Author profile

I love sports so I chose Peyton Manning as the author for this profile. Peyton Manning is a Superbowl champion, and current quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. The book is called family huddle and is a story about Peyton, and his family going on a trip to see their grandparents. Every time they stop to rest or stretch they play football with their father. The story is based on childhood memories of the Manning family and is a great read for kids. The artwork is excellent and helps get the readers attention.

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Naomi Shihab Nye is an author from from san antonio who writes poetry mainly intended for an older audience, However she has written some great children's books. The book that I read was called Benito's Dream Bottle. When Benito's grandmother tells him that she hasn't dreamed in a long time, Benito goes to find out where dreamsvcome from. The people don't give him a definite answer so he comes up with an idea that "dreams really come from the Dream Bottle," which is located between the chest and the stomach and pours dreams into the head when a person lies down. So his grandmother can dream again he plans to fill up her bottle, Benito helps her think hard about everything she has ever seen to get her dreams back. This book has great water colors and is very visually appealing.

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Loreen Leedy is a great to keep in my mind for your classroom because she does so many subject books. She has children's math, social studies, language arts, and science books. Crazy Like a Fox is a simile story where rufus the sneaky thief who steals from the other animals in town. This story is filled with great computer artwork and can help introduce similes to your class in a fun way.

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Carmen Lomas Garza is a Chicana artist from south texas who paints images that she remembers in her life growing up as well as some other beautiful contemporary artwork. She is also a great children's author the two books that I read were Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia and In My Family/En Mi Familia. I love these books because they are of her life growing up in her mexican-ameican household, the people in her family remind me of growing up at my own house. It is enjoyable to read and see pictures that you can relate to in book.

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Joe hayes is hailed as one of the great bilingual story tellers of our time, his book The Day in Snowed Tortillas is awesome. It is about a man who finds a bag of gold dropped by thieves and takes it home to his wife. His wife knows that if the robbers find out that they have the gold her husband will ruin it and give it back. So she comes up with a way to trick her husband and the robbers. She stays up all night making tortillas and throws them all over the yard and when her husband wakes up she tells him that it snowed tortillas. The husband doesn't believe her so she convinces him that he has to go to school and learn that it does happen, so he goes to school. The robbers come as expected because the husband told the whole town about the gold he found. When the robbers ask the wife where the gold is she said not to believe her husband because he was crazy. he robbers wait for the man to get home then they ask him he tells them my wife hid it "right wife" he says, the wife ssays that he never said anything. Then the man says "you remember it was the day before it snowed tortillas, and the same day you made me go to school." The robbers left thinking he was crazy.

chapter 13 literature circles

I really think that using literature circles in the classroom is a good idea, the students get to read and then write or discuss within a group what ideas and feelings they have towards the book. Literature circles may present the student with a different outlook on the book based on what their peers had to say. This makes reading less of a chore and more pleasurable to read. Lit. circles can also be a way of getting kids to enjoy reading, they can choose a book that they all want to read and it will be enjoyable fro them because it is what they wanted to read. Think about it this way when kids watch a movie that is popular that every kid wants to see the first thing they do is tell all their friends about it. If we implement lit. circles we will be expanding their literacy and allow them to have fun with it. Literature circles are an excellent way to get kids to read for enjoyment and as a future teacher will use this in my classroom no matter what grade level I am teaching.

Chapter 11 guided reading

During Our shared reading lesson in class I found myself not paying attention to what I had just read. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the other people's voices but, at the end I had to lean over to the person next to me and ask them to clarify for me what we just read. I personally don't think that I will use shared reading to much in my classroom because it might frustrate some of my students and puts them on the spot to read. I always think about the struggling reader whenever I do a lesson, read aloud or activity and shared reading will probably scare them and as we all know in elementary everyone wants to be the best and will point out each others flaws. Guided reading is great it allows the teacher to work with the students and monitor and do mini assessments with each student and give them the support thy need in the area they are struggling in.

