Traditional Literature - Chapter 5

"Once upon a time....." What powerful words that bring up so many memories of being a young child and having stories read to me. These words derive from one of the most sacred literature genres, traditional literature. Traditional literature or oral literature are the tales, poems, and stories that have been passed down my many generations by word of mouth. One of my favorite traditional literature stories is Cinderella, I found it very interesting when our textbook said that there are about 700 versions of the Cinderella story found all over the world. Another interesting fact that I learned from our textbooks is that a lot of traditional literature was not at first intended for children. There was a lot of violence and sexual happenings in the books that were later taken out when the tales were re-told.
How can we use traditional literature in the classroom? Well, there are many ways, one way is to incorporate oral story telling in the classroom. Many children are brought up listening to stories that are told to them at home, a great activity would be to have the students tell stories that they have heard before, this can be done in a small group or in a whole group setting. When teaching students about traditional literature another great activity would be for the students to write their own story that relates to the traditional story. For example lets say that a student wrote a story about Cinderella, only Cinderella was not a girl, he was a boy named Cinder. What would happen in Cinder's story? There are just so many possibilities with traditional literature use in the classroom!

Reaching for Sun - Annontated Bib

I found Reaching for Sun to be a very touching book. The main character Josie Wyatt is born with cerebral palsy, the condition affects one side of her body a lot more than the other side. In school she is in a special education class, which to her is completely embarrassing. For the most part the only friends Josie has is her mother and her grandmother, until a strange new boy name Jordan moves into a nearby house. Jordan and Josie end up having a special friendship that Josie has not had before. I love that the book was broken into four sections, which are the four seasons ; winter, spring, summer, and fall as we watch Josie grow into young women. Overall I really enjoyed reading Reaching for Sun, and would highly recommend this book to be read as a read aloud for students in fifth grade and up!

Modern Fantasy - Chapter 6

Modern Fantasy is probably my favorite genre of literature. Fantasy books really draws me in, I usually end up starting one and I spend the whole day and next day reading until its done. The only time I stop reading is to eat or drink, and sleep. I love Fantasy books so much because they really do take me to another world, a world where witches, and warlocks prance about and even animals can talk to you.  There is something that is just so magical and consuming about fantasy books!

When reading this chapter I never realized what an impact fantasy books can have on readers. The author of the book mentioned a story that Lois Lowry told about her son named Ben.... his Barney got attacked my a dog and he then said his Barney died and he needed a funeral. Well, as they were planning the funeral Ben explained to his mother what what going through his head when Barney "died", he said that he was remembering the saddest sentence he ever heard which was "No one was with her when she died", this was from page 171 in the book Charlotte's Web. After reading that from our textbooks it really put into perspective the effect that literature can have on the reader. The fantasy story of Charlotte's Web, subliminally  taught Ben about losing someone and about being alone.
  My all time favorite fantasy literature is of course the Harry Potter books. I think that any of the Harry Potter books could be used as a read aloud in the classroom and many great activities could come about from it. Students could compare and contrast what is evil and what is not. They could make a web-quest of the author J.K Rowlings and learn what inspirations she had when she wrote the book. They could do a project in which they made their own wizard or witch that represents them, and they could write a short chapter for one of the books including their character. There are just so many ways that fantasy can be used in the classroom!

The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming - Annotated Bib

Wow, I was really impressed with the book The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming . Laurie David and Cambria Gordon do a fantastic job of explaining exactly what global warming is and the effects it has on our planet. I chose this book knowing it was a controversial subject that has to be taught without a bias. Honestly I was hoping this book would make it easier for me to understand what global warming is and prepare me for the time when I have to teach my students about the topic. The book beyond exceeded my expectations. The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is inviting and engaging for students with it's awesome pictures and illustrations! Every topic discussed in the book is  is very easy to understand and is presented in a way to not overwhelm the reader. The most important thing that I learned from the book is all the many simple things I can do to help prevent global warming.... from re-using paper to saving energy this book has so much to offer it's readers!

The Lion & The Mouse -- Annotated Bib

 I really enjoyed this book, The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. The Lion & the Mouse is one of Aesop's most adored fables, and Jerry Pinkney does an outstanding job of turning the story into a wordless picture-book. The book allows your imagination tell the story through the beautiful pages of illustrations. The story is about a Mouse who runs into a lion, and the lion let's the mouse go free without eating him. The favor is later returned when poachers capture the lion, and the mouse sees him and chews through the ropes holding the lion and frees him. I think this book would be valuable book for children to teach them the lesson that you should always be kind to people, because you never know when you will need someone to be kind to you.

 It would be so interesting to have students get into small groups and have them tell the story of the Lion and the Mouse to their group members as they see it through Jerry Pinkney's art. This book could also be used to encourage students to create their own illustrations for books that they write in class. I just see so many possibilities to really highlight this wonderful adaptation of The Lion & the Mouse in the classroom