EDRG 3321 M&W Author/Presentations Day 3

Another great day of presentations. I have really enjoyed this project and the outcomes. The group today that did the spiders did a wonderful job. I loved the read aloud video they did and the facts about spiders book Spinning Spiders. This presentation was also great because it's a good way to cross teach. They started the lesson off with reading and ended in science. I also enjoyed their activity where we made spiders. It was very hands on and fun! I think kids would really enjoy this.

I also liked the Snow White presentation. I love to see where fairy tales come from and get the dark truth. :) I think this is a great way to teach to high school students and they would enjoy it. Can't wait to see the rest of their presentation! :)

My book choice for this week is The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. It's a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears," But instead of being in a forest it's in the snow, the bears are snow bears, and Goldilocks is a young Inuit girl who is looking for her sled dogs when she comes across the snow bears home. The book is a fun picture book with a delightful story. It's a book I think kids would enjoy this time of year. Jan Brett also has many other books and a few Christmas once too. Check out her web site, it has all her books and even some fun Christmas activities you can do with the kids. http://www.janbrett.com/ This is a great site for teachers or parents!! Enjoy!

EDRG-3321 M&W Author/Presentations Day 2

The Presentations so far have been great!! Everyone is doing a wonderful job and I have really enjoyed them. The group that did the book The Empty Pot did a wonderful job. I really liked the book and the moral behind the story. I also liked their activity where they had us write in the empty pot. That was a great lesson and I think kids would love it!

The other group that went was my group and we did Pink and Say. Other than talk about how great ours was :) j/k I just want to say that I really learned a lot from this project and enjoyed working with my group!! It was fun and educational!

The book I picked for this week is P is for Pinata:A Mexican Alphabet. It's a culture letter book. The book goes though the alphabet giving you different examples of something from the Mexican culture. This book is a fun way to teach a different culture to your students and to teach them new words from a different culture. The author for this book is Tony Johnston. She has other culture books and many children's books. She has also been a 4th grade teacher for years. Go check out her web site to see more of her books at www.jacketflap.com and then search Tony Johnston. Hope y'all enjoy! :)

EDRG-3344 M&W Persuasive for MGP

For my persuasive I decided to do a flyer to persuade people to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial and for them to learn more about that day. I think a flyer is a good way to get your students attention and to get them to find out more about Pearl Harbor. Here is part of what I did. Let me know what you think. :)

*Come visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial and learn more about the men and women who lost their life there and get a chance to talk to ones who survived. Come tour the grounds and listen to stories about that day Japan bomb Pearl Harbor by surprise on December 7, 1941. Get to see what is left of the Battleship USS Arizona and learn about the day that changed our Nation forever.

EDRG-3344 M&W Descriptive

For my descriptive I decided to do an acrostic poem. I thought this would be a fun way to put in details the events of Pearl Harbor. I plan to make a poster to go along with this. Tell me what you think! :)


Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japan on December 7, 1941.
Eighteen U.S. ships were hit, crippling the Untied States Fleet.
A date that will live in infamy.
Remember the 2,350 servicemen and 68 civilians who lost their life that day.
Lexington, Enterprise and Saratoga were U.S. Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers that escaped damage.

Hospitals become overwhelmed by the wounded, all nurses can do is give them morphine.
Arizona, the ship that took the hardest hit and suffered the most casualties.
Radar screens did pick up planes but was overlook because they were believed to be U.S. B-17s.
Both the Japanese and Americans were surprised by the success of the attack.
Oklahoma the ship also suffered many casualties after it was hit by torpedo’s capsizing the ship.
Roosevelt, FDR, was President and along with Britain declared war on Japan December 8, 1941.

EDRG 3321-M&W "Children's Author"

In light of the Thanksgiving Holiday I picked a book about Thanksgiving, The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing. This book has a creative spin on the Christmas classic 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. It shows how a family gets ready for the Thanksgiving holiday by greeting family members, making dinner and how they give thanks. This would be a great book to read to your students before they leave for Thanksgiving break. It's fun, has great pictures and can teach them to be thankful. :) Natasha Wing also has some other great books like The Night Before First Grade, The Night Before Halloween, and The Night Before Christmas. Go check out her site and see all her great books. http://natashawing.com/Author.html

M&W EDRG 3321-Genre Presentations Day 1/Author Profile

Today was our first day of Genre presentations and we had two great ones. The first group did the book Why The Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky. Their presentation was fun, I loved the play and the costumes. I was really interested in the book after they went. They did a good job in getting the students to interact with the fish and the activity. The second group did the book 10 Things I Can do to Help My World. I really liked their movie trailer, really had me interested in their book. They also had some great posters and good recycling ideas. All and all two great presentations, I really enjoyed watching them! :)