Read Alouds

Read alouds are a great way to spark interest in students as well as model great reading straegies that they can use in their personal reading time. I agree with the chapter that read alouds are essential for all ages and that it is a way to brig the story to life and give it a voice that the students will listen to. The read aloud video we saw in class was very informative on how we should not conduct a read aloud. Read alouds allow you as a teacher to introduce literature to your classroom that otherwise may have been missed by your students or open up and stimulate critical thinking skills by your students.

Chapter 9

Nonfiction is a genre that I like more now as an adult than when I was in grade school. I really enjoy reading biographies and war literature which is nonfictional at it's core, but there are nonfiction books that are geared towards younger readers that are great to read. The aspect I think is most appealing about the nonfiction genre is that it factual and took place at one time or another. The purpose of this genre is to provide the reader with information on a certain person, place or topic. The nonfiction books that read lie textbooks do not in my opinion build interest in the subject they push the reader away. The books sholdbe filled with pictures of the actual places, people, maps or anything that is a visual.

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I stumble across Cherie Bennet and her book Zink, it is abpout a ten year old girl named becky who is diagnosed with lukemia. Becky is going through radiation therapy and juggli9ng school at the ame time whichreally takes a toll on her. While being treated she is visited by three zebras who help her live her life to the fullest eventhough she is dying. They show her the true meaning of courage along the way. It is a powerful story and although some parts are fictitious it was inspired by the true story of a lukemia patient. The author presents the story in a meaningful way and is a good read for anyone.

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If you give a mouse a cookie by LAura Numeroff was one of my favorite books to read when I was in elementary school. Laura Numeroff's books are very imaginative and can entice kids to want to read for fun rather than for school. I feel literature and books that allow kids to see how fun reading can be are the most important types. All of the books written by her are fun and silly and allows the reader to imagine all the possibilities that could happen if you give a pig a pancake or give a cat a cupcake. All of her books are also visually appealing to the reader, they are mostly done by felicia bond.

Genre presentations

the Tikki tikki tembo video was a cool, I think that is definately something you could do as a class to read the story together. I like the narration of the story eventhough nthe name was so long and hard to pronounce. The activity was fun and entertaining as well.

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Scrawny Middle school student Greg Heffley takes the readers through a school year's worth of junior high drama. Greg's mother makes him to write in a diary she bought for him, in it he highlights each day's events, along with his comic illustrations. Jeff Kinney writes the story in perfect pre-teen form and the illustrations are a hilarious addition to Greg's seemingly crackling voice. the funniest part is on Halloween, Greg and his best friend, Rowley, hide from some high school boys at Greg's grandmother's house. They taunt the bullies, who then toilet paper her house. Greg's then writes in his journal, "I do feel a little bad, because it looked like it was gonna take a long time to clean up. But on the bright side, Gramma is retired, so she probably didn't have anything planned for today anyway." Kinney does a great job of portraying a year in the life of a teenager. The concepts will bring back memories for older readers as well as relate to the pre teens reading the book.

chapter 7

PICTURE BOOKS! I love picture books they are very interactive and enjoyable too look at. They are as much pieces of art as they are literature. A good picture book in my opinion, has vivid colors and supports the writing on the pages so that the reader can see a visual representation of the authors work. The main reason I feel that picture books are so popular is that there is no age limit that they can be used with, I as a college student love picture books. The amazing thing is that a picture book can deliver a whole story in a limited amount of words. I think they can be used to an advantage in the classroom because they can help thinking, writing, and communication skills. There are wordless picture books out there that students could look at and create their own text to and share with the classroom. I think picture books are a great teaching tool that can help promote literacy in the classroom.

chapter 6

I really enjoyed traditional literature growing up, coming from a Mexican-American background my family prides itself on passing down stories from generation to generation. Traditional literature is a window into different cultures and allows the author to experience and become a part of it. In class we watched the video Anansi which was traditional literature from the African American culture. The people of that time created stories to explain as well as entertain while explaining why things are. The best thing about traditional literature is that it is ever changing and is still relevant no matter what time period it is told. As a future teacher I think that it is important that we expose our children as much as possible to this genre of literature and will have many books like this in my classroom library.

