EDRE 5352 - Blog post #6 Book, Head, and Heart Connections

 

 

This blog is modeling how I would complete a gradual release, "we do" shared writing with the BHH Reading Strategy. I am incorporating my own thoughts and formulating the anticipated responses of my third and fourth-grade students.

Book #1 New Kid

In the Book- This book is about Jordan. Jordan is attending a new school, away from his regular-zoned school. Jordan is telling the story of how he has to adjust to his new school environment, make friends, and learn about the school's culture. The author wants me to know that racism is still a problem in everyday life, and it isn't always apparent to other people that they are behaving in a racist way. The author also wants me to know that bullying does not solve problems.

In Your Head - The author thinks I already know going to a new school is difficult. Also, the author thinks I already know people are often treated differently depending on the color of their skin. I noticed people can be insecure or nervous about how much money they have and if people will treat them differently due to where they live. I noticed the characters in the book had their own ideas on how others were reacting or speaking to them. When the characters actually explained themselves, thoughts and actions were presented to clarify any misunderstanding or wrong connotations. I was challenged by the way the teachers spoke to Jordan and Drew. They seemed to think they were being kind to them or connecting to the boys when they were actually exhibiting or showing subtle or not apparent hints of racism.

In Your Heart- I learned that people need to become friends with different people. People who look different and live differently from me. I can learn more about a person's way of life by getting to know them and listening to their story. Knowing this will help me be a better friend and teacher.

Book #2 Ground Zero

In the Book- This book is about the events in the United States that took place on September 11, 2001. It is also about events in Afghanistan on September 11, 2019. The book is told in the third person about two kids, Brandon and Reshmina. Their two stories are weaved together and eventually intertwine or connect.

In Your Head- I was surprised a lot by this book. I was surprised Reshmina, and the people in her village had never heard about the events in the United States on September 11, 2001. I think the author thinks I already know about the planes going into the Twin Towers. I was challenged by the details, such as the elevators falling with people in them and people being up close to jet fuel. These details make sense to take place; however, I had not thought of those details until I read the story. Regarding Reshmina, the actions of her brother joining the Taliban confirmed my knowledge of how young boys were recruited to join the Taliban when they were resentful and angry at American soldiers. I noticed both main characters were brave to try to retrieve or rescue their family member.

In Your Heart- I learned that people in other parts of the world are not always aware of the life-changing events in the United States. Just because an event is essential to Americans does not mean people in other parts of the world are familiar. I also learned my heart is still sensitive to September 11, 2001. In my heart, I must remember there are wars and tragedies taking place worldwide. It is essential to learn about all cultures and work together to make the world a better place.

After making BHH connections with both books, I learned I need to return to the books, combing through them for more themes and lessons from the authors. Additionally, when reading books of this nature with my students, I need to model "think-alouds," pausing on certain pages to ask open-ended questions to engage my students' reading brains.

In my classroom, I had engaged in many oral BHH discussions, even before I was introduced to the BHH strategy. Now, more focused on the strategy, I will continue to model the process in oral discussion with my students through several pictures books or the first few chapters of a chapter book. I would then create the visual anchor chart of the book, the head, and the heart anchor chart with my students. Next, I would guide them to the questions we need to ask when reading a book, beginning with questions about "in the book. Then, referring to previously read materials, we would discuss and answer the questions. Finally, I would continue the process with the "in your head" and "in your heart" questions. This development of the BHH process is ongoing throughout the year. Once the students have modeled the concept of developing a reader's brain orally, I will incorporate sentence stems for the students to complete. Initially, we will complete these sentence stems together; then, the students will complete them with peer collaboration as a ticket out the door or journal entry. As time progresses, incorporating the BHH strategy in the "stop and jot" note-taking strategy, often practiced as a reading comprehension technique, would encourage text to self-connection and increase the application of higher-level thinking skills. Eventually, the students can create a writer's response using the questions based on the BHH strategy.

EDRE 5352 - Blog post #5 - "Reading as Thinking"

As a reader, I create "mind movies" in my mind's eye. This is an easier task to complete with non-academic texts. If I am reading books with characters, I create my own voices of the characters, as well as, a depiction of what they look like. If there is an actual movie out based on the book, I tend to try and read the book first as to not skew my own visions. If the characters experience confusion or difficulty, my mind movie includes facial reactions and voice changes. I bring the characters to life in my mind.

When reading texts, almost any feeling can be generated. I connect with the characters, so sadness, excitement, anger, joy, often are conjured as I engross myself into a text. While reading, I often have connections to other texts, as well as real-life events.

For me, a book is meant as an escape. I envision the characters as real-life beings, interacting. I know for many people, this does not take place, but for as long as I can remember, my imagination has allowed me to enjoy books in this manner.

