Field Experience

1.  How many hours did you complete?

5 hours and 30 minutes.

2.  In a short paragraph or bulleted list, how did you spend your time?

• Observing Kindergarten through 4th grade Reading teachers (5 hours)
• Teaching a 30 minute mini lesson (30 minutes)

3.  How did the experience help you to strengthen at least on Kentucky Teacher? 

The experience helped me strengthen as a teacher by getting new ideas on how to teach different skills, as well as different classroom management ideas.


4.  Talk a little about one thing you learned because of this field experience?

  I have learned that there isn't one right way to teach students. I saw learning in each and every classroom that I observed.  Without seeing other Reading/Writing teachers, I would have never seen other strategies that were implemented in their classrooms that work well.

My Life in Dog Years

Paulsen, G. (1999). My life in dog years. New York: Delacorte Press.

     My Life in Dog Years is an nonfiction chapter book written by Gary Paulsen and is about Gary owning dozens of dogs and each one is special for some reason.  In each chapter of this book, Gary tells about one of his "special" dogs and the significance.  For example, Cookie was a sled dog whom saved his life.  Another one of Gary's dogs was Snowball.  Snowball was his first dog when he lived in the Phillipines.  A couple others companion dogs are Dirk and Josh. 
     Many literary terms were used in this nonfiction chapter book.  One of the terms included in this book was onomatopoeia.  On page 132 in My Life in Dog Years, the author uses "he distinctly made the sound ptui as he did it-- and then walked away from me".   Gary also used idioms in his chapter book.  On page 40 he says, "To make up the difference I started selling newspapers in the bar at night.  This kept me up and out late, and I often came home at midnight.  But it added to my income so that I could stay above water."   Gary also used dialect and similes.  A simile that "popped" out was when Gary said "Happy was built like an upright freezer and had just about half the intelligence but this time it was easy". 
     This nonfiction chapter book would be a great read for my 5th grade students.  Most of my students have pet dogs at home and would love to learn about each of Gary Paulsen's dogs and their significance to his life.  Afterwards, my students could even write their own chapter book on their own pets and how their pets have been an essential part of their life. 

Book Log & Wiki Checklist

Genre / Titles you read 

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

3)      Songs of Innocence by William Blake

4)      Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg

5)      Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

6)      Revolting Rhymes by Ronald Dahl

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

3)      The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4)      The Giver by Lois Lowry

5)      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

3)      Why Mosquitoes Buss in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema

4)      M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      So B. It by Sarah Weeks

3)      Frindle by Andrew Clements

4)      Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

5)      Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      –The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

3)      –So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George

4)      –The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

5)      –Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

6)      – Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

7)      The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

Wiki Checklist

Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is two total posts, in two different categories)

____ Social Studies

____ Science

____ Math

____ Music

__1__ Art (Poetry genre) Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

__1__ Reading/Language Arts (Multicultural/Traditional Literature genre) Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

____ Physical Education

____ Other

Bud, Not Buddy

Curtis, Christopher P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy.  New York: Yearling Books.

      Do you get irritated when your name is mispronounced?  If so, you have a pet peeve like Bud Caldwell in the story Bud, Not Buddy.  "Mama would always tell me, "Bud is your name and don't you ever let anyone call you anything outside of that either.  Especially don't you ever let anyone call you Buddy, I may have some problems but being stupid isn't one of them, I would've added dy onto the end of your name if I intended for it to be there.  I knew what I was doing, Buddy is a dog's name or a name that someone's going to use on you if they're being false-friendly.  Your name is Bud, period." 

     Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell is on a search looking for his father in Flint, Michigan around the 1930's.  He has a few clues about who his father is, however he is bound and determined to meet him.  Bud goes through a lot of obstacles but remembers his mama's saying, "And Bud, I want you always to remember, no matter how bad things look to you, no matter how dark the night, when one door closes, don't worry, because another door opens."  

     Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy won a Newbery Medal, as well as a Coretta Scott King Award.  To find out more about Bud Caldwell and his adventure on finding his father, read this book!  It will keep you "glued" from start to finish.