Author profile

Matthew McElligott
Two bugs gather some beans for a party they try to group them so that everyone will get an even amount of beans, there is just one problem, the unlucky bean thirteen! No matter what the bugs do they cannot divide the beans equally and don't want the bad luck that comes with the thirteenth bean. This book is a great way to introduce division to your students, the pictures go along with the division and is an awesome visual for the students to see how division works. Matthew Mcelligot has the unique ability of creating great childrens stories that are filled with math concepts. Another great math story to check out is The Lion's share aloso by mcelligot.

chapter 4

I agree with the chapter in the sense that the way we respond to literature depends on our schema about the concepts in the book. The more schema we have the better response we will have to the book, and cause us to read more literature like it. I think this is an important issue that we as future teachers need to take into consideration when we introduce any type of literature to our students. If the students don't have the schema to understand or make sense of a certain work the teacher should hold discussions as a class to build it up and give the students some type of exposure so they can make connections or at least learn something from what they read. The subject of efferent and aesthetic reading is also an important issue, i think that efferent reading is pushed strongly in the classroom and makes it a chore to the students. The classroom should foster the idea that we should read for personal enjoyment and not put so much emphasis on testing whether you read the book or not and writing book reports. 

Chapter 3

Before reading the chapter I thought if a student could read their material then that had to mean they were understanding what they were reading. WRONG! The chapter reveals that fluency can sometimes mask the struggling reader, it is only when the teacher checks for comprehension that the problem is discovered. Comprehension is the process of making sense of what we are reading or relating things we know to what we are learning as we read. I think that it is important to expose our children to all kinds of literature because as we learned in class and the chapter we use our schema to activate prior knowledge and make sense of the material. Introducing all types of books to the students will increase their schema and improve their comprehension because they have a multitude of prior knowledge and experiences. As teachers our goal is to create independent learners, in order to do this the chapter presents scaffolding as an effective teaching technique. I think that scaffolding is a great technique because it allows the teacher to model and give feedback and gradually remove themselves to allow the student to grow on their own.

Mya Angelou Interview

I found this interview top be very inspiring especially as a future educator, as teachers we need to be able to connect with our students in anyway possible. The stresses of the job are always going to exist but, we must overcome and put the problems aside for the sake of our students. We can no longer use the excuse that we can't relate to our students, we are all humans that bleed, breath, and feel, these are the traits that we all have as human beings. This interview left a lasting impression on my beliefs and my viewpoint on society as a whole. Ms. Angelou is a beautiful person who has left her mark on the world and should inspire everyone to have compassion and understand for all humanity regardless of who they are or where they come from.

Author Profile

Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales retells, twists and bends the fairy tales we all thought we knew by. This hilarious book plays on well-known themes like, the ugly duckling grows up to be an ugly duck, and the princess who kisses the frog doesn't get a prince she gets a big slimy smackeroo! The Stinky Cheese Man changes not only the tradition of the fairy tale but pokes fun at the physical partsof a book. The sly narrator, Jack, bashes the title page, the table of contents, and even the endpaper by shuffling, scoffing them up. The characters slide in and out of tales similar to the chracters in the movie Shrek. Cinderella helps Rumpelstiltskin, and the Giant at the top of the beanstalk eats the Little Red Hen. There are no lessons to be learned or morals to take from the story, just silly smart aleck humor.

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Steve Jenkins is a Caldecott award winning children's authorhis book Down, Down, Down displays a top-to-bottom look at the ocean, from birds and waves to underwater vents. Half the earth's surface is covered by water more than a mile deep, but most of this watery world is a mystery to us. It is a fact that more people have stood on the surface of the moon than have visited the deepest spot in the ocean. Steve Jenkins takes you along the book travels down, down, down, from the surface to the bottom of the sea. Along the way you can see the marine life that inhabits the ocean, jellyfish that flash like a neon signs, creatures with teeth as big as their bodies and even a squid as long as a bus, which fights to the death with a sperm whale, the largest predator on earth. This book is great for science lessons and animal acticities, the artwork is excellent and keeps the reader wanting more.

