Wiki Post/Reading Log

Reading Log for 30 books

            I.     Non-fiction/Informational

1)     Titanic in Photographs by D. Kilstorner     

          II.     Poetry

1)     Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? By Mel Glenn.

2)     Its’ Raining Pigs and Noodles by J. Prelutsky

3)     Poke in the I by Paul Janeczko

4)     In Every Tiny Grain of Sand:

A Childs Book of Prayers and Praise  by Elizabeth Kennedy

        III.     Modern Fantasy         

1)     A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

2)     The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Baum

3)     The Boy Who Could Fly Without a Motor by Theodore Taylor

       IV.     Historical Fiction

1)     Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.

         V.     Multicultural/Traditional

1)     Baseball Saved Us by K. Mochizuki

2)     Island of the Blue Dolphin by S. O’Dell

       VI.     Realistic Fiction

1)     Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis.

2)     Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

3)     Rules by Cynthia Lord

4)     Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

5)     The Great Gilly Hopkins by

6)     Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

7)     Frindle  by Andrew Clements

8)     Everthing on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

9)     Heat by Mike Lupica

10) Loser by jerry Spinelli

     VII.     Picture Books

1)     Seven  Blind Mice by Ed Young.

2)     The Stinky Cheese Man by J. Scieszka

3)     A Bad Case of Stripes by D. Shannon

4)     The Field Beyond The Outfield  by M. Teague

5)     E-mergency by Tom Lichtenheld

6)     Pink and Say by patricia Polacco

7)     The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman

8)     Monster Goose by Judy Sierra

9)     The Boy of a Thousand Faces by Brian Selznick

Wiki Post Completed for Class

Science – week 2

Social Studies – week 4

Reading – week 4

Other – week 6

TITANIC IN PHOTOGRAPHS

D. Kilstorner, S. Hall, B. Beveridge, A. Braunschweiger, S.Andrews (2012). Titanic in photographs. Charleston, SC: The History Press.
This was my first photo essay book to read. I choose this book becuase I thought it would be a great resource to have this upcoming school year when my entire middle school will be reading the book Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo. I think when students can see pictures of what they are reading about they are able to make great conections and retain more information. What better way that a book full of pictues! I have been looking at several pictues already to include in my lessons and as a resource for other teachers at my school to use.

This was a collection of photographs of a ship that lived on the ocean for only five days and a few hours. I was amazed at the number of phots that it contained! Lots of Father Browne's pictures were featured, including an extremely cool double exposure of the First Class deck and a First Class passengers' private Promenade deck.
There were, unfortunately, quite a few Olympic pictures. With the title of the book being Titanic in Photographs , I found this disappointing.  I must admit that seeing a book published in 2012 still featuring photos of another ship is a turn off of sorts. However, the saving grace of this book is the sheer number of pictures as I said before. With this also being the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, I believe that there will be a lot of talk on the news, local papers, and on line.
 Another thing I noticed and had to really look at closely to see a difference was that a lot of the boat pictures were the same shot with a tiny degree of angle change, but they were the actual ship.

The text is sound, easy to read and engaging. It takes you through from the inception of these large ships to the calamity and aftermath. There are a few details, especially found in the solid captions to each photo, that I was not even aware of. Its always exciting to discover some new tidbit of information regarding Titanic that I never knew before, rather than a simple rehash of the known details for example the fate of the lifeboats was addressed fully and there were a lot of shots I had not seen before. When the movie of the Titanic came out  in 1998, I was just 17 years old and the lifeboat situation really bothered me. It was just something I just couldn't wrap my head around.
Even with some Olympic floating around in the book, it is still well worth the time and effort and is a good fit for a Titanic resource. Its a great start off point for any person just getting interested in the tale of Titanic.

Field Experience Reflection

Field Experience Questions

1.    How many hours did you complete?  5 hours 7 minutes

2.    How did you spend your time?

·       Observed regular education class lesson on scanning comprehension questions to aid in answering questions at the end of the story. Used lessons on short passages and short stories.

·       Collaborated with librarian and assistant librarian to create book shelves for special needs students that are unable to use  card catalog

·       Observed author Judith Schachner and visitor Skippyjon Jones at the public library read her story and answer questions from kids.

·       Participated in story hour and helped with Father’s Day kid craft for children age 3-12. Read stories about daddy’s to younger children.

