First field experience/Mrs. Rule

The first time I walked into Mrs.Rule's room I had noticed that it was very similar to Mrs.Elliott's. The agenda was written on the board in numerous colors and there were many posters all across the room. The desks were arranged in two groups, one on the right, and one on the left. They were both faced towards the center of the classroom in which each group could see the other group. Although, they could not see Mrs. Rule very well when she stood at the front of the classroom, I feel like arranging the desks in this way would help build community throughout the classroom. Having children sitting faced towards each other I feel would help them to become more comfortable and familiar with each other over time. During the class, they were reviewing the book, "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London. Mrs. Rule read through part of the chapter with a very intriguing voice that kept the students interested to listen. She pointed out literacy examples such as personifications, similes, and metaphors and had the students look for examples as well. She then had them fill in answers to their packet which had many questions about the characters, plot, and vocabulary of the book. She told them mostly what to write in their characters box and had a few kids answer a couple of questions. She made sure that whatever they were writting was short and simplified in order for them to get the main point across. She was also very strict by calling out students that did not have their books open or were not following along or trying to answer the questions.
Towards the end of the second class, she gave me a copy of a finished portfolio that the students had been working on. It consisted of the books they have read within the year and an analysis on each one. Each book had questions relating to symbolism, vocabulary, literary examples, that they had to answer. In addition, they had to write three paragraphs relating to a question for each book. I found this as a great assignment because it truly had the students reflect on what they had learned and gotten out of the book. One of the main reasons why I want to teach english if I chose to teach middle school or high school is because each book has a meaning that you can take with you and apply to your own life.