Field Experience Reflection

1. How many hours did you complete?

Through my field experience I ended up completing 20 hours. I spent ten hours with our school media specialist and ten hours in our public libraries.

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

As I spent time with our media specialist I helped her organize new books that had come in, choose books to order for the following school year, and we did a lot of planning on how we can team together to teach the fifth grade content next year. I am very excited about what we have in plan!

The second half of my field experience hours was spent in our public libraries. I babysit three children over the summer who are 5, 7, and 9 and they LOVE the library! We went to several classes that our different libraries have to offer; we got to bring our dog and they read aloud to the dog, they created art after reading a children's book, they took part in a science experiement on the states of matter after reading an expository text, and many more activities. All of the ideas were great resources for me to use within my classroom!

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

My field experience is really going to help with with KTS2; the teacher designs and plans instruction. Through the observations and hands-on things that I did in our public libraries I gained a lot of information on how to use different books--especially non-fiction books! The activities were great resources that I will take with me.

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

The most important thing that I learned through my field experience is just how important our media specialist is. She truly wants to be a part of our classroom and help our students make connections to content through her class. She is willing to help us with projects and give our students the additional support that they need. I never really thought that she "just checked out books" but I did not realize how much she really does. This was a great learning experience for me!

Reading Log and Wiki Posts

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 reflection required on blog)    

1)      The Camping Trip That Changed America By Barb Rosenstock (picture book)

2)      When Harriet met Sojourner By Catherine Clinton (picture book)

3)      How to Write an Interview By Cecilia Minden and Kate Roth

4)      The Declaration of Independence By Elaine Landau

5)      Who’s that Stepping on Plymouth Rock? By Jean Fritz

          II.      Poetry (1 reflection required on blog)

1)      Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? By Mel Glenn. (required for discussion)

2)      Where the Sidewalk Ends By Shel Silverstein

3)      Falling Up By Shel Silverstein

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 reflection required on blog)        

1)      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. (required for discussion)

2)      Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone By J.K Rowling

3)      Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets By J.K Rowling

4)      Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By J.K. Rowling

5)      Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire By J.K. Rowling

6)      Midnight Magic By Avi

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. (required for discussion)

2)      Island of the Blue Dolphins By Scott O’Dell

3)      Bull Run By Paul Fleischman

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Elijah of Buxton By Christopher Paul Curtis

2)      Bud not Buddy By Christopher Paul Curtis

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 reflection required on blog)

1)      Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis. (required for discussion)

2)      Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

3)      Holes By Louis Sachar

4)      Ida B… and her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World By Katherine Hannigan

5)      The Westing Game By Ellen Raskin

6)      Shiloh By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    VII.      Picture Books (6 reflections required on blog)

1)      Seven  Blind Mice by Ed Young. (required for discussion)

2)      Grandfather’s Journey By Allen Say

3)      The Spider and the Fly By Tony DiTerlizzi

4)      Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky By Faith Ringgold

5)      Black Cat By Christopher Myers

6)      Betty Doll By Patricia Polacco

7)      My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother Patricia Polacco

8)      The Keeping Quilt By Patricia Polacco

9)      Henry’s Freedom Box By Ellen Levine

10)  The Hello, Goodbye Window By Norton Juster

VIII. Wiki Posts

1)      Extra Credit By Andrew Clements- Social Studies

2)      Where the Sidewalk Ends By Shel Silverstein- Science

3)      Falling Up By Shel Silverstein- Math

4)      Grandfather’s Journey  By Allen Say- Language Arts

5)      Elijah of Buxton By Christopher Paul Curtis- Art

The Declaration of Independence

Landau, Elane. (2008). The Delcaration of Independence. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the A True Book series of photo essays. The book describes in an intermediate grade level vocabulary how the Declaration of Independence came to be. I love that the book discusses the document beginning with how the colonies began-- this fits perfect with our social studies series and I know my students will love the additional information! I felt that the best thing about the book was not exactly the content that was within it, but instead the way that it started off with two true or false questions for the students to predict before they read-- what a great way to get their attention before reading a non-fiction book. I could see taking those questions and putting them on the clicker system that we use in my classroom and having the students answer them that way; non-fiction always seems to be offputting for a lot of students so this would be a fun way to distract them from the fact that they are reading non-fiction.

The organization of the book was great; it is broken into four chapters beginning with why the colonies were started and why they were unhappy, then going to how the colonists started standing up to the king and the things he was doing that they did not like, leading them to the decision of going to war, and finally ending with the Declaration of Independence and what it stands for. The pictures and captions that go along with the information are great, many of which are also in our Social Studies books so I can see students having an easier time making the connections between the two.

The author uses a very formal tone in the writing of this book, there is a lot of information and instead of talking conversationally she chose to give you the information much like a text book would... except more kid friendly. The vocabulary that the author uses is great and aligns perfectly with our social studies content. As I was reading I didn't really see any words that were not bold and supposed to be new for the students that they wouldn't understand; many times I feel like in non-fiction the author will use difficult words in their writing that have nothing to do with the main topic so it sort of puts students off-- that was not the case in this book.

