Let Me Play

Blumenthal, K. (2005). Let me play: The story of Title IX: The law that changed the future of girls in America. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

This nonfiction book narrates the true stories of women who fought for women's rights in our country, and it tells stories of successful women and their astonishing accomplishments.   These women include Donna de Varona an Olympic swimmer who had a Sports Illustrated cover at the age of 14, Martha Wright Griffith who made sure women were included into the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Ruth Bader Ginsburg who became a Supreme Court Justice, Dorthy Richardson one of the best female soft ball players, and many more.The book focuses on the law Title IX  that was passed in 1972, which said  schools could not treat boys and girls differently. This law gave girls ,for the first time, the opportunity to play sports in school and  have the same educational opportunities as boys. The book and the stories are very inspiring and uplifting to woman. This book falls under the Social Science category of Informational Books, which is explained in our text as books that talk about the instituions and functioning of human society and relationships of individuals as members of society The Structure of the book is Cause and Effect, it tells the effects for women that occurred when Title IX passed. It also discusses the cause and effects of the Woman's Right Movement. Karen Blumenthal's style of this book included comics, ads, time lines, charts, chapters that all were named with sports themes, and quotes that told the story of woman's struggles and successes. What would you do if you were not treated equal? How would you feel if you could not play a sport just because you were a girl? What things still need to change in our country to have equality between men and woman? What would you do if Congress tried to change or abolish Title IX? These are all questions I would ask students if we were reading this book

Field Experience Questions

1.      How many hours did you complete? I completed  Five  hours of observation

 

 

2.      In a short paragraph or bulleted list, how did you spend your time?

 

I spent majority of my time at Fairdale High School observing Mrs. Kenzer a tenth grade English teacher and her colleagues. The students had done research, watched videos, and read articles prior to my observation regarding the dependency on technology and weather it was harmful or helpful. During my observation the students participated in a live scoring session. Mrs. Kenzer explained to each of her classes the expectations and the process of live scoring. They were to pick a side, have a catchy lead, have three points to defend their opinion, and include a paragraph for each point. Afterwards, they met with two other English teachers and their classes in the fine arts room. The classes were comprehensive, honors, and ESL. As the students worked the teachers provided them with support, and gave suggestions. When the students completed a section of their paper, they had to go to a teacher to get their paper scored. If they did it correct they received a star and could move on, if they did not do it correctly they received immediate feedback on how to improve their paper. The process was very successful and many of the students produced excellent work. Although I observed, some of the students asked me for help, and I provided suggestions if they asked. Another hour I interviewed my school librarian and we had a rich discussion about literature; and the other hour I observed a fourth grade teacher during her reading block.

3. How did the experience help you to strengthen at least one Kentucky Teacher Standard? (be sure to name the standard)

I think from observing Mrs. Kenzer and her colleagues they helped me improve the Kentucky Teaching Standard number 5: Assesses and communicates learning results and Standard 8: The teacher collaborates with colleagues, parents and others.  During the live scoring process the students received immediate feedback that was specific and helped them improve their work, and produce something to be proud about. From observing the responses the teachers provided to the students I think this helped me obtain ideas on how to assess and communicate the learning results to my students. I learned more ways to tell things in a positive way so the students can receive it. I have also tried to come up with a simple way to incorporate this process with my Kindergarteners, of course on a much simpler scale; but I think it would be good to give them the opportunity to get it right while they are still producing their work. All of the teachers gave some great comments, and even if the student’s work did not meet the expectations the students did not get upset when they received their results.  Also from this experience I can tell that the teachers collaborated well together. The process went smoothly, which meant they spent a lot of time together collaborating. During the process they also talked to one another, gave suggestions to each other, and worked together to help all the students succeed. I think my colleagues do a good job of collaborating because we are a PLC school, but I think we can always improve. From watching the teachers in high school, we have talked about some ways we can team teach; or get together to benefit all of our students.

4.      Talk a little about one thing you learned because of this field experience.

I think one thing that I learned from observing in a high school is that the needs of the students in a high school are not much different than the needs of my kindergarten students. Although there is a great gap in their ages, Mrs. Kenzer’s student reminded me of some of my students. The students needed support, they wanted to please their teacher, they liked hearing positive feedback, and they were excited to earn a star sticker. These are all things my students need and enjoy. There are always negative stories about what happens in high schools, so it was good to see students who wanted to succeed and were willing to work hard.

Reading Log

Reading Log for 30 books (to paste into your blog in at the end of the term)

• Instructions: List the titles and authors you read under each Genre, and use checklist below for Wiki posts. Then, highlight this material and paste it into a final blog post. I have already included (in the 30) the ones we read for discussion. Feel free to read more in each genre as you make time. Failure to read and list at least 30 books will results in grade being lowered one letter.