3.    How did the experience help strengthen at least one Kentucky Teacher Standard?

I believe that I strengthen the most in Standard 10: Provides leadership within school/community/profession. I was able to visit another classroom and pick up and valuable lesson to use in my classroom with reading strategies. This will benefit my students tremendously. I also worked with my librarian and librarian assistant for the first time even at my school. I always take my classes in the library every two weeks and utilize the library but this time I was able to collaborate with them on a project to help kids. Mrs. Berry shared many interesting ideas she had for teaching in the classroom and also talked with me about our school one-book policy and the new book she was choosing for the upcoming school year. I’ve used this information to get a head start on a unit this summer that will go with the book. Observing at the public library in young children’s story time was a great learning experience and a neat one too. My own children also gained from this opportunity as we are never able to attend during the school year. I used the field experience hours to learn with-in my school, help out my students I teach, and help out in at my own public library.

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

In collaborating with my school librarian for the first time I learned that she was able to teach a lot of reading strategies. She shared that she was going to select a book this summer to implement in our school for the upcoming year. It’s a one-book program where at certain times during the day no matter what class you are in everyone in the entire school will be reading the same chapter of the book at the same time. She has created lesson to help all teacher across content areas to help students really get more out of the book besides just reading it. I didn’t know that librarians even understood what classrooms were like, let alone knew how to create lesson plans to teach in class. I was very thrilled to have time to talk and collaborate with my librarian and the librarian assistant.

RULES

Lord, C. (2006). Rules.New York, NY. Scholastic Press.

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 4th-7th

Everyone’s life is run by rules. Everyone needs a friend in their life. Everyone has to deal with their family. But sometimes our lives get turned upside down, forcing us to ask the question: What is NORMAL?

Meet Catherine a typical teenager and big sister. She wants only what is best for her brother David, who has autism. He insists on following the rules. She keeps a list for him in her notebook to help him along.

RULES FOR DAVID

1. Chew with your mouth closed.

2. If someone says "hi", you say "hi" back.

3. No toys in the fish tank.



Sometimes the rules can help out in sticky situations.

1. You can yell on the playground, but not during dinner.

2. A boy can take his shirt off to swim, but not his shorts.

Sometimes rules can't fix everything...

1. Sometimes people laugh at you because they like you...

But sometimes they laugh to hurt you.

The rules even help David and Catherine see the good

in the not so good things.

1. looking closer can make something beautiful.

Sounds pretty normal, right? But a "Normal" life is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. Throughout the book Catherine meets the all-American girl named Kristie and a disabled boy names Jason. Friendships develop. These friendships force Catherine to answer the question: What is normal?

Go on a journey with the main character, Catherine, as she deals with friendship, honesty, acceptance, diversity and as she learns that sometimes the rule don't always apply!


Discussion Guide for RULES
http://www.cynthialord.com/pdf/rules_discuss.pdf

Maniac Magee

Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York, New York. Little, Brown and Company.

WON THE AWARD IN 1991

Maniac Magee is a combination of realistic fiction, humor, folklore, and even a little legend passed down. 
I have heard of this book before but never read it. My Librarian suggested it to me.  I believe it is a great story for kids in 4-6 grades to help teach children about how black and white people can get a long and how far we have come. I believe it also teaches students to never give up when things are hard if you have a passion for something. A common issue I see in the school I teach in. When life hands you lemons make lemonade, most kids just quit. I plan to use this book in my classroom this year for all these reasons as well.

The major character in the story is obviously Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee. He is the story’s protagonist. 

"Nobody knows who said it first, but somebody must have: 'Kid's gotta be a maniac."' Chapter 8, pg. 28 and that’s about all the insight you get as to how little Jeffrey got his nickname.

Maniac is an extremely young child who tragically loses his parents and finds himself in the setting of Two Mills, Bridgeport, and Holidaysburg. All towns in Pennsylvania, where he becomes a local legend while trying to find a home because things just didn’t work out with his crazy aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. He has shocking athletic abilities, runs everywhere he goes, can untie any knot, is allergic to pizza, crosses the barrier between East End and West End as if blind to racial distinction and becomes close friends with a older gentleman, Grayson, that teaches him so much.

Some other characters that you will read about in the story are Amanda Beale, she give Jeffery his first book to read and allows him to stay at her house and Mars Bars, yes like the candy bar. He is the "baddest" kid in the East End and antagonist to Maniac. He resents Maniac's presence in the East End, which is worsened when Maniac beats him in a race. He also offers Maniac a place to stay for a while too.

Between home hoping and living in the zoo Maniac has many adventures in the town of Two Mills.  One morning, Magee wakes up thinking a buffalo has him by the ear. It turns out to be Amanda Beale, who is angry after Mars Bar, who is hiding in some bushes, told her about Magee turning down his offer to live at his house. She orders Magee to come with her back to the Beale home. Magee attempts to refuse, which only makes her angrier, and see tells him that her house is his home and he is to no longer sleep with the animals. Magee follows her, as he finally realizes that he has a real home. Which is something Jeffrey Magee he has always wanted, a real address! 