EDRE 5352 - Blog Post #4 - Habits and Conditions in a Reading Life

At the moment, my current book travels around with me either in my purse or my teacher's bag. Honestly, both are open, so my book usually sticks out a bit. Also, my current book is in my passenger front seat if I am driving. During the workweek, I can sneak a reading appointment at my lunch. Usually, my little reading appointments take place during my son's martial arts class or in the evening after dinner. I read at my school desk, in my car, on my bed, and my couch. Though I want to include my current reading, my school reading often involves educational articles and data. My car is generally reserved for leisure reading unless a textbook summons me to complete homework. My couch and bed may include any previously mentioned choices, though I often read my self-help and spiritual growth books in those locations. My main challenge about being at school is wanting to read the book in my purse or teacher bag, but having to be a responsible adult and read work stuff. My family knows what I am reading right now. I have a work friend I share books with, and we have our version of a book club every few months. I welcome book recommendations from my professors and district-level administrators. For spiritual growth and self-help, I look to the sisters in my women's group and well-respected friends. If I want to read a challenging book, I read recovery and self-help. The information in those books indeed makes my brain work.

EDRE 5352 - Blog Post #3 - "Slice of Life"

"The a/c unit and circuit box are back here, " entering the back porch, from our family room sliding glass door, I direct the electrician to the back of the house. Pivoting, I catch a glimpse of the koi pond. I gasp, "oh no, oh no!"  What happened? The koi pond, usually 3.5 feet deep, now looks to have about 6 inches of water in it. The fountain is barely trickling from the top.  All my big koi are just under the surface. My butterfly girl is flicking her fins as if to grab my attention. "You have it Girl. I see."  The electrician returns to relay his initial findings and provide a quote. He notices I am distracted as I point in disbelief, confusion, and slight panic towards our 8 ft by 8 ft koi pond. Seemingly unaffected by the fate of my beautiful pond puppies, a slight solemn acknowledgment of the issue, he is more concerned about the business at hand. I quickly call my husband, who is already expecting my call when the electrician has arrived, answers matter of factly. I hurriedly tell him there's something wrong with the koi pond and the electrician has information to discuss, handing the man my phone.  I can hear the electrician exchanging pleasantries and a quick explanation, "Yah, it appears your fish pond has lost water. I see your fish swimming around....mhmm, yes, she's looking." His voice trails off as I throw the water hose into the pond, trying to refill my fishy babies' home quickly. Walking the perimeter to investigate, I spy the issue... Ah, the filter is clogged with leaves from the pecan tree nearby. Water is overflowing from the top of the barrel ever so silently. Must have been clogged most of the morning. I am so glad I am home today. What if I had been gone all day? Stop it. I am here now. Stop panicking. Scheduling the electrician for this breaker issue turned out to be a really good thing. Okay, focus. I can handle this. Peeking over the ledge, the water is rising. My koi are swimming more carefree. My heart rate is lowering. "You pups will get some spinach and banana treats as soon as Mom finishes cleaning this mess." 

In the background, "Ma'am, here is your phone. It's your husband. I'll be back on Friday."

 

EDRE 5352 - Blog Post #2 - Literacy Experiences in the Secondary Years

'Oh my goodness, the first day of 6th grade! New school, new friends. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time.....Okay, last period, reading. I can end the day in a favorite subject. Cool."........Fast forward mid-year...."How did I end up in this class? No one cares, not even the teacher. I can't believe we spend almost every period reading out of the textbook, taking turns by rows. I'm the only one here who actually wants to learn anything." The rest of the year, just reading copies of stories and out of the reading book with a teacher who seems to have been ready to leave after second period and doesn't care that no one is paying attention to her. No one wanted to be in that room.

"Please let this year be different. Hmm.. reading is split with lunch. Oh, it's Mrs. Ledbetter. She looks like a fun teacher." In my 7th grade year, I learned about diagramming sentences using my body. I can still visualize my English teacher using her arms and having us reenact the different parts of speech. This was also the year I was introduced to Ray Bradbury. Never would I have chosen to read this genre, yet The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451 piqued my interest when I was assigned to read and write about each book, deciphering and interpreting the meaning in the text in ways had never done before. Science fiction was a new genre to my reading eyes. Over the summer, I filled my time reading The Martian Chronicles and Dandelion Wine. I realized my elementary school teachers had placed me in a regular reading class schedule for sixth grade. The sixth-grade reading teacher, I presume, noticed I was attempting to be a good student placed me in the advanced/enriched reading class for seventh grade. I am grateful for her decision to move me to a more advanced course.

"This is the year we learn about Mythology, yes!" I don't remember anything about the first semester, though I know it was academically intense for an eighth-grade class. Ms. Sullivan taught us about organizing our studies and preparing for high school. With all that training, it was the second semester's theme I wanted her to discuss. I could not wait for our return after Christmas. Everything we read, researched and wrote about dealt with Greek and Roman Mythology. It was such a fascinating semester. I can recall it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but we were engrossed in creating projects and having our first comparative journal to keep notes on the differences in the different characters. I am pretty sure my journal is still in my mom's hope chest.

