All of these things are so important for students to experience. Now that these boys have had these opportunities and have been able to relate to literature like this they will hopefully have a more open opinion when it comes to future readings than the boy did when reading Little Red Riding Hood as mentioned at the beginning of this article.

This is another really great point. Reading the responses of these boys about the unit they had been working on was truly eye opening. It's amazing how literature could open doors to young students about an issue as large as drugs.

This is a great way to show the importance of student engagement during the lesson. These boys are now taking what they are reading and making it real and making it mean something. Now they have the ability to use books and reading as a form of help should they ever need to, and sometimes that is the best form of comforting when things are rough.

This is such an important part of reading develop and I believe was overlooked by many teachers for a long time. I think now with one of the Daily 5 rounds being read with someone, students are gaining a lot in this area.

Although not entirely related, this process is so amazing to watch. I've had the privilege of watching first graders this semester transition from reading fiction to nonfiction, and watching them develop these skills was something incredible. I'm sure this author was in awe when these boys made this progress.

Having this explanation here before the author begins explaining the results of her study is beneficial to have as a reader.

This is a great way to encourage both strengthening of literacy skills and engagement. I could see this strategy working very well in a classroom.

I think this is a great point brought up by the author. I see and hear about this often, but not necessarily in my current field placement. This is sadly the real deal in classrooms, and does need to be changed.

This can be true for so many aspects of the academic world for students. Not only in terms of literature but everything we would teach in the classroom as teachers. If students aren't able to relate to the material on any level at all, then there is no sense in teaching because trying to teach without student engagement is not effective or an easy task.

This is a large downfall of this type of reading. I still even now have a hard time deciphering what is a bias and what is not when reading historical content.

This is a really great point about one of the disadvantages to learning history content in this sort of way. This combined with some "textbook" readings could and probably does make for a balanced and great social studies curriculum.

This is a great way to bring readers into terms with the fictional aspects. I have never thought of this, or done it as a student.

This is so true, even now as a student I am so much more engaged if I'm reading something that is in first person narration than if it were to be in a textbook context.

Fictionalized biographies are a really great way to for students to really connect with the history and social studies content. That's what is so unique about those "Who am I" Biography chapter books

It's so interesting how so many different "new" versions of this could still be worked in! It's amazing how many ways literature and reading can be turned into anything.

This is a great point, and one that I could/should have included in my previous annotation.

I think that this idea of "blowing up" the smaller picture is such an amazing idea. A possible lesson that could be really cool for students if done correctly would be reading a picture book version of a fairy tale and then a fantasy novel of the same story. This would be a great way to teach character development and styles of writing.

I think sometimes this reasoning for fairy tales is sometimes over looked. As children are learning not only academics but also social behaviors, this is a great way for them to SEE and then apply.

I'm not entirely sure why, but this age group surprised me. I had always thought that fairy tales were target at a younger audience.

This is a really great idea. Thinking about using fantasy literature to bring up some of those "sore subjects" is an excellent way to address the content in an age-appropriate manner.

This is such an interesting point. I remember even in elementary school all of the science fiction books were basically reserved for boys because they were about aliens and robots but girls were lead more to the fantasy books. And this is true, I do think this would hinder female elementary teachers because we have such little exposure.

This was such an incredible opening, it was nostalgic as a reader, and it left me eager to read the rest of the article!

This paragraph has probably been my favorite passage from the readings for this module!

I can only imagine this would turn out to be a really engaging and interesting lesson for students to complete. I would have never even thought of these things as a form of mythology.

This is a really useful and insightful definition that provides a great explanation.

This statement is so powerful. And, I'll be the first to admit even now in my junior year of college, in an education program, I have absolutely no idea about anything in mythology (except after this module I will!!!!)

This is such an incredible and interesting way to create integration into the lesson. It would give students a great break from the content-specific lessons as well. Sometimes as students a break (even if we don't know it's not actually a break) from the "hard stuff" is so much of a mental boost and refreshing.

