Week 8 Questions

1. How many hours did you complete?

I completed 5 field hours.


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

I spent my time:

• instructing.
• observing.
• tutoring.

3. How did the experience help you to strengthen at least one Kentucky Teacher Standard? (be sure to name the standard)

The field experience helped me to better meet teaching standard #5, that of communicating learning results. Reflecting on my teaching and being required to consider how to best communicate learning to students, parents, and other important parties helped me to improve regarding this standard, particularly as I often neglect it.


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

Field experience reminded me of the importance of intervention, accommodations, and tutoring. Not all students "get it" the first time a concept is introduced. These measures allow students to truly understand and learn material, even if it requires differing methods and/or more time.

Reading Log & Wiki Checklist

Reading Log for 25 books 

• Instructions: List the titles and authors you read under each Genre, and use checklist below for Wiki posts. Then, highlight this material and paste it into a final blog post. I have already included (in the 25) the ones we read for discussion. Feel free to read more in each genre as you make time. Failure to read and list at least 25 books will results in grade being lowered one letter.

Genre / Titles you read (Hit enter after each one and a new number should pop up)

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

1)    Eyewitness: Olympics by Chris Oxlade and David Ballhemier

2) Night by Elie Wiesel

        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)    Amiri & Odette: A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers

      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)    Divergent by Veronica Roth

3) Animal Farm by George Orwell

4) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

      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

3) Jewel by Bret Lott

        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)    Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown

3)    The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

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

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

2)    Blubber by Judy Blume

    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)    When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

3)    The Always Prayer Shawl by Sheldon Oberman

4)    Olivia Goes to Venice by Ian Falconer

5)    Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas

6)    Crazy Alphabet by Lynn Cox

7)    When the Elephant Walks by Keiko Kasza

8)    The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous

9) You Are Special by Max Lucado

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

__1_ Reading/Language Arts

____ Physical Education

____ Other

Eyewitness: Olympics (12)

Oxlade, C., & Ballheimer, D. (2005). Eyewitness: Olympics. New York: D.K. Publishing. 

Book cover.

The picture book Eyewitness: Olympics falls into the nonfiction category informational book series. Typical of this style is a mixture of text and graphics and this selection is true to form. It includes an abundance of stunning photographs as well as charts, diagrams, drawings, and timelines all suitable for portraying information over a topic that spans thousands of years.

Other unique features of nonfiction books are present within the text. These include a table of contents at the front of the book along with an index and glossary at the back. As the book is part of a series, a list of other titles is also listed at the back. 

In addition to the pleasing visual features, the book's content is quite engrossing. Topics ranging from the history of the Olympics to equipment used to athlete body shapes to Paralympics are included in the text, making it sure to intrigue most any aged reader. 

Bud, Not Buddy (11)

Book cover.

Curtis, C.P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf.

Imagine all you have fitting into a single suitcase held together by a piece of twine. That all you have is a blanket, some rocks, a few old paper flyers, and not much else. That you pack it all up to go on a Great Depression era journey to find out who you are. And imagine you're only 10 when you do it.

Bud, Not Buddy tells the title character's journey from orphan to sojourner to determine who his father is. Since his father had never been in his life, Bud was left alone at the age of 6 after his mother died unexpectedly. Unsatisfied with life as an orphan and a mistreated foster child, Bud embarks to find out more about his father, all the while adding humor to the story with his ongoing insights on life as told through his guidebook Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of Yourself. The rules he lists demonstrate the life journey he's endured as well as the insights he's had into his surroundings, as seen in "Rules and Things #16: If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying "Haven't You Heard," Get Ready, 'Cause What's About to Come Out of Their Mouth is Gonna Drop You Headfirst into a Boiling Tragedy." 

Grab a copy of the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning Bud, Not Buddy and see what other guidelines he has to make your own life funner*.

*Please note that it is supposed to say funner, as used by Bud in the book! :) 

Blubber (10): Booktalk

Blume, J. (1974). Blubber. New York: Dell Yearling Books. 

Book cover.

What's the one thing you like least about yourself? What if others noticed it too, but didn't just see it--they made fun of you for it as well?

