EDRG 3321- M&W CH8 Fiction Lit.

Fiction books provide us with a window into what makes us human. They can illuminate the truth, and make us take a good look at reality. In fiction books your start to understand the elements of characterization, plot, setting, theme, style and point of view. The chapter tell you all about categorizing fiction literature too. Its filled with all kinds of information you can use to have your student understand the literature. Fiction lit is a great way to get your students thinking critically, and having them maybe relate to whats going on in the stories. There are all kinds of activities you can do with these books. So for my author profile I've decided to do a fiction series by Kimberly Willis Holt, titled Piper Reed.

I'm also providing a great website about Kimberly W. Holt you should check it out it has a lot of information about the author and all of her works. The website is http://www.kimberlywillisholt.com/

Fourth grader Piper Reed is moving with her five year old sister Sam and teenage sister Tori from California to Penacola, Florida. This will be the sixth home for Piper, whose father's job in the Navy forces them to move frequently. She gives up a room of her own, a tight group of friends, and a treehouse for a new home where she shares a room with Sam, the kids at school expect her to produce a real Gypsy, and there isn't a tree in sight. Add to that the fact that her father is going to be gone for the next nine months. Piper Reed, Navy Brat, by Kimberly Willis Holt shows just how difficult it can be for the new kid at school to start over, no matter how many times she's done it before.

In book 3 of the Piper Reed series. Piper Reed and her fellow Gypsy Club members are in need of a clubhouse. Raising money to buy one proves a challenge. Piper, being the resourceful fifth grader that she is, launches her own party-planning business and gets her first job throwing young Brady's birthday celebration. But things don't go as expected on the day of the big event. Fortunately for Piper, her friends and family come to her rescue!

Piper Reed: The Great Gypsy
Piper Reed
Kimberly Willis Holt; Illustrated by Christine Davenier

The Gypsy Club CreedWe are the Gypsies of land and sea.We move from port to port.We make friends wherever we go.And everywhere we go, we let people knowThat we’re the Gypsies of land and sea.

Piper’s dad—the Navy Chief—might be gone again, but Piper’s got plenty to keep her busy at home: new neighbors, a spaceship beach house, a trip to New Orleans, and most important, the upcoming Gypsy Club pet show. Piper is determined to win, but teaching her dog Bruna tricks seems nearly impossible. Bruna is simply un-teachable! Or is she? Join Piper as she embarks on new and exciting adventures!

I'm also adding my favorite fiction novels. This past summer I found myself enticed in a series of fresh fiction novel by Sunny. She was a family practice physician and Vassar graduate, Sunny was finally pushed into picking up her pen by the success of the rest of her family. Much to her amazement, she found that, she actually could write a book, and that it was much more fun than being a doctor.
As an author, Sunny has been featured on Geraldo at Large and CNBC, and has won many awards including the prestigious PRISM Award. When she is not busy reading and writing, Sunny is editing her husband’s books, literary novelist Da Chen, and being a happy stage mom for her young actor son.

Her novels do fall under the paranormal and erotic romance section. They are dark and intriguing. Now I can say that I've never read any novels like this before, but once I started reading I couldn't put it down. I had to read all the Monére, Children of the Moon Series by Sunny. I can admit I do like this kind of fiction literature, and if anyone out their enjoys a good paranormal, erotic dark novel then you should definitely read this series. If you would like more information on the author and her novels check out this website it was the only website I was able to find for her...its http://www.sunnyauthor.com/

EDRG 3321: M&W- Chapter 7, Picture Books

Picture books are from all cuts of genres. They are intended for everyone. In picture books the reader has the privilege of experiencing the creativity of the two individuals, the author and illustrator. They are designed to be effective and attractive. Its clear you have to pick a book that will capture your students attention. This is where the chapter caught my attention. When it goes into making sure how you present the book to your classroom, and doing a book walk first. Then going into the colors, texts, even the types of texts, and especially the moods and emotions the picture book gives off. I didn't even know that people payed attention to those details when they picked out books to read to their classrooms. I also found it interesting how now the teachers are sharing the contents on the verso-page with the student. Who knew all that information would be interesting to the students. Apparently it is if they talk about it in this chapter. I just never realized how much information there was within picture books. Now I'm looking forward to going into Fiction and Non-Fiction.

