Fantasy and Sci Fi

I was very interested in this week's assignment, because I am a little weird when it comes to Fantasy and Sci Fi. Since I am not much of a reader and never have been, I am not at all drawn to fantasy or sci fi books. On the other hand I love the movies. I have seen all of the Star Trek movies and Harry Potter movies, and Chronicles of Narnia, but I have never taken the time to read the books. I think it is partly because I like to have a picture representation rather than visualizing in my head. I think that I was never encouraged to visualize or use my imagination, so I really need pictures that are created for me to fully understand what is going on.

My students on the other hand are very different. Many of them would way rather read a sci fi or fantasy book over seeing the movie. Many of them have awesome imaginations and were actually disappointed when they saw the movies of their favorite sci fi or fantasy movie. Many of them had pictured a different looking character or setting in their heads, so it was difficult to replace their own visualization with the movie's. We often talk about the fact that a movie is one person's, a few people's or a company's interpretation of an art form (aka: novel). Each of us may represent a book differently and that is okay.

I think my students like sci fi and fantasy for a few reasons. The first is like the YAL book said; it takes them into a new world. It allows them to think outside of the realm of reality. The most effective sci fi or fantasy books seem to have one important element. That element is a dose of reality. Maybe it has believable characters or a relationship that students can relate to or a setting that is real. Whatever it may be, the sci fi and fantasy books that my kids love the most have some way of connecting with real life. It makes it even easier for the students to visualize the book.

As a writing teacher, I love that students read quality sci fi and fantasy books. We then discuss how the writer connects to the reader. We talk about what we notice and what strategies or ideas we can use for our writing. We look at how the authors makes sure everything fits together without jumping around. We talk about how the authors put in parts that are reality to make the story more believable and comprehensible. It gives something for my students to aspire to be like.