BIG question:

Why is a home so important to Maniac? 

How do you think Maniac Magee’s future will turn out?

It's Raining Pigs and Noodles

Prelutsky, J. (2000). It's raining pigs and noodles. New York: Greenwillow Books.

http://files.harpercollins.com/AudioFile/9780061451355.mp3
It's Raining Pigs and Noodles
It's raining pigs and noodles,
it's pouring frogs and hats,
chrysanthemums and poodles,
bananas, brooms, and cats.
Assorted prunes and parrots
are dropping from the sky,
here comes a bunch of carrots,
some hippopotami.
It's raining pens and pickles,
and eggs and silverware.
A flood of figs and nickels
is falling through the air.
I see a swan, a sweater,
a clock, a model train--
like this so much better
than when it's raining rain.

It’s Raining Pigs & Noodles is a wonderful addition to any poetry collection for children.  The poems in this book are very child-friendly, playful and funny. There are plenty of clear examples of onomatopoeia, alliteration and other "Punny" word plays. One of my favorites is “The Knock-Less Monster” demonstrating his existence on page thirty-six.

The black and white drawings by the illustrator, James Stevenson are predominantly of animals and children. His artwork beautifully supports the poems, as well as helps fill the pages, especially with the shorter poems. There are four concrete poems that would be great mentor texts for young poets. “I am Winding Through a Maze” page 116, is in the shape of a maze and “I am Stuck Inside a Seashell” spirals to the center of the page 137. Both make reading extra fun and challenging for young readers. The other two, “We’re Perched Upon a Star” and “I’m Caught Up in Infinity” take the shape of a star and the infinity symbol, respectively.  His poetry is all very humorous and light-hearted, and range from the traditional to the unique. One of the great features of Prelutsky's poetry is that he is not afraid to use some complex vocabulary interspersed within more simple language as a way to expose readers to a wider range of vocabulary.

 I think as a language arts resource teacher of middle school students Prelutsky's poems can serve as excellent examples for students working on a poetry unit. His poems open students up to being funny and creative in their work.

I am definitely a new fan of Jack Prelutsky and I believe that he gives the ever-popular Shel Silverstein a run for his money! I grew up on Shel and it was neat to see a great collection of poems that were just as funny!

 Can you think of a funny incident, situation, or even joke from their lives?

Pick a poem from the book It's Raining Pigs and Noodles and rewrite the poem from your own POV based on your experience you just thought of!

Island of the Blue Dolphins

  O'Dell, S. (1960). Island of the blue dolphins. Boston,MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Baseball Saved Us

Mochizuki,K. (1993). Baseball saved us. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books Inc.

Baseball Saved Us is a book about a Japanese-American boy and his family during World War II. They were sent to an internment camp. With nothing else to do, Shorty and the others at the camp begin to build a baseball field within the barbed wire fences that they live in. The game of baseball lets them have some enjoyed and brings people together even if it is only for nine innings at a time.

In a climactic closing scene, the young boy stands up to bat amid the racist jeers of the opposing team, and sees in his mind the accusing guard, standing on the watchtower, watching Japanese-American families play baseball below him. In response to this memory, his courage rises, and instead of wilting in defeat, he rallies to meet the challenge. We see him finally being celebrated by his teammates in jubilant celebration of his winning hit.  He continues to play baseball and is successful in doing so.

I believe this story was very well written. The setting was during World War II. The plot was easy to follow and understand. The writer definitely brings the setting to life with authentic details but at the same time does not overwhelm the story. The illustrations are powerful and play a big part in the telling of Mochizuki's story, which is actually based on his own parents experiences in a Japanese internment camp.

For example he shows what it was like to live during that time and have to go to an internment camp and suddenly leave your home. The characters behave in ways that are believable. The boy acts like a typical boy wanting to play baseball during times of boredom. The conflicts are conceivable especially being those of World War II. The theme is most definitely still relevant for today’s readers. There will always be racism. This is a very important topic to cover with students to teach to accept other cultures and races.

The dust jacket of this book included a great bio of both the author and the illustrator. This was the first picture book for both of them .

I really enjoyed this book. I was first drawn to it because of my love for baseball.  While reading, the story really opened up my eyes to how World War II affected lives of others and what they had to go through during that time. If I were to use this book in the classroom I would definitely use it to talk about racism and World War II. I think it would be a great book for the students to read and I really believe that both boys and girls would enjoy it.

