6th Grade Literature Circles

Overall, I liked the process of the literature circle discussions with the discussion board. I think the kids felt like it was a more authentic discussion, and enjoyed discussing the book with someone new. I did notice a few things I'd like to see done differently, and would like to participate again next year with a new group of students.

First, I learned through trial and error that I have to take the kids to the computer lab and be willing to give up some class time to do it. I thought originally that I could make it work by having them use the two computers I have in the room, but they're much slower typists than I anticipated, and the discussions they had with their group about the way to do things needed to take place with them at a computer so that they could see how the discussion board worked. I also learned that having them type responses in Word first and then copying and pasting was more effective, because it forces them to do spell check, which catches things they might not catch on their own if they have someone in their group proof read.

Additionally, because of the timing of the writing test and my intern's unit, I felt like the discussion was not all that it could have been for the graduate students involved. It was rather disjointed and not as effective as I would have liked, simply due to timing. If I were to do it over again, I'd want to start earlier in the semester and try to be done with a novel before testing, and not after. I'd like to see the timing of the novel discussion be more authentic, in the sense that I'd like to have both parties stay at the same pace, because I think it makes the kids more interested in having the discussion. If I could plan out the chapters we'd read in a certain week and post those for the graduate students, that would help.

Again, overall, I was pleased with the opportunity and would like to do it again in the future, but would like to adjust things from both sides. Thank you for the chance to participate in something like this... a true authentic use of technology!

Nonfiction

I love the nonfiction chapter in the text because it appeals to the science teacher in me. So often, I bring children's literature into my science class when I can make it work with our unit of study. I love to use Diary of a Worm when I teach soils, and Jan Brett's The Umbrella is a great book to use when we study different biomes. These books are not necessarily your traditional nonfiction, but have enough factual information in them to make for great class discussion and spin-off projects. I often have students create their own nonfiction picture book pages or entire picture books at the end of a unit and we then go share them with the younger students in the school, pre-K or kindergarten. This time with younger students gives my kids the opportunity to become the experts and teachers and to remember the thrill of reading at a young age.

Number the Stars

Number the Stars has been a book that has been used in my classroom multiple times throughout the years. It always has a place in my classroom library, because of it's ability to tell the story of the Holocaust from a different perspective than German or American and because of the relationship students build with the characters that come to life in the pages.

I also use this book in our Holocaust unit and do true literature circles using it, Milkweed, Yellow Star, Maus (a graphic novel), and others. This unit is designed to be interdisciplinary, as it takes place when the students are studying European history in Social Studies. The kids always seem to like the unit and the discussion within the groups is tremendous because the kids are engaged.

Number the Stars is a book that should be a part of any collection designed for upper elementary, middle school, or high school, because it is a novel that students truly relate to and remember for a lifetime because of the lessons and characters it brings to the table.

Newbery Committee at Work

As I read this article, I was really struck by what a daunting task it must be to select the “best” in children’s literature, specifically with the challenges faced by the committee. The first challenge is that of choosing from a variety of genres. When I ask my students what their favorite genre of literature is, many of them respond fantasy or historical fiction or realistic fiction. With such differing perspectives among a small group of children, how difficult it must be for adults to try to choose the best in children’s literature, from a literary perspective, and still remain true to work that would reflect the interest of a child! This also encouraged me, because as a librarian, I thankfully don’t have to choose a select few books for a collection, but can choose numerous titles based on a variety of criteria.

The portion of the article that stated, “But then, winning the Newbery medal could create readers for titles otherwise not chosen by some children” was interesting to me, because it made me wonder if that is the mindset that some bring to the committee table. Is some part of the purpose of the award to create readers of unpopular literature? I’m not saying that unpopular literature is “bad”, however I find that students tend to enjoy literature much more if they have some freedom in what they choose. Most children I know don’t gravitate to books simply because they have a shiny sticker on the front or a label that says Newbery winner, but rather for the quality of the illustrations on the cover, the appeal of the description on the back cover, etc. So, what part do these small glimpses of literature (illustrations and cover descriptions) play in the award process, if any?

