RPP referenced: excerpt shown at end of document)
 * Intro **


 * Current State **
 * Reader:** As a reader, I was most impacted on learning the different types of readers a person can be and what defines me as a reader. I was aware of grouping students into good and struggling readers, but it goes much further than that. I learned that I relate best to the characters of stories and that not everyone reads this way. By reading books based on a common theme instead of the characters, I was able to read books in a way new to me. The B-Project showed me a whole new way to make connections between texts. It also took a lot of time to read all the books necessary for the assignment, but each one helped unveil a new perspective on the theme I had chosen. With each new reading, the relation between the books grew in a way I would not have noticed otherwise. Though this was a challenging assignment for me, I will admit it helped me grow as a reader. (B-Project referenced: excerpt shown at end of document)


 * Learner:** Again I learned new definitions on people’s learning styles, which helped me be able to define the style I use most. I enjoy when a teacher uses a variety of assignments to assess us as students, and enjoy even more when we are given the option to choose which assignment we’d like to use. I knew coming into this class that students like option, but I didn’t realize how important this strategy could be for a teacher, or how much it affected me as a student. I learned that I enjoy reading most when I can create my own visuals for the story. The one pager let me draw my own pictures, while helping me find related passages from the text about transformations the characters showed throughout the story. Being able to combine different activities I enjoy (reading and drawing) helped motivate me to digging deeper into the text. (One-Pager referenced: excerpt shown at end of document)


 * Teacher:** I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and that I would one day be making lesson plans on books, but this class unlocked more ways for me to teach than I could have predicted. This was done not only through the articles we were assigned on teaching reading, but also on the assignments we were given ourselves. I learned how important it is for a teacher to be able to motivate one’s students to read, and helping students see the values they have as an individual reader. I learned a lot of the criteria that goes into creating a lesson plan and how using the goals I want my students to achieve, to help backtrack me into the readings I would want them to do and the questions I would want them to answer. I also learned how to present books in an inviting way through my B-Project and how to find relationships between books that I never would have considered seeing. The A-Project also taught me to question the knowledge I was taught and look beyond the classroom to find out more about the questions I have. I feel more prepared to be a teacher, but with learning all these new strategies to teach and factors that go into teaching, I have come to realize just how much there still is for me to learn as a teacher. (Lesson Plan, B-Project, and A-Project referenced: excerpts shown at end of document).

I had only just learned about EQ last semester in my first education class. I was told to remember what they were because it would not be the last time I’d hear of them. They have been popping up around me ever since. I remember reading books in class and then afterwards being asked questions about them, never realizing the deeper sense of an answer I could find for them, had I been given them before I started reading the book. I was also given a lot of questions on the surface areas of the book: plot, sense, characters, conflicts, etc. Using questions that demand critical thinking, and force the reader to dig deeper into the text really expands their insight on the book, past the concrete facts that they had read. Essential questions help lead students beyond the surface to make their own decisions on what the characters may have been thinking, or how one scene caused another to unfold through a relationship they shared. Having an essential question pertain to a certain literary lens can unfold to the student a whole new view to take on the book. These questions help expand the ways students think and can help them access the literature in a way they never would have tried if they were simply told to read the book. What I learned most about essential questions is just how important critical thinking is to students.
 * Developing My Grasp of “Essential Questions” **

Through this semester it has become incredibly aware to me the strengths and weaknesses I have in both teaching and learning.
 * Key Traits of Performance **
 * Strengths:** I believe one of my strengths is being a strong reader and not afraid to speak up about my ideas on a book. This helps limit the intimidation factor of books and keeps me open to reading books outside of my usual preferences. I feel that I excel when it comes to empathizing with characters and can see their development beyond the text. They come to life for me, which helps me better grasp their stories and traits. I think this also leads to my ability to visualize stories and create my own images for them. With these abilities to see beyond the text, I think it helps when I create essential questions for students to think about while reading a book. Since I can think critically about a book, I can help them do it too.


 * Weaknesses:** What I struggled most with during this class is seeing books through a certain lens. By reading books nearly the same way for years, I have grown accustomed to my style of reading. This made it difficult to change my styles when incorporating a certain literary lens. I also have a tendency to get wrapped up in my reading of a book and forget the questions I am suppose to be answering. As a teacher I will need to work on my ability to view texts through different lenses and keep myself aware of what I should be looking for in a book, and not just get enveloped in my desire to read through it. Learning to overcome these weaknesses will help me grow as both a reader and a teacher for it will help give me tools to aid my students who may have similar problems.


 * Breakthrough:** I think my biggest breakthrough was our group lesson plan. One aspect about teaching that worried me the most was developing my own lesson plan. I think I was most confused on where to start. I also worried that what I taught my students would not bring them to the goal I would desire. By learning to create lesson plans from “the bottom up”, one of my fears was conquered. By stating my goal first and creating my plan around it, I would be able to help my students achieve what was desired of them. This would help all my activities and assignments stay focused on my desired goal. With a new guideline on how to create a lesson plan, I have made one more big step in my own goal of becoming a successful teacher.

