I am very excited about the the text project that I am working on. Last semester, I learned how much I love reading creative biographies- I think that they are absolutely wonderful. I used to think that biographies were simply books that listed the important events in a person's life, but I have learned that they can be so much more than that. Last year in our Children's Literature class, I made a list of "Must Have" books for my classroom library, and the vast majority of the books that I wrote down are biographies. I guess you could say that it is one of the elements of literature that I am passionate about. I love the idea that it is a way to address both literature and history in one topic. When Alix and I went to check out books, we found so many different types of biographies that were both informational and engaging. We found biographies  that were told from the perspective of the person, from the perspective of the person's daughter, through the use famous quotes, illustrations, and so many other creative ways to get to the information across. This project has simply further confirmed my passion about this element of literature, and I am extremely confident that I will consistently use these types of texts in my classroom.

     I absolutely loved the article about multigenre writing. Simply reading about the positive experience that these fifth grade student had excites me to try it in my own classroom. I completely concur that choosing a topic is of the utmost importance when starting a piece of writing. As I have said many times before, I have always enjoyed writing; however, if I don't like what I am writing about, I can detest it just as much. Even in this class, I can see the difference in my three writings. I spent more time deliberating my topic for my informational piece than I did for my persuasive piece, and the two pieces cannot even be compared. My informational piece is written with a great deal of thought and emotion, both of which are demonstrated throughout the writing.
     I can say that with beyond a shadow of a doubt, I will have this type of writing process in my classroom. Although I do share the same fear that it may be difficult to incorporate it into the standards, I do think that it can be done. And even if it does not match up perfectly, it is still an incredible learning opportunity, and I would hate to miss it due to the restrictions of standards. Every child is passionate about something, so it is the teacher's job to dig deep and find out what it is. I believe that anyone can love writing when they are writing about something they are passionate about.

In chapter 12, I really took a lot from the section of selecting units of study. I think that it is a great idea to do a unit on my favorite topic as a teacher because it is obviously something that I would be very passionate about. Therefore, I would want to make it as interesting as possible, so they would love the topic as much as I do. I liked the thought that I may be the only teacher they have who is passionate about that topic, so I will be able to put a special spin on it.