Kelly OConnor

EDU
Story Boost Reflection
In Foundations of Literature, we participated in project story
boost. Our class collaborated with Francis Slocum Elementary for each
student to read to their kindergarteners. I was paired up with two
kindergarteners named A-Million and Jude. I met A-Million every
Monday from 1:20-1:40 and Jude 1:40-2:00. I brought a variety of
books to read to each student each week. I would talk about the story
to deepen their level of response to literature. After reading to my
kindergarten partners I wrote down notes of their nonverbal and verbal
responses during my time reading. I learned a lot about children and
their responses to childrens literature.
Jude and A-Million responded completely different while I was
reading to them. This gave me a wide variety of data toward childrens
response to literature. The main thing I learned this semester is how
easily children at this age get distracted. But by choosing the right
books that they are interested in children will be fully engaged and
focused. During my first session with my kindergarteners I spent the
majority of the time getting to know them and just talking. I learned a
lot about what they were interested so that I could choose books based
off of their interest. A-Million LOVED all the No David books and did

not like picture books with a lot of text. I read a lot of interactive books
with A-Million for instance he enjoyed all of Mo Williams books.
Jude on the other hand was really into books about trucks and
sports. He was fully engaged while I read him these sorts of books and
able to retell the story at the end. Unlike A-Million, Jude was very hyper
active and easily distracted. Because of this I had to choose the right
books and read them with different voices that kept him engaged. AMillion was very shy and would always appear to be paying attention.
But when I asked him to retell the story he would not say anything or a
short sentence about the book. I do not know if he was just really shy
or if he really was not paying attention.
I went into this experience with the understanding that the
students I read to may not have a love for reading being read to like I
did when I was that age. I understood that the students may not want
to engage in the reading and that I might have to come up with
creative solutions in getting a response from them. After this
experience and learning in this class, I am very hopeful and optimistic
about my future classroom and students, and I feel better equipped
with tools to guide them in their reading comprehension.
As I mentioned, one of the first realizations I came to is that I
cannot control how the students will respond, and although their
responses may be spot on, it is often the case that their responses will
be random, unexpected, and underdeveloped. It is up to me as the

teacher to keep the students on track and to guide them in developing

their thoughts more fully and deeply.
I realized that every time I read to my students, there will be
some who are not successful in their comprehension of the story. In
those cases, it will be up to me to find ways to guide the students in
their thought processes. I will have to choose literature that is more
interactive, and I will have to be entertaining while reading to the
students. It is my responsibility to get the students hooked on the
story, and once I have done that, I will be more successful in helping
the students with their response. It is my hope that my students will
develop a love for reading through the story time and response
activities I give in my classroom.