Author Profile Anyone can be an author

Anyone can be an author even oneself. You don't need fame or recognition to be considered a writer. I myself think that I'm a pretty good author. I think that I have written a few good works and one that I seem to do pretty good in is poetry. Here's som that I had written for another class on my own: Poseidon: God of seas His temper in nowhere near a gentle breeze Full of bravado and pride While you are on his waters, there is nowhere you can hide Give him praise and he will guide you safely to your destination Evoke his wrath and he will show you true devastation With his trident in hand and his body scented by sea foam It is in these clear blue waters that he calls home. This is just one of the writings that I did, even though I don't really think it's that great. But I guess even I could be author if I wanted to.

Author profile New book Nightmare before Christmas

I had gone to the bookstore a few weeks ago and I found the book for 'The Nightmare before Christmas' in the childrens section. It's one of my favorite movies so I was excited when I found the book. I started to skim read through it and noticed that it was in poetry form which was great because we had just gone through poetry reading in class. Even though the book wasn't exactly like the movie (which they never are) it was still so much fun that I kept reading it over and over. This book is perfect for introducing younger students like elementary(2nd- 5th) and up to the wonders of poetry and for holiday reading. Even kindergardeners would enjoy this story in my opinion.

Monday's presentation

Monday was when my group gave our presentation and I think it went really well. Our story was 'The legend of the poinsettia' by Tomie de Paola and what we did was first we did a little guessing game and whoever had guessed correctly won what was in the bag. Then we did an introduction and then a group member and I took turns reading aloud the story which we cut short because we were on a time crunch. Then we passed out some handouts, making a poinsettia instructions, a lesson plan, song lyrics, and a questionaire. It was fun and everyone in the classroom looked like they were having a good time.

Wednesday's presentation

The presentation on Wednesday went pretty well and it was interesting. One particular presentation that stuck out to me was the one for Snow White. The presentation was targeted towards 12th graders and the video clip they showed and some of the clips that were on there was definitely something that would be a high school senior boy's dream come true. The presentation did seem pretty complicated and more like it was meant for an English or Literature lecture maybe and the students would write an argument or a comparison paper. It was a pretty complicated presentation to understand, but it was very informative.

Monday's presentation

The presentations on Monday were very well planned and thought out. The presentation about 'The Empty Pot' was an inspiring story that teaches a moral lesson about integrity and honesty. How Ping had kept trying grow his flower seed that the emperor had given him and the other children, but no matter what he couldn't get it to grow. When the other children had brought their flowers and he just brought the empty pot, instead of claiming another child's flower as his he confessed to the emperor that he couldn't grow the flower seed. The emperor was proud of Ping's honesty and made him his successor.
The presentation on 'Pink and Say' was good as well, but personally I thought it was too sad a story to share with students.

Websites and Books for Guided Reading/Author profile

Some of the best websites and books for guided reading would be the 'I can read alone' books like "My Parents Think I'm Sleeping" and a website that I always get my reading sources http://www.onemanga.com/. On this website all different types of manga or japanese comics are downloaded on the internet and you can read all you want for free. Of course there are also some more mature manga on this website too; so I would recommend that the parents would check out some of the images before letting their children read it. Even though this website does warn the reader about the content of those certain mangas. Other picture books like 'Brown Bear', and 'Winnie the Pooh' books are also great for guided reading not only for little kids, but for older students as well. It has been proven that using guided reading has helped to improve a students reading capability and vocabulary understanding.

Nonfiction books

Nonfiction books can be and are a very useful tool to have in the classroom because they become an excellent source of research for a particular subject or person. A nonfiction to me is a book that has about 90% of truth and facts on a certain subject or person with the rest of it being a little exageration to make the story more interesting. Nonfiction books are also great studying tools for both the student and the teacher. If there is something that a student or teacher can't remember about their subject, then they can refer to a book about that subject instead of constantly looking in the textbook which everyone dreads more than receiving a fruit cake for Christmas. A nonfiction book also gives very good insight into a person's life and they come in various shapes and forms of writing.