As freshman in high school, this is such an important skill. Sometimes it's easy for teachers to forget how there need to be skills taught that we take for granted (such as note taking). This should be done in multiple subjects at this age level because note taking for different subjects require different ways of notes. He is taking not only the instruction of mythology further than others, but also critical "college survival skills".

This whole concept is actually very interesting. In my high school only the "smart classes" were allowed to read The Oddessy. And yes, our teachers actually labeled classes as AP the really really smart kids who could handle anything, the honors leveled classes as the smart kids, and the academic level (the majority) as underachieving.

I think this is a great point. So often, especially with a subject like literature if it's not somehow making us "college ready" it's deemed not important. Therefore, when we do have to encounter an aspect, such as mythology, we approach the subject with too much caution to really appreciate it. Very similar to the accounts we read about in the poetry module, actually.

This is an interesting point to read right after the previous section about the number of picture books that correlated with each grade reading abilities.

Again, I think students being able to see these abstract concepts come to life through the pages of picture books will help them immensely.

I fully believe that picture books are so helpful to learning science. Although science can easily be taught through charts, diagrams, and other forms of "graphics" having the science lesson imbedded within a story with characters, plot, and pictures helps students in many ways.

The idea of using picture books to help aide in the lessons of literary terms. I think this would be a great help to students, and plan on using a technique like this in my own future classroom.

All of these examples of picture books are great and bring up points I have never really thought about before. This is certainly something that I will be taking away from this reading!

I think this is a great point. Even though they are still young, the class I am currently doing fieldwork in (1st grade) has so many students who are struggling readers, one who does not even recognize kindergarten sight words. For her, reading is all reading the pictures, and using picture books are the way she is not separated publicly from the rest of her class.

I am completely bewildered by this! I, like so many others apparently, was under the impression that picture books, specifically Where the Wild Things Are was geared towards the lower-age children.

I think this quote from a student is a great depiction of how elementary students see poetry, and shows us why we shouldn't be afraid to teach it!

As I was able to see in my own experiences as a student working with poetry, recitation is a component. Up until here in the reading I didn't find this discussed, but I think preparing children and introducing them to recitation at a young age will do nothing but help them in the long run.

As this whole module is dedicated to informing us how poetry should be included, taught, and worked with in a classroom these ideas are helpful and I'm glad they were included.

A great example of formative assessment to catering to what it was the children were liking or responding best to.

I think this could probably be seen as a positive unintended effect of the unit; it proved how versatile poetry can be!

When reading it's so beneficial to be able to bounce ideas off each other. I still even find myself doing this with college readings. After I do an assigned reading I often still find myself either picking up my phone to text a classmate or conversing with them about what it was we read and checking my understanding.

I've never heard of books being used for something like this before, and I think it really is an awesome idea to use a designated book for one particular topic.

Perhaps collaborating on a difficult unit like poetry is a great idea. Even though most things are now done as a grade level team collaboration, I think it would be particularly helpful in a task as daunting as poetry

This is one of the things that has probably been pushed on me the most from my professors in the Education Department, and because of their consistency in teaching us future teachers this, I now realize it's importance and am glad to see it in a published work.

I think this is so important; if you are going to try and teach children poetry and to write poetry, you have to be comfortable and aware with doing it yourself first.

These two poems by students really illustrate what it is this article is working to get out. Poems don't have to be daunting at all, children can make up great poems with a scenario as simple as eating cookies or jumping on the bed! I was surprised to read these and how simple yet complex they were for some reason.

Not even in the terms of poetry, but as a student learning to become a teacher in general, I thought this was interesting. Often we think teachers kind of make up their discussions as we go, but this is just a reminder how important it is for teachers to come to the classroom prepared!

I think this is a great idea in getting children to write their own poetry. I guess what comes along with the innocence of childhood is the absence of fear. Children will write just to write, very few will be concerned what their classmates or teacher will think unlike older students.

I agree, that because poetry reading, writing, and interpretation of poetry is such an individualized process and learning experience this type of instruction probably is not the most beneficial.