I definitely see myself using this book in my classroom this year! Using expository texts is definitely a weakness of mine that I want to work on, so this is a great way to start towards my goal!

Big Question:

If you were writing a declaration for something what would it be for and how would you start it?

Island of the Blue Dolphins

O'Dell, Scott. (1960). Island of the blue dolphins. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Karana is the young daughter of a chief on an island called Ghalas-at, also known as the Island of the Blue Dolphins because of its shape and the dolphins that you can see swimming near by. Karana and the others on her island work together as a tribe live by the laws of their culture-- their world begins to turn around when they have visitors come to the island. The Aleuts come with Captain Orlov, a Russian captain, to hunt sea otters on the island, when Captain Orlov doesn't hold up to his end of the bargain things begin to go south for the Ghalas-at tribe. Many men are killed during the battle that erupts over the disagreement, the chief--Karana's father, being one of them. With the loss of tribe members and the injuries that have been left to its remaining members the life that the people were used to no longer exists. When the new tribe chief sends for help something happens and Karana finds herself stranded on the island by herself. Will Karana be able to learn how to survive on her own on the island? Will she ever be rescued? Read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell to find out.

Hatchet

Paulsen, Gary. (2007). Hatchet. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen is a survival realistic fiction book about a thirteen year old boy named Brian whose plane crashes in Canada where he becomes stranded, forced to learn how to survive when he is use to his urban life in New York. Brian's parents have recently divorced and he knows a "secret" that his mother is/was having an affair. Brian does not know how to deal with these changes in his life and isn't quite to the place in his life where he is ready to become an adult, though he feels like the divorce of his parents is making him try to be.

I can see how a lot of students would enjoy this book because they are able to relate to it. Unfortunately, divorce is something that many of our students are faced with and it can take the best and strongest of kids and turn their world upside down, making them a different child. The idea of divorce and the way that Brian feels as though he is forced to grow up and no longer has the identity of his family to fall back on, is definitely a relatable subject that causes readers who have been in similar situations make an automatic connection with Brian.

I believe that another key part of the book that keeps people interested is simply the survival part; the conflict of man versus nature. There were so many instances in the book where I couldn't help but think of some of my students-- our students these days are so reliant upon video games and don't play outside as much as I can remember when I was a child, and I think that many of them would be in many of the same situations as Brian if this ever happened to them. Throughout the entire book Brian finds himself having run ins with different forms of nature; a porcupine getting into his tent and pricking him, a tornado destroying the home he had build, the berries making him such, and being sprayed by a skunk are just a few of them! In the beginning of the book Brian is frustrated because of all of the problems that he has with nature, but as the book goes on you see his frustration and confusion begin turning into amazement. The tornado that destroys Brian's house he sees as both beautiful and terrible; he also decides getting rid of the rifle that he finds in the plane's survival kit because he feels as though it does not fit into the natural order of things, he would rather use the skills that he has acquired.

Symbolism is a big component of this book. The book is named Hatchet, and a hatchet is a symbol in this book. Brian's mother gives him the hatchet before leaving for Canada so that he can use it in the woods while he is visiting. At first Brian only puts the hatchet on his belt to please his mother, but the hatchet actually turns into the thing that helps keep him alive. The hatchet is the only thing that Brian has during his time in the woods. I believe that hatchet shows just how Brian grew during this time; in the beginning he had no idea how to exactly use the hatchet but as the story went on he used it to get food and it ultimately is what helped him get the survival kit from the plane and lead to his rescue.

Big Question:
What would you do if you were in a situation like Brian? Do you think that you would be able to survive on your own?

Falling Up

Silverstein, Shel. (1996). Falling up. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Shel Silverstein's Falling Up is a compilation of humorous children poems. The books consists of single illustrated poems that are math, science, social studies, and every other subject area related-- including several that are just silly poems. The poems within the book are written about subjects that children can relate to which is, I am sure, a big reason why they are so popular among children.

On any given page in the book you can turn and find rhyme-when the end of the words have the same sound, assonance- when the same vowel sound is heard repeatedly within a line or a few lines of poetry, alliteration- a pattern in which the beginning consonant sounds are heard frequently within a line, consonance- similar to alliteration except it is the final sound that is similar, and onomatopoeia- when the sound of a word imitates it real-world sound... all of which are elements that keep students interested.

On page 11 the poem Snowball is a funny little poem that is a great example of rhyme and personification; using words like be, me, head, and bed it allows the flow of the poem to go a little more smooth. It also includes personification, saying that the snowball "wet the bed"; the students have to use inferencing and realize that this meant that the snowball actually just melted because it wasn't cold enough.

The poem Spoiled Brat  on page 89 is a great example of a poem that has several pieces of alliteration in it. Within the same sentence you have hole/head, coat/cat, broke/bike/bat, and spite/salt/sage. The constant use of alliteration within the poem is something that helps keep the readers attention and makes it more fun to read.