Books that I like

I like several books that it's hard to pick just one. One of my favorite books is the Neverending Story. It is a "true" fantasy book that takes place in a total amazingly, imaginative land. A young boy named Bastion hides from his school bullies in a book store and meets the grouchy old shopkeeper. While the shopkeeper is distracted, Bastion steals a book that caught his eye titled 'The Neverending Story' and runs to his school and hides in the attic and begins to read the book. As Bastion reads he is instantly transported to a beautiful and magical land called Fantasia and goes on an incredible journey. The land of Fantasia is being destroyed by some mysterious evil and the ruler of Fantasia called the childlike empress is dying. So to save her a young boy warrior named Atreyu is given a quest to find someone who can give the empress a new name. Bastion follows Atreyu on his quest as he reads further into the book where Atreyu enters and fights some of the most dangerous battles, faces the most challenging tests, and stare into the eyes of the most terrifying of evils. I am not going to ruin the ending if you end up reading it yourself, which I strongly recommend, but Bastion makes a most shocking discovery about the connection between himself and the book.
I also love reading manga book which are japanese comic books. There is a website that I go to all the time to read my favorite mangas http://www.onemanga.com/. Here you can read any manga that interest you for free.
For a more classic type of reading I like to brush up on Edgar Allen Poe stories and poems. He is well known for his dark, horrorifying, and anguishing writings of his own deepest fears. My favorite Edgar Allen Poe story is the Tell Tale Heart and my favorite poems are The Raven and Annabel Lee.

Chapter 9 3344

This chapter talks about how a story is broken down and the different elements that makes a story. The elements of a story consist of a plot, characters, setting, point of view, and theme. The chapter also explains how children of various ages have a different concept and interpret stories in different ways. Children at a pre-k level usually have stories read to them and this helps them to begin understanding what a story is and that understanding grows as they become older. Some teachers will have their students keep some kind of journal or reading log to make sure the students read and understand what they had read and their predictions of what might happen next. Other teachers would have discussions in their classrooms. The chapter also talks about how to write a story. There is an old saying that everyone has at least one good story in them. I think people have more than one good story, but their stories are hardly ever told. There are so many ways to write a story, but the basic elements are the same as reading a story.

Traditional Literature

There are several webites that revolve around traditional literature like if you go to Google and type in brothers grimm and click on Grimm brothers' Home Page and it gives a biography of the grimm brothers and you can also read some of their fairy tales on this website. Also if you type in traditional literature on google and scroll down to the bottom and it list some other subjects that are related to traditional literature like traditional children's literature, and traditional literature books. http://www.uleth.ca/edu/currlab/handouts/genres.html this is one of the webites from the traditional children's literature.

Possible books for young readers

Here's a book that is a comic series about a middle schooler going through the trials of adolesence. The preteen and teenage years are the most trying and difficult times, so read about a character who is going through the same stressful problems will give the readers some peace of mind.

Comics are another excellent source of reading. The four images above are some examples of these comics called manga. Manga is a very popular comic type for readers of all ages, no matter if your 5 years old or 40 years old. My favorite mangas to read are fruits basket, vampire knight, trinity blood, naruto, and a lot more. Manga varies from romance, action, futuristic, and horror and it also varies in ratings from young children to mature adults. A website listed as onemanga.com has several mangas that you can read for free and readers have their pick from several genres. For the mangas that are for the more mature readers this website does post warnings and the content of the manga and warns not only the readers, but the parents too.

