Emily's Blog

It was sad to realize that yesterday was our last day in GAE.  I felt like I was just starting to make real connections with the students.  Perhaps I will be able to see them again, time willing of course.

I saw through this experience a heavy emphasis on reading in this school.  I think part of this was due to the fact that they had to raise their standardized testing scores or NC was going to come into their school.  I’m not sure what they do once they enter a school and neither did my teacher.  Despite all of the concentration on reading many students were still not on grade level.  There were even some in my 5th grade class that were still reading some picture books, but on the other hand there were some students that were on grade level and able to read chapter books.  They had the AR reading program and many of the children had very low goals, some were only 10 points that they had to achieve within a month.  We were not really able to help and tutor the students in reading, although I think we might have been able to help at least a little bit.  They are on a very tight schedule and there is no time to deviate from that schedule, and it is not allowed.  It was great to see when some of the students met their AR goals, they would tell us and just be so excited about it!  It was great to see that excitement even if it came from something they were required to do.

I thought this was a good experience, I just wish that we were able to help/be more involved in the classroom – to be able to help tutor and things of that nature.  But I was able to see how the classroom/school worked on a day to day basis and that was helpful.  Just felt like we didn’t have quite enough time but there is always next semester!

Maurice Sendak

1940s (Need to check around more)

In the Night Kitchen

978-0060266684

1st and 2nd

A book about a little boys dream.

This is a great book, it was one of my favorites when I was little and still is a great one today.  It won a lot of awards, including the Caldecott in 1971.  It is an open and honest book, the author does not believe in hiding things from children or censoring them.  I love this book and others that he has written – could be used in creative writing.

Last week was a lot of fun!  We got to sit in on a special science lesson.  A retired man comes to the school every so often and does science lessons and experiments with them.  They were working on force and had to problem solve on how to get a wooden box onto the table with different instructions on what can be used out of the supplies.  I found it all very interesting and I could tell that the students were having a blast with the man.  I had a lot of fun with the class, I can tell that they are more comfortable around me and I them.  I can’t believe that we only have a few days left with them.  Not very much changes when we are there, they do the same thing pretty much everytime we see them.  They have a very strict schedule, but it is for the best – they need to improve in just about every aspect of their education and test scores.  I always have a great time working with them, even if we are just watching.

Sandi Hill

1999

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

1-57471-572-0

1st grade

Cultural book

This book talks about cinco de mayo and what it is, it is very short and brief but still gives some insight into what it is all about.  The story follows two children and shows what they see while at the festival.

Last week we only went on day, on Monday.  We did not have much interaction with the children last week.  The kids that are in my class are great, I really enjoy that time that I get to spend with them each time we are there.  Sometimes I am not too sure about the teacher.  In my opinion, she gets a little too upset with the students fairly quickly.  She does not call the children out individually but at times she makes an announcement or says something in general to the class that calls someone or something out.  This is a better strategy than singling people out and making them feel uncomfortable.  I know that it can be difficult to teach the children, frustrating at time.  I know that she sees each kid as an individual but does not always push the students or try to challenge them.

I hope that I am able to overcome things such as these, they are hard to avoid and change if the behavior is already there.  I just hope that more teachers can improve their skills and abilities in instructing.  I hope that teachers get in and stay in this profession for the right reason AND continue to try and improve their skills.

Carl Sandburg

1967

The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was in It

0-15-695487-7

2nd-5th

It is a fun and sill book about a Rag Doll and a Broom Handle getting married.

The rag doll and the broom handle marry and have a grand wedding procession that includes the Easy Ticklers, the Chubby Chubbs, and the Sleepyheads.  It would just be a fun book to read with a class or for them to read on their own.  Also, Carl Sandburg wrote a lot of his books while living in Flat Rock, NC.

Nikki Giovanni

2007

Rosa

0-439-89884-6

3rd-5th

It is a book about Rosa Parks

This book starts out by talking about Rosa Parks and her daily life and what she does, gives her a more personal and real feel.  Then it tells about the bus and sitting in the “wrong area”.  It also talks a little bit about Brown v. Board of Education and Dr. Martian Luther King, Jr.. This would be a great book to use when talking about diversity and segregation.  It would be a great book to use to talk about what all this meant and the results of her brave act.  So many ways and reasons for this book to be used.  It is a GREAT book and is on an important and still controversial issues.  I would recommend this book for use in the classroom.

Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

2003

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

0-618-25628-8

2-5

Fun information book about animals and their tails, noses, etc.

This could be used in a science lesson when talking about different animals and species.  The class could pick some animal(s) and make a poster like this or even a short book – using multimedia like was done in this book.  It’s got another great feature, more information about the animals that are talked about in the back so that the child can learn even more about those different animals.

Ed Young

Copyright 1989

Lon Po Po

0-698-11382-9

K-5

This is the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood

There are 3 little girls in this version of Little Red Riding Hood.  They are very clever and trick the wolf into getting in a basket so they could pull him up into the ginkgo tree, they eventually drop him from high enough up that he dies – his heart shatters.  Great to use when talking about different cultures.

This is a link that takes you to a page with a few different versions of Little Red Riding Hood from different countries – full text is included on the site.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0333.html

David Wiesner

2006

Flotsam

0-618-19457-6

K-5

This is a picture book that has no words and it is about a boy and his discoveries on the beach

A little boy finds an old camera that washed up on shore and gets the pictures developed.  He finds some very interesting and fascinating pictures on the film, pictures of underwater worlds and such things as this.  He keeps the camera going by putting new film in the camera and takes a picture of himself holding the picture that is of a girl holding a picture.  This would be great to use as a writing prompt, the children could select one of the pictures that was on the camera and write their own story about it.  I LOVE LOVE this book!