Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Craft Lesson #1

USING CONTEXT CLUES

Materials:
La Mariposa
Pencil and Paper

DISCUSSION:
Throughout literature there are words used in stories that often times the reader does not understand. This is especially true with childrens literature due to the fact that children have a more limited vocabulary compared to adults. In these cases it would be a valuable tool to know how to use the context clues given by the author to discover the meaning of the unfamiliar word. The author uses other words, phrases, or even illustrations to assist the reader in learning the meaning of the word. According to TEK's, children in grades 1-3 should be able to "use knowledge of word order (syntax) and context to support word identification and meaning".

HOW TO TEACH IT: (Grades 1-3)
Today I am going to talk to you about context clues. Have you ever been reading a book and come across a word that you did not know what it meant? (Wait for responses.) What did you do to try to learn the meaning of the unknown word? (Wait for responses.) Well today we are going to learn a new way to figure out what a unfamiliar word means, so that in the future you can figure out those tricky words for yourself. Context clues are clues or hints that the author gives you to help you figure out the meaning of the word you do not understand. The author does this through several ways. Sometimes the clue with appear in the same sentence as the unknown word, and if you continuing reading the sentence you can discover the meaning of the word. It is not always in the same sentence as the unknown word, however, sometimes it is in the sentence before or after the sentence that has the unknown word. Another way to learn the meaning of an unknown word is to look at the picture. If you are reading a book with pictures this is one of the best way to figure out what the word means. In the story I chose for today, La Mariposa, there are Spanish words mixed in with English words, and I want you to use context clues to figure out the meaning of the Spanish words. When we come to a Spanish word in the story we will stop briefly to discuss what we think the meaning is and why. At that time write the Spanish word on your paper, what you think it means, and a brief reason why you think it means that. Remember that you can look for context clues in the pictures or the sentences. Once we are finished we will combine all of our definitions to come up with the best definition for each of the Spanish words and write these definitions on the chalk board. We will then use the glossary that is at the end of the book to learn the real definitions to the words, and we can see how accurate our definitions based on context clues are.

Journal: Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

I felt that this was a very strong story, and helped me to understand one of the many horrible things that happened during slavery. I thought this book was interesting, because I have not been exposed to much children literature that is historically accurate. I think it is great the Levine made a book that was easy for children to understand and want to ready, and still tells a story that is true and helps us learn about that time in our country. I really liked how the illustrations helped to show how time was progressing through the story. I also think that the illustrations were a powerful tool in helping the reader understand the emotions that the character was feeling. I feel that this book could be a good tool to have in the classroom when you are trying to explain slavery to children. I think it will help them understand what slavery did to families, and maybe help them to be grateful that we live in a time and country where families are not torn apart like they were in this book. I probably would not read the book to very young children, because their knowledge of slavery is very limited. I would probably read it to older grades like fifth and sixth graders to give them something besides the general textbook material to help them understand slavery.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Journal: La Mariposa

La Mariposa by Francisco Jimenez and illustrated by Simon Silva

I really enjoyed the story that Jimenez told with this book. I think that it was a valuable read, because we understand the challenges that children like Francisco go through everyday. I personally felt like it helped me understand how stressful it is for these children, and how the stress can affect many aspects of their life. I think that teachers would find this book valuable, because they could use it in their classroom if they had children whose primary language was Spanish. It may help the child feel included in the community that is the classroom. I also think it is valuable, because as educators we may be frustrated with the child because we don't know how to get through to them, but at the same time they are just as frustrated as we are. I think Jimenez did an excellent job at helping us see both sides of the spectrum.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Good Night Pillow Fight

Good Night Pillow Fight by Sally Cook and illustrations by Laura Cornell.
I thought this book was a very colorful and interesting book for young children. I think it is definitely a good book to read when you are putting children to bed. I think it could be a good tool to use when you are trying to explain the process of what all happens when an adult is working with a child on going to bed. I think the simplicity of the words along with the rhyming that happens throughout the book is also great, because the children will remember the book better.