My book choice this week is a great picture book called Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene. I am a sucker for Christmas stories and this one is a fun one to read. It's about how Santa eats too many treats and gets stuck in a chimney. It takes a lot of help from reindeer, cat, dogs and even a mouse with a toy truck to get Santa out. This would be a fun book to read to the kids when things get crazy close to Christmas break and I think they would love it, it's very funny. :) Rhonda Gowler Greene also has another Christmas book called The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, I haven't got to read this one yet but it looks good but not sure if you could rad it in the classroom. Go check out her site, shes got many more funny books for kids. http://rhondagowlergreene.com/index.htm

EDRG 3344 MGP- Expository

My expository for my MGP is going to be a power point in the form of a timeline. I figured this is the best way to show the events of that day. This way I can show pictures and you tube clips right from my power point. Here is a couple of the things I will put on the slides. You tube video of Roosevelt's speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VqQAf74fsE

EDGR-3321 Guided reading and Shared reading Lessons

Here are some of the web site I found helpful about guided and shared reading lessons.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/guidedreading.htm Good web site with lots of good ideas and sample lesson plans. http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/guidedreading.htm This web site, Reading a-z.com had a good list of books at different reading levels for guided reading. This site is very helpful and I would use it if I needed to find a book at a level I was teaching.
http://www.oe.k12.mi.us/balanced_literacy/shared_reading.htm This site had did a good job of explaining shared reading and had some good ideas for shared reading lessons.
http://www.thekcrew.net/sharedreading.html This site had had a teachers lesson plan for shared reading along with the TEKS and books she used. Very helpful.
Here are a list of some books I found that could be used to do guided or shared reading lessons.
Good Night, Owl by Pat Hutchins, What Will the Weather Be Like Today?
by Paul Rogers, and Five Little Ducks - here's a web site I found that has fun picture to go with this book. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rhymes/Ducks.shtml

EDRG 3321 - Author

This week my author pick is Norman Bridwell. I came across him in my field base class. He is most known for his books Clifford The Big Red Dog. I am using one of his books for my lesson and the kids love them. They all are fun and have a good lesson to learn in them. They are also great cause PBS has a TV program made after the books. The kids love them too! We watched one show during library time this week and they really enjoyed it. If you want to learn more about Norman Bridwell go check out his web site http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-bridwell-norman.asp or to learn more about Clifford and his books and shows check out the PBS web site http://pbskids.org/clifford/index-puppy-flash.html. Both are very helpful, enjoy. :)

M&W 3321 Nonfiction

I have to say after our lesson in class I have a new understanding for nonfiction books. I have never been a big nonfiction reader, other than history books, I think in part because of school. Growing up nonfiction books were made to inform or teach you something you didn't know, which most times didn't spark my interest. But in class all the books she showed us that were nonfiction were fun and entertaining. I think I will be reading more not fiction books in the future.

In class I got to read the Diary of the Worm and Diary of the Spider and I loved them. What a fun way to learn about spiders and worms. I am going to read more of these books my Doreen Cronin and buy them for my own library. They are a great way to teach and keep the students engaged. I went to her web site http://www.doreencronin.com/doreen.html and she has lots of great books and so activities for teachers. I can't wait to read her other books and one day read them to my kids. :)

3321-M&W Books I love to read!

I am a hopeless romantic at heart so I love love stories. I also like books with a little mystery, This is why I love Nicholas Sparks. He has a great way of mixing the 2 in his books. Sure they all start as a love story and it always underlines his books but there is always a twist to keep you going back for more. Although I love all his books, my favorite book by him is The Rescue. If your not a big fan of love stories this is still a great read. I have even got a few of my guy friends to read this and they loved it. Now if you love love stories then The Notebook is the all time best!! Way better than the movie. Go check out his site, has a list of all his books!! http://www.nicholassparks.com/index.asp
My sister, who's a middle school teacher, also gave me a book awhile back and said every school teacher should read it. So I did and I LOVED IT and also agree with her. It's by Jodi Picoult and its called Nineteen Minutes. I really recommend this book to all of you. Its a book about a school shooting and tells the story from many different points of view. It is a long book but trust me you wont be able to put it down. You will get caught up in it right away. Here's her web site, she has many more great books. http://www.jodipicoult.com/
Warning, if your anything like me and get really into your books, these are all tear jerkier and will make you cry. :) Hope y'all enjoy!

EDRG-3344 M&W What is a Narrative?

