Fab 4 Relfection

For this assignment, we had to use the textbook, The Joy of Children's Literature to find four chapters that we enjoyed reading about. I had a hard time deciding on what four chapters I wanted to analyze. I enjoyed reading about more than just four, but I decided to further my reading on traditional, modern fantasy, realistic fiction and poetry. I wanted to focus on these four literature sections because when I was younger, these forms of work grabbed my attention the most. I enjoyed reading stories about fairy-tales, and characters that had similar experiences that I was going through at the time. I also really enjoyed poetry and artwork that captured words in a song-like formation. Along with a simple summary of the styles of literature, we were also asked to explain three stories that represented the style and a brief summary about the book. From this assignment, I learned how valuable it is to analyze styles of literature. I gained a better understanding of the four chapters and discovered why students enjoy these types of literature. I plan to use this new knowledge and experience and apply it to my future classroom and students. 

Poetry

 Poetry is this first form of literacy work that children hear as an infant. Children grow up learning lullabies and even nursery rhymes that are both forms of poetry. Teachers can use poetry in many different content areas! Teachers can use poetry as a way to teach students new information when reading and writing. Poetry helps teach students how powerful word choice can be. It also allows students to reflect on anything and everything that they can imagine. Poetry doesn't have any limits or rules when creating. It can sometimes be difficult to interpret without understanding the author's perspective.  Students need to be exposed at an early age to formations of poetry. If students are not exposed to poetry, they can lack the understanding as they begin to write poems and other related literacy contents of poetry.  
Key points that poetry should do: 

• Nurture a love and appreciation of powerful language. 
• Engage children in a new understanding of the world around them.
• Broaden their experiences with new concepts.
• Validate life experience.
• Provide opportunities of all cultural backgrounds to develop. 

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

This book has more of a make believe story line. It is considered poetry because of the flowing word choices that are expressed throughout the story. The story is about how characters are damaging the environment. The storyline is read as if you are watching events take place but cannot help it. It is a great way to show students the harm in “chopping down trees” , and the effects of taking advantage of the natural beauty of the earth.

Poetry for Young People by Langston Hughes

This is an interesting book that includes twenty six different poems. The topic includes African American culture and experiences. Students can learn about the hardship people of this time faced as well as events that were uplifting. This book would be great to teach student about other cultures by having students listen to the bright imagery expressed in this book.

                                         Falling Up by: Shel Silverstein

 This is a book filled with corky poetry for young adults. In this book you will find ridiculous, over the top, poems about almost every topic that you can think of. The poems are about topics that any student can relate too. It has a sense of empowerment for the reader as you read along. 

Realistic Fiction

 In this type of literature, the setting, characters, and events usually reflect plausible real life events. It is considered fiction because the events or characters didn’t actually happen. When reading realistic fiction, students can relate to the character’s experiences. It helps students gain a better understanding of the same problems that they are facing in the real world. Realistic fiction also helps readers gain the ability to think about improvements in their life and apply a solution.  Critical issues that readers may face with this framework can be stereotyping and bias context. These issues can bring up sensitive issues among the students. It is a good idea for teachers to discuss any issues that surface when reading realistic fiction. Teachers can use this work to help teach different content areas like Science, Social Studies and Language Arts as well as student development and self-awareness. 
Teachers can help reduce censorship of sensitive issues by:

• Keeping current in the filed. 
• Obtain selections that offer support from national organizations.
• Communicate with parents.
• Evaluate books with children.
• Prepare a school policy statement for selecting books.
• Adopt a formal complaint procedure. 

Stephanie’s Ponytail by: Robert Munsch

Grades 1-2

Each day Stephanie shows up to school with a unique hairstyle. She is teased for the style, but then the rest of the school end up copying her look. No matter what the comments are from the other students, Stephanie sticks to her own look. At the end, Stephanie tells the school she will show up bald, but doesn’t actually cut her hair. She arrives to school to find everyone bald!

Because of Winn-Dixie by: Kate Dicamillo

Grades 3-4

This is a story about fitting in and finding who you are and where you belong. Students can identify with the main character, if they have ever felt lost and unsure of whom they are. For students who have just moved to a new school, this book would be a great choice for them to relate to.

Holes by: Louis Sachar

Grades 5-6

Holes is a great story about coming to find oneself. After dealing with countless events resulting in bad luck, the character finally is forced to put his luck to the test. Students can relate to this story with the many attempts and trying to succeed and feeling like there is never going to be a break for your self. Teachers can use this story to teach students about never giving up hope and to always apply yourself 100%!

Modern Fantasy

 Modern fantasy is a form of literature that defines all natural laws as we know it. This theme of literature captures ideas of magic, talking animals, outrageous danger, and even evil villains. Modern fantasy allows the impossible to become possible for characters or even the readers. Students enjoy this type of literature because anything can happen even if the odds are not in your favor! It gives readers a sense of hope that the unthinkable will happen. Modern fantasy includes stories with motifs like good vs evil, heroism, and even other worlds.  Critical issues that surface in this type of literature include, comparing and contrasting the difference in fantasy and realistic events and supernatural events. Teachers can use this work to help with literacy development. Many connections can be made to History,Science, and even Language Arts. They can also read out loud to their students and discuss what is real and what is make-believe. The most important thing that a teacher can do is use visualization to help students understand elements of fantasy. 
Some categories in Modern Fantasy include:

• Animals
• Miniature Worlds
• Time Warps
• Unreal Worlds
• Ghost Stories
• Quest Tales

Where the Wild Things Are by: Maurice Sendak

Grade 1-2

This is the story about a young boy who is sent to his room after getting into trouble. In his room, he imagines that hi room transforms into a wild land filled with mysterious creatures.  Max shows no fear towards the creatures and becomes the king of the land. He soon realizes that being the king of this land isn’t as fun as he thought it would be and becomes homesick. He then travels back to his long lost room where he finds his dinner waiting for him.

