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
    

Twilight

Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and Co.

     The modern fantasy book of choice was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.  This saga has been my absolute favorite series of the modern fantasy genre.  The targeted audience is for teens and young adults.
     Twilight is the first book in the Twilight saga series.  In this book, Isabella Swan moves to Forks, Washington from Arizona to live with her father.  Bella is a human teenage girl that is trying to adjust in her new school, when she notices the Cullen family.  The Cullen's family are all very beautiful.  The reason being they are all vampires.  The major theme of the modern fantasy novel is romance and love.  Two of the main characters have an unique relationship that readers "have" to keep reading to find out.  The novel is told in Bella's point of view, so she uses first-person point of view.  Vampirism is the most apparent symbol in the story.   By reading the story, you will find out that the Cullen's aren't the only vampires in the town of Forks, Washington.
     Teaching 5th grade reading and writing, I couldn't use this novel.  I would recommend upper middle and high school teachers use this modern fantasy novel in their classroom.  They could use this novel to work in groups on researching a character.  Students would analyze characterization and its importance in novels.  Each group would make a poster of their characters name, physical characteristics, personality traits, relationships to other characters and miscellaneous information about the character. 
     I recommend classmates in my graduate class to read this book and the rest of the series. Stephanie Meyer even produced the series Twilight in movie theatres!  However, I agree with the quote from class last week that books are better than the movies. tlg
    
    

Jumanji

Van Allsburg, C. (1981). Jumanji. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

     Jumanji is another one of Chris Van Allsburg's children's book that has a great story and vivid illustrations. Jumanji not only won a Caldecott Award in 1981, but also won The National Book Award in 1982. In 1996, Jumanji was made into a film.
      In this children's book, the characters Judy and Peter find a board game under a tree in the park and decide to give the boring game a try! The kids found out that the game Jumanji was nothing boring about it! During the game, they saw stampeding animals from a jungle in their living room! The story is enhanced by Van Allsburg's great artwork.
      Alike his award winning book The Polar Express and his young adult's picture book The Sweetest Fig, I am completely impressed with the illustrations again. In Jumanji, he conveys pictures of a normal and quiet living room that was taken over by wild animals.
     After reading this story, "the big idea" would be a great skill to teach using this book in the lower grades.  Using chart paper, the teacher could write down the main events that happened while students are retelling the story.  This story is great for determining the important events.  To expand the lesson, inferencing would be great to go into as well.

The Polar Express

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The polar express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

     The Polar Express is one of my all time favorite picture books.  Every Christmas, my mother would read this picture book to my sisters and I and it was something that I always looked forward to.  This children's book won a Caldecott Medal in 1986. 
    In this award winning book, the character of a young man tells the story of when he was younger how his belief in Santa came to real life on Christmas Eve. His friends would tell him that there wasn't a Santa, but he still believed in him. He knew Santa was real when the Polar Express took him to the North Pole!  The little boy wanted a small gift from the North Pole and that was a bell on Santa's sleigh. 
     Not only the story is great but with detailed and colorful illustrations draws readers into the Christmas spirit.  The illustrations make everyone feel as if they are in the story!  Aside from the illustrations, there are many activites teachers can implement using this children's book.  One great skill to go over with students is imagery and metaphor/similes throughout the book.  As a whole group, identify the examples of imagery Van Allsburg uses in his book.  Also, have students identify the metaphors and similes throughout the story.
   

Kitten's First Full Moon

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York: Greenwillow Books.

      Kitten's First Full Moon is a great picture book for young students. This picture book won a Caldecott Award in 2005! In this book, a kitten makes a mistake when thinking the full moon was a bowl of milk. She goes through a lot of trouble to get to that "bowl of milk", but ends up upset and tired.
       Not only is the story great in this book, but the illustrations are phenomenal!! Kevin Henkes is the illustrator of this book. Done in a charcoal and cream-colored palette, the illustrations are created with thick black outlines, curves, and changing expressions that are full of nuance. My librarian at the elementary school I work at recommended me using this picture book for my class.
     Kitten's First Full Moon would be a great read aloud for primary grades. A great activity for kids to show the pictures in the book to the students first and have them narrate their own story based on the illustrations. For more fun, students can pick a page in the book and draw the illustrations using the grayscale pens (gray and black).

