I have heard of the "La Llorona" since childhood, but I never new the history of the story until now. The presentation was done beautifully. It really brought out the details of this story and how it originally started. The costumes and the background art work really enhanced the setting and heritage of the people involved in the original story.
I liked the activities because they involved the audience. Another thing that I liked was the reading of the PowerPoint information; it elaborated so much regarding the entire story. It also related this story to myths, folktails, and legends very well. Similar events that have occurred in this century were related to this story which really causes us to think that perhaps this is not just a story, myth, or legend. I think the whole presentation was very well done.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
3321 MON. NIGHT ARTICLE: WHAT IS SHARED READING?
Shared reading is when the teacher and the students have the opportunity to unit in the reading and re-reading of a great story, discussing the pictures, and connecting the context with the meaning of the story. It consists of a careful choosen large book and story that the students really like so they will be excited about reading and enjoy it as well. In this time of shared reading a large group of students follow along with the teacher as she models good reading skills, behaviors, strategies, and engages the students to use theirs as well.
This article has helped me to truly realize how important shared reading is and how important the teacher's part is; not only in the class room, but at home as well. A child's first class room is their home and their very first teacher is the person at home that reads to them. Making the shared reading a fun experience is what helps to ground a child in becoming a reader for life and possibly a writer also. In my past experience, I recall a student retelling a story he heard me read to the class. He retold parts of it to himself as he played during free time. I noticed it, but never really connected it to shared reading since I did not know what it was called.
One thing that really caught my eye in this article was the Respecting & Responding to Learners Section. The little girl "Sarah" in the article was never told to be quite, to stop acting silly while her mother read to her, to be still, nor corrected in a negative tone of voice. Unfortunately this is what happens all too often in class rooms today. Children are not permitted to express their individuality, their interpretation of a word or phrase they are simply told to be quite, or wait. This can cause a child to be turned off from the story, get mad, or feel that his or her opinion or comment is not of any value. In shared reading is how children learn to pronounce words, and follow the story without loosing interest and get bored. It is how the students relate the reading to thier own life, as well as increase in thier involvement in future reading of that same story. Learning while having fun in reading should the number one key factor. I believe this will keep children interested in reading for a life time.
This article has helped me to truly realize how important shared reading is and how important the teacher's part is; not only in the class room, but at home as well. A child's first class room is their home and their very first teacher is the person at home that reads to them. Making the shared reading a fun experience is what helps to ground a child in becoming a reader for life and possibly a writer also. In my past experience, I recall a student retelling a story he heard me read to the class. He retold parts of it to himself as he played during free time. I noticed it, but never really connected it to shared reading since I did not know what it was called.
One thing that really caught my eye in this article was the Respecting & Responding to Learners Section. The little girl "Sarah" in the article was never told to be quite, to stop acting silly while her mother read to her, to be still, nor corrected in a negative tone of voice. Unfortunately this is what happens all too often in class rooms today. Children are not permitted to express their individuality, their interpretation of a word or phrase they are simply told to be quite, or wait. This can cause a child to be turned off from the story, get mad, or feel that his or her opinion or comment is not of any value. In shared reading is how children learn to pronounce words, and follow the story without loosing interest and get bored. It is how the students relate the reading to thier own life, as well as increase in thier involvement in future reading of that same story. Learning while having fun in reading should the number one key factor. I believe this will keep children interested in reading for a life time.
Monday, November 16, 2009
3321 MON. NIGHT CHAPTER 11
Shared reading is one of my favorite things to do as a teacher. I feel it gives the teacher and students that one-on-one opportunity to develop a closer relationship. I particularly like to do the voices of the characters in the story. I feel this makes the characters come alive and the students enjoy the story more and pay attention even more so. I never had someone read to me as child at home, nor do I recall being read to at school in my early years in elementary, but I'm so glad I can read to my students and that is why I want to make it memorable to them.
Shared reading is a great asset to a curriculum; it gives the students opportunity to develop their language skills by reading and re-reading along with a the teacher. Using the Big books (I think) is the best way to do this because the students can see the letters and words better and can be stimulated to participate as they see the huge pictures in relation to the story. They also wont get frustrated so quickly as with smaller books because the visuals are larger and easier to see.