I think because we are not exposed to this in the early years of our schooling is part of what makes it so challenging as we reach middle and high school. Perhaps if this is something that we have been working with all along with so many of our other subjects, we would begin to see the task less daunting and abstract.

I think I understand what they are getting at in terms of you don't have to necessarily be an expert in the "art" of poetry, but you probably have to have some amount of decent knowledge to teach it, no? Or maybe that's just me being mislead, I'm not really sure!

I still find myself struggling with poetry so often. The opportunity for open interpretation is so different than the regular "plug and chug" method of thinking we're used to it often becomes overwhelming to have to form our own opinions.

This is so important not only in the realm of poetry but in teaching in general. Even if maybe you don't personally love a subject, it is imperative that your students see you willing to learn and grow on your prior knowledge along with them as they learn it at the same time.

I think the second part of this is so important, and I wish this was emphasized more in my own educational career. When students can successfully read and enjoy the benefits of it, I think they are much more well off than those who only have to read what they have to.

Although sometimes ranked grouping of students may not be the best, for phonics and reading skills I think it is so important. Since we never finish learning how to be good readers, children should never be "strung along" to keep up with the more advanced students nor should the more advanced be "dragged backwards" by those whose literacy skills are just not improving as rapidly.

I think this is very commonly overlooked, specifically the heard language part. Adults often assume that children are "sponges and absorb everything" which, is true, but repetition of adult language does not at all have to be a bad thing. If we talk around children with proper, valuable, and educated language, then them repeating us should be nothing but good.

Maybe this is my own ignorance, but I didn't even know that the benefits of phonics instruction was up for debate.

Combining phonics instruction and children's literature is the key. Phonics is a strong base of literacy and combining children's literature through the instruction will help students along the way.

Even though I think what he's getting at is that these methods probably don't or won't work best for teaching beginning readers, I can't help but overlook the error here. These types of learning to read are not so much reading skills, but more so memorization, which may be helpful to a degree, but does not result in reading.

This would be a great addition to the program; to be able to clearly identify and exemplify the goals of the lesson.

Being able to literally "have the characters come to life" digitally of course, is probably so cool. Except, it may change how students think about characters. Of course, only if they were to use this tool every time. Often times as we read we create a mental representation or illustration of the characters in our heads, and if the characters become electronically manipulated it may make it so everyone has the same visions which may not allow the same "magical illusion" of reading many of us have.

I think this is such a good point. There are so many tools and apps that teachers can use in the classroom to enhance educational experiences, but often there are just too many possibilities for editing and use that younger students can't work it. Or even sometimes it is too overwhelming for the teacher to think about using in front of the classroom.

In my experience writing conferences between both peers and teachers was so overlooked during my time in elementary school. I am glad to see so many teachers pushing for this.

I understand why the allotted time increases, but it's interesting to read that it increases by so long.

Not only this, but this can also help them bounce ideas off one another and really get their brains thinking.

I'd be curious what possible mini lessons could be on this topic

The idea of teachers modeling is so important; I've learned through my professors that students HAVE to see you struggle and work as a reader and writer, and I now realize this is so important.

The fact that children work best when they are able to work best when they have their mental picture represented is so overlooked by many teachers. When children are given time to get out their ideas on paper without words they can then use that as reference when they are writing, and that is an invaluable tool.

Not only can these types of student-selected groups help students reading abilities, but also help them develop socially. If they are able to meet people with similar interests then they may be able to make friends, and in turn may help feed a love of reading.

Before this semester I never realized just how important pre-reading activities are. Each time I do guided reading in my field placement or help the teacher with a reading check with students, it makes all the difference to have them do a "sneak peek" of the book.

When students know they are being ranked they certainly feel pressured. I am currently in a field placement and the students very much so know who is in the "good" reading group and who isn't, and sometimes it's frustrating for them to watch the other groups' instructional time in things like guided reading.

This idea that teachers feel chained to the basal becomes apparent to students. Students can very much so pick up when a teacher is not passionate or not able to convey all their wants and beliefs.

