Within a classroom, everyone is different. It is our job as teachers to determine a beneficial way for all our students to work together even when personalities, learning styles, and backgrounds may vary. There may be a wide spectrum of traits within the classroom, but one thing The Wild Robot taught me is that no matter how different you are, you can still work together as a team. The Wild Robot written by Peter Brown is where two polar opposites in society today can come together in times of need. The main character, Roz is a robot who is placed in a foreign society, nature. She has to deal with troubles facing with animals that see her as a "monster" while also dealing with the landscape and natural disasters. Roz is able to build a community once she starts helping animals around her in ways that other animals couldn't. For example, during the worst winter storm the island has ever experienced, Roz made little huts with fire for the animals that woke up early from hibernation. Fire normally correlated to deforestation for the animals, but Roz made fire into something that brought the animals comfort and security instead. Roz's community building skills is what made her a great addition to the island.

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A theme I found in this story was no matter how different you are, as long as you work as a team you can accomplish what you need. In this week's academic article, we learned just how important a sense of community can help a student. Colby Sharp tells the story of his new third grade student, Travis (Sharp, 2018). Travis sees himself as a nonreader in a classroom full of readers. Basically, he felt just like Roz in this story. He felt like a robot stuck in the wild. This made him not want to read or even try, UNTIL a reading specialist came in and created a wonderful reading community for him. She found books that he would love and found other students who loved the same books. Eventually, Travis was a part of this new reading community which influenced his new found love of reading. Travis's story relates to the theme of The Wild Robot. Creating community in a strange place can build on a student's confidence and ability. Our goal as teacher's is to find this community for each and every student. Whether we follow in Sharp's footsteps and make a class community where they vote on their own very Caldecott winner for their classroom or make a community within a small group, like the reading specialist. If a robot can find a sense of community in the wild, teachers can find hope for students in the classroom!

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With a book like this, sometimes it's important to step away from the reading skills and just talk about life. Kathy G. Short said, "stories are woven so tightly into the fabric of our everyday lives that it’s easy to overlook their significance in framing how we think about ourselves and the world"(Short, 2012). Books can teach us a lot of things. Mainly in schools, they teach us new weirds, comprehension skills, or even writing skills. We often forget why books and stories are here in the first place. Stories teach us about ourselves and others. It can teach us emotion, life skills, decision making skills, mindsets, and the list goes on and on. Obviously those kind of skills are not found on standardized tests, therefore they are always forgotten. This is a book where you need to forget about comprehension skills and just discuss the story. We will be able to make meaning of the book just by reading the story. The Wild Robot is a strange story that not all students can relate to just by reading it, but when you begin storytelling and relating it to life, students can comprehend it better. Kathy G. Short believes that we can teach students by grabbing their interest through storytelling. It can teach them the skills they need without the EOG prep. She says, "Literature expands children’s life spaces through inquiries that take them outside the boundaries of their lives to other places, times, and ways of living." They are learning just by experiencing a story. Does the reader know about when and why animals migrate during the winter? No, but telling the story of Brightbill flying away with the flock for months will provide students with an emotional tie to this information. Stories can teach us so much. We need to constantly remind ourselves that sometimes the best way to learn is by putting the EOG prep book down and learning through stories.

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