The characters in Baseball Saved Us were taken from their home and sent to live in an internment camp. They had not done anything wrong. They were Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast at a time when the United States was fighting a war with Japan.

 Big Question:Do you think it was fair for the government to take them from their home and make them move far away? How would you feel if this happened to your family?

Baum, L. (1987).The wonderful wizard of oz: 100th anniversary edition.Singapore:HarperCollinsPublishers.

A Must Read! You are always told not to judge a movie based on the book because the book is always better. Well my favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz.  I have tons of useless knowledge saved in my head about it, so I decided I should read the fantasy story too. They are NOTHING ALIKE, and yet I loved them both. So excited about this great fantasy read I had this week!

The story begins with the main character, Dorothy. She lives on a small farm in Kansas with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. When a cyclone hits, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are carried away in their house to a strange land called Munchkin Land. They meet a good witch and tiny people called Munchkins greet them too. Dorothy's house has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. It has killed the witch and made her a hero! Dorothy takes the Wicked Witch's charmed silver shoes, and the good witch gives her a protective kiss on her forehead so she can reach Oz safely. Dorothy hopes that the Wizard of Oz will be able to send her back to Kansas, so she sets off on the yellow brick road.

Soon, Dorothy and Toto meet the Scarecrow. He desperately wants a brain, so he accompanies them on their trip. Next, they meet the Tin Woodman, who tells his story of how he was once human and how he longs to have a beating heart. The last character they meet is a cowardly lion, who obviously by his names needs some courage, to act like he is king of the forest.

They next enter a land by the Kalidahs. These are huge animals that have the heads of tigers and bodies of bears! Definitely not in the movie. As the plot progress the four friends find themselves facing many new challenges. The Tin Woodsman kills a wildcat and saves the Queen of the Mice.

The next night they stay with a family that tells them that once they enter the Emerald City they will not get to talk with the Wizard. Dorothy decides they can’t take no for an answer and they go anyway. The Wizard does agree to meet with Dorothy but insist that before he can send her home she must kill the Wicked Witch of the West.

The witch knows they are coming and can watch them through her magic eye she sends out many different things to try and kill them. This part of the book is a bit gruesome. Color once again helps create a vivid picture. We learn for the first time that the land of the Winkies is yellow and that the Winkies dress in yellow from head to foot. Dorothy is immediately able to see the good that has come from the Wicked Witch's death. The little girl is able to tell the Winkies they are now free. When Dorothy finds the Golden Cap, Baum gives us more foreshadowing.

The golden cap plays as a big prop in the story. At the end, Baum repeats his theme yet again that there is really NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Another theme of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is self-sufficiency. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion all are looking for magic to give them qualities they already possess but fail to recognize.  Baum wrote descriptive passages into his text, which bring the fictitious world of Oz alive in the imagination of the reader. Descriptions of landscapes are appealing to children, who will enjoy getting lost in this fantasy story. In chapter two, Dorothy and her house land among the Munchkins. Baum describes the land so vividly when he wrote “Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare brilliant plumage sand and fluttered in the trees and bushes.”

The Field Beyond The Outfield

Teague, M. (1992). The field beyond the outfield. New York: Scholastic.

  Nothing says summer time like the game of baseball! The children’s picture book by Mark Teague is a great read for daydreamers, baseball lovers and those with a great imagination!  The main character, Ludlow Grebe, believes that there are monsters in his closet and that sharks swim outside every time it rains. This silliness doesn’t fly with his parents and they decided he needed “something real to think about” (pg. 5) so they sign him up for baseball.  He studies the game and learns how to play only to be told to” play back -far, far back – to where the weeds got scraggly and the other players looked small as ants.” (pg. 9). The illustration on this page shows you just how far out he was, and how lonely he must have felt by the use of white space left on the page from the framing of the picture.  He is playing so far back that he is whisked off to a parallel ballgame where the players are insects and the fans are monsters! He gets a chance to hit for the insect team with a great ending to the game. Ludlow realizes he must come back to his own game as night time was coming. When he goes to bed that night the monsters didn’t bother him at all, he was ready for the next day and what it held in store for him! The bright illustrations and double spread pages help catch little reader’s eyes.

This would be a great read for children in grades K-2. I love baseball and the cover of the book caught my attention with the baseball field and a few bugs playing baseball, I liked the drawings. This is a good book, but I’m not sure I would have a lesson to use it with in class. I have thought however that it would make a good “boy” book to pull in a reluctant reader with if they were into sports.

