Student Reflection

by Katie Dudek

The Harry Potter Hype

The moment that all Harry Potter fans have been waiting for has finally arrived.  The much-anticipated part one of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is now playing in theaters across the country.  As of 10 AM Monday, November 15th, the Savoy 16 had sold out their eight theaters for the midnight showing on Thursday.  J.K. Rowling’s books about “the boy who lived” are books that my generation has grown up reading.  I still remember when I received my first set of Harry Potter books.  It was Christmas morning when I was in fifth grade.  I picked up a box that I thought was going to be filled with clothing, however my arms dropped with the unexpected weight of the gift.  Quickly, I tore off the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box to find the first three books of the Harry Potter series.  I was elated.  From that moment on, I have been a devoted Harry Potter fan.  I have read every book over three times, own all of the movies on DVD, and though I was not able to attend the midnight showing of the second to last film, I will be rushing to the theater as soon as I get my hands on a ticket. 

What I love most about Harry Potter is that people of all ages can read and enjoy the story about the boy wizard who is relentlessly trying to find a way to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort and protect the entire wizarding world (yes, I am a huge fan).  Because I volunteer in Ms. Bucio’s fourth grade classroom during the part of the day that they are studying grammar and literature, I have been able to share my love of the books with the students in the classroom.  My role in the classroom is to work with them on their reading comprehension.  I am ecstatic when the student I am working with decides to choose one of the Harry Potter books to read.  Not only am I helping them to better understand the book as they fill out their comprehension worksheets, but I am learning things as well.  While the names of the Hogwarts houses are the same, I am learning new words in Spanish that I have never encountered before.  “Varita” means wand, “juego de redomas” means set of flasks (for their potions lessons at Hogwarts), and “lechuza” means barn owl, which is a word mentioned quite often, as it is the main form of communication between wizards or “magos.” 

I have had so much fun reading these books with the students and talking to them about the new movie based off the book, Harry Potter y las Reliquias de la Muerte.  We all cannot wait to see how the movie is going to portray one of the best books in the series, and how it is going to be divided into two different movies.  I have really enjoyed the fact that I have gotten to know the students so well, and they now feel very comfortable having me in their classroom.  Being able to bond over our love for Harry Potter has helped with this.  I cannot wait to hear what they all thought of the movie.  It will definitely be a topic of discussion when I return to Ms. Bucio’s classroom after the Thanksgiving break.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image
I'm very happy that so many students responded to our community partner's need for help. Our students' language skills will help Central High School's Latino parents better communicate with the teachers during the parent-teacher conferences next week. Central's secretary will contact the students directly to schedule times with them. Here is some vocabulary help for students. Materias. School subjects are "materias" NOT "sujetos." You should remember subjects from your intro Spanish courses, but here are some reminders: historia, matemáticas, inglés, física, química, biología, educación física, etc. General vocabulary. Notas = grades; aprobar = to pass; suspender = to fail; conducta, comportamiento = behavior. Topics. Ms. Citraro offers the following advice: "The topics and vocabulary that would come up are about the subjects at school. For example: no ha entregado las tareas tiene que tomar el examen otra vez habla mucho en clase falta muc...
Read more

How to Correctly File Hispanic Names

Image
I know that community-based learning students don't like it when they are asked to file during their time in the community. However, their learning goals are to improve their Spanish and knowledge of Latino cultures. Filing information on clients with Hispanic names helps them with both. And imagine the impact of mis-filing for the organizations where our students work and and their clients. That's why I was unhappy to learn that many SPAN 232 students did not do well on their exam section asking them to put some Hispanic names in alphabetical order. I can imagine that some students feel that putting names into alphabetical order isn't important. It is! It is especially important in the organizations where they work because they are dealing with clients who may not have "accommodated" to the American system of using only one last name. And it is especially important for clients whose papers are so important for their legal status, medical information and oth...
Read more

Interview with Jessica Horn of ACCIÓN Chicago

Image
By Carolyn Kloecker , Span 232 student This past week I completed an assignment for my Business Communications class (SPCM 211) which was to interview someone in a field that I am interested in working for in the future. I asked her many questions about the organization, and lots of information can be found on their website www.accionchicago.org . This organization is a Community Partner with Spanish & Illinois, and has an extensive connection with the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of the questions and answers from Jessica: Is ACCIÓN a fairly new organization? How did it begin? ACCIÓN Chicago started in 1994, but the parent organization, ACCIÓN was started in 1961. It is the largest micro-lending organization, and it began in Venezuela, and took root in the U.S. in 1991. How do loan officers communicate with clients? Mostly by phone, as people call in to the office to get a loan for their small business. The website is also a main form o...
Read more