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.