Chapter 6 Modern Fantasy

Modern Fantasy is a very popular genre among children. According to the author almost half of the books identified in 100 Books that Shaped the Century and 100 best books for children are listed as fantasy.

 Modern Fantasy can be classified into two categories: low fantasy and high fantasy. Low fantasy stories take place in the real world but magical elements make them impossible. Books in the low fantasy category include Charlotte's web and The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Both of these stories include talking animals, which make them impossible to be real stories, even though they take place in the real world. High fantasy takes information and experiences from the real world and projects them into other worlds.  Some examples to high fantasy books include Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. The worlds in these books are magical places created by the authors.

Fantasy books can teach children ideas that would otherwise be difficult to convey to young readers. In the textbook an example is "Children can read directly about friendship, sacrifice, selfishness, the fear of death, and death itself, but the insight is somehow more meaningful when shown metaphorically through the lives of Wilbur the pig, Templeton the rat, and Charlotte the spider in Charlotte's Web."

Although I have never taken the time to get into some of the more recent popular science fiction books I do enjoy reading this type of literature from time to time.  It’s especially exciting when these novels come alive on the big screen.  Using science fiction in the classroom is a great way for students to spark their imaginations.

The Grapes of Math

 

The Grapes of Math is geared towards younger students.  When I first started reading The Grapes of Math I was disappointed because the first several riddles just involved counting rows. But as I read on the skill level increased.  They rhymes were catchy each one ending with a clue as to how to solve the problem. Each riddle was beautifully illustrated giving the reader a visual.  The author gives the answer to each riddle, walking the reader through the process of how to solve each problem in the back of the book.  The Author, Greg Tang has a series of math books exploring Math in the fun form of riddles.  His website includes games and he has made many of these books completely interactive! 

 

http://gregtangmath.com/

 

The Joy of Childrens Literature Companion Site

Before I took this class I had spoken to a friend who had commented that she wished she has kept the text book required for this course. She felt it was a great resource and one that would actually be a useful resource in her future classroom.

As I was searching the pages of my book for web links for each chapter I decided to check out the books companion site  located  at http://www.cengage.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=9781111298364&token= .  While it doesn't include everything from the text it does provide a great resource for the Listen, Watch and Read, web sites and some bonus read aloud's that are included in each chapter.

If like me you rented rather than buying the book I suggest adding this link to your favorites as it may be a great resource down the road.

Chapter 5- Traditional Literature

Traditional Literature is among the most memorable in children’s experiences in literature. It is defined as a genre of stories passed down through many generations by word of mouth. These stories don’t have and identifiable author and they encompass variety of stories including legends, fables, riddles, myths, epics and tall tales. Most people have heard the stories of Cinderella and Snow White but they may not be aware that there are hundreds of versions of many of these popular tales. These stories have changed over time as they have been passed down from generation and told by people in all lands to explain their lives and their world in order to reflect how people thought and what they valued as a society.

Traditional Literature is an excellent tool that can be used to encourage numerous oral and written activities in the classroom. It can serve as the building block for contemporary literature, provides a window on diverse culture and act as a moral model for children. In exploring the web links provided for this chapter I ran across several interesting websites including Kay Vandergrift’s Snow White site which includes a reprint of the original 1898 version of the Grimm’s fairy tale. Throughout the text, certain phrases are hyperlinked. When clicked, the reader can compare the hyperlinked text to thirty-six other versions. Another interesting site I located was When Cinderella Went to the Ball: Five Hundred Years of Fairy Tales which offers and exhibit of the Cinderella story from the Grimm’s Brothers tales to the modern spin offs and interpretations.

 

As part of my annotated bibliography I read Little Gold Star: A Spanish American Cinderella Tale. I had no problems finding many wonderful uses for this and other stories like this in the classroom. Some of my ideas included comparing different versions of the story, writing fractured fairy tales, and mapping where some of the cultural Cinderella versions they have read took place.

My Name is America- The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh Vietnam

I enjoyed The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty but found it to be sad, knowing how many young men lost their lives in the Vietnam war. While Patrick writes in his journal and his sister protests the war, we see both sides of the coin. For a realistic picture there are photos and information about the war in it. I felt it was a bit drawn out, but a good story. There are 19 books in the My Name is America series written by different authors, all covering different events in history and presented in the form of a journal.

How to Survive Middle School

Another book I've finished reading for my annotated bibliography. How to Survive Middle School is a really good story covering a multitude of topics that students may experience when making the transition from elementary school to middle school. The book is mostly humorous but there are several sad parts as well. This would be a great book to use to discuss several sensitive subjects with students topics covered include: parental abandonment, bullying, boy/girl relationships, death, friendship, and trying to fit in.

Katherine Paterson Author Study

I just completed my author study unit on Katherine Paterson; boy was that a lot of work!  I've written unit plans before but never anything quite like this. I choose the author because I was familiar with a few of her titles; although, I admit I haven't read any of her books.  I discovered that Katherine Paterson is quite the fascinating lady.  She has won numerous awards for her contributions to children's literature including two Newberry Award Medals for Bridge to Teribithia and Jacob Have I Loved.

Be sure to check out this link which includes a short biography about Katherine Paterson
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/katherine-Paterson

 

If you would like to see my completed author study it is listed under pages.