This summer for one of my class projects we were able to make our own books. Through a company called student treasures I was able to create a book called Great Women in American History. It was fun and simple and now I have a book that I can use in my future classroom. Another way to use this company is for the students in your class to each create their own books. It is fun, creative, and a great way to get students interested in writing.
"Biography is written in a narrative format, each biographer's unique style must come through in how he or she selects, organizes and designs the information."
Authentic Biography: True nonfiction, uses letters, diary's, and interviews. Example; The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman.
Fictionalized Biography/Biographical Fiction: Invented dialogue is present in fictionalized biographies. Invented dialogue, secondary characters, and actions are used in biographical fiction. Example; Maria's Comet by Deborah Hopkinson
Autobiographies and Memoirs: Autobiographies are when the author writes about his or her own life. A memoir is a story about a certain period in the author's life. Examples; Guts by Gary Paulsen, Buzz Aldrin: Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin and Wendy Minor.
Have parents assist you and provide encouragement.
Bring in parent volunteers to assist with costumes, rehearsals, backdrops, and props.
Don't start planning with standards first
Make sure the topics explored in the literature are meaningful and important to students
Allow students to take charge of their learning.
These tips are from the text and very important to take into consideration when you are working with students. You want the students to get the most out of the experience and for it to be fun for the entire class.
I was going through my old books that my parents have kept and I was picking out books I could use in the classroom. I realized that I was selecting only the books that I had enjoyed as a child and not the ones my sister had enjoyed. This made me realize that you have to be diverse in selecting books so that you have stories that would interest all the students. I don't want to leave out certain types of books just because I didn't enjoy them and risk not providing a book that will catch a students attention and get them into reading. I remember my grandmother sending me the book that hooked me. It was a Nancy Drew book and from the moment I started reading it I could not stop. I want to provide students with as many types of books possible so that they find that one book that gets them hooked.
Tips for selecting books for your classroom:
Younger children enjoy books that use word repetition, rhymes, and predictable text. Look for books with colorful pictures and simple words.
Choose stories that provide new experiences, such as folktales or books about different countries and cultures
Choose books that match your students interests, from dinosaurs to dancing. (Most children like books that are funny.)
Visit the Between the Lions web site (pbskids.org/lions) for more on children and reading.
Traditional Literature is also known as Folklore, it tells the stories of a particular group that has been passed down to each generation. There are many different categories of this genre such as fable, myth, legend, religious stories, tall tale, and folktale. Our text has more information on each of these categories. Growing up Traditional Literature was always my favorite. My parents would read books from many different cultures, two that I would suggest are From Sea to Shining Sea compiled by Amy L. Cohn, and Spider Woman Stories: Legends of the Hopi Indians by G.M. Mullett.
Some of my greatest memories for my sister and I are when my parents would read to us every night. This started back before I could remember and my parents would let us each chose a story to be read after we were tucked into bed. Now that we are both older my sister and I are avid readers and as a family when one of us finds a great book we share it with each other. Recently my mom, dad, sister and I all read the Hunger Games. I credit my parents effort to read to us each night to my love for reading. I have been able to see how important reading aloud is for a child. It allows for the child to create a special relationship with books. I was just home visiting and decided to go through our old children's books to see if there were any that I could use for this next semester and it was like looking through an old picture album. Each book had a special memory like the Bernstein Bears, and old Dr. Seuss books. Reading Aloud can make reading fun for students, the Public Library has different read aloud programs that children can attend and the read aloud website is full of helpful tips. http://www.readaloud.org/
"Poetry for children should convey the experiences and perceptions of the child in a way that is meaningful and not condescending, didactic, or simplified." - The Joy of Children's Literature.
Mason and I with the Marine Science Kids
I was reading the book Ocean Soup for my annotated bibilography and my friend Mason from camp picked the book up from me and started reading. He put a personality and rhythm behind the words that I had been reading and it was HILARIOUS! We both agreed that this would be a wonderful book to share with our Marine Science campers. These are the campers that come to camp to learn about nature and all the animals that live in the salt marsh! They get to spend the night in the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and go on a troller boat. This book would really appeal to these kids and convey a meaningful experience.
I was going through my old books that my parents have kept and I was picking out books I could use in the classroom. I realized that I was selecting only the books that I had enjoyed as a child and not the ones my sister had enjoyed. This made me realize that you have to be diverse in selecting books so that you have stories that would interest all the students. I don't want to leave out certain types of books just because I didn't enjoy them and risk not providing a book that will catch a students attention and get them into reading. I remember my grandmother sending me the book that hooked me. It was a Nancy Drew book and from the moment I started reading it I could not stop. I want to provide students with as many types of books possible so that they find that one book that gets them hooked.
Traditional Literature is also known as Folklore, it tells the stories of a particular group that has been passed down to each generation. There are many different categories of this genre such as fable, myth, legend, religious stories, tall tale, and folktale. Our text has more information on each of these categories. Growing up Traditional Literature was always my favorite. My parents would read books from many different cultures, two that I would suggest are From Sea to Shining Sea compiled by Amy L. Cohn, and Spider Woman Stories: Legends of the Hopi Indians by G.M. Mullett.