Teachers setting an example is another big deal for students. If they don't see you reading they see no point in doing it themselves.

I think this idea of making reading a social time is brilliant. All too often students dread reading instruction because sometimes it is far too meticulous.

I know for me personally when I have to complete a worksheet with reading I often don't know what I just read, I only read to make sure I got the answers correct. This whole process takes away all of the reason behind the reading.

The interesting thing about this is SOOO many schools now require 20 minutes of reading every night, and often the children are encouraged to read anything, even a magazine. I hope that maybe with this requirement children begin to enjoy reading and will do it without being told they have to.

I very much agree that time spent reading can and does have an influence in the students' interest in learning to read and fluency. I still even see this in myself even today. I think this also goes hand in hand with the idea of children being able to read about things that interest them instead of just what is required for school.

This is so encouraging to read about, being able to see the growth of a student simply because she is now able to see herself as part of the story and relatable to the character is going to really help her in the long run. Kudos to the teacher for becoming so actively involved in the fight for justice.

I think this is a particularly interesting point in that many students hear of only names like this, not the others such as writers, judges, mathematicians, etc like the article continues to expand on.

I've never heard of the "mirror" and "window" books before, and now I understand the importance.

It's surprising to me that an issue this important went so unnoticed. Whether the comment was supported by other readers or commenters, or not, I would hope that the creators made this huge issue of more importance, but I guess not.

The wording of this statement/statistic is incredibly powerful, and really makes you second-guess any prior opinions you may have had about the selections of the Common Core.

The fact that students are bringing up these thoughts is so important in considering how students should be introduced/working with literature in the classroom

This characteristic of a must-read text really stuck with me. The thought that some students will only be able to find this comfort in a book brings awareness to a topic that I knew existed, but selfishly didn't think much about. I am thankful that this article was able to bring this to my attention.

This type of text is something completely new to my vocabulary and knowledge

The idea of having a relatable text helping to increase literacy is so important, and has the ability to serve as a motivator, which would obviously be incredibly helpful in helping students who are in need of the help.

I remember learning about stereotype threat in a previous class I have taken, and now that I think about it, we only ever discussed stereotype threats in adults. The fact that this would be overlooked with the influence they have on children is disheartening. Never should a child feel that he or she will be/can only be less than one other because of a race, community, or socioeconomic status that they were born in to.

Understanding that the spoken language is made up of units of sound such as sentences, words, and syllables

concepts of print!

I;ve never even thought about how even though we may be teaching a specific grade level there will be students who are still working to reach the expectations of the grades below. This is truly a great point

Having the knowledge of grade levels other than your own is helpful when creating lessons and units for your year. If you know the expectations fort the grade below the grade level you are teaching, you are aware of the skills that students should have when they come to you. Knowing the expectations for the grade above your grade level is helpful because you know just how prepared and important it is for your students need to be for the year that lies ahead of them.

This idea of third grade students being able to explain how illustrations helps the author make his or her points apparent to readers is knowledge. The students should be able to make inferences and create understanding with reasonable explanation and support for their ideas.

Fifth grade students should have the ability to accurately cite and draw on the text they have read.This is a necessary skill that they will need to develop for their further education

A good example of a text that students can make connections between would be Alice in Wonderland in comparison to the Disney movie. There are many elements of the money that come directly from the story itself.

These two standards show the difference in skill and knowledge that a student should have from the end of kindergarten to the end of first grade. In kindergarten the student should be able to compare and contrast elements of familiar stories with prompting, but by the end of first grade students should be able to do this with all stories by only illustrations, and without any prompting. This is a good example of how the expectations work on the same skill, but become a more difficult task as the students progress through each grade.

This is a skill that first grade students should have. They should be able to tell the difference between fiction and non fiction, and what separates them from one another.

In order to fulfill this, second graders must demonstrate knowledge of characters, setting, and/or plot to be able to show their understanding of it.

Kindergarten students need to be able to recognize the different types of texts that are available. This is a knowledge for kindergartners because it is all about sorting through different material that may be given, and is a simple identifying task.