Annotated Bib: Extra Yarn

I got the pleasure of reading Extra Yarn this semester and instantly fell in love with this magical story. In such a grey town, a young girl named Annabelle finds a box full of colorful yarn.  She turns the town into color again by making everyone colorful sweaters. An evil archduke steals her box but he is left with a box full of emptiness. The box is only for believers and Annabelle gets her box back. She continues to light up the town with making sweaters for trees, animals, and buildings until the town is covered in complete happiness. I really enjoyed this story for several reasons. One of them being Annabelle turned a sad, grey town into a happy, colorful one merely overnight. She was a believer of happiness therefore was given an everlasting amount of colorful yarn. This story introduces good and evil which is important to teach to young children. There were also lively illustrations which enhanced the attention of the students. This story revolves around believing and compassion which are great things to teach to children at a young age.

                                              

Annotated Bib: When You Reach Me

For my Annotated Bibliography I chose to read When You Reach Me. Miranda, a 6^th grader living in New York City thinks she finally has the city figured out. She knows which places to go, and which places to stay away from, alongside is her friend Sal who avoids her after getting punched in the face by a new kid for what Miranda thinks is no apparent reason. Then suddenly the spare hidden key to her apartment is stolen and mysterious letters keep showing up under her front door. With a decision to write back to the letter as asked, she is discovering the person writing the letters knows her whole life. Will Miranda be too late to find out what the letters mean and if they will save her friend? I enjoyed reading When You Reach Me because Miranda’s life rapidly turns adventurous and suspenseful overnight leaving you always wanting to know more and more. I feel many students may be able to relate to Miranda, for instance having her best friend drift from her for reason she has yet to find out. Miranda’s life is in a constant world wind when she desperately tries to figure out who is writing these anonymous notes to her that tell her things about her life that have yet to happen. Miranda gets overwhelmed throughout the story and is forced to search for the deeper meanings behind the crazy events happening. 

                                                   

Annotated Bib: Mockingbird

For my Annotated Bibliography I read Mockingbird, this book is dedicated to the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. Caitlin is a young 5^th grade girl who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome which allows her to see things solely as black and white. After the death of her older brother she is now alone with no one to understand her. A school counselor steps in and helps Caitlin to see the world in a new light. I enjoyed reading this book for several reasons, mainly because as a future educator it is crucial for you to understand where students are coming from. Mockingbird was an exceptional read for really understanding Caitlin’s point of view on the world. I liked how the book was told in first person; it gave the reader insight on every thought, decision, and reaction in her life. I learned a lot about how to talk and respond to children with Asperger’s syndrome and this book really helped me understand how she views the world. This book at times was upsetting to read because you often felt frustrated for her. The people around her don’t understand her in the beginning of the book and her guidance counselor is the only one that can clarify her thoughts to others. 
                            

Chapter 9: Poetry

Poetry is the very first genre that children hear. Children listen to lullabies, nursery rhymes, and Mother Goose. As children grow they get accustomed to raps and riddles. Teachers use nursery rhymes with students to help them with reading and writing. A poets main purpose is to create clear images and rhymes that include metaphors and other poetic techniques. Benefits to poetry include providing opportunities for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds to develop important oral language skills though reading and performing poetry. Poetry also engages children in a new or heightened understanding of the world, themselves, and others. For these benefits of poetry to be realized children must be exposed to some sort of poetry at an early age.
Poetry is categorized by the kind of poem it is, nursery rhymes, folktales, haiku's, free verse, concrete poems or shape poems are some types of poetry. The most common type of poetry for children is poetry by a single poet, which is sometimes followed by a common theme. When writing poetry, elements should be used to create imagination, some elements poets use are crafting sound, image, and form. Poetry is often used to help young children develop phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, one to one correspondence, word parts, and rhyme through nursery rhymes.
I believe using poetry with young children is a very good way for children to learn how to read and write. Incorporating poetry into my classroom will help students stay engaged and is a good tool to get students to understand and comprehend the reading.
                               

Chapter 6: Modern Fantasy

Fantasy takes us beyond the world as we know it, defying the natural laws of physics, to a world where animals can talk, people can perform magic, and other worlds exist (Johnson, 2009). Modern fantasy stories are divided into two categories: low fantasy and high fantasy. Stories that are low fantasy take place in the real world for example Charlotte's Web these are classified as animal fantasy because the animals in the story live in a realistic place, but they are able to speak. Some categories in modern fantasy can be animals, toys and objects, or miniature worlds. High fantasy takes the information and experiences from the real world and projects them into an "other world". High fantasy involves difficult and arduous journeys, supernatural characters who are both benign and malignant, a gathered set of companions who will contribute to the fulfilling of the quest.
Literary Folktales are used to expand upon well-known traditional tales to create full length novels. Literary Folktales are very similar to traditional tales. Science fiction is a type of fantasy in which the author hypothesizes about the future or the nature of the universe based on real scientific concepts. Themes in science fiction resemble that of heroic fantasy, with magic replaces by technology.
There are many benefits to modern fantasy. If modern fantasy is written well fantasy is able to illustrate the truth about life in a way that realistic fiction can't. It is important for children to understand that at the heart of all fantasy lies the truth about ourselves and the world around us.
Using Modern Fantasy in the classroom is a great way for students to broaden their imagination and creativity. Children will learn life lessons through fiction tales and become aware of the truth that lies in the world.
                                                   

