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.

Popular Books That Have Become Movies

I found this link to a list of books that have become movies

http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/books-that-became-movies

Numerous times I've run out and caught a movie because it was based off a book I just read. Usually I end up being a little disappointed because the movie doesn't always match the picture I've painted in my head. Some books I've read prior to seeing the movie are: One For The Money, The Hunger Games, Beaches, New Moon,Breaking Dawn, Eclipse, Flowers In The Attic, Eat, Pray, Love.

On the flip side I can only think of a few occasions where I've read a book after seeing a movie. For example I did start reading the Twilight series after seeing the 1st movie.

Which do you prefer reading first or watching the movie first?

The One And Only Ivan

I just finished reading The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. This is a fictional story that was inspired by a real life Gorilla. The book starts with a quote by George Eliot, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” And I knew right away that I was going to enjoy this book.

This is a beautiful written story written from Ivan’s point of view. You get a very clear idea of what Ivan, his friends and their lives are like.

Chapter 10 Nonfiction: Biographies and Informational Books

After reading this chapter I realized that I subscribed too many of the myths people associate with Non Fiction text. Specifically I believed that children would rather read fiction than non-fiction. I was happy to see that this is not the case. I admit non-fiction books are not on the top of my list when I am searching for something to read, that is, unless I am researching a particular subject. Most of my nonfiction reading is limited to magazines and online searches. I would dare say that many adults feel this way as we tend to view reading as an extracurricular activity used for enjoyment unless of course we are looking for particular information.

Children however are still learning about the world and how it works. Per this chapter one of the many benefits of non-fiction text is that it addresses children’s interest and questions. Much of this chapter focuses on the use of Biographies. Biographies are a wonderful way for students to learn about people, be it a sports figure, musician, actor/actress or a historical figure. The book categorizes biographies as authentic, fictionalized an autobiographies or memoirs. I was surprised to see fictional listed in this category although I recently read a book that although based on a fictional character the story was based on fact. The book: My Name is America- The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh Vietnam, by Ellen Emerson White, is the journal of a fictional character. My Name Is America is a series of historical novels that was written for older boys and published by Scholastic Press. Each book is written in the form of a journal of a fictional young man's life during an important event or time period in American history. Although I didn’t consider this book to be non-fiction, I learned quite about the Vietnam War and the events surrounding it.

Nonfiction text has a variety of formats designed to inform the reader. Fiction may touch on a subject that children want to further explore leading them to nonfiction text in order to do so. Whether or not nonfiction is a child’s preferred form of reading it is important for them to learn how to read and interpret nonfiction text. After reading this chapter, I will be sure to include a variety of non-fiction books when I build my classroom library.

Chapter 7: Realistic Fiction

Chapter 7 of our book lists the benefits of reading realistic fiction as well as the characteristics found in good realistic fiction.  "Good realistic fiction portrays the real world in all its context.  Life is full of ups and downs; it can be funny, painful, tumultuous, joyful and distressing."

Realistic fiction is personally one of my most favorite genre's to use when talking about and introducing topics to young children. It is an entertaining way to give students ways to relate to the real world and can be a gateway into exploring the lives of others.This can be a great learning tool as it exposes them to something they may encounter at one time or another I recently finished reading The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker as part of my annotated bibliography. In this story Clementine is distressed because her class will be putting on a talent show and she feels she has no talent.  The story explores the many talents of Clementine and shows students that while all talents aren't stage worthy we are all unique and have something special to offer to the world. This personally is a story that I can relate to, having come from a family of artists I don't have much artistic ability myself.  This does not mean that I lack talent it just means I don't have talent in the artistic sense.   Realistic fiction can also help students make sense of difficult situations. For example in Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Teribitha, the main character deals with and attempts to make sense of  the death of a close friend. After doing some reading about Katherine Paterson, I discovered that she wrote this story to help her deal with and make sense of the death of one of her friend.

I feel that using realistic fiction is a great way to get students to share their feelings and experiences. If students hear a story that the can relate to they may be more open to writing about or discussing their own experiences and feelings.