Alexia Cabrera Lopez

Roger Harty
EDUC 2500
Friday, May 28, 2021

Self-reflection #2: Importance of Literature in Education

The children’s literature book I chose to read to my classmates was Bats at the library. I

chose this book because of the way it was written. I liked how the author, Brian Lies, wrote the

story. The story takes place at the library, where bats have entered through a window. Inside,

they do all sorts of “monkeying” around from fooling around with a printer to dressing up in a

little red riding hood costume. The pictures, illustrated by Brian Lies himself, are extremely well

done and put you in that imaginative state of a whimsical world. When reading this book, I

thought it best aligned with the grade 1 English language arts curriculum. I was able to find the

suitable general outcomes by looking through the Alberta curriculum.

I think students don’t always like to read as much as their teachers encourage them to. By

reading this story book, I would hope my students recognize how fulfilling it was for these little

creatures to go and explore the library by reading all sorts of books. I also chose this book

because the author wrote it in rhymes. By looking at the general outcome 2 of the English

language arts curriculum, it focuses on how students recognize texts. The outcomes for my

activities were addressed in 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. For one of my activities, I decided to do a

rhyme bingo. This bingo would allow students to identify words that rhyme with the given word

I call out loud. I thought giving the first 3 students a prize for completing a bingo would

encourage participation and give more students a chance to win.

 Another activity that I would like to do would be a writing activity. Instead of doing a

worksheet, I thought it’d be more fun for students to be interactive and engaged by going to the

library and doing this next activity. They would be given two cardstocks of a bat outline and they

would compare what the bats did at the library in the book vs. what they like to do at the library

followed by their favourite book. I would showcase my students work by posting them on a

bulletin board. As I believe that bulletin boards are a great way to get students engaged and

excited to work as a class to show off their skills.

Overall, I think my activities were good and highlighted the objectives of the curriculum

outcomes. I feel that focusing on one subject area such as the English language arts curriculum

made my presentation more subject focused. But I had a hard time coming up with creative ways

to incorporate rhyme into an activity that went beyond a worksheet. I think the book I chose

limited me to a few options when it came time to think of a lesson plan. I think I could’ve been

more creative, but I believe that comes with more experience in teaching. As for my oral skills, I

think I improved from my last group presentation. I think I spoke clearer and took my time to

explain concepts. I forgot to mention while presenting if my activity could be done in 1 class or

more, but I believe this could be done in 1 class. I was also greatly impressed with my oral skills

when reading my book to my classmate in the breakout room. I was able to highlight different

tones, volume and pace.