I love reading. It takes me away to new lands, new adventures. It offers me peace and an escape sometimes from the everyday. It is a source of stress relief. And yes, it is mandatory for school. Luckily, I have never dreaded this, due to my love of reading. However, it always drove me crazy in high school when we would have to analyze novels and poems line by line? Why can't we just take it for what it is? Why must it mean something else? Why must be spend a month on the first chapter of To Kill A Mockingbird. Ok, I exaggerate a bit, but the point is, in high school, delving into the meaning of reading was not fun. Then alone came graduate school and this course and this assignment and honestly, my first thought was "oh no!!!" Now I am at the end of this blog adventure and I have a new take on metacognitive thinking. Thinking about my reading and analyzing/trying to understanding these texts was not as painful. Is it due to my now old age? (haha joke). Is it because now I can see the use of these strategies from the other side of the spectrum, the teacher side?
I began my reflective journey by reading back through my blog posts, reading through Lina's, and reading through our comments. I have read in another former student's post, who was a math student, that he/she was shocked that even though his/her partner was English and he/she was Math, they had similar thought processes. Reading through all of these posts of mine and Lina's, I think the same could be said for us. Lina is studying to be an English teacher and I am studying to become a science teacher. Both of our fields have different pedagogies, content, mindsets, etc. I never really thought that we could even share a class to teach something like this across disciplines. However, the way I read The Disappearing Spoon and then The Hunger Games and the techniques I used to try to understand it, did not seem too far off from what Lina used.
It's interesting because being a science person, I was really excited to read The Disappearing Spoon and thought it would be my easier read, but it turns out, I found this one much more difficult. I did have background knowledge which always helps and I could relate it to some experiences, especially classroom experiences when I was taking chemistry in high school, however, I seemed to have gotten lost in the text. Perhaps it wasn't what I expected. Before I began, I had examined the cover and read the back, therefore setting the stage in my head for what this book would be about. Based on the first three chapters, I was just disappointed and therefore struggled to get through. I suppose it was boredom partially. But it was also content. Despite having a degree in chemistry, I certainly do not know everything. I still had to look up certain things. Why did I not know silicon and carbon were so similar? And if they are, why is one basically the basis of life and the other so deadly? I had to delve further into this. I had to look up scientists. I had to look up the Galapagos Islands, to make sure I really knew where they were. I had to refer back to the Periodic Table over and over. At the end, I feel I understood what I read, but I did employ several metacognitive strategies which would be important for a student. I think it helped that I explored the book first: looking at the cover, reading the book, scanning the chapter headings. I also made predictions based on the chapter headings. I re-read when necessary, which was often (for the next book, also!). I looked up things I still did not understand for further clarification. All of this helped me gain a better understanding of the text.
Then came The Hunger Games. I should have been more nervous, since this was my "out of comfort zone" text, but I could not wait to read this, with the buzz and all! However, as mentioned in pervious posts, I had no idea what this book (and trilogy, for that matter) was even about. I did as I did with the first book. I explored the cover. What's with the symbol? Thankfully, it was explained eventually. I read the back. Oh dear, this sounds dark. Then I went to scan the chapter headings. Oh no! No chapter headings. That will make predicting a bit hard. As I read this book, I throughly enjoyed it, but it was confusing, I will admit. The first chapter I reread in its entirety. I felt like I was missing something. I felt like I did not fully get it. And this is okay. It is okay to have to go back to ensure understanding. Can it be frustrating? YES. But is it useful? Absolutely. The author jumped around a lot, going from past to present to past to present. I just had to reread to make sure I was following along correctly. As with the other book, I also looked up several things, such as the three finger salute. I was curious if this based off of something. I also made connections. All of these strategies helped me understand, and ultimately enjoy, this book. It was interesting how much more I was thinking about it then I would have if I were not doing this project.
Two books. Science. English. Periodic Tables. Barbaric Games. Two completely different stories. Two different genres. Two different styles. Yet, I used several of the same strategies. Aha! I had to reread with both books. I made several connections with both books. I made predictions with both books. I explored both books before even opening them. I had to look up items with both books. And it turns out, Lina did several of these things as well. What I gather from this is that our ways of thinking while reading can be used no matter what subject the text is for. I will be teaching science, and therefore The Disappearing Spoon is a more likely choice for my future class. I think I would start with a book tour. Let's examine the cover. Let's read the back. What would they think the book is about? Let's scan the chapter headings. Any predictions? Let's begin reading. Any connections? Any prior knowledge? This really can be used in a classroom.
I enjoyed the opportunity to explore and read both books. Now, having finished them both entirely (and then continuing with the rest of the triology...I just had to), I feel much more aware of my thinking processes while reading. As I continue to read other books, articles, etc, I find myself predicting, rereading, researching, questioning, and so on. And maybe, I had done this before, but I am so aware of it now. It has officially become a part of my reading.
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