I believe shared reading is great for the special needs students since they need a routine of repetition; reading and re-reading a story will help them remember the characters, places, what happened, who did what, and the conclusion. The teacher decides how much to read and where to stop and ask questions to see if they are really catching on to the story. Activities relating to the story helps them to repeat the story format and re-tell it to themselves. Having the students work in small groups would be great because a lot of autistic children live in their own world and need this contact with their peers. This also gives those with speech difficulty an opportunity to develop their language skills.
There are different ways the shared reading can be brought forth. A teacher could us the computer and screen, big books, as well as small books, and the overhead projector. I would say whatever works best for your class use it. There are so many features a teacher can use to get the students involved in shared reading. The section on Focusing on Text Features and Reading Strategies is great; this section alone has given me ideas I want to implement in my future class. The Typical Shared Reading Lessons and the Critical Components of Typical Shared Reading Lesson Series sections are a great help in planning lessons to fit the needs of students.
Shared reading is a great asset to a curriculum; it gives the students opportunity to develop their language skills by reading and re-reading along with a the teacher. Using the Big books (I think) is the best way to do this because the students can see the letters and words better and can be stimulated to participate as they see the huge pictures in relation to the story. They also wont get frustrated so quickly as with smaller books because the visuals are larger and easier to see.
I believe shared reading is great for the special needs students since they need a routine of repetition; reading and re-reading a story will help them remember the characters, places, what happened, who did what, and the conclusion. The teacher decides how much to read and where to stop and ask questions to see if they are really catching on to the story. Activities relating to the story helps them to repeat the story format and re-tell it to themselves. Having the students work in small groups would be great because a lot of autistic children live in their own world and need this contact with their peers. This also gives those with speech difficulty an opportunity to develop their language skills.
There are different ways the shared reading can be brought forth. A teacher could us the computer and screen, big books, as well as small books, and the overhead projector. I would say whatever works best for your class use it. There are so many features a teacher can use to get the students involved in shared reading. The section on Focusing on Text Features and Reading Strategies is great; this section alone has given me ideas I want to implement in my future class. The Typical Shared Reading Lessons and the Critical Components of Typical Shared Reading Lesson Series sections are a great help in planning lessons to fit the needs of students.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
3321 MON. NIGHT CHAPTER 10
I believe that reading aloud is important because children not only enjoy this time with the teacher or whom ever is reading to them, but because memories are established at that moment. Starting to read-aloud to the very young is essential because these are the formative years. It's also the perfect time to instill good reading habits in children that can continue for a life time.
I believe some of the best series of books to read-aloud are The Dr. Seuss Series, The Eric Carle Series of Books, Clifford The Big Red Dog Series, and The Magic School Bus Series to name a few. These series of books have a rhythm sound that help the very young get used to sound alike words; others teach moral values, and still others teach about the world around them. Each of these series of books have connections to each book in the series. These connections help the children remember, relate, and connect the words to the author as well to the other books in the series.
Read-aloud is critical in all age groups because learning is a continual process in a persons life. "It is considered "seed money" in reaching tomorrow's parents." states Jim Trelease in his book The Read Aloud Handbook. Reading aloud to the very young before starting school develops several aspects of literacy such as: interest in reading, language development, building vocabulary, developing listening comprehension, understanding different kinds of sentence structures, learning how language is used in books, developing a sense of story, and fostering an awareness of the world.
It is never a waste of time to read-aloud to older children because as I said before learning is an on going process, and the benefits of it is increased listening comprehesion, and the introduction of new vocabulary words. Of course books for older children need to be carefully considered. These children need to be challenged and thier interests in the book / story stired up. The teacher must know the book she or he is going to read-aloud if that teacher is to bring a lesson out of it. Thus, the teacher must know what he or she wants to get out of it and why. Most importantly, the teacher must how to read-aloud, and it should not always be for learning either. Fun should have its place in the read-alouds "enjoyment of literature is key,but ways to learn more about it can flow naturally from carefully thinking through the prupose and intent of the read-aloud."
I believe some of the best series of books to read-aloud are The Dr. Seuss Series, The Eric Carle Series of Books, Clifford The Big Red Dog Series, and The Magic School Bus Series to name a few. These series of books have a rhythm sound that help the very young get used to sound alike words; others teach moral values, and still others teach about the world around them. Each of these series of books have connections to each book in the series. These connections help the children remember, relate, and connect the words to the author as well to the other books in the series.
Read-aloud is critical in all age groups because learning is a continual process in a persons life. "It is considered "seed money" in reaching tomorrow's parents." states Jim Trelease in his book The Read Aloud Handbook. Reading aloud to the very young before starting school develops several aspects of literacy such as: interest in reading, language development, building vocabulary, developing listening comprehension, understanding different kinds of sentence structures, learning how language is used in books, developing a sense of story, and fostering an awareness of the world.
