Student Reflections

My new favorite thing to do since I jumped to middle school is to have kids evaluate their own learning. I learn so much about my teaching that I would never ever figure out without them sharing their thoughts in their own words. We recently completed the novel Esperanza Rising so it was time to reflect. Two of the questions asked them to reflect on their thoughts on the book and to consider how their reading has improved from the activities we did. Here are a few of my favorites:

I really think that Esperanza Rising was a good book because it taught me that money is not always the most important thing. My reading improved a lot because some words I didn't even know existed were taught to me and I learned them.

I liked this book in the beginning. The middle was great but the end needs work. I learned more words and the book's message made my thinking improve.

I like the book a lot. It teaches people that you can go through a lot of changes and still be happy. Nothing is better than family. My reading has improved because I didn't really like the book at first but then I started reading more which got me interested.

I loved the book. It gave me understanding and hope and reminded me that everyone should be grateful for having a family. It taught me how to accept me for me. My last thought would be to be happy for what you have. My reading improved dramatically. It allowed me to think of questions which led to great ideas. It gave me an opportunity to increase the suspense in stories. Also, it allowed me to never quit while reading because maybe in the next page it might get interesting.

I thought the book was pretty good. It had a lot of surprising parts in it. It has given me patience in reading because I always had to wait before reading the next chapter.

I thought the book was really exciting and mind catching. I never wanted to put down the book. There were many events that made me wonder and ask questions so that was good. I would honestly say that it was one of the best books I have read. We are now more skilled and we take a lot more time to think about books. We have gained more knowledge to reflect on our reading. We will now read books more carefully.

Esperanza Rising is one of my top 6 favorite books. It helped me understand that when you read, you really need to think about what's happening in the story.

Esperanza Rising was a really good book. It reminded me of my grandma's life when she was younger. Well, I still think my reading is the same, but this has encouraged me to read different books.

The book has kind of made me think that money isn't everything and to like what you have while you still have it. It made me believe that I can read a long book if I put my thoughts into it.

I think it has changed my perspective about things because I used to think reading novels like this was boring but now I don't. I learned a lot of things about reading realistic fiction. I learned that maybe reading realistic fiction would be kind of fun.

It taught me a lesson. I changed. I'm a completely different person and I will never be the same way again.