February 9, 2010
With so many misconceptions and questions children have about pirates, possibly attributed to the recent Pirates of 
the Carribean series, it is important for teachers to provide opportunities for students to read historically accurate information about pirates. I like that this unit provides a book in diary format and a Q & A format book. Both formats are intriguing to students and get them interested in the topic. I also liked the idea of students entering the classroom to pirate music and having artifacts set up around the classroom. Authenticity always adds more to a unit. I’m excited to learn more about the piratical unit and how to use this in my future classroom.
Image from: http://www.youthwork-practice.com/adventure-camps-events-programs/camps/pirates/pirates.gif
February 9, 2010
There is no doubt that students need more opportunities to read and write. The more difficult task is to provide 
activities that are fun for students while they learn. The Double-Entry Diary (DRD) is a great way for students to connect their prior knowledge and experiences to the text. I also liked the Data Retrieval Chart to organize their new information. I believe it is important for students to study pirates as a class, but then also have the opportunity to study a pirate individually and participate in engaging activities such as making a “Wanted” poster.
Image from: http://www.yorkblog.com/explorer/pirates.jpeg
February 2, 2010
Reading this article was particularly insightful for me as a future teacher. It is imperative for students to read books that are at their individual instructional level, otherwise they will not be learning the content. Textbooks are the easy way out for teachers. It is easy for a teacher to pass textbooks out to their class for all students to read. It is more difficult for teachers to keep track of each student’s reading level and find trade books with the same content on their level. However, for reading to be beneficial to students’ learning the reading must be challenging but not frustrational.
As for No Child Left Behind, the article makes a great point that you can not go into a classroom and see all students on grade level. In a perfect world, all students would be at the same level, but that is not what happens in real world classrooms. Some students are below grade level, some are above, but all students need to be challenged. This is the challenging part of teaching, meeting each individual student’s needs.
I think the article provided many resources in the lists for teachers to use while teaching social studies. This article is a great resource to keep for future reference.
January 26, 2010
I enjoyed reading several of the poems in All the Small Poems and Fourteen More because they were “nontraditional”. This book would be another great way to introduce poetry to students because it shows that poems can be short and simple and still be full of meaning. These poems also do not rhyme, which is a concept many students struggle with that turns them away from poetry. These poems are easy to analyze and students can relate to and understand the topics.
Image from: http://fastoutofthegate.com/Poetry.gif
January 26, 2010
So many students are hesitant to write their own poems because of superficial “guidelines”. This barrier can be broken through introducing poetry in this format. Many students think poems must rhyme and I did too as an elementary student. I like the idea of introducing poetry through asking students what they like and don’t like about poetry and free verse poetry.
Image from: http://eplteen.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/poetry.jpg
January 26, 2010
sunflowers. surprises.
singing. music. children.
January 25, 2010
I was given the name
Christina Joy Kerley
on August 3, 1988.
Christina: the Latin form of “Christian”. This was the name of an early, possibly legendary saint who was tormented by her pagan father. (www.behindthename.com)
- Christina is the 133rd most popular name in the US.
- There are 424, 127 people in the US with the first name Christina.
(http://ww2.howmanyofme.com/search/)
My mother was told I was going to be a boy, of course this was prior to wonderful ultrasound technology. I was originally supposed to be named “Christopher” after my uncle, Thaddeus Christopher. I am obviously not a male, so my mom changed Christopher to Christina for my first name.
Joy: simply from the English word “joy”. (www.behindthename.com)
My Nana’s first name was Joy and my Mom’s middle name is Joy. Now my Uncle Thad’s daughter’s name is Emma Joy. Joy has become a family name, and an appropriate adjective of my family members.
Kerley:
- There are 5,305 people in the US with the last name Kerley.
(http://ww2.howmanyofme.com/search/)
January 25, 2010
Love That Dog is an easy, fun poetry read. Jack went through the poetry “process” that many beginning poets go through. At the beginning of the school year, Jack hated poetry and had nothing to write about. As Miss Stretchberry pushed Jack to keep writing, he began to enjoy writing and reading poetry, especially by Mr. Walter Dean Myers. Jack wrote poems of his own that were inspired by the works of Walter Dean Myers and even requested for Myers to visit their “clean school”. Myers did in fact come to visit Jack and the class and read some of his poems. Jack wrote “Love That Dog” which was inspired by Myers and mailed it to him after his visit.
I believe that this is a common process that students go through when it comes to poetry. Many students do not enjoy poetry, and some teachers do not enjoy poetry so poetry is not emphasized like other areas. As Jack was encouraged, his poetry blossomed. As a teacher, I should be persistent and keep encouraging my students to write poetry.
Image from: http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/teacher/covergallery/2004/love-that.jpg
January 25, 2010
I have never been a huge poetry fan, but I enjoyed the poetry in Brown Angels. My favorite poem was “Summer”. It reminded me of my summer days with my family. I can not pick a “favorite line” from “Summer”. So, the poem reads…
I like hot days, hot days
Sweat is what you got days
Bugs buzzin from cousin to cousin
Juices dripping
Running and ripping
Catch the one you love days
Birds peeping
Old men sleeping
Lazy days, daisies lay
Beaming and dreaming
Of hot days, hot days,
Sweat is what you got days
Also, the photographs in Brown Angels are beautiful. “Brown Angels” is an appropriate title for this collection of poems.
Image from: http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/3/9780064434553.jpg
January 22, 2010
Prior to reading this article, I had thought about using a blog in my future classroom, but saw it being used for informational and need purposes–a way to post homework assignments, what we had been doing in class, and things our classroom may need. I had never considered letting students create their own blogs to post their writings, artwork, and other projects. I now see blogging in the classroom as a way to bridge the gap between home and school literacies as well as increasing technological literacies. Another benefit of blogging is that students can read what others post and think of topics from a variety of perspectives. Blogging provides an authentic audience for students to receive feedback for their work. Students sharing their work with others through a blog leads to more thought provoking posts. Overall, I support the use of blogs by students in my classroom–not for all assignments, but for sharing purposes.
the Carribean series, it is important for teachers to provide opportunities for students to read historically accurate information about pirates. I like that this unit provides a book in diary format and a Q & A format book. Both formats are intriguing to students and get them interested in the topic. I also liked the idea of students entering the classroom to pirate music and having artifacts set up around the classroom. Authenticity always adds more to a unit. I’m excited to learn more about the piratical unit and how to use this in my future classroom.