It is never a waste of time to read-aloud to older children because as I said before learning is an on going process, and the benefits of it is increased listening comprehesion, and the introduction of new vocabulary words. Of course books for older children need to be carefully considered. These children need to be challenged and thier interests in the book / story stired up. The teacher must know the book she or he is going to read-aloud if that teacher is to bring a lesson out of it. Thus, the teacher must know what he or she wants to get out of it and why. Most importantly, the teacher must how to read-aloud, and it should not always be for learning either. Fun should have its place in the read-alouds "enjoyment of literature is key,but ways to learn more about it can flow naturally from carefully thinking through the prupose and intent of the read-aloud."
Sunday, November 1, 2009
3321 MON. NIGHT CHAPTER 9
Nonfiction has come a long way. It has changed tremendously, today it includes maps, articles from the newspaper, how to do books, cookbooks, the Internet and much more. The authors of nonfiction have the same criteria as those who write fiction. I used to have trouble differentiating between fiction and nonfiction and now with the faction books it seems to add to the situation. Still, The books that are faction tell of so much. These are books that give information, that tell true stories about people and add fictional details to move the story along. They also introduce important facts and make the narrative more dramatic. The good part is that you are given hints to recognize if a book is nonfiction. Hints such as the area where the ISBN is located; if you see "juvenile literature" most likely it is nonfiction. Still the designation of a book being "juvenile literature" can mean it is a blending of both nonfiction and faction so watch out.
The elements of a nonfiction book are: The Format tells how it works as a whole. Size and Shape mirror what the book contains. The Book Covers and Endpapers help to draw the readers and the endpapers provide visual clues to the books content. The Typeface and Distinctive Markings are to enhance the appearance of a book. Visual Information is critical it helps the reader to clarify and understand the content. The Access Features helps readers acquire information regarding the book. Accuracy is considered the most important of the elements of a nonfiction book because that one book may be the only book from where a student can get information on a particular topic that is why it has to be accurate.
The Style is important was well; it has to draw a reader into the book and make it unforgettable. The Leads and Conclusions of a nonfiction book are important because the lead engages the reader while a good and effective conclusion helps the reader transition to the next chapter smoothly. The writers of nonfiction use Sentence Structure and Vocabulary so that the reader is not baffled by hard or difficult language and so the book is memorable and understandable to the reader. Figurative Language is used by each writer in his or her unique way and is used to give clarity and meaning to what is written. Clarity is important because without it a book may fail. Organization is critical because the writer has to know what structure is best for the book because it supports a reader's comprehension of the information he or she is getting from the book.
I like the Concept Books section because this information can be used to teach younger and special needs children the foundational elements that they will need later on in their education. I think the Informational Picture Storybooks can also be used in these classes as well. The example book Chicks & Chickens is a great book to use in regards to the Life Cycle series in a curriculum.
The elements of a nonfiction book are: The Format tells how it works as a whole. Size and Shape mirror what the book contains. The Book Covers and Endpapers help to draw the readers and the endpapers provide visual clues to the books content. The Typeface and Distinctive Markings are to enhance the appearance of a book. Visual Information is critical it helps the reader to clarify and understand the content. The Access Features helps readers acquire information regarding the book. Accuracy is considered the most important of the elements of a nonfiction book because that one book may be the only book from where a student can get information on a particular topic that is why it has to be accurate.
The Style is important was well; it has to draw a reader into the book and make it unforgettable. The Leads and Conclusions of a nonfiction book are important because the lead engages the reader while a good and effective conclusion helps the reader transition to the next chapter smoothly. The writers of nonfiction use Sentence Structure and Vocabulary so that the reader is not baffled by hard or difficult language and so the book is memorable and understandable to the reader. Figurative Language is used by each writer in his or her unique way and is used to give clarity and meaning to what is written. Clarity is important because without it a book may fail. Organization is critical because the writer has to know what structure is best for the book because it supports a reader's comprehension of the information he or she is getting from the book.
I like the Concept Books section because this information can be used to teach younger and special needs children the foundational elements that they will need later on in their education. I think the Informational Picture Storybooks can also be used in these classes as well. The example book Chicks & Chickens is a great book to use in regards to the Life Cycle series in a curriculum.
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