Biographies and Informational Books

As a future teacher it's great for students in the classroom to experience nonfiction books. Nonfiction is the literature of fact consisting of biographies and information books that revolve around the social and scientific world. Nonfiction can benefit the students in our classroom in six major different ways. 1. It offers a key to success in later schooling, 2. It is ubiquitous in the larger society, 3. It is the preferred reading material for some children, 4. It addresses children's interest and questions,5. It builds knowledge of the natural and social world and 6. it includes many important text features.

An excellent  technique that I would use in my classroom with my students is the biographies report about authors who write nonfiction children books. I would have the students select three authors and complete a biographies.   I would have the students in my classroom complete a science project on books he/she has read that is related to science. The last technique i would use with the students in my classroom is  having the students research information in books authors write to make sure it's credited and up to date.  These activities not only challenge the students academically but builds interest to reading nonfiction material. A website that I would diffidently use in the future that can help me pick great quality books that was mention in the chapter and i visited is; 100 best nonfiction books for Pre-K to 8th grade.

http://www.rif.org/educators/book/100_nonfiction.mspx

Realistic Fiction

What is realistic fiction. Realistic Fiction is realistic in the sense that the setting, characters and events are plausible- they reflect contemporary places, people and situations. In today's classroom good realistic fiction benefits today's classroom in a numerous of ways. For instance a few benefits are: 1. It honestly portrays the realistic of life so children can gain a more in depth understanding of human problems and relationships. 2. It helps expand children's frames of reference and ability to see the world from another perspective.

There has been many controversial and sensitive issues about having realistic fiction read in the classroom.  The issues brought up through realistic fiction that teachers should stay away from are: Death, Divorce, Moral Choices, Mental, physical and behavioral challenges, abuse, Homelessness and Poverty, Sexism and Sexuality.      

Realistic fiction can be a big contribution to Literacy Development, most children are drawn to this type of writing so having a read a loud session gives the students an opportunity to think about the text and the message the author is trying to make. Also Scaffolding comprehension is another great contribute that  builds the students understanding of the story structure. Realistic Fiction also opens up another door and opportunities to have open-ended discussions and reading response journals. Realistic Fiction can be stretched through today's curriculum for instance science teachers can pair these types of books with class experiments and discuss how science knowledge is important in everyday life. Another is Math, social studies and language arts.

In conclusion of Realistic Fiction  teachers must keep in mind "the first amendment and the demands of censorship against concerns such as maintaining the integrity of the educational curriculum  meeting state education requirements, respecting the judgments of professional staff and addressing deeply held beliefs in students and members of the community"(Pg 190).

Diverse Perspectives in Children's Literature

       Chapter eleven speaks on diverse literature in today's classroom. Diversity means to have a range of different things. So with incorporating  diverse literature in today's classroom it allows the child from a different culture and life experiences to develop insight and understanding of their own culture and values through books they will encounter at the local or school library.
         Their are so many benefits from using diverse literature in today's classroom: some are the benefits are:
1. It provides enjoyment of quality literature that meets the criteria of literary and artistic merit.
2.It presents information and knowledge about the historical and continuing contributions of the people of diverse cultures who live in the united states.
3.It connects children to the world by exposing them to diverse viewpoints other that the mainstream.
4.It fosters awareness, appreciation, and understanding of people who are different from and similar to themselves.
5. It promotes critical inquiry into issues of equal representation of how people of diverse cultures are depicted in all books.
         Instructing Diverse literature has categories and levels of understanding. One of the categories spoken about in the chapter is Multicultural Literature. This section was broken into Cultural Diversity which can be broken down into; Cultural neutral, culturally generic and culturally specific. There is also  Religious diversity  which includes American Indian Spirituality, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam. The last component of diverse literature is other diverse perspectives which can be broken into aging, gender equity, exceptionalities, language, social diversity and family structures.
       In conclusion of diverse perspectives in children's literature their are two different strategies you can do to teach critical literacy in the classroom. these two strategies are problem posing which is a strategy that requires the reader to use questions to engage in critical analysis such as: who is in the text/picture/situation? who is missing? The other strategies that  can be used is called alternative perspectives which is exploring viewpoints of different characters in a story or different people in real-life situations. Within the classroom the teacher can make connections across the school academic curriculum within reading and language arts, social studies, science and math. Each component area has it's own unique way of connecting to the topic diverse children's literature.

Reading Aloud, shared and guided reading & Writting

Chapter 13 is strictly about children literacy in the classroom. The chapter breaks down into four different components the teacher may use with the students in a particular class. The components are: reading aloud, writing aloud, shared reading and guided reading.  Each component is detailed enough to guide the teacher to successfully complete this type of teaching technique.

Reading aloud is a type of teaching style that many teachers choose to do so, and with doing so this style has so many successful benefits for the students in the classroom.  Teachers must keep in mind while completing this type of activity when to read aloud, what to read aloud and how to read aloud. Each part of this style is detailed and broken down so that the opportunity for success is presented.
Writing aloud is another component that is detailed in the chapter and teachers must keep in mind when and what to write aloud and how to write aloud. “Writing aloud can make the complicated, invisible process of composing visible to children so that they can recognize and adopt these strategies as their own (Pg395)”. Shared reading the teachers must decide when and what to read during shared reading time, how to conduct shared reading. For instance shared reading should be conducted as a part of the daily reading instruction and can be also used for content are instruction as well.

