Reactions to the Various Readings from Module 2

The focus of module 2 is “Elements of Literature.” I found the readings in this particular module extremely useful and informative.

Perhaps my favorite resource linked under this module was titled “Teaching Literary Analysis.” As I will not be completely reiterating or retelling this article, I did find the diagram included in the article about teaching literary analysis (by Rusul Alrubail) extremely well organized and digestible. The author broke down five different “steps” to the process of literary analysis. Plus, I must note, it is essential that we start viewing (if we have not already) literary analysis as a process with no clear-cut right or wrong answers.

Another one of my favorite resources included a glossary of literary terms like alliteration, satire, myth, novel, etc. (just to name a few). I am super excited to dive more into some of these ideas/concepts (such as myth) as we continue throughout the semester. My goal is to deepen my understanding of “everything literacy” so that I myself may be a more effective literacy teacher. If I simply sit back and do not employ critical thinking, problem solving, and deep analyzing, I will surely not reach my goal however. I truly do believe that all great teachers try their best to be their own very best (or personal best) because they want their students to also be their very bests! I want to try and work hard in this course not only for myself and my foundation of knowledge/knowledge base, but also for my future and current students (or students I work with through Jumpstart as a Team Leader, as a babysitter, etc.).

I believe it benefits a teacher to have great resources to draw upon, such as Traci Gardener’s lesson on plot structure, but it also takes a creative, open-minded, determined, committed, and hardworking mindset of a teacher to really teach well.

Because this second module included so many literary terms as I mentioned, it can be difficult to synthesize everything in a brief blog post. However, my hope is that all future teachers reading this will be inspired and motivated to really fully understand literature and grapple with what they do not already know. Even as teachers, we must constantly be learning.