Objective

The purpose of this Reader Response Blog was to become familiar with different types of literature, understand they can be incorperated into the classroom, and why they are vital to a child's education.

Reflection

Through completing this assignment I have become more aware of the types of books that are available and how they can be incorperated into the classroom in an engaging and impactful way. 

Each book on the assigned list covered the criteria of a Touchstone, Caldecott, Multicultural/Global, Batchelder, Challenged, Pre-1990 YA, Graphic Novels, and Common Core Exemplar. Through my own research and classroom discussions I discovered the critera for certain awards; for example, the Batchelder award is given to an American publisher that publishes in English the most outstanding book from a foreign country, in a foreign language. The purpose is to exchange children's books between countries and influence communication between the people of those two countries. 

With each book, I was required to submit an APA citation, response, critique, and classroom application. I learned how to separate my personal opinion from an honest literary critique covering the criteria of plot, setting, point of view, and themes. By completing this assignment I learned how to determine which types of literature are appropriate and necessary in the classroom, as well as how to create engaging activities and lessons for them. As a class, we also practiced integrating technology as a supplement into our lessons. I realized the importance of researching different types of activities for a book before deciding on one, and that it is essential to create an activity that can be modified to suit students with different needs.