This website is the final project for a class called Young Adult Literature that I am taking through Metropolitan State College of Denver. For my final project, my professor, Dr. Jill Adams, gave me several choices that ranged from leading a teen book club to writing an academic paper. I considered my options and I decided that I wanted two things from my project. First, I wanted to have a final product that I could share with my future students. Second, I wanted to incorporate technology into my project because I believe that technology will become more and more important to teaching as I pursue my career. So, combining my two goals, I chose to create an electronic portfolio of all the work I have done and all the things I have learned over this past semester.
If you are reading this portfolio as a student of mine, hello. This portfolio is for you. I worked very hard on it and I hope you enjoy this concrete evidence that your teacher once did as much homework as you do now. Even though I have not met you yet, I have been thinking about you a lot as this class progressed. I have tried to learn as much as I can and to keep my mind open to new ideas about how to be the best teacher I can. As you browse this portfolio, keep that in mind and don't forget to write down book titles you find intriguing. After all, the entire goal of Young Adult Literature is to get you reading.
This portfolio has several pages to explore. You will probably find the “Books I Read” page the most useful and interesting. It includes a summary of every young adult book I read this semester as well as my reaction to it, themes it explores, how you might feel about it and a “Further Exploration” activity that will enhance your experience if you read the book. This page was also the most interesting and fun for me to generate, though I struggled with writing effective book summaries. I have new-found respect for the people who write those punchy little blurbs for book jackets and I would appreciate any ideas for improvement you might have after you read the books.
If you only read the “Books I Read” page I will be perfectly happy, but if you're interested in the projects I did while exploring YAL, check out the “Work I Did” page. On this page, you can read about the projects I did over the semester from conducting a teen reading survey to participating in online discussion forums. I think you may be especially interested in the section on the Colorado Teen Literature Conference I attended as a volunteer. Attending the conference was an awesome experience and I hope to be able to help send some of my students to similar conferences.
You may have noted the “Textbooks I Read” page, but I won't blame you if you decide to skip over this one. Who likes reading textbooks, much less reading about someone else reading textbooks? Still, if you're interested in finding out where I got most of my new knowledge this semester, “Textbooks I Read” is a good page to check out. I had no idea there was so much to learn about YAL and the course texts did a great job of getting me started in my exploration of the genre.
Unfortunately, you won't see a “Discussions I Had” page because it is impossible to record all the great in-class discussion I had with my fellow classmates. This is a shame because we generated some amazing insights through our talks. About half of my fellow student in YAL are future teachers and I assure you that most of them will become passionate, dedicated educators. Maybe you will be lucky enough to have one of them for a teacher or professor during your education.
Overall, Young Adult Literature has been the best class I have taken at Metro. I met some really great people, learned practical skills, had my opinions altered and my mind opened. I can't wait to get into the classroom and put what I have learned into action to better serve you, my future student, as a teacher of YAL.