The Sweetest Fig

Van Allsburg,C. (1993). The sweetest fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
   
         The Sweetest Fig is a young adult picture book that has an unforgettable theme, as well as illustrations. Chris Van Allsburg is not only the author of this children's picture book but also the illustrator. After reading this book aloud to my students during an inferring lesson, he not only kept my 5th graders engaged throughout the story, but kept me engaged as well!
       Monsieur Bibot is a fussy dentist who seems unhappy throughout the book. He had been payed with figs after he did dental work on an old woman. Bibot was sure those figs weren't special like the woman said, but one night he decided to eat one for a snack. When he went to bed that night, Bibot realized the fig had the power to make his dreams come true. Afterwards, he was so ready to eat the second fig when his dreams were controlled. His dog had a different plan.
       This book was such a great read aloud for my students. We made inferences throughout the story using textual evidence and prior knowledge to draw an inference on what happened. The students enjoyed The Sweetest Fig as much as I did! I recommend others to read this book to your class! tlg

So You Want to Be President?

St. George, J. (2000). So you want to be President?. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

          So You Want to Be President? is a children's picture book that I found so interesting, yet hilarious! Not only does this picture book have great illustrations, but also tons of information about past Presidents of the United States. This picture book was one of The Caldecott Medal award winning books!
         In this book, I learned about the 42 presidents that have been in office from 1789-1993. Not only does this book tell readers about the good things about being president, but also tells the bad things about being President of the United States. Later in the book, I learned what kind of person the job of a president needs! The author compares presidents by size, habits, occupations, hobbies and martial statuses to add comedy in this picture book. David Small is the illustrator of this picture book! He used political cartoons with a lot of color in this book! This made the book so engaging to me!
        I highly recommend others to read this book and use it in the classroom! Often times I use picture books in my 5th grade Reading class to teach basic comprehension skills to model fix-up strategies! This book would be a great informational book to learn more about the U.S. presidents, as well as teaching reading skills. I know my Social Studies teacher would definitely like the integration of the subjects. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have!:) tlg

Introduction..

     My name is Taylor Gates.  I teach 5th Grade Reading and On-Demand Writing at Pembroke Elementary School.  The school is located in Pembroke, Kentucky in Christian County.  This is my second year as a teacher and I absolutely love it! I am also an advisor for the Kiwanis Kids in my school.  I have 35 kids that stay after school to do community service projects! 
     Unfortunately, I commute 50 miles one way to school each day!  But it is totally worth it!  I have lived in Princeton, Kentucky my whole life and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.  My family and friends are very important to me.  I have 2 sisters, Nacy and Meredith, and each has 2 daughters of their own (Brylee, Belle, Addie and Chloe).  Family full of GIRLS!!:) However, the first boy in my family is on his way...(like 2 weeks!)  I love to spend time with my nieces and so excited to FINALLY have a nephew!  So say a sweet prayer for my sister Meredith and baby Gates!
     I have some hobbies and reading is one of them!  Throughout the school year, it is so hard to find time to read.  My favorite reading time is during the summer while laying by the pool.  I purchased a Barnes & Noble Nook about 2 years ago and I LOVE it!  Like many other girls, romance novels are my favorite.  Yes, all of Nicholas Sparks!  Other than reading, I also like to run.  Going to the gym and running on the treadmill is a perfect way to end my school day.  It is perfect for winding down from the chaos some school days can be!  Lastly, I love college sports!  Watching college basketball and college football takes up a lot of my down time.  During the fall, I LOVE to sit at home on a Saturday and watch college football all day!
     Now that you know a little bit about me, I am excited to start reading books for this class!  I am always ready to find resources to help in my classroom:)  tlg