 

Genre / Titles you read (Hit enter after each one and a new number should pop up)

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      Let Me Play by Karen Blumenthal

2)      Breeder’s Cup Thoroughbred Racing’s Championship Day by Jay Privman

 

 

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Black Box Poems by Frank X Walker

3)      Paint Me Like I am by Writerscorps

4)      A night without armor by Jewel

5)      Heart to Heart by Jan Greenberg

 

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Wait till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

3)      The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

 

 

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson

3)      Pinky and Say by Patricia Pollaco

4)      Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln by Patricia Pollaco

 

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Forged By Fire by Sharon M. Draper

3)      Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter’s by John Steptoe

4)      Henry Box Brown: A True Story From the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine

5)      The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

6)      Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson

 

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

3)      Thank you Mr. Falker by Patricia Pollaco

4)      Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Pollaco

 

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      –A Sick Day for Amos Mcghee by Phillip Stead

3)      –A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats

4)      Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

5)      –My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann

6)      –When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang

7)      –Tuesday by David Wiesner

 

Wiki Checklist

Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is four total posts, in four different categories)

 

__1__ Social Studies (Black Box Poems)

____ Science

____ Math

___1 Music (Forged by Fire)

___1_ Art (Forged by Fire)

____ Reading/Language Arts

____ Physical Education

____ Other

 

 

Book Trailer: A Sweet Smell of Roses

Johnson, A. (2005).A sweet smell of roses. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5o4nje84ioqs1jf/A%20Sweet%20Smell%20of%20Roses.wmv?n=151061528

Book Talk

  What was your life like at the age of 3? Probably filled with fun, toys, and laughter? Well that was not how Jeffery Lionel Magee’s life was. At the tender age of three Jeffery became an orphan in an instant. His parents left him with his babysitter, and never returned because they were killed in a trolley accident. After the tragedy Jeffery was forced to go live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan, who hated one another but refused to get a divorce because they were strict Catholics. In their home Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan did not share anything. They had two of everything, and often wished they could split Jefferey in two. Talk about dysfunction! Jeffrey lived with Aunt and Uncle for eight years, but by this time he had had enough. At his school musical they sat on opposite ends of the auditorium, and after yelling at them to talk to one another Jeffrey ran, and ran and he did not look back. Infact, he ran 200 miles to a town called Two Mills which was connected to Bridgeport where he grew up, by the Schuylkill Bridge. On his first day of arrival Jeffery’s adventure began as he searched for a place he could call home. As he entered the town he met a black girl named Amanda Beale who was friendly and she allowed him to borrow one of her books. From their conversation he quickly learned that Two Mills was segregated. The blacks lived in the East End and the whites lived in the West End of town. He continued to run with his shoes flapping, because the soles were torn. During his running adventures he stood up to bullies, did heroic acts to save other children, he even defeated a star athlete who thought there was not one kid he could not strike out, and he helped build a bridge between the black and white children in the town . From all of his courage and adventures he obtained the name Maniac Magee, and he became a famous legend in Two Mills.  To find out where Manic Magee’s running adventure led him, and to find out if he ever found a place to call home…pick up this excellent book Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.

Paint Me Like I am

WritersCorps. (2003). Paint me like I am: Teen poems from Writerscorps. New York: HarperCollins.

