南投的好地方~ Jodie英文繪本故事屋

           Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine

I have to say that Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine (1987) did not move me as much as her another novel The Knitting Cirle (2007). I guess Ann Hood is not to blame because it is her first novel. After exact 20 years of writing and publishing experiences, The Knitting Circle was released.

This book is comprised of three women-Susanne, Elizebath and Claudia. I think what Ann Hood was trying to depict was how unpredictable life was. There would be no such words as sorrow or grief if we could paint the pictures of lives as we had planned. Susanne thought she found her true love in college. When she found out she was preganant, she fantasized three of them living together, not knowing her college sweetheart did not expect any change. Claudia was the wildest, provocative one among the three. She startled Susanne and Elizebath by telling them that she was going to marry a farmer.

I was preparing for today's class. While I was going over the test items, a reading passage struck me. It's an easy reading, on level with junior high English proficiency, but the meaning it conveys is deep. I quote it here. It would be my constant reminder.

"My school thinks students shoud not only study hard but also try to help others. That's why I was asked to work at a hospital. I didn't get paid for the work, so at first i thought I was helping others. But later I found I was in fact helping myself. The work has changed me in a good way. I used to care only about my studies, but I'm different now. It made me feel good to see other people live better lives because of something I did for them."

Do little, but make a differnce. Yes, I think I can do that.

                                     House Rules

House Rules is a 532-page long novel. It was also the 15th Jodi Picoult's book I have read. I am a huge and loyal fan of Jodi's! This novel is about a 18-year-old young man with Asperger's Syndrom. I knew little or nothing about autism. This book taught me the hallmark behaviours of being autistic- avoiding eye contact with people, having trouble to communicate, throwing a tantrum and having meltdown when autistic kids felt overwhelmed. AS kids can not read between lines. One of the examples shown in this novel was Jacob being sending to the Principal's one day and actually picking up a seat when asked by the princiapal to "take a seat." I admire Jodi Picoult for being one of the authors who dares to challenge and hit into controversial issues. She must have done a lot of research before creating this novel. The qualities in her- loving and caring  move me. She showed respect for those who had suffered and told their stories to people as if she was responsible for it.

Melody and Joy's mom was concerned about her daughters' lacking comprehension of the text we have learned. I should have thought of it coming. The way I presented my lesson is completely different from the previous teacher Sunny's. Her way and the only way of presenting lessons are grammatical translated. Opening any of her students' books, Chinese tranlation is almost parallel with its English sentence. One followed to another. Mine is to provide contextual clues to students and lead them achieve the meaning of certain vocabulary. Which way is a better and effective English instruction? You tell me.

Kids' parents pay for their children's English lessons. They have the right to question teachers. Misunderstanding might be less likely to happen if parents are provided with a satisfactory explanation of the teacher's teaching philosophy. How does the teacher conduct his/her lesson? Why does he/she choose a certain way to present it? What is a meaningful learning? And this, thorough explanation of my belief in English teaching, is the first and foremost thing I need to do.

"Vocabulary growth may not be immediately appreciated, just as a few drops in a bucket are easily overlooked." I like the way the author described how people view vocabulary growth.

From Journal of Reading Education/Volume 34, No.2/Winter 2009

"Researchers concluded teachers who choose to read are engaged, motivated, and stretegic about their reading and have a strong desire to share their reading with others." It was quoted from Journal of Reading Education in 2009. I was nodding nostop when I read this quote. It's me, they were talking/writing about me! I am the exact type of English teacher who are crazy about reading. And I wanted to share what I have read, and what I have learned so badly. There were times that I wanted to form a study group. Too bad, I could not think of someone who might be interested in it. Well, except for Wendy. Wendy was the perfect person I thought of inviting. She was too far, unfortunately. My circle of friends like Lillian or Joanne, had tons of reasons to stay away from reading. Others like Biggie Chang, or Ms. Hsiesh, were too busy to read.

Anyway, the good thing is I would never quit reading. Possibly, I might need to spand the genres of the books. Poetry or biography maybe.

Some questions were raised in this journal as to monitoring students' reading comprehension. I would like to ask myself these questions before I throw them to my students. That's a teacher's job, right? Right now, I am reading Jodi Picolt's "House Rules." I might as well ponder myself these questions and see if I might come up with something.

When you are reading different types of materials, how aware are you of the strategies you use as a reader? (Wait until I try poetry or biography)

What, if any, aspects of readng are challenging for you?  Lengthy sentences, in Susan Issacs's works. No background knowledge about the previous American history. Jokes I could not even report funny.

What do you do when you are reading and realize something does not make sense? Reread. Look for relevent information on net. Look up the frequently-appeared vocabulary.

What goes on in your head when reading? Pictures. Mental pictures.

Do you visualize when reading? If so, how does this help you understand? Yes. Like I said, I have mental pictures in my head when reading. They helped to locate the setting of the story.

What kinds of questions do you ask yourself when reading? How do these help you understand? The word choice the author made. The characters the author arranged. What was their relationship? What is the twist of the story for? What is the main idea the author was trying to express?

 

 

Come to think of it, it was 13 days later that I post the second book review. Less than 2 weeks! I am a fast reader. This novel No Time No See was written by Susan Isaacs. This is the second novel I read among her several detective fictions. From the two novels (the first one was The Compromising Positons) I have read, it was not difficult to find out that Susan Issacs preferred writing about solving crimes. And she was quite good at designing the settings and arranging the characters. Judith Singer and her former lover Nelson Sharpe once again played the role parts in this novel. It was a duplicate setting of "The Compromising Positions", only 20 years later.

Susan Issacs wrote in the first person. I, in her novel, referred to Judith Singner, a history professor, who liked to claim herself as a researcher instead of a detective when innestigating a crime. It was one of the athor's writing styles of linking words as a seemingly long adjective, such as " "Hello," I said genteelly, though with extra warmth, in my be-nice-to-German-speaking-peopl-so-they-don't-think-you-think-they're-all-Nazis manner."

 

 



I thought it was a book about regret after I read the prologue. A mother had recounted how regretul she was for her daughter. "I have never cooked a meal for her." "I should have taken her to hospital and been there with her when she mostly needed me." Those were the thoughts that came into my mind. Did I watch too much TV? I was wrong. It is a book about a sad mother's love for her lost daughter.

Stella died from minigitis when she was five. Mary was devastated when she lost her beloved daughter. Her life scattered. She could not read. She could not write. Her husband Dylan left her because he could not stand her loftiness. Mary's mother called from Mexico and suggested her to take knitting class. Mary went to Big Alice's Sit and Knit reluctantly. By constantly going to the knitting circle, she got to know some women, each had a story behind.

I was talking to Wendy about jotting down what I feel about the novels I have read. She could not agree with me more. Actually, she is the one who has constantly encouraged me to set up a blog. Even she suggested that we share a blog together. It's like our secret garden. Sounds good to me.

And I also told her that it was a shame to not leave any trace after I have read so many novels. So here I am, setting up a new blog. I am ready to write down everything I see and feel. So what novel should I start with? "The Knitting Circle" sounds perfect for my first book review.