Chapter 8: Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction is a way authors can express the experience of people and events in the past. Authors write historical fiction by weaving together pieces of factual information and filling parts of information with imagination. The success of historical fiction depends on the authors way of combining the actual facts of the event, with their own imagination of the event, and the fictional tale of the event. Historical fiction is realistic because they are possible. The setting of historical fiction is real, the characters did or could have existed, and the plot is reasonable. The only reason these stories are not considered realistic fiction is because these stories are set in the past. Historical fiction must have taken place in the past and by past that could mean fifty, twenty five, or one year ago, it all depends on time periods.
Benefits to Historical fiction is that it creates another world, but is strongly connected to the world we live in today. This genre helps children understand that the present and future are linked to actions of the past. (Johnson, 2009). Historical fiction is a good way for young readers to realize that they are apart of history and they are connected to the past. Historical Fiction was intended to be made personal and engaging unlike textbooks that seem dry and uninteresting. This way students acquire a better understanding as well as enjoyment for history. Play acting is a great way to enhance students understanding to the events in the past. Acting in a play gives meaning to the awareness of an event such as racism. The student may be familiar with the story of Rosa Parks but if they were to play Rosa Parks they would have a better feeling of understanding and meaning to the event. Historical Fiction is a great way to get students interested in the past. Children will be able to relate to a past time through text, creating images in their head of what it was like back in that time.
                                                     

Chapter 10: Nonfiction: Biographies and Informational Books

Growing up I was never keen on nonfiction books. They existed on the side of the library I wouldn't dare explore unless it was required for my class. Nonfiction is easily stereotyped as a boring, informational book that consists of cold hard facts and nothing more interesting than an occasional picture of an animal and wordy text. I have learned through this class that this stereotype is stretched far from the truth. Nonfiction books consist of biographies and informational texts that pin point  the social and scientific world. This genre has come a long way from the poorly represented photographs that once appeared throughout nonfiction books, even receiving the Caldecott award three times.

These days children of all ages prefer to read nonfiction when given the opportunity over historical fiction, realistic fiction, and modern fantasy. Nonfiction offers many benefits to readers that every teacher should be aware of. Nonfiction addresses children's interests and questions, and builds knowledge of the natural and social world. Informational books consist of expository text structure which means to explain, inform, and describe. Most commonly these books are organized by the Dewey Decimal System to help organize the type of nonfiction book. Nonfiction books are a great way for students to learn informational facts about whatever they want to learn. This genre is great for students to build knowledge and questions off of about the natural and social world.
                                 

Chapter 12: The World of Online Children's Literature

This chapter discusses how children today are digital natives. 93% of children ages 8-18 spend an average of 90 minutes a day use a computer at home. Research shows that nearly 75% of this time is spent social networking, watching videos, and playing computer games. Most very young students even come into school having experience with digital gadgets. Statistics show however, a great majority of students are not using digital gadgets to go beyond what they learn in school. This is a teachers goal to teach students how to appropriately use digital texts and engage, motivate, and extend children's understanding with children's literature.
Digital texts open up ways children can be engaged in reading. Digital texts offer children to be able to change the size and or color of the text along with decide if they want to listen to the book rather than read it. Digital texts support a great way for readers to access a variety of learning supports, like prompts to stop and summarize, predict, visualize, and question the text helping students gain meaning. Digital texts also may cause controversy when students are searching the internet for accurate information. It is important that the teachers show students how to determine if information on the internet is accurate and unbiased.
                                        

Chapter 11: Diverse Perspectives in Children's Literature

In today's world we as a nation have a very diverse, multicultural population and being able to translate that through stories can better help us, understand the United States as a nation. For children to better see other cultures and life experiences opens their perspective, insight, and possibilities as they grow to become citizens of the world. Multicultural literature helps young readers see themselves as a reflection to the stories, these stories show them how people unlike them feel, think, and live. By using multicultural literature in the classroom children are gaining awareness, appreciation, and understanding of people like, and unlike themselves. Multicultural literature also connects children to the outer world by introducing them to diverse points of view other than the ordinary.
 Sharing risky books as a new teacher can sometimes be scary, but the benefits from sharing risky books are detrimental. Books that are considered controversial through social issues provide opportunities for children and teachers to engage in diverse view points and build conversations that will give the children perspectives that are different from their own. By sharing risky books it also encourages cross-curricular connections within the classroom.

Chapter 7 Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction is one of the most relatable and popular genres for young readers to divulge themselves in. Realistic fiction is most realistic because the settings, characters, and events are likely to happen in real life however, these stories are fiction because the characters and events haven't happened.  Realistic fiction ranges from the pains and conflicts of growing up to the most cheerful, carefree, and humorous storylines. Children can benefit a lot from realistic fiction by gaining a better understanding of human problems and relationships. Realistic fiction also allows young readers to understand the world through a different perspective.
Realistic fiction can provide a gateway for students to connect to characters through Science, Math, and social Studies. Readers will find Social Studies more meaningful when they can connect to the characters that they have grown to know and care for, when reading about current events.