This is a website I created as a final poject for my class. I hope to keep up with it and make it better as time goes on. The website is built for parents about censorship and books their children might be reading or have an interest in.
rasalina.tripod.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Book Review 3
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
By: Chris Crowe
Biography of Author: Chris Crowe had a love for reading at a very young age; in sixth grade he began to try writing and found it great, but hard experience. Crowe found interest in sports and stuck with that for some time. Later, he married, Elizabeth, and found that writing was what he always wanted to do. At the age of 24 he got serious about his writing, and slowed down with the sports. Since then he has published hundreds of articles, a handful of short stories, a few poems, and ten books.
Summary of Book: Author Chris Crowe gives a compelling, historical account of young Emmett Till’s short life, through text and real-life photos. Till, an African American boy, was raised in Chicago; a place with more freedom than the South, during a time of racism and segregation which seemed to be a shield to his knowledge of the South. On a trip to visit family in Mississippi in 1955, Till’s life is cut short by two racist men that murdered him in 1955. This story digs deep into the teen’s life and trial of the men who took his life. What is a horrible tragedy brings power and strength to many people, who begin to stand up for their rights. Little did Till know his sad story would trigger events from people like Rosa Parks, leading to The Civil Rights Movement in America
Awards: Best Books for Young Readers 2004
Analysis of Book: Crowe definitely brings the story of Emmett Till back to life reminding his readers of the history and struggle of the African American people. His use of historical events and actual pictures gives any age reader the insight to a life, which might have been missed without this great book being written. The story is told with accurate detail, from articles, interviews, and court records. Being well written, this story will bring heaviness to your heart and strength to want to help make a difference. This is an important part of history, which all ages should learn about and develop an understanding about. This touching and revealing biography gives readers a chance to learn about the time leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. Overall, this book is a great tool for reading and studying an important piece of our history.
This review can be found on borders.
Craft Lesson 3
Craft Lesson 3: Using Pictures to Understand Text
Resources and other materials: Persepolis The Story of a Childhood By: Marhane Satrapi
Grade Level: 8th Reading Comprehension Unit
Discussion:
As teachers it is important to introduce many different genres of text to our students so they learn and grow in their understanding of books and reading. However, sometimes introducing different genres can help students become better readers and by becoming more interested in reading. For ELLs or struggling readers a graphic novel can be a great way to get them interested and not scare them off to an overload of text. It also helps when reading books that are about a topic one is not very knowledgeable on; for instance Persepolis is about Iran and the Islamic Revolution, which one might not know much about, but the illustration help tell the story and explain things one might otherwise not understand at all. So reading illustrations in graphic novels is an important part of reading and can help all types of readers understand a text better.
How to Teach it:
Today we are going to talk about graphic novels and how reading the illustrations is just as important to understanding a story, as reading the words. (Prior to this lesson, the class has been reading Persepolis) We have been reading Persepolis has a class for the past week or so and have had many discussions about the book and what we are learning from it, but we haven’t talked much about the illustrations. We know this is a graphic memoir and that it uses many pictures, along with words to tell the story. Let’s think about how the pictures have been helping us learn about the story, culture, and people in it. In the chapter “The Trip,” page 75+, we learn about the types of people and clothing in Iran. The images help us a lot by showing us what these people look like. I know when I read this part it was a little confusing and hard to picture in my own head, but by looking at the illustrations I was able to understand what the young girl meant by these people and their attire. Can anyone else find a place in the story that the images help us to understand the book and its text better? (Some examples are: pp. 51, 78, and 109-110. Get the students talking about how without these illustrations they might have a harder time understanding what is happening in the story.) All of the points you all had were great and help us to better understand the characters and the history to this story. If we didn’t get the images with the words we would struggle to compare our lives to that of the people in the book; this helps us to know them and their culture better.
Extension
To further this process and help the students better understand have them make a comic or short graphic book. Let them share it with people in the class without illustration and then with illustrations; this is a great way to have them practice the importance of understanding an illustration to better understand the text. Another possible extension would be to gather a selection of age appropriate graphic novels for the class; have students read a chapter or so and find examples of using the illustrations to better understand the text. Then log the results on notebook paper and have the students share with the class; this can be done in groups as well.
Bibliography:
Satrapi, Marjane (2003). Persepolis: The story of a childhood. NY, NY: Pantheon Books.
TEKS:
3) Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) analyze literary works that share similar themes across cultures;
(B) compare and contrast the similarities and differences in mythologies from various cultures (e.g., ideas of afterlife, roles and characteristics of deities, purposes of myths); and
(C) explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by the historical and cultural setting of the literary work.
(6) Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) analyze linear plot developments (e.g., conflict, rising action, falling action, resolution, subplots) to determine whether and how conflicts are resolved;
(B) analyze how the central characters' qualities influence the theme of a fictional work and resolution of the central conflict; and
(C) analyze different forms of point of view, including limited versus omniscient, subjective versus objective.
(7) Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze passages in well-known speeches for the author's use of literary devices and word and phrase choice (e.g., aphorisms, epigraphs) to appeal to the audience.
(8) Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain the effect of similes and extended metaphors in literary text.
(9) Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze works written on the same topic and compare how the authors achieved similar or different purposes.
(13) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:
(A) evaluate the role of media in focusing attention on events and informing opinion on issues;
(B) interpret how visual and sound techniques (e.g., special effects, camera angles, lighting, music) influence the message;
(C) evaluate various techniques used to create a point of view in media and the impact on audience; and
(D) assess the correct level of formality and tone for successful participation in various digital media.
Reading Journal 11
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States
Edited by: Lori Marie Carlson
Poems are wonderful works of art, but I tend to shy away from them. I get nervous that I will not understand the deep meaning or be able to read it with much fluency. This book was just the opposite, it was a fun and enlightening read. The poems focus on the Latina community by Latino writers; a good example of strong positive role models for students. The poems are enjoyable for people of all ages.
