Classics In The Classrom Chapter 2

I found this chapter to be somewhat repetitive but useful and full of things that we could use as teachers. Of course Literature is all about words. Unless the book is a picture book, there would be no way for a student to read a book, unless they have it on cassette. I do however, like the emphasis that this chapter places upon vocabulary. I feel like all the time the students don't have a wide enough vocabulary to comprehend the novels they have to read in high school. On page 26 I like the "My Vocabulary List" that they have for use. I think it's a great idea that student would have the opportunity to write down the words and page number they are on when they encounter words they don't know. It's useful because I feel like many times the students pass the words over and just continue reading. Although this can work with some novels many are filled with words that will confuse and stump students and we find that some students are just too proud to ask for help. I think this would put it discretely and allow them to find the help themselves.

I also enjoyed the do's and don'ts of how to teach vocabulary. A lot of times in my education my teachers would simply ask us to look up the word in a dictionary. They never took it upon themselves to help us integrate that word/words into our daily lessons. I think it's lazy to make all of the responsibility fall upon the students. Words are the key to learning about literature. I think practicing and focusing on vocabulary is a lost art.