Sometime during my middle school years, I discovered V.C. Andrews. My friends and I would read all the books in the series as quickly as they were released. The teachers did not need to worry about extraneous conversations during D.E.A.R. time. We were all engrossed in the latest novel, and our discussions were connected to the storyline. In a sense, we had our own book club aside from the texts assigned by our teachers.

"Oh gosh, please don't ask us to introduce ourselves. I don't want anyone to notice me in a weird way." Freshman year, my thoughts in every class the first day or week of school. Somehow Mrs. Jackson knew this about her ninth-grade students. Each class period began with five to fifteen minutes of writing in our journals. We were allowed free writing most of the time, just pouring our thoughts into our journals, much like the journals provided in Freedom Writers. I immediately thought of Mrs. Jackson and our journal time when I first saw that movie. In my freshman year, we read Shakespeare, specifically Romeo and Juliet. I think this was also the year we read The Canterbury Tales. I know we must have read some other books, but having Shakespeare respectfully explained to me was what I most remembered about my freshman literacy experience.

"This lady is wild...and not like the good wild of Mrs. Ledbetter." So, Ms. T. was an interesting, eccentric teacher. Yes, we read Lord of the Flies. The book itself made an impression on me, although I cannot reflect how the text was applied in classroom instruction. Ms. T helped us craft and fine-tune our writing through student teaching exercises and sharing our creations. I was terrified. Looking back, there must have been a public speaking component in the essential standards for sophomores. Nevertheless, I did not enjoy teaching my peers about adverbs or reading my adolescent hormone-filled, heartbroken poetry. I didn't die, but there were many times in sophomore English I thought I would.

My junior year, this was the year I loved. Mr. Borah was "the cool" English teacher. He had a U2 poster hanging in his classroom. Mr. Borah spoke to us like we were college-educated. He asked us questions I knew only college professors would ask. This is when I fell in love with social justice, dystopian novels like Orwell's 1984. This is the year we read The Great Gatsby, then watched the movie to compose a research paper comparison of the book and movie. Oh my goodness, I loved having Mr. Borah's class. He brought the literature alive. We had in-depth class discussions regarding the novels he assigned. Mr. Borah encouraged us to think for ourselves and challenged us in our compositions by asking us leading questions. He encouraged us to share with our peers other pieces of literature we enjoyed. We felt seen and validated.

My senior year, Woah...this was the year I think was meant to prepare us for college. Mrs. Dickson only taught seniors. She was keenly aware of senioritis, especially since her son was in my class. She did her dead-level best to keep us engaged. I can only imagine this could be compared to entertaining preschool children after a Christmas party. The texts we read do not come to mind; however, there was a lot of reader's theater, project writing, and hands-on creations. I discovered I could not memorize passages adequately, but I could paraphrase and provide an oral interpretation to compensate, which I did often.

I appreciate the novels I was assigned, though I believe choice is an essential factor in building a child's love for reading. There is a balance. I never would have selected science fiction if I had not been assigned the reads. The teachers who truly loved literature shared that love with us when reflecting further. They brought the texts alive through their teachings and the activities we were engaged to create. Looking back, I can find strengths in all my secondary English teachers, even my sixth-grade teacher, who probably did not have good class management, to begin with and was exhausted by the seventh period. I take that teaching morsel and try to be mindful with each group I work with, especially my last group of the day. I also try to share books with my students that I have a personal connection to, even if it's a book I just bought at the book fair. I want my students to be lifelong readers. I want them to find that joy I have when I am in the pages of a book.

EDRE 5352 - Blog Post #1 - My word for this semester...actually, grad school

 

My word for this semester is persistence. From the moment Dr. Giles announced this assignment this word rang in my ears and echoed in my thoughts. I meditated on other words, took surveys, and read devotionals. Still, the word persistence tugged at my heart. According to Webster, persistence is defined as, "the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people."

I knew when I made the decision to return to school after a two-decade hiatus I would need to create a clear path with an end goal, comprised of structure and parameters along the way. A course of action filled with energy to propel through the trials of sandwich generation-home life and school-work life. While others may imagine the image of someone pushing a large boulder up a mountain as a visual of persistence. I visualize my image of persistence as carrying a full backpack of college textbooks, pulling a teacher cart overflowing with school work, balancing a bag filled with prescriptions and doctors' orders, handling a laptop open to Canvas and a multicolored calendar, and clasping my cellphone haphazardly to my ear.