BIG question: Can you remember a time when you thought there where monsters under your bed, or in your closet. What did you do? How did it make you feel?

A Bad Case of Stripes

Shannon, D. (1998). A bad case of stripes. New York,NY: Scholastic Inc.

A Bad Case of STRIPES, is a wonderfully illustrated book that will grab the reader’s attention with its vivid colors on every page. This picture book has interesting features of the illustrations that pull the young readers in with every flip of the framed pages.  When the class says the pledge of allegiance on page 7, there Camilla is with her red, white, and blue stripes and all broke out in stars!  The pictures really depict the words.

I really enjoy reading this book. I read it every year to my new special education students. Camilla, the main character, is so worried about fitting in with her classmates. Just like my students on the first day of middle school.  Many of them fret over what school will be like, and getting picked on by big eighth graders. Camilla wanted to please so many people and fit that her body begin to react to all of her thoughts in her brain. Her body became covered with so many different colors because she couldn’t decide on what color to wear to school. Another problem so many of my sp. Ed. students have.  Instead of giving into what everyone else wanted she finally realized that she needed to pay more attention to what she liked.  At the end of the story a sweet little old woman enters the plot with a container of small green beans in her bag.

This is great for primary, intermediate, and upper grades. So many times we are concerned with what other people like and never ask ourselves what do I like. Just like Camilla students are confused and don’t know which way to go, they just want to fit in. This book allows them to say that even though I may be different from others I am still a great unique person, even if it means not conforming and liking lima beans! The little old woman helped Camilla find the true her, and then mysteriously disappears into a crowd at the conclusion of the story.

Big Question:

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t fit in so you changed your own views to not stick out? Think about a time you have felt pressure from peers and reflect on it.

The Stinky Cheese Man

Scieszka, J. (1992). The stinky cheese man and other fairly stupid tales. New York, NY:Viking Press.



The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales is a book that all ages would enjoy. I do realize that the children will need a basic understanding of fairy tales to enjoy this book so I recommend reading The Stinky Cheese Man after going over fairy tales and folklore genre in class.  Children in class today would really enjoy the humor in this book along with the figurative language included too. It is full of humor from the beginning title to the end. (Literality) 

There are ten common fairy tales in this book that are fractured in some way from the well-told version that most children are familiar with, The Really Ugly Duckling, The Other Frog Prince, Cinderumpelstiltskin, and many others.  It made me even stop to think about the version of the story I was once told, wondering if my parents or grandparents had altered it anyway when passing it down to me.  

The main character Jack of Jack in the Beanstalk, tells the stories and also interacts with the other characters as they pop up anywhere, even in the middle of the book! Little Red Hen stays with you all throughout the book too worried about her precious wheat as always. 

The illustrations in the book are very unique. The illustrator is Lane Smith and she has a twisted way of drawing the characters in the book. Changes your prospective of the cute little images you have in your mind of these wonderful characters from storybooks and movies. The book won the New York Times Illustrated Book award, was a Caldecott Honor book. 

When discussing the fairy tale genre I’m thinking I might let my students pick out their own fairy tale and deconstruct it. It would be a good writing piece for narration. The book also makes fun of some of the common parts of a book and uses this to teach students. It says what the students are really thinking in their heads but would not say out loud. The dedication page is upside down and points out the fact that no one ever reads the page anyway. It has great humor that I believe would capture the minds of all young readers.  

Big Question: Can you name a type of figurative language from the story and explain it?

About Me!

Hello Everyone! My name is Sara Jones and I’m a 6^th grade special education resource teacher. I have taught at Burns Middle School in Owensboro, Kentucky for 8 years. Being a resource teacher, I get moved around a lot based on student numbers from year to year. I have taught reading, English, science, Read 180, and social studies. Next school year I will get to add math to the list too! I attended middle school at BMS and really enjoy co-teaching with some of my former teachers.

  When I’m not in the classroom, I’m coaching cheerleading at Apollo High School. This is my 13^th year as head coach.  We are a competitive squad too, so we practice year round.   I really enjoy coaching the girls and watching them grow up to become true leaders and young ladies.

My husband Micah and I are the proud parents of 3 wonderful and very busy children, Garrett 5, Ava 3, and Harper Lee 4 months (yes after the author) As far as reading for my own enjoyment…… that has been put on the back burner. I do read to my students in school and my children at home just about every night and that is something I love to do. My favorite sport is baseball, I'm a big Atlanta Braves fan. Can't believe it's Chipper's last year.  I also enjoy watching UK basketball and any cheerleading competitions on TV.

Really looking forward to this class and reading the books to my students and my own children.