This book is a collection of poems by teenagers from three urban centers in San Francisco, Washington, DC, and New York City (the Bronx). A program was started through WritersCorps to help at risk teenagers by teaching them how to express themselves through writing. The pages are filled with amazing work that could have been written by accomplished authors. This book gives a voice to troubled youth, and you are able to see their lives through their work. The book is separated into 6 categories and each section contains poems with subjects like the category. The six categories are 1. The Artist 2. Friendship 3. I too Am American 4. As we sit here 5. Furious 6. The tree that's in front of my house. The are many different literary techniques,  poetry styles, and forms found throughout this book. Repetition can be found in a poem entitled My poem, when the words my poems are repeated several times; or in the poem Hip Hop Shoes in which every line of the poem begins with Hip Hop Shoes. There are also many narrative poems in the book some examples are The Artist which tells the story of two African American graffiti artist, or No Gumbo for Me which tells the story of a little girl trying gumbo for the first time. The poem begins with these words "the first time I had gumbo I thought it would be nasty but my grandmother said, "it's good."  There were several uses of figurative language, in which things were compared to something else. Metaphors were used in many poems in the I am too American category. The poem with the same name as the category gives this example for a metaphor( I am the tools that bang to make all the buildings and factories that pollute the cities.) "I am a sleepy flower" is used in Good Night Petals  and "I am a transcendent light" is used in the poem I am. This collection was excellent and I would definitely recommend it to teenagers. This book can be used to show examples of peer work in writing. If students see that teenagers are capable of producing excellent work they will want to rise to the challenge. I would ask students; What does it mean to be an Artist? What does friendship mean to you? What is your American story about?  What does it mean to be an American? What do you do when you have a moment to sit? What do you do when you are furious?  What story would the tree in front of your house tell? After discussing these questions I would require the students to create at least one poem that could go in each of the six categories in the book.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro's beautiful daughters:An African tale. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.  Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter's received the Caldecott Honor Award in 1988. This is a traditional literature story, because it is a folktale. The category of folk tale this story falls under is a magic tale, because it contain elements of magic and enchantment. The stories setting is in Africa. It is a story of two sisters Manyara and Nyasha, who are the daughter of Mufaro and both are considered beautiful; and beauty is the only thing they have in common. Manyara is always rude and talks down to her sister, but she is convinced she will be queen one day. Nyasha on the other hand, is always kind and shares with others, she is very humble and would be satisfied being the servant to her sister if she becomes queen. The king sends out a message that he is looking for a wife, and Mufaro hopes he will choose one of his daughter's. To find out which one he chooses pick this great book up and read it. John Steptoe painted lovely illustrations to show warmth and depict the land of Africa. The big questions I would ask my students would be Is it better to be kind or mean?  Who has ever heard of a sibling rivalry? Do you have rivalry with your siblings? How does the rivalry make you feel? How can you resolve your problems with your sibling? What could be the consequences for being mean and rude to people?

Forged by Fire

Draper, S. M. (1997). Forged by fire. New York: Simon Pulse

Forged by Fire was the 1998 Coretta Scott King award winning book, and it is an ALA best book for young adults. The story opens with a fire in the apartment of Gerald, a three year old, who was left home alone by his mother who went out to get her drugs. At three Gerald was used to being alone, abused, and mistreated especially when his mom had male company. On this particular day Gerald found his mother's lighter and he began to make a torch for his G.I. Joe, before he knew it the curtains were on fire then the flames engulfed the entire apartment. His mother was sent to jail for child endangerment, and he was sent to live with his Aunt Queen. Although, Aunt Queen and Gerald faced difficulties like the lights being cut off or not having enough money, Gerald began to have a good life. Aunt Queen showed him love and made sacrifices for him, she was a great care giver despite being confound to a wheel chair. At the age of 9, Gerald's life changed forever when his mother Monique returned with a ready made family; a new little sister Angel and a step father Jordan Sparks. When tragedy occurs Gerald ends up back living with his mother. The new living situation comes with many conflicts. Jordan Sparks his step father is mean, always drunk, and abuses everyone in the family. Gerald becomes a protector for his little sister, and together they make it through the many struggles and hard times; always hoping to have a better life someday.

            This story is told in third-person-omniscient, The narrator uses the words he, she and it to tell us about the characters and insight about how the characters are feeling. On page 12 the narrator explains that "he was too scared to cry" to show how Gerald was feeling and what he was thinking. Sharon Draper also uses many literary devices to paint a portrait for the reader. On page 42 a hyperbole is used to explain Angel "She's  so little and skinny-- she looks like she'll break. The story also does a lot of flashbacks and foreshadowing. The flashbacks give background information or tells why things are the way they are. The foreshadowing give us a glimpse of what is to come. On page 33 Draper writes "He would need that moment of happiness to hold onto in the next few weeks, for a struggle was coming from which she could no longer shield him." This let us know that trouble was coming for Gerald. The underlying theme of this story was overcoming obstacles and struggles. There are many lessons young adults could learn from this story. Students could compare family dynamics by looking at Gerald's family and the family of his friend Rob , who came from a two parent middle class home. Students could also research domestic violence  and child abuse, and the effects it has on a family. Some big questions that could come from this story could be, What were the ways that Monique showed love to her children if any? How would you feel if you were Gerald or Angel? Why do you think Monique did not believe that Jordan was hurting her children? How would you feel if your mother believed her husband over you? Do you think the struggles and trials helped Gerald....if so predict his future and write about it.

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

Hahn, M. D. (1986 ). Wait till Helen comes: A ghost story. New York: Clarion Books.

 

If there are not enough problems with blending two families together, try mixing a ghost in too. This is the issue that the family has in this story. Wait till Helen comes is a modern fantasy story that falls under the supernatural events and mystery fantasy category. It contains magical realism which is defined as a blend of fantasy and realism by our text book. The family and characters are realistic, but the ghost is the fantasy. I choose this story, because it gave me the opportunity to read something I normally would not read (a ghost story). And surprisingly I enjoyed every minute of it. The story is told in first person narration by Molly, a young girl whose mother just recently gotten married and in an instant their family has grown from 3 to 5. Molly and her brother Michael felt like their family was just fine with them and their mother, but now they Dave their step father and his daughter Heather. Heather hates her new family, and longs for her own mother who passed away in a house fire. The family tries to make adjustments to the family dynamics, but the kids soon learn that they will be leaving their schools and friends in the city of Baltimore and moving to church way out in the country.  Upon their arrival to their new home the family discovers they have a graveyard on their property. Immediately Molly becomes afraid of the graveyard and thinks it maybe haunted by ghost, but nobody else believes her. In fact, Heather is excited and intrigued by the graveyard and she spends lots of time there. She eventually finds a grave of a  child who has her same initials and is the same age as her. She finds companionship in this young girl because she is sad and lonely.  Instantly Heather begins to talk about her new friend Helen, who is a ghost. In the mean time Heather tries everything to make everyone else's life miserable. She tells lies on Michael and Molly, and hates Jean her step mother. She constantly causes conflict between everyone in the family, and her father always takes her side because of her circumstances.Despite the fact that Molly dislikes Heather and her ways, when she figures out that she maybe in danger because of the ghost Helen she decides to put her own fears aside and protect her at any cost. This story had a chronological progressive plot:  it gave the background of the story and family, introduced us to the conflict, developed the conflict, had climax, then gave the resolution. Although I could not read this story to my students sense they are so young, I do believe the upper grades in elementary school would enjoy this story. If I were to teach older students I would have them make connections to the story: How many of you have a blended family? What is is like to have a step parent and step brothers and sisters? Have you ever experienced any of the conflicts that Molly and her family did? How do you and your family resolve your conflicts? Did Molly and her family teach us anything about resolving problems and being a family?

   

When Sophie Gets Angry

        Bang, M. (1999). When Sophie gets angry -- really, really angry... New York: Scholastic. This story is a Caldecott honor book, and I choose it because I have two students with anger issues. I think this book can not only help them, but can also help my entire class. The story is about a little girl name Sophie who gets upset when she has to share a toy with her sister. This begins a conflict (person-against-person) because even though Sophie's mom tells her its her sister's turn, her sister still snatches the toy away from her. After this occurs the real conflict occurs (person-against-self) because Sophie gets angry and does not know how to control her anger. After boiling over Sophie begins some cool down techniques to help her control her anger. The color and changes of color in this story set the mood. When Sophie is really angry and steaming the colors are bright red, oranges, and purples, and the illustrationss contain words with jagged edges around them to depict her anger. As Sophie becomes sad the colors change to browns and reds, and as she calms down the colors change to greens and blues giving a sense of being calm. I would use this book to teach calming techniques and to talk about feelings. We all experience different feeling at different times, and we must know what to do with our feelings. I would ask my students "What do you  do when you get angry?" "Tell me about a time you were angry" "How did you feel when you were angry" "How did you calm down?" Is there anything you could have done better?" Then I would introduce the story. I believe seeing a story about a little girl who learns to control her anger could help them learn better tecniques and know that everyone gets angry sometimes.

My friend Rabbit

Rohmann, E. (2002). My friend Rabbit. New York : Scholastic Inc. My Friend Rabbit is the 2003 Caldecott award winning book. It is a story of a friendship between a mouse and a rabbit. Rabbit always has bright ideas, but his ideas always cause him to get into trouble. Mouse allows Rabbit to play with his toy airplane and this makes for an adventure, especially with all the other animals. This story contains mostly illustrations and only six pages contained words. At first I thought this story was a wordless book, however the definition states thar a wordless books contain no words or is limited to one or two pages. In some of the illustrations there is lots of blank space and just a picture of Rabbit or Mouse, putting emphasis on the character. The lines in the story give the mood of chaos and movement. Some of the lines show the movement of the airplane, but because they whirl around and go all over the place it shows the chaos of Rabbit as well. There are also dark black lines around the characters, and around the edges of the pages that almost creates a frame around the pages. This story seems to be an animal fantasy, because animals can not really fly airplanes, and play like the animals in this story. This story could be used to compare and contrast real animals vs. make believe animals. It could also be used to spring board a science lesson about diffrent animals. The story also teaches us a lesson that no matter if your friend has a few bad ideas that you can still be friends and help each other; so this story could also be used for teaching friendship.

 

Keats, E. J. (1968). A letter to Amy. New York: Puffin Books. This story by Ezra Jack Keats has the same protagonist as a Whistle for Willie, Peter and we also get a glimpse of his dog Willie again. Peter is preparing for his birthday party, and he decides he wants to invite his friend Amy. Instead of asking or telling her by mouth he decides to hand write her an invitation and send it to her in the mail. After writing the invitation Peter goes on adventure in the rain to put the invitation in the mail. While on his adventure he runs into Amy and he hurts her feelings. After sending the invite Peter is worried that Amy will not even show up to his party; and he is also worried about what all his other friends will think about a girl being invited if she does show up. This story is realistic fiction, because the story could actually happen in real life. Peter's personalty is shown through the dialogue with his mother and the other characters in the story. As the story opens Peter shows that he is a good friend from expressing he wanted to send Amy a written invitation, because it would be special. The colors of the illustrations sets the mood of the story. When Peter is walking in the rain the colors are dark blacks and greys, which gives the gloomy feeling that you get when it rains and storms. In some of the illustrations the artistic media of collages were used, because it looked like pieces of newspapers and other papers were used to create the illustration. I really enjoyed this story and the author's writing style was the same in the other story. I would use this book to introduce writing a friendly letter or an invitation. With the rise of technology letters and invitations in the mail are decreasing, however I think it is important that students know how to create them. I also think they would be excited to receive a letter in the mail.  This story could also be used to teach and talk about weather in Science, because the story had rain, thunder, and lightning in it. 

Whistle for Willie

Keats, E. J. (1964). Whistle for Willie. New York: The Viking Press.

Do you know how to whistle? Do you think Peter the main character in the story will learn how to whistle? These questions would be ones I would ask to introduce this story by Ezra Jack Keats. I choose this story because I remember reading another story by the same author when I was in elementary school. I also choose this book, because it has an African American main character. I have a very diverse classroom that is mostly African American and I think it is important for them to identify with the characters in stories; as well as seeing books with African American characters. A Whistle for Willie is a story about a little boy named Peter who desperately wants to learn to whistle for his dog Willie. He obtains this desire even more after seeing another little boy whistling for his dog, and the boy's dog runs straight to him.  Peter tries, and tries but he just can't whistle, so he distracts his self by doing other things. Peter then gets an idea to dress up like his dad, because adults can whistle. Peter continues to try and practice, and he never gives up. The bright colors in the story helps the pages come alive. I believe that after reading this story to my class, we could talk about some things they would like to learn to do, and we could set goals. I would also create a class book with one page for each students, that they create about what they want to do.

A Sick Day for Amos McGhee

       

         Stead, P. C. (2010). A Sick Day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Book Press. This picture book was the 2011 Caldecott Award winning book. It is about Amos McGee an old man who works as a zookeeper. Although he has a job to do at the zoo he always makes time for his friends the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhino, and the owl. Amos does something different and special with each one of his friends. He takes the time to get to know them and spends time doing the things they like to do. One day Amos awakes and is sick, and is forced to take a sick day. His friends wait for him to come to work, but when they realize he is not coming they do something special for Amos McGee. This is an excellent story about true friendship., and I think it would be great for young children. I would use this story to even teach what it means to be a good friend. Often as a Kindergarten teacher I teach character education, because my students do not know how to share, or what it means to be a good friend. After reading this story I would ask my students, "What are some things you could do for a friend if they were sick?" We would also talk about the characteristics that the characters in the book had that made them a great friend, and then we would write about what it means to be a good friend.

Introduction

My name is Malia Gibson  and I am a Kindergarten teacher at Rangeland Elementary School in Jefferson County, KY. This is my fifth year of teaching, and my second year of doing Kindergarten which I LOVE! I am a wife and a mother of four, three boys and one girl. My two oldest sons keep me very busy at the baseball field, and my daughter just started dance classes. I just returned back to work about four weeks ago from maternity leave, from having my baby boy. Although I hated to leave him, I am glad to be back to work to prepare my students for first grade. My children and I enjoy reading lots of Dr.Seuss books. Being in graduate school and with teaching, I often do not get to read for pleasure. I usually read books to help me become a better teacher, or I read text books for school. When I do get the opportunity to read for pleasure I like to read lots of different books, they usually range from smut to inspirational books. I hope to graduate from UC in August with a Masters in Reading and Writing Specialist. My short term professional goal is to become a reading recovery teacher, and my long term goal is to become a guidance counselor.