For my author profile: Picture books I choose.

Bright Stanley by Matt Buckingham

Bright Stanley is about the brightest fish if the deep dark sea. He wakes up late one day for school, and is surprised not to see a single fish. He goes on an underwater adventure to look for his pals. Its a humorous story with great illustrations. It is a texture book, because Stanley is illustrated to where you want to touch his scales.

By Paul BrightIllustrated by Matt Buckingham Picture book ages 4-7Published by Little Tiger Press

Pa Lion thinks he’s the best at everything, but each time he thinks of something, he sees another animal who does it better. As the other animals try to control their giggles, Pa Lion gets more and more cross because...... NOBODY LAUGHS AT A LION!

Little Owl wants to find somewhere new to sleep. But from Frog's splashy, splashy pond to Hedgehog's sniffly, snuffly nest, nothing is quite right... Follow little owls adventure as he searches the woodland trying to find a new comfy nest, but in the end he learns that there is really no place quite like home, with a soft and sparkly finish on every spread and a fantastic pop-up finale.
Board book ages 1-5Published by Caterpillar Books

After Matt Buckingham completing his degree at Loughborough and his MA in Illustration (Authorial Practice) at Falmouth, Matt Buckingham moved to London to establish his career as an author and illustrator. He now lives in the Staffordshire countryside with his wife, son and their two naughty dogs.He enjoys working in inks and watercolour and has created some charming characters in pre-school novelty books such as Peek-a-Boo Penguins and Bright Stanley (a picture book which was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award in 2007). He has also illustrated poetry books and historical non-fiction.Matt has worked for a wide variety of clients including the BBC and MENCAP; he is excellent at solving creative problems for challenging and sensitive subject matter

EDRG 3321: M&W- Chapter 6

Traditional Literature is the foundation of all literature. These stories are a part of our everyday life even if we didn't think so. I can honestly say I didn't know the background information of traditional literature. Its been such a long time that I've been out of school that this is all a review for me. I can remember learning in middle and high school all about figuring out the plot, setting, theme, characterization, etc. , but I never truly understood why. This chapter made me realize that unlike my English teachers in the past I will teach this differently so my students can comprehend the literature. Explaining to them why they need to learn this, and getting them involved in the literature is important. Once you figure out all the literary elements of traditional literature then comprehending the literature will be easily fourth coming for the students. Everyday I go to the bookstore or see books for sale I become excited. Now that I know building a classroom library is important, because maybe books i find interesting might interest my students as well. I also believe that its important to mention good traditional literature in your classroom, and take a trip to the library and have them check out books to their liking. I'd promote a quiet reading time maybe the last 10-15minutes in class, and then the next day have then write in a journal what they read about. Traditional literature will broaden their views of other human beings and of other cultures. If they end up comprehending the literature then you know you did a good job teaching the literary elements.




Maya Angelou Clip

Now we had a choice to blog about the chapter or the Maya Angelou clip we were shown in class. I just had a brief opinion to say about that clip. Maya Angelou is a great author, poet, and a wonderful human being. Her gracefulness makes you think twice about the person you are. When I saw that clip it made me want to be a better person. If it were possible I'd like to read one of her books in my classroom. I can remember reading "I know why the caged bird sings", and i wasn't able to put that book down. It moved me, and made me think twice about how my life wasn't so bad. But then again my teacher came up with ways to get us involved in understanding the literature.







For my author profile I choose 2 books by 2 different authors, and both are autobiography's. I read these 2 books in my multi-cultural lit class in junior college. I fell in love with these two books, and I would consider them as traditional literature. I would recommend anyone to read them if you haven't already. I would definitely love use these 2 books in my classroom, and I already have them in my library.





James McBride, journalist, musician and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.































A girls young life in the segregated South. Abandoned by their parents at an early age, she and her older brother Bailey move in with their grandmother and crippled uncle in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou's autobiography explores how her blossoming character helped her cope with rape, sexism, society's prejudices, and the isolation and loneliness she faced growing up.

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!