Eric Carle visits the Mount!

When "Eric Carle" came to visit our class, we were lucky enough to see a book that he hasn't published yet. Take a look & enjoy! =)

Bringing it all together...

This semester flew by! I have learned so much and feel so much more prepared to teach a class after taking ED5501. I have learned the importance of reading (and how it goes hand-in-hand with writing) in the classroom! Through the use of the many texts I have learned about, read, and done "book talks" about, I am fully prepared to make my own classroom library (with the help of the "50 texts" assignment). As a class, we have explored hundreds of books and many genres to use with students of all ages and abilities; I will use these learned skills in my very own classroom and take the lessons with me to whichever classroom I am lucky enough to end up in. Reading: Birth to Grade 6 has prepared me in many ways that I couldn't have imagined; from story-telling lectures, author visits, book shares, interactive games, and more, I find myself more knowledgeable about children's literature and the importance of it than ever before. I have enjoyed this course and learned so much in such a short amount of time. I will take my newly learned knowledge into the next chapter of my life.

K.L. Going Comes to MSMC! =)

Our class was lucky enough to have K.L. Going come to visit. She introduced her many books (King of Screw-Ups, which I used in my 50 texts assignment, Fat Kid Rules the World, and more!) She explained the long writing, editing, and publishing process and we were lucky enough to get to see the before, during, and after products of her very own writing pieces.

Surviving in the classroom

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Contemporary reflects the changing views of society that produces it. CRF reflects real-life issues young readers encounter such as: death/loss, maturation, gangs, and drugs. Considering the quality in CRF has factors such as a setting that is realistic, whether actual or fictional, characters that are human begins we know; multidimensional and dynamic, have plots that contain realistic conflicts, themes that illuminate life, and style that captivates and reflects contemporary language patterns. There are many formats in CRF books such as: picturebooks, transitional chapter books, novels in verse, graphic novels, short stories, and novels. Types of CRF include: adventure and survival stories, animal stories, mysteries and thrillers, and sports stories. (Photo taken from Dr. Smirnova's chapter slides on eclass)

Dramatic Responses to Literature

Getting children to respond to literature is extremely important in measuring their comprehension skills. Graphic Arts: •This can be done by encouraging children to draw or paint pictures or create collages or montages about their favorite stories.  •Drawings and paintings require the simplest of art supplies and minimal initial instruction, yet they allow for a great deal of originality. •Having children draw pictures suggested by picture storybooks can be a means of getting them to explore different artistic styles. •Encouraging children to draw picture after hearing stories read to them can result in some of the most highly individualistic creations. •For those who have limited graphic skills, a collage or montage is a viable alternative. It requires a certain amount of synthesis and analysis. Plastic Arts: •The plastic arts include the three-dimensional, nonpainterly works, such as sculpture and pottery. •One popular art form used widely in the classroom is the diorama, a three-dimensional scene often created from a shoe box or other carton, and decorated with cardboard cutouts, plastic figures, or other suitable objects. •By a further extension of the diorama, children can create miniature stages and puppet figures with which to re-enact a story, thus combining an artistic and a dramatic response to literature.

Fantastical Literature!

Fantastical Literature: Includes folklore, fantasy, and science fiction derived from traditions, myths and legends to explain and explore mysteries of world. History: Fantastical novels started with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) & Through the Looking Glass (1871) by Charles Dodgson, while flourishing in 20th Century (while sub-genres grew in the 21st century) Types of Fantasy: High Fantasy Low Fantasy Hard Science Fiction Soft Fiction Fantasy novels, one of my favorite genres (why I chose it for my presentation), are great for students of all ages. I would use many fantastical genre books in my classroom such as: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass by Charles Dodgson, Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford, and all Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Fantasy books often include magic, another world other than our own, universal themes, heroism, talking animals, fantastical characters (witches, fairies, etc.), and fantastic objects. All of these motifs make fantasy the distinctive genre that it is. To teach elements of fantasy, I would use a literature circle. I would put my class into small groups. Each group will be given a fantasy picture book such as: The Rainbow Fish, Jumanji, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Each group would read their picture book and look for the elements of fantasy we have just learned. I would have the student's pair up and talk about the following questions: "Why is this a fantasy story?", "Was magic involved? How?", "How did the plot make it a fantastical book?", "Was there another world other than our own? What was it like?"