Category: Uncategorized

One Great Text: ‘Foster Child’ by Dorianne Laux

‘Foster Child’ is an amazing poem written by Dorianne Laux in The Book Of Men. I chose this specific poem because of the way Dorianne Laux is able to take specific events and let the reader be fully encompassed in what is happening. I focused on her imagery in this poem. She is able to explain the young man, a foster child, and the incident that occurred with great detail and in just a few lines.

I sat down with an 11th grader and showed him this poem. He was a little overwhelmed by the poem. “It’s great, just hard to wrap your head around.” Although he was a little hesitant with the poem, after talking about the imagery and what it does for the poem, he was impressed by what the author was able to do with such few words. “She takes us through the event and we are there.” One specific line that he really enjoyed:

“all I saw
was the fine red stream slipping
down his shoe lace, swirling into the rainbow oil
in the big silver pan my father drove the car over”

One Great Text: My Hero, Zero Video

I decided to focus on a fun video that I remember really impacted my learning when I was in 1st grade! I babysit a little boy who it currently 5 about to be 6 and I wanted to show him this to see if he had the same reaction I did as a child. School House Rock was the go to song and video for teachers while I was growing up. Now, teachers rarely show these videos and I have always wondered why this is. This is a reason why I decided to try this video with a child currently in school. There are many videos that are made by School House Rock but I decided that besides the “conjuction juction, whats your fuction” video, the “my hero, zero” video was my favorite and I knew it worked perfectly with Kyle. Here is the video for you to watch for yourselves!

http://youtu.be/zxYsgRsNg2s

Kyle loved this video! He loves watching tv and he loves to dance so I was excited that he loved it! He immediately started smiling and after watching it once he wanted to watch 3 more times to see if he could memorize the words. After memorizing those, he wanted to watch other videos, and although he did not know what he was talking about, we watched the “conjuction, juction whats your fuction” video and he loved the song to that as well.
Some comments Kyle said:
“I wanna watch another”
“Can we dance to other ones?”
“Do you think I could be Zero Hero for Halloween?”
“I like math videos and songs to help me”

Inventors From Da Vinci to Biro

The Useborne Book of Inventors From Da Vinci to Biro written by Struan Reid and Patricia Fara from Scholastic Inc. is an incredible resource for the classroom. From early inventions to communication machines there are articles about every subject you might need. It could be used in a unit on science, history, social studies or even language arts (expository text). Whether your lesson is on transpiration, technology, observations, and or inventors your students would be able to find something in this book. Short exert from text:
Trains and Railway
The age of railways began at the end of the 18th century, with the invention of the steam engine and the introduction of cast iron rails. At the time, many people believed that it was dangerous to travel fast than the speed of a galloping horse, and opposed the development of locomotives.

So You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George

This book by Judith St. George is a great book to introduce kids to Presidents, as well as history. Because the elections are coming up, I think this would be a great book to read to kids to share that information with them and to let them know how important being the president is. At the end of the book, there is also a list of all the presidents so far and some important details about them. This book provides great pictures by illustrator David Small and fun language for the kids to follow along with. There are funny parts to this book, but also gives the correct information about presidents. Below is a snippet of the book:

“There are good things about being President and there are bad things about being President. One of the good things is that the President lives in a big white house called the White House.

Another good thing about being President is that the President has a swimming pool, bowling alley, and a movie theatre.The President never has to take out the garbage. The President doesn’t have to eat yucky vegetables. As a boy, George H. W. Bush had to eat broccoli. When George H. W. Bush grew up, he became President. That was the end of the broccoli!

One of the bad things about being President is that the President always has to be dressed up. William McKinley wore a frock coat, vest, pin striped trousers, stiff white shirt, black satin tie, gloves, a top hat, and a red carnation in his buttonhole everyday! The President has to be polite to everyone. The President can’t go anywhere alone. The President has lots of homework.”

