Summer Reading

If you've known me for anytime at all, you know that I ALWAYS have book in my hand. Last summer after taking a Children's lit class in may that basically required me to read a novel every day or two, I decided to spend June rereading the Harry Potter series. As I started this task, I also started a new job at a summer academy and my coworkers could not believe how quickly I sped through the books and onto another series.

I recently found out that my student teaching placement would be with a second grade class. I want to be able to personally recommend books to my students. So this summer I have decided to read more books around a second grade reading level. Do you have any suggestions. For those of you who are not teachers these books will vary from picture books to beginning and more complicated chapter books. What were your favorite books as a child?

I started this summer with the Little House books. I've read the first three and while I enjoyed reading them I have to question their content before giving them to my students to read. In my children's lit class we were told these books are racist because of the way they speak and treat the Indians. I don't feel the books are as racist as they are realistic for that time period. As with any book, there will be issues to discuss with children when reading them. I am also concerned about the descriptions of butchering animals. I will recommend this book to my students only after I have had a chance to get to know them and judge their abilities to handle the content.

Next on my list... I'm not sure, maybe a Junie B Jones.

Here is a video I found over at http://k1teacher.blogspot.com/ It's a wonderful video done by the students at ocoee middle school.