BFG part 1

I have never been much of a fan of Roald Dahl. Even growing up his writing was just not something that I got into. I like the story and the creative spelling is great for kids. I think that this is something that I would recommend for my students to read but I cannot see me using it as a whole class text. I feel that there are better stories I can use in the classroom. I like that it gets kids using their imagination to fanaticize about giants and far away lands that are vastly different than where they live. I also like that it talks about how inhumane people can be compared to other animals. Humans always think they are superior to others and tend to forget about the bombings and shootings that happen daily. I also think that the parts about him catching dreams and blowing them into their rooms is imaginative and a great explanation for why children have dreams. This is something that children would be able to connect to and appreciate. I can see why this book is so popular and would encourage students that like fantasy books to try reading it.

How to Steal a Dog part 2

I really liked how this book ended. Georgina thought that if she stole a dog that she would be able to get the money her family needed to get a new place to live. Georgina soon learned that the woman from whom she stole the dog did not have the money to pay the large reward she thought she would get. She also learned some valuable life lessons from a local vagrant. In the end she returned the dog and did not take a reward. Her family was also given the opportunity to move into the house of a woman connected to a colleague of her mother.
 I think this book has some very valuable lessons for children. At first I was concerned that some of the topics would be difficult for children to understand but I believe with proper guidance from the teacher they would be able to understand the difficult content. I would use this in a classroom to discuss various social issues as well as behaviors such as doing the right thing. I also found several resources and teaching guides online that I could use to design lessons for my classroom.

How To Steal a Dog Ch.

      This is incredibly sad book. While there are moments that are humorous such as when Georgina is not getting along with her brother it also deals with some very difficult subjects. Homelessness, absentee parents and fighting with parents are some of the difficult topics that are covered in the book. If I would use this book in my class I would have to be careful with the are of the students and ensure that they have the proper background information to understand the concepts. I would also want to make sure that if there are students in my class that are or have dealt with homelessness. I am really enjoying reading this book though and cannot wait to see what happens at the end. I want to see if her plan to help her family works out or not.  This is a book I can see having to talk to parents about before I have the class read it but it could also be a way to incorporate a trip to a food bank or another form of service project that the class could do to help their community. No matter how this book is used the teacher would need to have plenty of discussion with the class and ensure that everyone in the class is comfortable with these topics. I would not want to make someone feel worse about their situation then they already do.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Part 2

I still enjoyed reading this half off the book. I think that the cartoons add to the humor of the stories. I also think that many kids can relate to parts of the book such making a Christmas wish list and not getting what you asked for. Bullying was still an issue in this book. Greg was not nice to his friend. You should not let your friends take the blame for something you did. I also think that teachers would have to discuss this with the class because some students might get the wrong impression about middle school.
At the same time I know why they are so popular with students and why they want to read them. I think I could use parts of this story to discuss buying and why we should not behave like the people in the book. This book is at a higher reading level then my students are allowed to read right now but they all know abut them.
Taking parts of the book and having the students lead discussions based on small parts of the book supported by the pictures could be a way to touch on the issue of bullying while also exposing them to more difficult text then most are used to reading. Overall I really enjoyed the story and would look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the books. They are humorous and enjoyable for many ages. I would recommend this book to some older students that were having difficulty finding interesting books to read. This may even get them interested in reading more often since there are so many books in the series.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid part 1

I really enjoyed reading the first part of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It was a fun book that I did not want to put down. I want to see what he does next. He is always getting himself into some funny situation. It made me think about when I was in middle school. I did not get into near as much trouble as he did but I defiantly did things I was not supposed to. I enjoyed remembering middle school and how awkward I was. The drawing were funny and added to the story.

               Some of the parts that I liked best were when he was describing how he was going to be famous one day so writing a journal. I think everyone wants to be famous at one point in their lives and I think that kids would be able to relate to this. I could also relate to having some people that you do not want to sit by. It is not the nicest behavior but there is always someone that you do not want around or get along with. I also thought it was funny that he was always trying to find a way to get the girls attention. I think everyone can relate to this and everyone is awkward and does things they think will get them attention. As we get older we find that we don’t need to make grand gestures to get someone’s attention. The part about students being at different stages of development is also very funny and true. People do not realize how quickly some children develop.

              Many of my students will not yet be able to relate to middle school and this may create a misconception about what they will experience. It may also give them ideas about how they think they need to behave to get the attention of girls they like and what makes a person popular. They will get a lot of this from the media and others too but maybe we need to have a conversation about accepting differences and seeing what everyone has to contribute.