Maya Angelou speech

Maya Angelou had mentioned many inspirational statements and how she was inspired by other poets and writers like William Shakespeare. One thing she said that really struck me was that she described poetry as music to a human voice. I had always heard that every person has at least one good story in them, but that's not true because everyone has more than one story to tell. Everyone has a voice and they just need to speak up and they will be heard. That is what Maya Angelou seemed to be saying, and another quote she mentioned was "I am a human being, and nothing human is alien to me". Maya said that everything and all types of literature is available to us; every author and poet are available to us if we just took the time to read their works. A person who states to have a major in American or English Literature raises the question if they had read every type of American or English Literature from every background. Another thing that Maya Angelou said that really inspired me was that a person can become a master at everything and how she compared talent with electricity. Everyone has a talent for something and everything but we hardly touch the tip of the iceburg when it comes to our talent. All we have to do is to know ourselves and recognize the talents that we have and nurture them, so they we can master those talents.

Memory 3344

One memory that is really important to me and that I'll always remember is when I got my dog two days before Christmas. I remember when I first saw him as a newborn puppy. It was like the man upstairs had shined a light on him and telling me that he was just for me and I was determined to make him mine. Two days before Christmas my mom suprised me when she came into my room while I was still asleep and just dropped him right on top of me saying Merry Christmas. I named him Dimitri and we're like a match made in heaven. Dimitri taught me how difficult and sometimes really stressful it is taking care of a dog. Mom and I guessed that he was about 3 months old when we got him and a month later he became sick with mange. It started with a little scab between his shoulders; at first I thought our cat might have just scratched him but at the end of the week it had spread all the way to his tail. So I took him to the vet and she told me that he had mange. I was worried because mom and I had a much older dog and we were scared that he would get it too and not survive it, but the vet told me it wasn't the contagious type. My mom was talking about puuting him to "sleep" after hearing everything it was going to take to get him well from our vet, but I told her that that was not an option and I was determined to see him through this since he was mine. After all the vet visits, special food, special medicines, special baths, staph infections on 3 of his paws, having to fit him with a cone, and doing all the research I had to do on his illness it took him 2 years to finally be cured of it. And you talk about expensive, I swear after all that I realized and estimated that after how much I spent total on getting Dimitri cured, would probably estimate on how much I would spend on just the basic preparation if I had an actual child, like diapers, crib, clothes, etc. Of course that's not counting the discounts the vet had generously gave me on his meds and treatment. Thanks to this experiment I realized that I was no where near ready for an actual child yet and Dimitri is abput all the child I can handle right now; and he's 6 years old now. So quoting from my mom is that if you really want someone to love and love you back unconditionally instead of a baby, get a dog.

About ourselves 3344

One thing I about myself is that I love to listen to music. I like different styles of music, but my favorite is rock, punk and 80s heavy metal, country, and musicals. I like to listen to music when I'm relaxing or studying because I strongly believe that it helps to keep me focused and concentrate on my work. Music helps relax the mind and clear your head of other distractions. Some of my favorite artists are Elton John, Eagles, Kiss, Nickelback, and Montgomery Gentry. Music is important for anyone to know because music brings out all sorts of emotions in people and relate to the way a person feels at that time. I also think it better when someone likes a variety of styles of music because then they have more of an appreciation for what the song represents instead of being closed minded by liking only one style.

Personal Writing 3344

I have done some personal writings in my life probably more than I remember. I have written letters to my family, emails to my family, friends, and teachers. I have made lists for things I need to do and things I need to get and I have sent and received greeting cards from my family which I have kept every one from the time I was six years old and every now and then I like to take them out and look at them. I use to have to write journals about certain topics for school and now that I am in a university I am writing blogs for my assignments and I still have to take notes, so that counts as personal writing. Everyone should do some form of writing, whether it's personal or academic, because it helps to gather your thoughts and express what is in your mind. With personal writing you have the freedom to say and think whatever you want and some of that writing you could publish and share your thoughts with others. There is an old saying that everyone has a least one good story within them, but very few every tell and share their story. That's why it's so important to encourage students to keep up with their writing and the teachers need to continue to support, encourage, and teach their students new methods and styles of writing. A person's writing and their styles are always changing with each generation, so teacher have to constantly keep up with the times, especially in this age of technology.