What is a narrative??
A narrative is a type of writing that has a clear beginning, middle and end. A narrative tells some kind of story, it also has a specific plot, characters and setting. It will also have lots of details and engage the readers from the start of the story. An example of a narrative is the children's book titled Cinderella or The Three Little Pig. Each of these books has a specific plot, characters and setting. They both also engage you from the very beginning. and have very clear beginnings, middle and endings.

EDRG-3321 M&W Chap. 7/ Childrens books

Chapter 7 was all about picture books. I found this chapter pretty interesting. I have always been a fan of picture books, I love pictures with lots of colors and details, so you can understand why. :) But I never knew so much went into making them. That everything from the colors of the pictures, to the shape and texture, and the book covers, they all have different meaning and purpose.
I also learned a lot of new things about teaching a picture book to a class. The right way to read and inter act with the students and the wrong way. I learned a great deal from Chapter 7 and can't wait to start using picture books in my classroom!


The author I picked for this week is Patricia Polacco. I found out about her by one of my group members who suggested her book Pink and Say for our genre project. I fell in love with that book so it made me want to find more books by her. I found her web site very helpful and it looks like she has got lots of great books. Her site is www.patriciapolacco.com There is even a spot for teachers with lessons and activities for her books. I can't wait to read more of her books and to get to share her book Pink and Say with the class. Go check her out!!!

EDRG-3344 Narrative

For my narrative I decided to do a news paper article. Let me know what you think. :)
Pearl Harbor

Daily News
On December 7, 1941 at 6 am the small island on the southern coast of Oahu, where U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor is located, was attacked by Japan!! The attack started at 7:55 am in the morning, catching everyone by surprise, and lasted till 9:45 am. The Japan forces consisted of six carriers with 423 planes. The Japanese planes took off about 90 minutes away from Pearl Harbor fully fueled and armed. The casualties included 2,335 servicemen, 68 civilians and 1,178 people were wounded.
Eighteen U.S. ships were hit, with the USS Arizona taking the biggest lost, more than 1,100 men. USS Oklahoma was also destroyed when it was hit by 9 torpedos’, which capsized the ship and trapped many men inside. Along with the battleships more than 180 U.S. aircrafts were destroyed. The attack severely crippled the United States naval and air strength in the Pacific.
There are reports saying that a U.S. Army private did notice the large flight of planes on his radar screen but he was told to ignore them because a flight of B-17s were expected at the time. It is also believed that Japan has been planning this attack for weeks despite telling U.S. they wanted to continue peace with us. Later today we will hear from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and then we will learn if this attack will induce us into war with Japan.
Here is a web site I found that prints it out to look like a news paper. http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=151&title=

3321 M&W Author and Chap. 6

My author pick for this week is Anne Rockwell. I found her in the class I am doing my field base in, the teacher read the book "Apples and Pumpkins" and the kids really enjoyed it. They are learning about seasons right now and this book was great for it. It was also perfect for this time of year, all the fall pictures and talk about pumpkins and apple was a fun way to learn. After listening to her book and seeing how the students liked it I looked her up on the Internet and found her site. It has lots of great books and even some ideas for teachers to use in the classroom. Go check it out! www.annerockwell.com (I wish I could put the picture up of the book but still can't get it to work!) :(

Chapter 6 was over traditional literature and the different literary elements. It covers the plot, settings, characterization, style, theme, motifs, and variants. Traditional literature is the written form of stories that are part of the oral tradition of culture.

I found this chapter very helpful and a good refresher. I have forgot over the years some of the terms and definitions for them. It also help me think of good ideas for my library and what I want in it when I get my own classroom.

M&W-3344 Memories!

One of my memories from my bag was my wedding day, it was my precious as gold memory. It was a wonderful day and long awaited. My husband and I had dated for 5 years before we finally got married. It was a wonderful day. I spent the morning with my girls getting ready and the boys spent the morning playing golf. We got married that evening in a church with all our family and friends by our sides. Walking in the church doors with my dad and seeing my husband for the first time was the greatest feeling in the world. I'll never forget that feeling of love, happiness and complete faith in what I was about to do. I think the best part was when the pastor said " you may now kiss the bride", what a wonderful moment. We had a beautiful ceremony and I'll never forget it!

After the ceremony we went to our fun filled reception. We eat, danced, drank, laughed and got to visit with family and friends. We had a blast and couldn't have asked for anything more. After it was all said and done My new husband and I got to spend 5 nights in Mexico on our honeymoon! Which was awesome! We had so much fun and it was so relaxing just being the two of us together!