Chapter 2

There is no doubt in my mind that children should be introduced to other cultures at an early age the question is not when but how? I personally belive that literature is a powerful tool that can be used to inform and create tolerance for all the cultures of the world. In our society we devote one month of the year to other cultures whether it be black history or hispanic heritage month. The fact of the matter is one month a year does not scratch the surface of the culture and how it shapes and influences those peoples lives, in order to creat tolerance and love for other cultures we must immerse the classroom with books, pictures, music, and first hand experience from our peers and their cultures. I love the emphasis the chpater puts on the culture of school which is completely different in the U.S. than in other parts of the world, for example german students participate in trade schools, the most popular being in the automtive industry. BMW allows students to train and take classes in business and math and learn how to use their school skills and apply them to the company and it's product. In our school system we use letter grades and awards to determine achievement, but those would mean nothing in countries where the purpose of school is to get a job to help provide food and shelter for your struggling family. The chapter reminded me of a survey I saw on t.v. where German and Middle Eastern students were asked who the president of the united states was and they correctly answered. On the other hand U.S. students couldn't name the president of any of the opposite countries, if we continue to shelter our students from exposure to other cultures we will keep fueling this ignorant cycle. Teachers must set aside instructional time for social studies, but teach nothing about people and their cultures, instead they read the same old children's history stories and the children miss out on learning about other people's culture and what makes each of us unique and important. I also felt that learning about our own culture that we have at home is important so that students understand that everyone has a different home life, maybe they live with both parents, or only mom or grandma. Teachers should also be aware of this home culture to better connect and reach their students.

Chapter 1

The most motivating part of chapter 1 in my opinion, was the idea of the "invisible children", and how we as educators are responsible for making sure that every student is afforded the opportunity to learn to read for enjoyment and academic purposes. Reading is essential to every aspect of education and knowledge in general, if our students can't read then they will struggle in social studies, math, history and so on because reading is the foundation for our curriculum. I found it very disturbing that a teacher would be so negative towards students who are having trouble learning and quickly write them off as lost causes. I know that every student will have their difficulties at some point in their schooling and a teacher should be right beside them to help them not discourage them. I also like how the chapter emphasized that the goal of an effective reading teacher isn't just to teach kids to read, but to teach them to want to read. As a teacher we have to show the students that reading can be fun and enhance their creativity and thinking skills. I think that an effective reading classroom should be filed with books, not just textbooks or basal readers, but books that children can read for enjoyment. In elementary our class library was filled with books but they were out of date and I couldn't find anything I wanted to read. I think as teachers we should talk to the students and find out what they are interested in so that they can read for enjoyment and create a love for reading.     

Children's Authors

I have googled some children's authors and found some very interesting ones. First, my favorite author Laura Numeroff and her book If you give a mouse a cookie. This book has been my favorite since I was in elementary school you can find cool activities and other books by her at http://www.laranumeroff.com/
I also found books by Loreen Leedy there are many titles to look at on her website, they come with full summaries and there are also activity ideas that teachers can use that deal with the book. the website is http://www.loreenleedy.com/
I came across a book called The day it snowed tortillas, by Joe Hayes it is a great story that is fun to read and keeps you guessing what will happen next. you can read the story without the pictures at www.sfaol.com/life/hayes04.html
The last author I found was very interesting because all of her stories deal with her upbringing in a Mexican American household. Carmen Lomas Garza's book Family Pictures illustrates her personal family and how they lived their everyday lives. I don't remember reading any stories about Mexican American families in elementary. I would have loved to read something like this when I was growing up. If you are interested check out her page http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/

First Blog

I've never blogged before....this will be interesting.