In Blubber, by award-winning children's author Judy Blume, main character Jill Brenner stands by as an overweight girl in her class--Linda--bears the brunt of bullying because of her physical appearance. The torment begins when Linda presents a class report on whales and the antagonist of the story, Wendy, tags her with the nickname Blubber. The bullying continues in the form of negative names, teasing, and even physical aggression, at one point Wendy forcing Linda to say, "My name will always be Blubber." Soon, however, the tables turn unexpectedly towards Jill, showing that bullying can be aimed at anyone and for most any reason. 

How will each of the characters handle it? How would you handle it?

Amiri & Odette: A Love Story (9)

Myers, W.D. (2009). Amiri and odette: a love story. New York: Scholastic Press. 

Book cover.

In the multicultural poetic retelling of the ballet Swan Lake, Amiri and Odette: A Love Story, Walter Dean Myers makes use of a variety of poetic devices to tell the story of a young couple from a housing project who fall in love and must overcome substantial obstacles. Although an engaging and powerful narrative poem, it should be used with mature audiences (approximately eighth grade and up) and would be particularly useful paired with a unit on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet due to similar content.

Like the original ballet version of Swan Lake, the plot of Amiri & Odette is divided into four acts. The brief Act I depicts one of the main characters, Amiri, talking with his mother, who pleads with him to live his life carefully, even offering to host a party so that he may find a suitable girlfriend and avoid the rough life in the projects that she has endured. Act 2 begins with Amiri playing a game of basketball with friends, where he soon notices Odette, the other main character, watching from the sidelines. They soon meet and Odette reveals that she is indebted to work for the antagonist, Big Red, whom it can be inferred is most likely a pimp (hence the need for caution regarding the story's subject matter). In Act 3, Amiri's party occurs, where he confesses his love for Odette. However, Big Red soon appears, throwing their plans askew. As the story ends in Act 4, Amiri and Big Red battle for Odette, with Amiri winning not only Odette's freedom, but their chance for love and a life together as well.

Throughout the poem, Myers incorpoates numerous sound patterns to create a sense of rhythm within his writing. He uses an abundance of differing kinds of rhyme. For instance, internal rhyme appears in the line, "In a cluttering, fluttering, flurry of wings...". End and exact rhyme surface frequently in such lines as, "Is happy chance alone gladly greeted/ And Big Red so easily defeated?" and, "Yo, Amiri! Come on! It's time to get down!/ Way past the moment to be rid of that frown!" (which also demonstrates the poem's use of colloquialisms). In addition to rhyme, Myers also uses assonance, consonance, and alliteration. For instance, consonance is demonstrated with the letter s in the lines, "Amiri, my son, I've paid my dues./ Trust me on this one, it's/ choose right or lose." Assonance is used with the letter e in the line, "To nearly stop and tender dreams to start...". Alliteration appears with the letters d and s in such lines as, "Dark clouds drift across a starless sky/ And streak the fat, doom-heavy moon." Repetition also occurs in the lines, "Ball against concrete/ Ball against steel/ Ball against hurting..." further enhancing the rhythm created by the language of the poem.

Besides the appeal of the language, the picture book's illustrations are equally enthralling. Illustrator Javaka Steptoe uses both collage and paint to depict the story. Vibrant hues are consistently used in what appear to be expressionistic illustrations, expressing the emotions felt by the characters within the story. 

Emotion is frequently expressed in the poem's expressionistic illustrations, as
shown in the sorrow of Big Red's defeat in the above painting/collage illustration.

Despite the presence of potentially controversial content, Amiri & Odette is a strong example of powerful and effectively written poetry that could draw in even the most skeptical of students.

Once a Mouse (8)

Book cover.

Brown, M. (1961). Once a mouse. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The Caldecott Medal winning book Once a Mouse as told by Marcia Brown recalls the Indian fable of a hermit who uses magic to help a mouse defend itself against predators. The hermit helps the mouse by transforming him into the same animals against which he must defend himself, only the mouse becomes too proud and is ultimately transformed back into the lowly state of a mouse.

The doublespread picture book contains remarkable woodcut illustrations in warm colors of yellow, brown, and orange. Such a medium helps to convey the classic nature of the fable. Adding to the illustrations is the use of enjambment, or carrying one line of text to the next page, in order to create a sense of suspense (For example: "A cat came to the hut with whiskers...straight and tail held high.") as well as add to the repetitive plot of the mouse's image being continually transformed as more and more predators come his way (For instance: "...he quickly changed him into a stout cat," and "changed the cat into a big dog.").

The book contains woodcut illustrations in warm colors.