My husband is the greatest gift the lord has given me and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful memory from our wedding day and to have such a wonderful husband!

*(the picture of my husband and me on my page is from our honeymoon)*

3321 M&W Author

This week my Arthur pick is Rita Balducci. She did many I Can Books like, I Can Lace, I Can Zip, and I can Button. These books teach kids how do do these things with the book. The books have zippers in them and real button to practice on. I think its a neat way to teach kids not only to read but to do every day things that may be hard for them. I think it's a great teaching tool and would be helpful with younger kids just starting school. She also has wrote many books for Disney, and who doesn't love Disney and the many lessons they teach. :)
Here is a web site I found helpful and has a list of all the books she wrote if you'd like to check them out. Go to www.jackflap.com then search Rita Balducci.

3344 M&W Personal Writing

On a daily bases I do lot of personal writing. The ones I do the most are text and email. I tend to text the most because I spent a lot of time at work or school where I can't just sit and talk on my phone, so I have to text people. Sometimes it is easier because I can text more than more person at once or I don't have to respond right away if I am busy. I use to not be a big fan of texting but now I don't know what I would do without it. :) I do also email too. This tends to be more for school or funny jokes but I do write lot of personal emails too. I have one sister who during the day when she is at work only responds to email. So if I have a question for her I have to email her instead of text. Now because of things like facebook or myspace I don't use email as much to talk to people I don't get to see that often. Now I just go to their pages to talk or ask questions. Which I also use on a daily bases.

Today in class when we made are "all about me" people I put down that I love my family and Friends, so here's a little more about that!

I love my family, yes I do.

They may be crazy,

But so are you.

I love my friends, yes I do.

They are there for me,

even when I feel like pooh.

We hangout a lot, yes we do.

We love to go out and have a good time,

go fishing, play ball or dance for a few.

I love my family and friends, yes I do.

How about YOU!

:)

EDRG 3321 CH. 3

In class we went over chapter 3. I found chapter 3 very interesting. It was about reading and comprehension. We learn in this chapter that comprehension is the most important thing about reading. If you don't understand what your reading then you are not learning anything. So many times we worry about how well or fast kids read that we forget the most important part, the comprehension. So as teachers we need to work and stress this more.

My author for this week is Katherine Paterson. I came across her on the Internet and found a site for her that was really helpful and had a lot of information about her books and her background. Here is the site, www.terabithia.com/index.html she has wrote books like Bridge to Terabithia, Come Sing Jimmy Jo, Flip-Flop Girl, and Park's Quest. She has an interesting background and I think Y'all should check her out!

3344-M&W Circular Story

What is a circular story??
-A circular story is a story in a book that follows a circle. The story starts and ends the same way.
How can I use a circular story in my classroom?
-I can use a circular story to teach the students about sequencing. To to teach them that in every story there is a certain order of events. Also to teach them how to recognize patterns in the story. I would get them to try and recite the story by retelling it or with picture to help them see the patterns in the story.
Different ways I would try to make reading fun in my classroom is to get the kids to act out parts of the story. It would be a good way to get them to interact with each other and to be comfortable in front of the class. It can also help them understand the story better. Sometimes seeing and doing is better than just listening to someone read. I also think getting them to rewrite the story in their own words would be a fun way to see what their take on the story is and to fully see what they are getting from the reading.

EDRG 3321-M&W "Children's Authors"

Here are a few helpful web sites I found about some children's authors I enjoy!!

-http://www.shelsilverstien.com/indexsite.html This is the site of one of my favorite authors as a kid, Sheldon Silverstien. I loved the book The Giving Tree, its a great book for young children to read. Good moral behind it. :) The site has some great things for teachers and lessons they can use with his books.

-http://www.webenglishteacher.com/drseuss.html This site is the great Dr. Seuss. has a look at all of his books and lesson plans to go with them for teachers. I think this site would be very helpful since everybody knows about Dr. Seuss books.

-http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3authors.html This site was helpful for finding names of children's book authors but some of the links didn't work.

EDRG 3344-M&W "How You Learn"

I was surprised to find out that on my multiple intelligences survey my learning ability  was not visual. I have always seen myself as a visual learner.  Instead I am a kinesthetic and intrapersonal learner. Which after learning about them makes since, I do like to learn on my own and I am not big on group work. I also love being hands-on and I like to learn by doing and not just listening.

    I  believe I can be an intrinsic person, I do follow my gut and push myself to be the best I can be. My motivation is to be the best I can be in all areas in my life.  My family is also a big motivation in my life, I want to be great for them.  

3321 M&W

Hello All!! this is my first blog!! YAY ME! :)