With the lessons I’ve learned and the realizations that have come to me, I feel that I am making progress in being a good teacher. This class has opened my eyes to all of the new possibilities that are being created for teaching as well as the restriction that come with being a teacher. I know that the more knowledge and experience I get under my belt, I will be achieving a better view on what a teacher should be. But with all of this new knowledge, I am learning just how little I know about being a teacher, and how much more knowledge that there is out there for me to gain. It’s a daunting thought, but I am more determined than ever to take on the challenge.
 * Conclusion **

=**Excerpts**=

**Under the Covers and Beyond the First Page:** A look into the reading habits and literary psyche of Nate Keller
 * RPP (Introduction) **

When Nate Keller walks into a room there is no doubt about it, heads are going to turn. At 6’3 and over 200 pounds, this boy is going to catch your eye. Thought his appearance is looming, it is his persona that gets to people the most. Nate is not a boy to be told what to do; he loves his independence and will proclaim it, if challenged. The easiest way to get on his bad side is to try and give him an order. This could be as simple as a friend telling him to bring something to their table, or a teacher telling the class they must purchase this book to pass the class, in any instance, he will gladly disobey. It’s as if he is tuned to automatically do the opposite of that which he is told, even when the orders given to him are in his best interest, it has to do with the person’s effort to assert authority over him. This brings up many problems in the classroom, and problems with readings have been one of them. Nate is the poster child for a reluctant reader. He has all the tools one needs to succeed in reading: high levels of comprehension, self dedication to finishing a book once started, different critical lenses used to look at books, and a love of reading. With these tools it would seem that Nate would be a cherished asset to a teacher’s literature class, but sometimes the opposite ensues. With such a strong personality and need of control, Nate as problems connecting with teachers, and often his work suffers from the rocky relationship he creates with them.

** Central Theme: Freedom **
 * B- **** Project (Theme and Connection to Other Texts) **

Each one of these books shows a theme of freedom in one way or another. Some characters need to break away from external restaints, while other struggle with the internal ones. The stories show common freedoms and individual ones. All of the books show the protagonsist gaining freedom from a society, whether it be the one they live in, or one they are thrust into during the course of the story. Below is a list of the most predominant theme of freedom in each story.

Freedom from conformity - Chopin Freedom from pre-destined fate - Cashore Freedom from a pre-conceived reality - Buffie Freedom from family - Walls Freedom from oppression - Lowry

Classic: __Pride and Prejudice__ by Jane Austen Elizabeth Bennett also strikes out against the views of women in society. She speaks her mind and refuses to be defined by a man. This novel also has a female protagonist. Her refusals to stick to the status quo parallel the same traits of Edna in __The Awakening.__
 * Connections to Other Literature **

Film: __Gone with the Wind__ (novel turned movie) Scarlett O’Hara is the epitome of a female protagonist. She is a survivor. Scarlett knows how to adapt to new situations brought on by the war. She wants the freedom to date Ashley, but it restrained by his marriage to Melanie. Her spitfire spirit shows similarities to Katsa in __Graceling__, they both also show sides of immaturity at times.

Play: __Twelfth Night/ What You Will__ by William Shakespeare The female protagonist in this play breaks free of the restraints of gender rules. Viola poses as her brother to be treated like a boy in society. Her wit and charm help her stay ahead of the game. Her survival skills could be compared to those of Katsa and Emma.


 * One- Pager **

Compare and contrast the student’s individual lives with the life of Marjane. Use her story to have them write a paper on how they view a person’s identity and factors go into this? Show a clip of the film based on this novel before beginning to read the book to spark their interests. Talk about some of the big issues that will be brought up in the novel and make sure the students have some background knowledge on them. Being in a newspaper from Iran or have the students do a current event on a conflict of their choice from the Middle East. Parallel this conflict with something that has happened in American history. Have them act out a scene from the book that relates to a historical conflict. While reading the novel, have students find parallels in //Persepolis// and their own lives. Write them down in a book journal. Have the students respond individually to the E.Q. given to them at the beginning of the novel. Have a teacher-guided discussion about the book and their views on it. Have them keep a book journal while they red to write down their thoughts and have time where they can present excerpts from their journal. Have students create presentations on a media of choice about the theme of identity in //Persepolis.// Explain the examples in the novel that relate Marjane’s story to their own lives and problems in the U.S. Have them discuss what similar factors they share in the making of their identities?
 * Lesson Plan (Learning Plan) **
 * W ** – **Where the students are headed: Having stronger views on what an identity is.**
 * H ** – **How to hook the students on the novel and the concepts: Using different medias to expose students to the stories.**
 * E ** – **Events to help students experience the realness of the ideas and issues: Use real media to show students the impacts of these problems on the country.**
 * R ** – **Having the students review and revise their work on the deeper meanings of the core ideas: Use feedback feed back to help students self-assess themselves.**
 * E ** – **Having students exhibit their understandings and identify the strengths and weaknesses in their works through self- evaluation: Student-made presentations to reflect their understandings.**

Why we do read “The Classics” in school, their purpose in the classroom, why students struggle with reading them, and the role of external factors on students’ views on classic literature. My essential question has strayed away from the how to teach these, to the why?
 * A-Project (Essential Question) **