One of my favorite poems in Falling Up is, The Monkey. I love that he uses numbers to supplement words which ties great into math! This would be a fun math activity to do with students--let them create their own poem with the same idea behind it.

Big Question- Can you name a type of figurative language (from a given poem) and explain it.

Elijah of Buxton

Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2007). Elijah of Buxton. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Elijah of Buxton is a book set during the Pre-Emancipation Proclamation era where slavery was still what the United States thought of as acceptable. Written in a first person point of view with a heavy southern dialect, this African-American Literature book is bound to hold the reader's attention from beginning to end.

Elijah is the first freeborn baby born in the settlement of Buxton in Canada. Being born free and not understanding everything that it means to be a slave, Elijah finds himself in the face of conflict at times because of his lack of knowledge. Elijah's mother and others see him has a fra-gile boy who is afraid of just about anything. Being young and not knowing any other life outside of Buxton Elijah is at times a naive boy which also gets him into some trouble. As the story goes on Elijah finds himself making brave decisions that help other people than just himself and those that he knows, making him not so fra-gile as it seemed.

The story being told in first person through Elijah's eyes is one reason that it is so appealing to the reader. As we read we get to see Elijah, with his heavy dialect that has been passed down from some of the adults on the settlement, and his thoughts, feelings and humor. There are points in the book that you can't help but to laugh out loud because of the way he tells that he experienced it; such as the pulling of the snake from the cookie jar. When Elijah is faced with situations that he knows is wrong but has a desire to do them anyway, you can't help but to empathize with him because we all go through that. I can see how so many young readers would love this book because of the similar humor that they may have with Elijah and the powerful connection that you make with him because of similarities.

As the plot progresses you get to learn a little more about Elijah and the other people within the settlement of Buxton including: Cooter, Mr. Leroy, The Preacher and many others. At the beginning of the book Elijah flashes back to tell us about "scar" that he is going to have with him the rest of his life--throwing up on THE Fredrick Douglass! Though Elijah was merely an infant at this time it is something that he cannot seem to get over and feels goes along with his fra-gileness. The suspense in the book is what kept me reading the most. The book starts of with Elijah and Cooter finding an animal trail that they have never seen before; they come across the Reverend and he tells them of the hoop snake that the freed slaves have brought with them. As I was reading I could feel worry building up through Elijah's emotions but I just wanted to laugh at how naive he was. The suspense continues throughout the entire book, with the preacher putting Elijah is sticky situations and wondering whether Elijah is going to come back to help the runaway slave family escape to freedom.

Coming of age is a big theme in this chapter book. Elijah is a young boy who describes himself as being ten months from twelve; he is clearly much younger than he wants to see himself as being. The thing that Elijah seems to want to understand the most is "the secret language of being growned up". From hiding in the closet when slave catchers were spotted, to realizing that the "Right Reverend" wasn't exactly the most honest man as one would think a preacher should be, to helping slaves cross the border into freedom, Elijah is faced with tribulations that help him grow up a little at time.

Big Question:

Do you every wish that you were "growned" up? What are things that you wish you could do that grownups are allowed to do. What are some things that you do that you think grownups wish they could still do?

Grandfather's Journey

Say, Allen. (1993). Grandfather's journey. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Grandfather's Journey is a book about a young Japanese man and his journeys to and from America. The book is written with moderately simplistic language; the wording describes the event and the event only, there is not additional wording to help the reader visualize his journeys. The illustrations in the book are so realistic that it is almost as if the author purposefully used little language to describe the places because he did not want to take away from the illustrations of the story.

Grandfather's Journey is a story told in first person; the author tells you about his grandfather's journey and uses pronouns such as I, my, and mine. I think that the point of view of the story really adds to it, it seems as though the emphasis is on the illustrations and simply the grandfather's love for the places he visited and his home in Japan. The author only told the reader what he was told and did not add any thoughts or dialogue that his grandfather may have said; the emphasis was on the places he visited and his love and adding dialogue and thoughts could have distracted the reader from this. I think that the story would have been different if it had been told in a different point of view and could have potentially taken away from the meaning and the illustrations.

The illustrations are paintings that are incredibly realistic and keep the reader's attention. The pictures of people look as though they are a painting of an actual photograph, and the illustrations of the places visited are eye-catching with the colors and layout that is used on each page. On page 8 when Say's grandfather visits the deserts and canyons I found myself wanting to stay on that page and keep looking at the illustrations; it was so warm feeling with the way that the sun seems to be setting in the canyons and the colors that are used to portray this. The composition of the pages is something that adds to the attention drawn to the illustrations; the main image that the author wants you to pay attention always seems to be in the center of the page. On pages 4 and 5 the grandfather is the emphasis so he is in the center of the page, yet on page 7 where the transportation that the grandfather used is the main thing talked about, the steam engine is the largest image in the picture that draws your attention.

Big Question: Is there anywhere in the world that you would like to visit? Why?