Overjoyed to be finally engrossed in a graduate studies program I meticulously researched to join for many years, this chapter of my life is engaging beyond measure. I did not want to obtain a graduate degree "just" to obtain a graduate degree. I knew once I dove into this next level of learning I needed to love what I would be consuming endless hours reading, writing, and researching. I knew for me to maintain my persistence, I had to overflow with passion and purpose as I pursued my goals. I also knew for me to pursue my goals determination had to walk in conjunction with persistence. As a result, all those not so little boulders of family and work commitments I was lugging up my mountain had to be placed in the appropriate lanes for me to have a clear path to success. This meant calendars synced at home and at school, as well as family meetings with direct and explicit discussions took place. With all important parties on the same page, I knew I could pull my persistence out of my secret pocket and look down the path to academic dreams.

This journey has not been easy and I do not expect a path of rose petals at any time. My many life commitments are always there, waiting, watching, and sometimes, whining, but my path to pursuing my graduate degree is paved with a multitude of life lessons that have brought me to just this moment. These life lessons fuel my persistence and I would have it no other way.

Blog post #6 - Genre: Realistic Fiction - Picture Book and Chapter Book

 

Sher, E., & Leng, Q. (2017). Away. Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press. 

This realistic fiction book overwhelmed me with emotion when I discovered it a few weeks ago. The characters include a mother, her daughter, Skip, and a brief appearance from the maternal grandmother, Mimsy. The mother and daughter appear to be busy with work, school, or chores, unable to spend as much time together as they would like. As a result, sticky notes are left all over the house for each other to find. Even with the brief text, the love shared between the mother and daughter is evident. Skip is preparing mentally and physically for her first time away from home to attend a week at camp in the book. The dialogue between her mother and Skip is humorous and intriguing. Through the banter back and forth, along with the visit from Mimsy, the characters relay a close-knit relationship full of love. The illustrations from Leng complement the text. The soft watercolors enhance a calm, whimsical mood over the book, even as Skip is adamant she will not be going to camp. Somehow, the reader can feel the calm from the mother as she encourages her daughter to have a new adventure. In the end, the experience is precisely what Skip needed. In a fun way to connect to the reader, the illustrator, Leng, includes the family cat, Lester, on almost all the pages. Also, not to be missed, Leng incorporates a biracial family dynamic. Skip has a much darker complexion to her mother and grandmother's light complexions. The reader does not ever receive confirmation of the details, but why would that be necessary, as the intent is to tell the story of a loving family.

This book struck a chord with me, as I would handwrite sticky notes to my daughter when she was in elementary school. It wasn't until we moved and she was in college did she share with me she kept all the notes I wrote her. As the years have progressed, I moved from sticky notes to writing on the mirrors to my daughter and son. Hindsight 20/20, I wish I had written more sticky notes as a tangible memory. 

For my daughter, writing the notes was a way for me to connect to her during a difficult chapter in our lives. I think about difficulties she shared with me, and they mirrored those of Skip not wanting to leave her mom and pet cat. Regarding my son, I have written more notes on the mirror or family dry erase board than I have sticky notes. In actuality, I now send texts with more than reminders to do chores, relatively quick "I'm thinking of you" messages. I recognize my son's love language is words of affirmation, and this is just one little way to fill his bucket.  I definitely connected to the storyline. It is pure realistic fiction, particularly for my family. 

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Cleary, B., & Zelinsky, P. O. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. Morrow.

This book is near and dear to my heart. I remember reading this book around 1983 or 1984, soon after my parents divorced. I had never read a children's book about divorce nor identified with a character's emotions like Leigh's. Reading as he struggled with the divorce itself, along with the growing distance between his father and himself, was gut-wrenching, as I could relate on so many levels. At the time, I could not adequately articulate the connection. I did begin writing in a journal soon after. Was it due to this book? I have no clue, but I am sure the idea was planted in my thoughts. Years later, I forgot Leigh was a boy. I suppose I morphed the character into a girl to help with my own childhood coping mechanisms. 

As an adult with a husband who is a long-haul truck driver, I found Leigh's descriptions of his father's rig amusing. Cleary explained the trucker life terminology accurately. As an adult, as a teacher, I observe Leigh's writing improving as he moved from writing short sentenced letters to Mr. Henshaw to writing lengthy letters and moving into a journal as the story progresses. I do not imagine I had this realization as a child. As an adult, as a mother, I observe Leigh slowly opening up to others at his new school, allowing himself to be seen, and no longer letting himself be the "mediumest boy in the class."

As for the illustrations in the chapter book, Zelinsky provides pops of black and white pen sketches to aid with the text. But, again, there aren't many illustrations, just enough to add some visual enhancements to the story.

From divorce and not seeing a parent, to lonesome feelings at a new school, to difficulty completing a writing assignment from a teacher, Dear Mr. Henshaw is still contemporary realistic fiction. Cleary's award-winning book is as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago.