EDRG 3321/ M&W- Author Profile(Poetry Books)

*Poetry*

Love To Mama- A Tribute To Mothers

This is a collection of thirteen poets writing about the powerful bond between mothers, grandmothers, and children. They write about their latin background and the influence of their mothers and grandmothers. Its great for children who have that special bond with their moms and grandmothers. It teachs children to recognize mothers as one of our universal role models.

Poetry by Heart- A child's book of poems to remember

"Sometimes you read a poem that you think must have been written specially for you. When you learn it by heart, it becomes yours!" This book begins with poems that are short, quick and easy to learn, and ends with a selection of longer classics which, once learned, will last a lifetime. I thought this book of poetry was great to use with a wide range of grade levels. They are easy to read, and easy to understand, but beautifully written. I do recommend this poetry book. My favorite poem was on page 106 called The Heavenly City. If any of you get the chance to read or skim through this book you'll find how insightful and relating it can be.

I found this great website called "Giggle Poetry", it had hundreds of poems for children to read. Its a great site lots of cute poems that children can find amusing, and it would be great to use with elementary students to show them humor can lighten up you day. It had great activities you can use with your students too. Its a pretty useful website on instruction on how to write simple poems for grades 2-5 i would guess.

Here's a little example of the silly poems found on this site.

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/

I Pledge Allegiance


by Timothy Tocher

I pledge allegiance to the floor,the walls and ceiling, classroom door.I pledge allegiance to my books,to desk and papers, coat-rack hooks.I pledge allegiance to my bag,to Joni’s pigtails—and the flag.

EDRG: 3321- M&W- Responding To Literature

Chapter4 suprised me. I didn't know there was so much depth to teaching literature. I thought the chapter gave some good information on awwarness of development. The chart on selecting books by development and age was helpful, but as Professor Pickett said, its just a generalization. It does give you an overview of the variety of literature you can use even if your teaching 6th grade, and have a student reading at a 4th grade level. You could still use the chart to see how you would be able to choose literature for that specific child.

I especially enjoyed how the chapter went into affect and motivation. We do need to remember not all children have the same interests, and won't be as excited to read certain literature as others are. As a future teacher, I need to keep in mind that my students are going to be my inspiration on choosing literature. I need to also remember that each of my students will come in with different perspectives, and the literature i choose will broaden their perspective for growth of learning.

The activities for deepening children's responses to literature was very interesting. In my EDRG 3344 class we learned how personal writing can be beneficial to getting the students interested in reading. They can express their thoughts on the reading, and even can write a related story based on the literature they're reading. I believe that if they succeed with this then they will have comprehended the literature. The overall goal is to promote literacy in your classroom. If you have grasped this then your students will be enticed to read.

Author Profile: On James Marshall

James Marshall was born in San Antonio, Texas where his father worked for the railroad and had a dance band. James Marshall studied to play the viola and intended to have a musical career. Then his hand was injured during an airplane flight and his musical career was finished. He met Harry Allard, with whom he later wrote many picture books, when he was a student at Trinity College. James Marshall taught Spanish in a Catholic school near Boston upon graduation from college. His first book, George and Martha, was inspired by a famous play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" in which the main characters were named George and Martha. For many years he divided his time between an apartment in New York City and his home in Mansfield Hollow, Connecticut. James Marshall died in October, 1992. James Marshall's work is usually gently humorous. He has several books in series: Miss Nelson, George & Martha, The Cut-Ups, The Stupids and The Rats, for instance. In those books, his characters change very little. His fairy tale renditions are full of sly humor.

The Cut-Ups at Camp Custer. Puffin, 1991 ISBN 0140508171.

Spud and Joe are together again. Spud's mother knows it's trouble and says as they head off, "That camp will never be the same". Then they find out that the camp director is none other than their old nemesis, school principal Mr. Spurgle and he's ready for them. Or so he thinks.
Activity: Compare Mr. Spurgle's nephew, Charles Andrew Frothingham with the Grand Duke Wilfred in Dr. Seuss's Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

George and Martha. Houghton, 1973 ISBN 0395166195.

In this first book about the hippo friends, five short stories give us the tale of "Split Pea Soup", "The Flying Machine", "The Tub", "The Mirror", and "The Tooth. Always the pair manages to get past the minor difficulties in a close friendship.
Activity: Make a list of the events in the stories. Beside each event, draw a picture of how George and Martha feel about it.

Rats on the Roof and Other Stories. Dial, 1991 ISBN 0803708343.

It's not only rats but sheep, wolves, mice, frogs and cats in these funny short stories. Frog legs are a source of pride to the frog until he reads a recipe for frog legs. Birds talk a brontosaurus out of destroying an owl's nest by telling him how disgusting they will taste. At every turn there is humor and all villains are foiled in unpredictable ways.
Activity: Read aloud your favorite tale from either of the "Rat Collections." Use a prop to introduce your reading.

I have found this website listing different literature for the curriculum area you'd like to teach.
www.carolhurst.com/subjects/curriculum.html

This website has some good children poems
www.storyit.com/Classics/JustPoems/index.htm

EDRG 3321, M&W-Chapter 3: Living Literature

In this chapter we've gone over understanding what we read, and incorporating comprehension, vocabulary, and discussion. Reading and comprehension are at equal levels. In order to grasp what you have read you need to comprehend the reading. If your students aren't comprehending then you need to come up with different activities, or choose different books that are easier for them to understand. Basically its up to the teacher to build comprehension. The students already come into your classroom with prior literacy, and you can take that prior knowledge and incorporate it with literacy in the classroom. Following the 5 stages of the reading process is helpful. Pre-reading: Choose a book that will interest your students, Reading: Then either read to your students, Responding: Have then respond to what you've just read to them and discuss as a group what you've read. For exploring and applying, i would have then re-read the book and then have the students make their own personal connections to the story, and then for applying have them create a project.

Author Profile: Audrey Wood

Audrey Wood's first memories of storytelling were in Sarasota, Florida, where her father was employed by Ringling Brothers Circus, commissioned to repaint the big top and sideshow murals. As Audrey became friends with the characters of the circus, she heard stories about them from the family of "little people" who lived next door to her family. Audrey was the first of three girls. As the oldest, she began her gift of storytelling with her younger sisters. She would use her parents' art books and make up stories about the paintings. By the time she was in fourth grade, her ambition was to become an author/illustrator.
Audrey uses the medium of children's literature to practice the disciplines of art, music, drama, dance, and writing. Her unique work creates a sense of imagination and excitement. Audrey loves step-and-repeat stories for the “music of language”. An example of this would be her famous book, The Napping House.
Audrey's husband, Don Wood, is the illustrator of many of her books. They began collaborating on children’s literature seven years after their marriage, their first book together entitled Moonflute. Since the publication of Moonflute, Don has illustrated nearly 20 of Audrey’s books. Her son, Bruce, is also an author, which makes art a fifth-generation tradition in Audrey's family. More can be learned about the lives of Audrey, Don and Bruce on Audrey's homepage, [1] audreywood.com http://www.audreywood.com/mac_site/auds_jumpstation/aud_jumpstation.htm

The Bunyans by Audrey Wood (A fun way to learn about geogragphy, 4th-5th grade)

You may know that Paul Bunyan was taller than a redwood tree and stronger than fifty grizzly bears- but you may not know that he also had a wife and two children who helped him create some of the most striking natural wonders of North America.
With warmth, humor, and dazzling landscapes, award winning writer Audrey Wood and acclaimed illustrator David Shannon team up to present the tall-tale beginnings of Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountains, Old Faithful, and more.

Beatrix the butter maid and her best friend, Gerda the cow, live in a cozy cottage in a happy valley. Life is peaceful--until the day two rude giants move into a nearby castle. When Gerda is snatched up by the giants, Beatrix uses ingenuity, persistence, and bravery to save her friend--and to teach those unruly giants a lesson.

This delightful cumulative tale has been a favorite with readers and listeners since its debut. It's a rainy afternoon and Granny is snoring on the bed in a cozy room. A child crawls on top of her and dreams. Gradually, the pile increases with a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, a slumbering mouse and finally a wakeful flea who, by biting the mouse, sets off a chain of events which results in a broken pile and even a broken bed. Each page repeats the action from bottom up.
The repeated phrases make Napping House ideal for beginning readers. Children with very limited attention spans also enjoy the complete restating of all the preceding action on each page.

EDRG 3321 M&W- Chapter 2

Chapter 2 was on Culture, and how to make your classroom culturally responsive. Every teacher or future teacher should be open to diversity. As a teacher you have to be prepared to have students in your classroom from a different culture or even students that bring there home/community culture into your classroom. Like Professor Pickett always say you need to acclimate yourself for your students. I believe its important to incorporate cultural and linguistic identities, and i would do that by studying multi-cultural literature with my students. Say maybe every 2weeks or a different month we would read a book that reflect diversity in racial, ethnic identity, disabilities, families, and gender roles. Then have them work on a solo or group project coming up with ways to compare and contrast with the book we read and there cultural diversity. Its important for each student not only to learn about accepting there culture, but also to learn that there are different culture out in the world also. They might be sitting right next to them in the classroom. This chapter was refreshing and i didn't disagree with anything. I myself would love to teach on multi-cultural literature.

Shen’s Books is a publisher of multicultural children’s literature that emphasizes cultural diversity and tolerance, with a focus on introducing children to the cultures of Asia. Our incredibly talented authors and illustrators have created books for elementary grade children that reflect the highest standards of art and literature.
Through books, we can share a world a stories, building greater understanding and tolerance within our increasingly diverse communities as well as throughout our continuously shrinking globe. http://www.shens.com/

Domitila: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition
By Jewell Reinhart Coburn
Illustrated by Connie McLennan

Domitila is not only "sweeter than a cactus bloom in early spring," she is also a talented cook and an amazing leather artist. Most of the classical elements of a Cinderella story can be found in Domitila. A gentle weaving of her mother's nurturing with strong family traditions is the secret ingredient for Domitila to rise above hardship to eventually become the Governor's bride. Moreover, with a firm belief in simplicity and realism, Domitila makes a lasting impression as a triumphant Cinderella in her humility, service, and unassuming modesty.
Unlike most ivory tower Cinderellas, the only transformation in this story is Timoteo's—Domitila's suitor—as we watch him mature from an arrogant politician's son to a compassionate family man. There is no glass slipper to fight over, and no fairy godmother to save the day. All Domitila has are her innate qualities and her family legacy. Finally, the readers are invited to get to know Cinderella for who she is, unlike the typical fantasy character!
With love and care in every stroke, McLennan captured on canvas the warmth of relationships, the fondness for color and texture, and the versatile patterns characteristic of the Mexican people. Readers will soon fall in love with the shimmering light of the desert landscape and this well-told story of Cinderella-with-a-twist.

The Day the Dragon Danced
By Kay Haugaard
Illustrated by Carolyn Reed Barritt

Sugar and her Grandma are going to the Chinese New Year’s Day parade, but Grandma is skeptical about New Year’s in February and scary dragons. Sugar has learned all about what to expect from her teacher Miss Peng, though, and is more than ready to try dragon beard’s candy and watch her daddy dance in the New Year’s dragon.
Finally, after all the other floats drive by, the huge red and gold dragon pokes his head around the corner and dances down the street. Sugar tries to remember which shoes are her daddy’s, and realizes the dragon isn’t dancing so well…
Sugar’s quick thinking saves the day and the dragon’s dance, and everyone in the community is ready to celebrate the new lunar year. As the dragon dancers emerge from beneath the dragon, Sugar recognizes her neighbors, including shopkeeper Mr. Chu, barber Mr. Johnson, teacher Mr. Gonzalez, and her own African-American daddy.
Kay Haugaard’s exuberant storytelling and Carolyn Reed Barritt’s equally colorful and lively paintings perfectly embody truly multicultural celebration of our American melting pot.

Selvakumar Knew Better
By Virginia Kroll
Illustrated by Xiaojun Li

The bright December morning dawned like any other. The Ramakrishnan family went about their daily business, but their scruffy yellow dog, Selvakumar, felt something in the air.
When a low rumbling noise began to fill the village, Papa climbed on the roof to see what was happening. What he saw was a wall of water rushing toward the shore. “Tsunami! Run!” The family scrambled to outrun the huge wave, but seven-year-old Dinakaran misunderstood. He ran toward his house, where he huddled in a corner for safety.
But Selvakumar would not let him stay there. Barking, nudging, and dragging Dinakaran by the collar, Selvakumar managed to convince him to flee from the house toward the hill. As they reached higher ground, the boy stopped to catch his breath, but Selvakumar knew better. He pushed him even higher to where Mama and Papa had fled and were waiting, worrying about their eldest son.
This true story of a courageous and clever dog who saved a boy’s life during the devastating tsunami of 2004 is sure to touch the hearts of readers of all ages. While the region is still struggling to recover from the disaster and families rebuild what they have lost, Selvakumar reminds us that with our loved ones beside us, no obstacle is too great to be overcome.

I found a website on how to choose multicultural books for K-8 and the site is: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3757

This Web sites offers listings and reviews of multicultural children's literature: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk28.htm

I found these to be very helpful resources!

3321/M&W-Children's Literature Authors Websites

I found 2 websites by searching on google.com that I believe I will choose an Author from. My search is for an author that focuses more on the 6th grade level. Some give you the basic classic literature, and others I found that would catch the students attention. I haven't decided on my author just yet, but I believe these website will help me out and anyone else looking for an author who focuses on the 6th grade level.

They are: www.carolhurst.com/titles/6th.html, and http://us.macmillan.com/macmillansite/categories/childrens/all/6thgrade

I look forward to starting my research, and hope someone else can use my information.