Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton

The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennybacker

In this book Clementine is a third grader who is nervous about her classes' talent show. It seems that everyone in her class has a talent except for her. Throughout the book Clementine tries various talents such as tap dancing and making her brother laugh uncontrollably. In the end she winds up at the talent show with no talent to perform, but there is a twist. Clementine ends up filling in for one of the teachers that was helping to direct the talent show.

I think that this would be an excellent book for students that are in the second through third grade reading level to read. It is a simple read with the moral that everyone has a talent, they just might not know what it is yet.

Craft Lesson #1

Craft Lesson #1: Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

Resource and/or other Materials:
Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask by Xavier Garza

Discussion:

Many times important facts in a story are not directly stated for the reader. It is left up to the reader to make inferences from the text about important ideas. Inferences are ideas that are implied or hinted in the text but not directly stated. After the reader has made inferences then it is possible to make predictions and draw conclusions.

How To Teach It:

Sometimes when we read a story some important facts are not directly stated in the text. You as readers need to read the text carefully and be able to make what is called inferences. Inferences will be able to help you make predictions about the story and draw conclusions. I am going to read The Man in the Silver Mask and I want you to listen carefully and tell me about any important facts that you have found from the story, that is inferred, and what conclusions you can draw from that.

“As the man in the Silver Mask makes his way down to the ring, he stops for a minute right by where Papa Lupe and I are sitting. His eyes look right at me. Then the Man in the Silver Mask smiles as me as if he knows me!” p. 28

“The I notice the strange way that my Tio Vicente and Papa Lupe smile at each other. For a minute, I wonder if they know something about The Man in the Silver Mask that I don’t know…” p. 35

Garza has used many sentences in the story that give you hints about his Tio Vicente being The Man in the Silver Mask, but it is never directly stated. It is left up to you as readers to make inferences and draw that conclusion.

Today during writing workshop try to leave something to your readers' imagination. Don’t state everything directly; let the readers be able to make some inferences for themselves.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer, Written by:Walt Whitman, Illustrated by: Loren Long

The illustrations in this book are fantastic!! There were very few words in this book, but the illustrations alone could pretty much tell the story. The book is about a young boy who is in crowded lecture hall listening to an astronmer. The boy grows tired and bored so he steps outside and looks up at the night sky. I really like the quote by Albert Einstein at the end which says, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
This might not be a book that I would read aloud to my class, but it is definately one that I would like to have in my collection so that students are able to check it out themselves.

Los Gatos Black on Halloween

My first reaction to this book was that it might kind of scare kids when they read it. However, at first glance I knew that the artwork in the book was amazing. After reading the book again I decided that it would be more appropriate for children in higher grades than those in perhaps kindergarten. The book would be great to go along with a lesson about dia de muertos!!

The Name Jar by: Yangsook Choi

This book is about a little girl named Unhei whom is starting at a new school. On the way to school her first day, other children on the school bus laugh and make fun of her name because it is difficult to pronounce. When she enters her new classroom she decides to pick a new name (one that is easier to pronounce). I think that is really cute how other students in the class help Unhei by making a name jar. The other kids write down different names on a piece of paper and put it in the name jar. Unhei comes to terms with her name and realizes how much she loves it.
I really enjoyed this book and I think that the artwork/illustration went really well with the story. Without the illustrations I don't think the book would have had as much of an effect on the reader.

I Love Saturdays Y domingos, By: Alma Flor Ada

This book is a great example of cultural diversity! On a personal level I can really relate to the girl in the book because I too am from a mixed family, my father is Mexican-American and my mother is Anglo. I think that the author did a good job of comparing the differences between the food and even the activities that the girl enjoyed with each of her grandparents. The book really showed that the girl loved each of her grandparents and enjoyed what their differences had to offer.
This book could be useful in the classroom to show students how different cultures celebrate birthdays differently. The students could possibly then share how they celebrate their birthdays at home.

My Name is Maria Isabel by: Alma Flor Ada

This book is about a little girl who is starting her first day at a new school. She loves her name and is very proud of its orgins, but her teacher decides to begin calling Mary Lopez instead. Throughout the book is seems like Maria Isabela starts to lose some of her self-confidence with the loss of her orginal name. In the end when the class is asked to write about what they want for Christmas, Maria Isabel writes that she wants to be in the school play and to be called by her real name, Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez.
I think that this would be a great book to have one of my classes in the future read. After reading this book students could then find the orgins of their name through a name book or by asking their parents.

July 8, 2008

Hey, its Carmen from EDLL 5350!! I'll be posting frequently :-)