Chapter 3 Comprehension, Vocab, and Discussion

Everyone has a sense of comprehension. Comprehension is a process of what is read or even what you think about a picture. There is multiple ways to comprehend the text that you read and that is stored up into your schemata as info that might also link to info you already knew. A quote from Diane Stanley has really caught my eye " A child who reads good books will prosper. She will develop her vocabulary, increase her knowledge, and come to understand others better. She will pass dull moments in pleasure, receive comfort in hard times, and experience moments of sheer joy. What else could possibly be better?". I have to completely agree with that because when a child reads their imagination comes alive and they can visit a world of grandure.
The teacher is more of a facilitator and role model for their students. The teachers need to support their kids and set their bar a liitle high and guide the students to that bar and let them soar on their own. This method is known as scaffolding which is supportive teaching that includes questioning, modeling, feedback, and instruction that was thought up by Vygotsky.
Vocabulary is also very important for students to know because the better their vocab the more eloquent and intelligent they will sound in their speaking. Spelling bees and spelling tests will help them keep in practice with their vocabulary.

Chapter 2 culturally responsive classrooms

This chapter describes how culture is everywhere and how it often clashes in the school. The word culture in actuality is the way of knowing, believing, valuing, and thinking among a group of people. There are two types of culture called surface culture and deep culture. Surface culture is the type that everyone believes is culture such as where a person's is from, what food they eat, holidays, and architecture. Deep culture is more in depth with a person's characteristics, beliefs, and values. The school environment is a type of culture in itself and is often mismatched among its students and teachers. According to Michael Oleksa, for example, he says that the system of deep culture is like American football where if everyone is knows the game of football then everyone is playing the same game and everything's great, but put a soccer player into the football game then everything and everyone is thrown into confusion and chaos. The soccer player begins to feel like he/she doesn't belong.
The problem with this mismatched culture is that the values underlying these practices tend to match those of white, middle-class, Western European, heterosexual, male-dominated culture. Those students who are different from this way of thinking are degraded and labeled to have a discipline problem or have a "learning disability". Many administrators and school boards claim that it is the student who needs to conform and adjust to the culture of the school, but in fact it's the other way around. It's the school and it's falculty that need to conform and adjust to the students culture. The schools are obligated to meet the needs of all its students and to also accomodate the parents and better understand their beliefs and customs.
There is certain literature that the students culture doesn't allow and by having a better understanding the parents and teachers can find some common ground and find a way to compromise to benefit the child and not make it a terrible experience for them.

Chapter 3 3344

Chapter 3 is basically describes and explains the processes of reading and writing. This chapter drills into your head and burns it in your mind that READING AND WRITING IS A PROCESS and goes into detail how that process works out. Both processes are very similar with a slightly different approach. The reading process is when the reader negotiates the meaning to comprehend or create their own interpretation, and to do this the following reading steps need to be taken: Step 1. Prereading, which builds background knowledge, sets the purpose, and previews the text. Step 2. Reading, either independent or group, read the entire text, and applying strategies. Step 3. Responding, write what you thought in a journal/discuss in class or group. Step 4. Exploring, which consist of rereading the material and getting more in depth with the text, examining the author's style of writing, learning new vocab words, and participating in minilessons. Step 5. Applying, the reader can create a project for their book to make it more interesting, make connections and read books that are similar to the one that was just read, and value the experience of read such a great book. On the reading section of this chapter in also states that there is two different types of reading that are called aesthetic and efferent reading. Aesthetic reading is when someone reads just for fun and pure entertainment. Which should be the main reason why people read in the first place in my opinion. Efferent reading is when the reader focuses more on the information of the text, not the experience. Efferent reading is most common in schools in my opinion because of have to do research and look up facts from the textbooks.
The writing process is almost the same thing as the reading process except that this process is more on what people write and how they think. There are five steps for the writing process: Step 1. Prewriting, it's said that 70% of writing is spent on this first step alone; this is also known as the brainstorming part of writing because it's in this step a writer starts thinking of topics to write on. Step 2. Drafting, where the writer writes the rough draft and considers content over prefection. Step 3. Revising, when others look over the writer's work, critique, and suggest some changes to make the story better. Step 4. Editing, proofreading the work and having others proofread your work and putting the final touches on your paper. Step 5. Publishing, sharing your written work with others as the last and final copy.
This chapter also explains how to teach the writing process steps to students in an effective way and some activities that a teacher can use to teach these steps. All to help a person to become a better reader or writer.