 

The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 2) by: Lemony Snicket
Grade 3-4This series is for older mature students. The theme of the series is based around bad events happening to characters that don’t deserve it. The characters are faced with difficult and wild challenges throughout the books. Students enjoy the series because the characters face challenges and overcome unfortunate events day after day! Teachers can use this series as a form of enjoyment of modern fantasy.

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by: J.K. Rowling
With the Harry Potter series, children are overwhelmed with magic, witchcraft, wands, and the super natural; all topics that students want in their own life! Harry Potter is a good read for students that are creative and have a great sense of imagination. Teachers can use this series for modern fantasy that has a lot of fast pace action in it!

Traditional Literature:

 Traditional literature captures the essences of tales, stories, poems and other folktales of literature that is passed down from generation to generation. Critical issues that rise within this chapter include ideas about morals, and even understanding the difference between reality and fantasy (Johnson 119). It is important for teachers to remember to discuss what is make -believe and what is realistic in our own lives compared to the stories. Within every traditional story, morals are often taught to the reader. Teachers can use the morals to intertwine with classroom activities and expectations. They can also use traditional stories to help make culture connections. Practice with oral language is also influenced by traditional literature and storytelling. There are so many different forms of story lines from all different cultures and generations. A teacher can use a compare and contrast strategies to incorporate the different cultures of the stories.
Types of Traditional Literature : 

• Fables
• Myths
• Legends
• Religious Stories
• Tall Tales
• FolkTales

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by: Jacob Grimm Grades 1-2

This is a classic story that many students are familiar with. The story is about a young girl that doesn’t feel wanted by her jealous step mother. After hearing the news that he step mother wants her dead, Snow White runs away. This story can be used to teach students about being humble and the events that take place that can and cannot happen.

The Little People by: Neil Philip

Grades 3-4

This is a different form of traditional literature. It focuses on enchanted tales about the stories of story book creatures. It has stories about fairies, trolls, and even mermaids. Students can use this story to understand folk tales and how they became passed down storied from generation to generation.

American Tall Tales by: Mary Pope Osborne

 Grade5-6

 This storybook can be used to introduce American tall tales that young adult readers are familiar with. They might know some of the characters that are well known, but are not sure why they are well known. This book is filled with adventure and gives students a better view of what folk tales look like.

Author Study Biography

My first encounter that I remember with reading was in 1^st grade.  Every Monday morning, my teacher would take the whole class to the library to hear a story and check one book out. The librarian would pick all types of books each week to share with us to help spark our interest. We were not limited to the section we had to read. When I moved to Florida in middle school, things were different. The word “accelerated reading” came up in conversation with my teacher. This is where I began to turn away from reading. I hated being told that I only had so many days to finish a book and I would need to pass a test on it by the end of the week.  After hearing about AR it was not enjoyable any more. My only goal now was to simple pass the reading test with a 70 or above.

For this assignment, I first looked over the list and knew only about ten of the authors. I decided to pick an author at random, so that I would be able to learn something new about someone. I decided on Christopher Paul Curtis. I immediately “Googled” his name to see what kind of author he was labeled as. To be honest, I felt way out of my element with what I discovered. I enjoy reading books about adventure, love, and mystery. His writing on the other hand was something that I would have to get use to ----fast!

                                               Christopher Paul Curtis

“Work at your craft, write daily, and follow your dreams because dreams do come true."  - Christopher Paul Curtis

Biography: He was born on May 10, 1953 in Flint Michigan. Christopher went to public school where he took part in the Academic Gifted Program. In 1967, he was elected for student council which resulted in him being the first African – American student to hold a council position at the school. After completing high school, Christopher waited more than ten years to further his education at the University of Michigan – Flint (in 1999) where he received his bachelor’s degree.  

            Curtis is an award winning author of both Bud Not Buddy and The Watsons go to Birmingham – 1963. His work is seen in mostly middle school to early high school novels. At this age group, students can really understand and relate to the type of feelings that are possessed in each of the characters. Within many of his novels, Curtis bases his characters off of his actual family members. For example, characters in Bud Not Buddy are actually influenced by his grandfathers.  The center themes that are consistently seen within his work are family, love and hope. 

Literature Intro

Hi everyone!! 
For those of you that don't know me, my name is Alexah Newton. I am an Elementary Education major at Florida Gulf Coast University. 
Today, I have created my first blog ever! I can't wait to post all the new things I learn from this class! I am very excited for this class, we will be using "The Joy of Children's Literature" by Denise Johnson. We will be using this book to learn about different styles of literature. I will be using this blog to post my Author Study, as well as certain chapters that I enjoyed reading about from this book (Fab 4)!