Children's Book Review

Most of the books we have in our house are children's books that I have collected over the years due to the illustrations.  I chose 2 out of the collection.  

#1

The Mitten Retold by Jim Aylesworth and Illustrated by Barbara Mcclintock

The book is a tale of a little boy who goes out to play in the snow and looses one of his mittens.  He does not realize it until he is back in the house.  His grandmother says she will knit him another one and not to worry.  Meanwhile the mitten is laying outside and is found by a squirrel who curls up to get warm.  The squirrel is not the only animal with this idea in the woods.  He is joined by many others. 

As a teacher who would read this book to her class I would have the need to teach students about the seasons.  There are ELL students that may come from a place that do not experience the 4 seasons like other areas.  Also, the type of clothing that is worn in the winter during snow compared to the summer.  Explaining that all the animals would not be able to realistically fit into a little mitten and that the story has been exaggerated.  An explanation of reality and exaggeration would need explaining.  A fun activity to do for this story would be to have a very large mitten constructed so a handful of children could climb in and see what it would feel like to be crammed into a small space.  The children would then have an understanding of the space the animals had with each other.  

#2

The Legend of the Petoskey Stone by Kathy-Jo Wargin and illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen 

This book is folk tale/legend of the Native American people from the Great Lakes Area.  It is a book that would need explanation for native speakers just as much as for ELL students.  

The story is about a man who was named after the native american term Petosegay which means "rays of the rising sun" or "sunbeam of promise".  His father knew Petoskey would come to great things.  The story tells of how Petsokey became a fur trader and made his way around northern Michigan gaining respect of the people.  A town was named after him as well as the stones found in the area.  A petoskey stone is petrified coral left behind by glaciers that you can find along the shores of the Great Lakes.  The story is told by a father to his son while they are looking for petoskey stones along the Lake Michigan shore in the city of Petoskey.  The father tells his son that when he finds a petoskey stone it carries the promise of tomorrow which means he will have one more day in a place he loves with the person he loves most.  

I have read this story to pre-schoolers due to a student being interested in fossils.  I shared with the class the story and my experience with searching for petsokey stones.  At the time I had taken a trip to Michigan and found enough stones for my class. 

For this story there are several ways of going about teaching it.  Like I mentioned before it would be for all learners.  It could be used as a geography lesson. Making the connection of where Michigan and the Great Lakes are located.  Native American stories and legends.  Teaching what a legend is.  A connection for petoskey stones would be for students that have looked for seashells on a beach.  It's similar but you are looking for a particular stone.  Explanation of what petoskey stones are and how they developed from coral that were from glaciers.  The journey that was taken by Petsokey's parents before he was born can be related to students that have taken a journey to this country, across town to see family or even across the country.  I feel that this book has many teaching moments for all types of students.  

Unfamiliar Text

I was unable to get to the library to pick up a book in another language so while standing in the checkout line at Safeway I picked up the Spanish version of People Magazine.  I had Spanish in high school but you would never know it.  I know the basics: hello, goodbye, good morning/night/day, what is your name, and a few cuss words.  I also know a few art terms due to teaching art at a bilingual school for a few months.
While glancing through the magazine I could make out basic words but nothing in depth.  If the celebrity was talking about their biggest ambitions I could not tell you what it was.  The captions on the photos I could guess closely what was being discussed but it was only a guess.  If one was to ask me what the celebrity was famous for - I had no idea.
My son (5) has a handful of bilingual books so I grabbed one of those.  Not sure if I lowered my reading level or raised it seeing that the last choice was Spanish People.  Pez payaso by Carol K. Lindeen is translated into Clown Fish.  I have only read the book once to my son so I am not too familiar with it.  I do have some understanding of clown fish thanks to Nemo.  I could make out some words and concepts and if I had trouble I would look at the pictures.  If I still had trouble I "cheated" and read the English section and put words that I did know with the English words and then piece together what the rest were.  I was lucky to have it bilingual or I would have had to get out the translation dictionary to figure things out.  I have had to translate with a dictionary and that is not easy.  It is frustrating and takes time.  And most of the time it still does not make sense.  One realization was that maybe children's books should be bilingual with a little flip panel that you can cover up your native language and read in your second language.  When you have trouble reveal your native language to help yourself out.  How do I market this?  :)
I'm sure if I picked up a book in French or German I would have had a tremendous amount of trouble.  Even Italian may have been troublesome even though Spanish and Italian are similar.  I can understand the frustration ELL students must have in the classroom.  We as educators must become familiar with various techniques and strategies in order to help our ELL students become successful.

Oral Language and the Reading Process

I strongly agree that oral language and the reading process go hand and hand.  In Literacy: Helping Students Construct Meaning  Cooper states that the aspects of oral language development form the foundation for reading.  As infants, we as parents start talking to our children and add onto language through books, photographs, and objects found in our daily lives.  They develop sounds, learn how words are formed and related to each other, how language conveys meaning, develop vocabulary, and learn how individuals use language to achieve certain goals (Cooper, 2009).  Once these children reach school age, teachers continue this learning using various techniques and strategies.  The learning process continues to be built on, or scaffold.  We as teachers and parents need to model language and reading so our students are successful.

Personal Writing Instruction

Where to begin on this subject.  It's been decades since I began to write.  It's not something I do on a regular basis.  I would like too and I have tried many a time to write in a journal over the years.  It seems that writing journals are more of the norm now than way back when.  I remember in 1st and 2nd grades we copied sentences that the teacher wrote on the board.  In higher grades, I remember practicing vocabulary and having to use the word in a sentence or two.  It seemed like any type of paper I had to write whether it be a book summary or a research type paper I always wrote too much information.  I had a hard time cutting it back.  But I also found it always hard to start.  It was overwhelming for me.  I still get that feeling today.  I am much better at writing letters than anything else.  Maybe it is due to writing what I know and feel.  I also recall having to do re-writes until the end of time.  This is when it was legal to use red pen to correct students.  :D  As I am writing this I am trying to figure out how I can make sure my son is a writer.  He's only 5 but why can't he start a journal?  I should sit down with him 3x a week draw and write simple sentences with him and place items of interest to him (stickers, cut out pictures, etc) in a little journal.  My hope would be for him to make it a habit unlike what I have done - when I find the time!

Literacy Philosophy with a colleague

I spoke briefly with one of the reading teachers at my sons school that is located in DPS.  Susan has taught Kindergarten and 2nd grade over the years and continued on teaching as a reading teacher.  She is retiring at the end of this school year.
Susan stated that it is important to use explicit instructions.  She feels that the students should be led by the teacher, practice what has been taught and be given feedback.  She also strongly believes that the parents need to play a role also especially from the toddler years.  As she mentioned this is kind of tough due to either the parents having little or no education or working so much they do not have the time to read to their children.  When it comes to assessment, Susan believes that assessment is ongoing and to never let it slip by.  There needs to be a schedule put in place for informal assessment every week.  No student leaves any given week without an informal assessment.  It could be as simple as a running record.  She has small groups daily which may be a little simpler for her than a regular classroom teacher.  She likes to stay on top of where her students are so they can achieve their reading goals. 
I have observed Susan for another class and I have been very impressed with her teaching style and repoire with her students.  Centennial is going to miss having her around.     

Here We Go!

This is the beginning of my first blog ever!  Not sure how I feel about it but it is for class and I will see how I like it and may continue it 'til the end of time.   Sort of wish I would have started this my first year teaching.  You would have been thoroughly entertained.  I promise I will try to entertain you the best I can.
Toodles