Jason Chin

It can be hard to get students interested in non-fiction texts, but Jason Chin has come to save the day through his widely acclaimed books Redwoods and Coral Reefs. Chin’s books are filled with accurate, factual information on various science topics. The information he provides is brilliantly complimented by his stunning illustrations, which are the real key to Chin’s books. The words on the page talk about the science topic at hand while the pictures themselves not only illustrate the facts but also tell their own narrative story of how one can get lost in a book and learn so much in the process. Not only are his books likely to hook a variety of readers, but they can also be used to help reinforce the ideas of plant life cycles and the complexity of ecosystems.

Snippet: In My Family/En Mi Familia

by: Carmen Lomas Garza

This beautifully written book is very informative and full of important cultural traditions. Carmen Lomas Garza grew up in Kingsville, Texas, in a Hispanic household and community. Each page includes one tradition she remembers from her youth. The book is written in English but has a translation in spanish for each section. The spanish translation creates for a sense of openness for the Hispanic community. This story places Spanish culture in the limelight, which teaches children to appreciate all cultures. The second grade Social Studies TEK about culture fits perfectly here by understanding the importance of family and community believes, customs, language, and traditions.

Here is a short snippet of her work:

“This is my grandfather, Antonio Lomas. He’s shaving off the thorns from freshly-cut cactus pads, called nopalitos. My sister Margie is watching him work. Napolitas are called “the food of last resort,” because back when there were no refrigerators and your winter food supply would run out, you knew you could eat the cactus pads through the last days of winter and the early days of spring. My grandmother would boil the nopalitos in salt water, cut them up, and stir-fry them with chile and eggs for breakfast” (page 2).

“This is a Saturday night at El Jardin, a neighborhood restaurant in my home town. It’s the summer, so warm that you can dance outside. A conjunto band is playing–drums, accordion, guitar. and bass. This is the music I grew up with. Everybody’s dancing in a big circle: the young couples, the older couples, and the old folks dancing with the teenagers or children. Even babies get to dance. I learned to dance from my father and grandfather. This is where my love of dance started. To me, dance means fiesta, celebration. You have the music, the beautiful clothes, and all the family members dancing together. It’s like heaven. It is heaven” (page 13).

Ashley Bryan by Laura Colley

Ashley Bryan is a children’s author and illustrator who wasn’t published until he was forty years old. He mainly focuses on the African American experiences and subjects. He focuses on African American history, folktales, and spirituals. He is the first African American who published a book he wrote and illustrator.

His poems and books are lyrical and use alliteration and onomatopoeia. You can use his work Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum to introduce folktales connecting to the Social Studies 1st grade TEKS.

Here is a sound clip of Ashley Bryan explaining his life story and where his inspiration comes from as well as reading words to My Life’s Song.

Joanna Cole: Making Science Fun One Book At A Time

Joanna Cole was originally a librarian eventually turned editor and then became a very successful children’s book author. She is originally from New Jersey and still lives there with her husband. She is mostly known for her writing The Magic School Bus Series, but she also writes many books concerning children life lessons. She is still writing books for her Magic School Bus series, which turned into a television series, as well as movies available. So far she has written over 250 nonfiction and fiction children’s books. Cole uses humor to attract students to science and make sure they have fun learning. This video below is all about Joanna Cole. It explains her works, as well as her biography. This is something you could show your kids before introducing them to the magic school bus series.

SEYMOUR SIMON

Seymour Simon is the author of more than 250 wonderful science books. Many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teacher Association.  His collection of books are filled with wonderful picture of animals, space, earth, dinosaurs, and so much more. He also has a wide range of Spanish books that really help students with their cognitive development. Seymour Simon’s books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun.

Ashley Bryan is a children’s author and illustrator who wasn’t published until he was forty years old. He mainly focuses on the African American experiences and subjects. He focuses on African American history, folktales, and spirituals. He is the first African American who published a book he wrote and illustrator.

His poems and books are lyrical and use alliteration and onomatopoeia. You can use his work Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum to introduce folktales connecting to the Social Studies 1th grade TEKS.