Another intriguing part of the article was the more “political” portion, which stated, “Some say that the award committees are simply handmaidens of the publishing industry. If so, the industry could be better in making the books available.” I would love to be able to share lesser known works with students, just to show them how broad the spectrum is, but when titles are not readily available, how can I? Often times, it is not until several years later that materials are available to help guide teachers through teaching a novel or other body of work. By then, the book may be passé to kids.

Overall the article provided a unique look into the Newbery Committee and the process they go through. Reading the article really made me want to be a fly on the wall during some of the sessions, just to hear the differing opinions!

Chapter 10

In reading the chapter in the text on historical fiction, I was again reminded of my own love for this genre of literature. As a young child, I read many of the American Girl books, as well as those in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. I found myself fascinated with colonial American life, everything from the day to day keeping of house to the settings, cities and prairies. I found myself having “ah-ha” moments as I saw familiar titles, and making a list of others that might appeal to me. Katherine Paterson’s Lyddie jumped off of the page for me, because this is one that my grandmother (who was a librarian) gave to me for my birthday one year. That book is one that is still in my collection, as well as other classics such as Johnny Tremain.

I find historical fiction so intriguing simply because of the way that many of the authors go about creating their setting and the tone of the story based on the character. For instance, In Johnny Tremain the author doesn’t simply retell the story of the American Revolution, she creates a character and the setting of Boston through this character to retell some of the key events. The key players in the American Revolution are not the main character in the story, yet they appear and the story of the Revolution is still told so that the reader can piece together the knowledge of history that they brought to the text, as well as the details, both factual and fictional, that the author provides, to create a vivid and memorable story. The ability of an author to tap into a reader’s prior knowledge through the genre of historical fiction is an incredible thing to me, and perhaps why I enjoy this type of literature so much, since it takes the seemingly dry things of the past and makes it come to life.

Unit planning and learning theories

Through developing my unit plan, I have seen elements of our study of learning theories come into play. I think that I tend to relate more to cognativism than to the other learning theories, simply because it is the one that seems to make more sense to me as a classroom teacher. As I was writing this unit plan, I tried to approach the topic in such a way that it would relate to prior knowledge that students would have, encourage them to engage in the learning through interesting presentation (such as artistic expression and creating their own constellations, etc.), and allowing them to make some modifications to previous learning without stretching them beyond the scope of what would be reasonable for 6^th graders.

That being said, elements of social constructivism also play a role in this centers unit, as students will be working on individual products, but will have a group with which to communicate about ideas and to discuss their questions. Since the students would be discussing their reading, information gathering, etc. in their groups, this would lead to more life-long learning, because the students would not only be creating the products, but also having the conversations about their learning, which helps them to gain a greater understanding of the material than they might have gained on their own.

I have also found it interesting to take on the role of the media coordinator in this assignment rather than that of classroom teacher, as I’ve been accustomed to doing. I’ve found that playing the role of co-teacher is somewhat more challenging than I first had anticipated, because I’m trying to step into someone else’s ideas and make them my own, while maintaining the original integrity (does that make sense?). In other words, instead of creating my own lesson entirely from scratch, I had to begin with what the cooperating teachers had in mind and work with that to create an effective lesson that would steer students in the right direction. After my introductory lesson, I would then take on more of a co-teacher role and help students in the information seeking process using the resources both online and in the library.

Overall, I think the project was an effective way to get me to approach my new role as media coordinator. Since I developed this unit with my team teacher, we will be using it next year, so I’ll be interested to see how it actually plays out with the students. Things never quite go as planned in the classroom, especially with middle schoolers, but that’s usually what makes it most fun!

Runny Babbitt

I had an interesting conversation about this book after reading it for last week with a friend of ours who has an eighteen month old daughter, Macyn. She was saying that she was a bit reluctant to have Macyn listen to the book out loud or on audio CD because she was afraid that she might learn the words the way Silverstein writes them, rather than the correct way. I thought it was a valid point and wonder what applications this might have for other kids who may struggle with language delays and development (this is not the case for Macyn). Is there any research to support this theory?

For kids who have already verbally reached some mastery of the English language, I don't think this would be a problem, but it would be an interesting tool to pull some kids into the study of poetry. Especially kids who "don't like poetry", as is the case with so many middle school boys. I might use some of the poems to introduce my poetry unit and have kids write their own versions for their poetry portfolios.