Guided reading is the last components the books speak of that teachers are incorporating in today’s classrooms. Even though this type of teaching technique has disappeared teachers must keep in mind the benefits behind the technique,  what the children need to be reading during the guided technique and when and how to conduct guided technique teaching. In conclusion of this chapter the main objectives are to inform teachers of how to incorporate these types of teaching techniques in the classroom, which can improve the student reading performance.
Shared reading is the last component that was developed by Don Holdaway. In this type of structure in today's classroom shared reading is a time  where books can be read aloud to students in the classroom to help support all types of reading development. The important benefits that were mention in this chapter from this type of structure is that "shared book experience produced statistically superior impacts on all measures of reading proficiency (Pg 397)". The teacher must keep in mind when and what to read during shared reading  and how to conduct shared reading time.

Links for class activities:

The World Of Online Children's Literature

The New Literacies: The world of online Children's Literature is a chapter that reflects use of the Internet in today's classroom. Within the chapter it gives some brief information about the Internet and what technology terms the student and teacher may need to know before interacting with the Internet. The chapter also reflects how the Internet can open many doors to children when it comes to reading. The student has the option of accessing online read aloud's, online books, interactive storybooks, virtual meet the author and web cast of authors and illustrators all through the Internet. Having the access to the Internet allows a connection to be made from the student to the author. With building this connection the student can learn more about the author and the books he/she writes. The student can also see what that author is working on currently and where they live by selecting certain websites and links. This chapter also speaks about the opportunities of diversity and how using the Internet encourages the students to explore and appreciate aspects of their own cultural and linguistic  heritage. With access to the Internet children can develop projects around cultural and language diversity, have book discussions, create blogs, wikis and seeing book reviews online. One matter that must be taken into action when using the Internet in the classroom is inappropriate websites and how to block these websites from children in the classroom setting. This can be done by down loading certain software programs and having the parents go over with the child about Internet safety. One step a teacher can make before the students use the Internet is to have a demonstration of  how to use the Internet and the cites the students will be using.

Links:
Global Schoolhouse
Oz Projects
Story Book Online
The Literacy Project

Creating your own classroom library:
The Nightmare Room By R.L Stine
Giggle Poetry
The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Bio About Me

Hello everyone,

Hi my name is Brittany Brown. I was born in Fort Myers Florida in 1989 and have only lived in Fort Myers Florida. I have three dogs named Diamond, Batman and Destiny and a son named Shamier Hammond. I attended Edison Park Elementary, Cypress Middle and Cypress Lake High Center of the Arts School.

In high school I was known as the popular girl who played sports, I played Basketball, ran track and Cross Country, boxed and was a swimmer.  I mostly stuck to basketball and track all four years and ended up getting a scholarship to run in college at North Carolina Central University. In my teen years I worked at Wendy’s, Dairy Queen and TJ Maxx. The only Job I have worked that was close to my field of study and career choice was with the Boy’s and Girl’s club as a program Coordinator.

 I worked there for a full year and then was laid off because of me being put on bed rest during my pregnancy. While I was working at the club I was responsible for signing the students in daily, helping them with homework, implementing low and high impact activities, lesson plans, staff, time sheets, maintenance of the building and food. Having this type of job entailed a lot and my hours were Monday-Friday 1-630pm.

            My mother Sabrena works for the hospital, my sister Erica is an alumni of FGCU and now works in the hospital as well, my oldest brother Randall is in school at NCCU, my youngest brother Samaji is in elementary school and living with his mom in Atlanta, Georgia and my middle aged brothers Vincent and Jimmy are done with high school, but have not figured out what they want to do with their lives at this point. My father Vincent is in Cleveland, Ohio and is a chef for a restaurant in the area. My mother just turned 47 my sister is 26 my brothers are 27, 21, 21 and 12.

My journey to teaching started about four years ago. I used to be a student athlete in North Carolina at North Carolina Central University. During the three years I was there I was studying Physical Education majoring in Fitness & Wellness. Well at the time I wanted to open up my own children’s gym to help improve obesity in America. So during the course of study I had to take an adaptive education class. So half way through the course we were all of a sudden  required to volunteer weekly at an elementary school that offered adaptive physical education to students with special needs. During the last 2 months of the course I feel in love with the class, the students and wanted to impact children’s lives the same way. At the same time my mother was having health problems and I had to move back home so I applied to FGCU and got in and changed my major to the Education Program Majoring In child Youth studies with a minor in business. Some say I would be a great teacher but in reality to myself and what I am comfortable with I prefer being outside the classroom. My ultimate GOAL is to open up my own centers around the world for children & adults with special needs. The center will be called “THE LOVE, LAUGH & HOPE CENTER” where a helping hand can make a difference. The centers are going to structured and disciplined around the arts and life skills the children and adults will need to be successful citizens.  This became my choice of career because I love working with children and because I have family members of my own who have special needs. I also choose this career choice because I feel that it’s my calling to do so by my creator. Everyone has a purpose in life and I feel that this is the purpose I must fulfill.  I currently teach and mentor at a center called “The Quality Life Center” which is geared to after school services. I have a class of mix students from 5^th grade to 8^th grade students from different schools all across the lee county area.  What I teach is based around academics such as science, reading, math, health and nutrition. But as a teacher at the center we make the learning more hands on so the kids can enjoy completing the task and to be able to work other life skills they need to succeed in the real world. The unique strengths and talents I bring to my career is that I am very determined, enthusiastic, energetic, funny, kind and a hard worker. I can multitask and balance out many task that come my way if their straight forward and organized.