Circular story 3344

A circular story is when you have a storyline of events and at the end of the story it ties right back to the beginning. For example, the If you give a mouse a cookie story starts if you give a mouse a cookie, he will want some milk and by the end of the story the mouse will want a cookie all over again. A teacher or any person cun use this method to help set up a routine for themselves and their children. By doing something like brushing ones teeth in the morning, getting dressed, and going to work/school, and bythe time they get home they brush their teeth at bedtime. Creating a routine helps make tasks and errands run smoothly. Their are several ways to make reading fun for kids. For example, you could give them activities to do that involves the story while you read it to them. A teacher could also have the students take turns reading the story out loud, so they can be involved in the reading process. A teacher could split the class into groups and assign that group with a part or chapter of the book and have that group perform a skit on that chapter. These are a few examples and this can make reading more interesting for the students.

children's literature authors

I have found some pretty informative websites on different children's authors. Of course there is always google to help you. I have googled and found sites like http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/child_lit/authors/ and http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai.html. Wikipedia is another website that can give you a general idea of what your particular author is about. Barnes and Nobles website is another source that is good to look up certain books your author has written. Chapter 1 of the Living Literature textbook explains how important it is for teachers to inspire their students to read. One quote in the book stated that books are significant tools for learning and I strongly believe that is true. Without books the scientists and famous explorers wouldn't have made their greatest discoveries that had made them famous without books of previous knowledge to guide them. Another thing the book mentioned that really struck me was that all children can learn and that the processes of learning never stop for students or teachers. Everyone has the ability to learn and there is the old saying that even an old dog can learn a new trick. It is every teachers' goal to not only teach the students how to read, but to inspire them to want to read. That is something that takes some ingenuity and creativity to make reading fun for the children. Learning should be fun for everyone. Books teach a person about responsibility, culture, other lands and countries, and different people. Without the knowledge of books and the authors who wrote them we would not be able to learn from past mistakes and of the morals and values that those books preach.

How we learn 3344

Everyone has their own style of learning and way of reminding themselves of what they learned. My style of learning of like music. Just like musical notes and scales, short quarter notes can represent what was learned in infantcy, sixteenth notes are even shorter and quicker notes that represent memories or skills that are not so great, and eighth notes are longer and extended notes that represent skills that a person specializes in such as mechanics, computers, history, etc. The scales of music could also represent a timeline of learning, so if you are an infant you would start from the bottom of the scale and move up as you grow older. Or the scales could represent the level of knowledge in a particular skill, so if you don't know much about math, for example, then math will be lower on the scales. The higher scales would be the skills that are your specialty.
The notes and scales can be connected with previous notes and scales and some of the notes and scales can be repeated so if you need to remember something you can sort through the memories.
Of course to get children or even adults for that matter to learn anything the teacher needs to find a way to motivate the students to learn one way or another. For this there are two known types of motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic is an internal, gut feeling, or instinct. It's a drive that a person has when they have a goal to accomplish and that person does if for themselves only, but they still like to get compliments and know that someone else cares. Extrinsic is an external source and reward system that results when a task is completed that student gets a reward of some sort. Many behavior therapist believe and rely on this theory to help improve on a child's self esteem.
Multiple Intelligence was thought up by a man named Howard Gardner where it helps a teacher to discover how their students learn best.

1st assignment

Create blog site complete