I appreciated that every poem is written in both English and Spanish. This has appeal to the Latin American community, and gives people of other cultures a window into another culture. The poems are separated into categories, making the reading easy and accessible; depending on what type of poem a reader might be in the mood for. I enjoyed the section Victory and the poem El triunfo by Marjorie Agosin.
As a future teacher this book of poems jumps out at me, as a book to use to show multicultural writers, poems, and use to enhance my classes knowledge and book selection. I think it is important for students to be introduced to many great writers and their texts; this collection of poems is just that, showing the Latino community and its writers.
Edited by: Lori Marie Carlson
Poems are wonderful works of art, but I tend to shy away from them. I get nervous that I will not understand the deep meaning or be able to read it with much fluency. This book was just the opposite, it was a fun and enlightening read. The poems focus on the Latina community by Latino writers; a good example of strong positive role models for students. The poems are enjoyable for people of all ages.
I appreciated that every poem is written in both English and Spanish. This has appeal to the Latin American community, and gives people of other cultures a window into another culture. The poems are separated into categories, making the reading easy and accessible; depending on what type of poem a reader might be in the mood for. I enjoyed the section Victory and the poem El triunfo by Marjorie Agosin.
As a future teacher this book of poems jumps out at me, as a book to use to show multicultural writers, poems, and use to enhance my classes knowledge and book selection. I think it is important for students to be introduced to many great writers and their texts; this collection of poems is just that, showing the Latino community and its writers.
Reading Journal 10
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
By: Margarita Engle
This book was one I was dreading to read. I thought the title sounded interesting and after flipping through the pages, found the illustrations great. My problem lied in that I struggle with reading poetry in such long story form and was not sure if I would like this book since it seemed to be just that. SURPRISE the book was awesome!
The story is told very well through poem and I love the use of Spanish words throughout. I felt that was important to the culture of Juan and should be used. I enjoyed that the poems seemed to be free verse and flow nicely, which led me to think that most students would find it easy to read also. The illustrations played well to the image I thought Juan would make himself about his story. The words and artwork together paint a wonderful image of Juan’s life. This book is aimed well at the older young adult crowd, because Juan is of this age, it is an easy read, and it has much to teach children. I feel that all students should read this book. It has an important message and is a story that all young readers should be aware of.
I do caution readers, this book has some parts that are hard to take in and can be a little unpleasant. I do think they are written well, however and need to be addressed to tell Juan’s story in a way that is necessary to get a full scope of his struggles.
By: Margarita Engle
This book was one I was dreading to read. I thought the title sounded interesting and after flipping through the pages, found the illustrations great. My problem lied in that I struggle with reading poetry in such long story form and was not sure if I would like this book since it seemed to be just that. SURPRISE the book was awesome!
The story is told very well through poem and I love the use of Spanish words throughout. I felt that was important to the culture of Juan and should be used. I enjoyed that the poems seemed to be free verse and flow nicely, which led me to think that most students would find it easy to read also. The illustrations played well to the image I thought Juan would make himself about his story. The words and artwork together paint a wonderful image of Juan’s life. This book is aimed well at the older young adult crowd, because Juan is of this age, it is an easy read, and it has much to teach children. I feel that all students should read this book. It has an important message and is a story that all young readers should be aware of.
I do caution readers, this book has some parts that are hard to take in and can be a little unpleasant. I do think they are written well, however and need to be addressed to tell Juan’s story in a way that is necessary to get a full scope of his struggles.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Reading Journal 9
Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and the People in America
By: Deborah Hopkinson
This was a great book covering so much historical information with pictures, interviews, and stories. I liked that the author used real people to tell the history and their view of the early times of cotton. The pictures also helped to make sense of what things were like then.
I feel this book is wonderful for students to use in history and in language arts classes. The detail and accurate account the book gives of the beginning of cotton for the United States is a good tool for exploring through text. The genre of writing, historical non-fiction is a tool that can be used in any LA class; and this book is a strong example of such writing.
The main reason I feel that students will enjoy this book, is due to the great pictures, neat facts, and focus on children’s lives back then. What child wouldn’t want to know what it would be like for them if they lived in a different time? I believe that the way Hopkinson ties in important factual detail and evidence, with kids’ stories helps children of today get interested and relate to the children of the past.
This book also has a bibliography, notes, and index!!!! These are all tools students can learn to use with this book and will help them read and reread when needed!
My only complaint with this book is that it doesn’t bring us up to present day; granted that would make the book much longer. I wish that it would tie in today through its timeline to help students make the connection of present day to the past read about in this story.
By: Deborah Hopkinson
This was a great book covering so much historical information with pictures, interviews, and stories. I liked that the author used real people to tell the history and their view of the early times of cotton. The pictures also helped to make sense of what things were like then.
I feel this book is wonderful for students to use in history and in language arts classes. The detail and accurate account the book gives of the beginning of cotton for the United States is a good tool for exploring through text. The genre of writing, historical non-fiction is a tool that can be used in any LA class; and this book is a strong example of such writing.
The main reason I feel that students will enjoy this book, is due to the great pictures, neat facts, and focus on children’s lives back then. What child wouldn’t want to know what it would be like for them if they lived in a different time? I believe that the way Hopkinson ties in important factual detail and evidence, with kids’ stories helps children of today get interested and relate to the children of the past.
This book also has a bibliography, notes, and index!!!! These are all tools students can learn to use with this book and will help them read and reread when needed!
My only complaint with this book is that it doesn’t bring us up to present day; granted that would make the book much longer. I wish that it would tie in today through its timeline to help students make the connection of present day to the past read about in this story.
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