So B. It

Weeks, S. (2004). So b. it. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

     Have you ever wondered about things you have forgotten from your past?  You are not the only one, twelve year old Heidi wonders the same.  “One thing I knew for a fact, from the time I knew anything at all, was that I didn’t have a father. What I had was Mama and Bernadette, and as far as I was concerned, that was plenty.”  
     Heidi lived with her mother and neighbor Bernadette.  Her mother was mentally disabled and only had 23 words in her vocabulary.  Bernadette lived in the apartment that was joined to theirs and had a disease named angora phobia and hasn't left her apartment in years.  Living with these two, Heidi became very anxious to figure out her past and more about where she came from. 
     If you want to find out what happens when Heidi goes on a search for her past, I suggest you read this book.  I was wrapped up in this story from the time I picked it up.  This is a great realistic novel for young adults from ages 10-14 to understand mental challenges.

Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant

Prelutsky, J. (2006). Behold the bold umbrellaphant. China: Greenwillow Books.

     Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant is a collection of poems in a children's picture book written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Carin Berger.  Inside this appealing title and front cover illustrations, there are seventeen poems with creative illustrations that fill each page.  The author Jack Prelutsky was chosen as the first children's poet laureate in the United States in 2006 when Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant was first released. 
     In these poems, the author puts together animal names with object names to create new kinds of creatures that you wouldn't likely see in any zoo!  For example, "the umbrellaphant".  This animals' trunk ends with an umbrella on top.  The author also makes up creatures such as:  The Clocktopus, Shoehornets, The Pop-up Toadsters and The Bizarre Alarmadillos!  His wordplay in these poems are very creative; however, the illustrations are JUST as creative!  Carin, the illustrator, uses newspapers and book pages to create collages as her illustrations.  The author and illustrator work together to come up with these silly animals, so that all readers are engaged throughout the book. 
     This picture book/poetry book I selected has been my absolute favorite book so far.  The author uses catchy rhymes throughout each poem; however, he uses a variety of rhyme schemes.  Each poem is very short, in between 2-4 stanzas long.  This poetry book would be great for all of elementary grades (K-5).  I use a poem a week to work on fluency in my Reading class and I have found these poems would be a great resource to use for our weekly poetry reading. tlg

Her Stories

Hamilton, V. (1995). Her stories. New York: The Blue Sky Press.


      Her Stories consists of African American Folktales, Fairy Tales and True Tales.  This multicultural literature book is told by Virginia Hamilton, whom is a Newbery Medalist.  The vibrant paintings by Leo and Diane Dillon, whom are Caldecott Award winners, include drama and mystery as well as warmth and beauty of the people in the tales.
     Her Stories won a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, as well as a Coretta Scott King Award.  The tales inside this multicultural/traditional literature book helps us understand the joys, fears and wishes as individuals in African American history.  These tales introduce a wide range of folktales, fairy tales and legendary women through the true tales section. 
     The young adult book is heavy binded with an oversized format.  Each page is a lot bigger than the text and illustration presented.  At the end of the book, there is a page that is labeled "Useful Sources".  This page would be very helpful in finding out more information on each tale. 
     This young adult multicultural/traditional literature book would be a great resource in my classroom for many activities.  The students in my 5th grade Reading/Writing class can use this book as a reference to a research report for Writing, as well as just reading the book for their own leisure for Book-It minutes.  This book would also be great for integrating Social Studies in my classroom.  I recommend reading Her Stories to all teachers in this program. tlg

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Aardema, V. (1975). Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. New York: The Dial Press.

     Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears is a West African Tale retold by Verna Aaredema.  The illustrators in this picture book are Leo and Diane Dillon.  This multicultural picture book won a Caldecott Medal in 1976.
     In this multicultural children's book, the King Lion calls a meeting because of an accident that had occurred.  The whole reason why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears is made known at the meeting.
     The genre of this children's book is a West African Tale, which is also a folktale.  A tale is a story that has been passed down from years and years ago.  In this multicultural children's book, Marcia VanDuinen heard the story first; however, Verna Aardema retold the folktale. 
     The illustrations in the children's book are primitive and folk.  The pages in this picture book are vibrant and enhance the story.  Each page is filled top to bottom and left to right with colorful illustrations that engages readers throughout the whole book.
     Although this book is on 4th grade reading level, I can use this in my 5th grade Reading/Writing class to teach many skills through reading aloud.  I can use this multicultural read aloud to teach cause and effect, drawing conclusions, making inferences, plot, character and setting, and theme.  Each of these skills are in my standards to teach and I now know that this book is a great resource to pull out of my own classroom library to help when teaching these skills.  tlg