Because of Winn Dixie

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo is the book I chose when we were learning about names.  I remembered this book because it was a Lifetime movie that was very intriguing to me.  Learning about names was a different way to look at this book that I had never thought about.  Not only can students learn about a friendship between a child and a dog, they can dig deeper to the meaning of Winn Dixie.  Winn Dixie allows Opal, a 10 year old little girl to meet people she would have never met without Winn Dixie and to settle into her new move and town.

Many students would enjoy this book because it involves an animal and friendships.  Students would learn that people are not just what they seem on the outside, it takes time to get to know others that you may not at first think are “worth” getting to know.  Opal was an out of the box little girl who took risks in her friendships and adopting a homeless dog, naming him Winn Dixie and giving him a life he would have never had.  Taking chances could be an underlying theme of this book and appeal to young readers.  This is a 4th grade level book and students would even enjoy this as a fun read for an AR book.  It is a quick read and easily understandable.

Shared Readings

I never knew there were so many different ways that incorporated shared readings.  When I was in elementary school I always sat on the carpet in front of the teacher with a “big book” in her hands and listened to her read each page as we “oohed and ahhed” about the pictures.  I do believe this was beneficial but shared readings have come a long way.

Choral reading, echo reading, and cloze reading are a few of the shared readings that now can be implemented into the classroom.  I think these techniques will improve students reading skills and proficiency because it goes hand in hand with their comprehension, vocabulary, and use of text structure.

If I am reading to my students, I love the idea of showing them the text while I am reading so that they can try to follow along.  Using an elmo or smart board is a great way to do this in the classroom.  Also students understanding vocabulary on their own before raising their hand to ask “what is this word”, “what does this mean?” Context clues are either before or after the word and if a student will read on, they just might find out what that vocabulary word actually means.  Also text structure is important because students can realize that italicized words, bold words, headings, are key things to look for to help them understand their text.

In class discussions really bring the readings to home and help me as an up and coming teacher to know how to implement this into my classroom and what is and is not beneficial.

Judy Brown article

I particularly enjoyed this article because it pertained to the primary levels which easily could be used in the upper levels as well.  When given the task to complete a WRI with a student at Hardin Park I was a bit nervous.  I learned all about WRI and teaching students to read this summer in Block 1 with Ms. Queen, a 2nd grade teacher at Hardin Park.  I knew I had learned “how to teach students to read”, but my thought was did I know how to implement what I had learned when it comes time to teach my own students.

I was relieved to hear that spelling words were already written out in spelling books, and all I had to do was get my hands on multiple spelling books to make sure I had all levels of my students covered.  I never thought to give multiple spelling tests.  I always had the same spelling test as every one else, and every room I have observed has the same words for all students.  However reading this article and the discussion in class a light bulb went on.  My students at Hardin Park in 2nd grade had a spelling test last Friday and only 5 of them passed the test.  This made me realize there were multiple levels of spelling in my classroom and there was nothing being done about it!  It is n’t that my teacher is taking the easy way out and giving one test, she may not even be aware of the different ways to give multiple spelling tests at once!

I hope by reading this article and learning about all of my resources, I will be able to teach my students to read the best that I know how.  I know it will be a lot of work and preparation on my part, but those students are depending on me for their education.

Social Studies Trade Books for Struggling Readers

This article directly relates to our conversations in class the past couple of days.  I was extremely intrigued in class when I found out that reading groups and math groups directly correlate to students reading in the classroom.  What I mean is that, if I have 4 reading groups in my classroom that obviously means that I have struggling readers mixed in with on grade level and even above grade level readers.  I can not have my entire class read the same assignment in a certain amount of minutes and answer questions.  Some students will reach frustration level and others will breeze through the assignment.  In order to have all of my students enjoy reading, they need to read on their own level and I, as a teacher, need to take the time to realize and plan for all levels of students.

Classroom level matched texts is an area that I believe many teachers mistakenly use far too often with all of their students.  Not all students will be on this level and I think as a teacher it is our job to match the text to each individual student.  If lower students read text on their ability level, by the end of the year they will have grown leaps and bounds.  They may not be on grade level, but they are on a higher level than when they walked into the room because they did not become frustrated trying to read on a level not suited for them.

I had never really heard of trade books and I am so glad this article was placed in my hands!!  Trade books accomadate to all levels of readers and are even more in depth than a regular text book!  Finding trade books that integrate with social studies and are on the level of struggling readers is noted to be a difficult task.  I love that this article breaks down exactly what a “good book” is and notes that these books should not shame the reader, they just will be more on the reader’s level.  As a teacher I must realize that my students can read different books about a topic, as long as the books cover the same topic and my students can come away from their readings reaching similiar ideas about their context.

I will absolutely use this article as a resource in my classroom when I come across the task of implementing books for all levels of readers and the best way to do that.

Pirates

The Pirates article was interesting because I was introduced to Twin Text and pairing fiction and non-fiction books.  I enjoy that idea because students can not only explore and use their imagination with ficiton, they can also learn facts from non-fiction and notice that between the two the story could closely resemble their facts.  This will intrigue students and they will want to learn more about the unit they are discussing.  To allow students to roam around a room and learn on their own about Pirates or what they think Pirates are is a great idea.  This allows their brains to start working and the wheels to start turning in their minds and get a feel for what they are about to tackle in the classroom.

The Pirate Journal/Notebooks really helps students stay organized and allows them to have an entire journal just on that subject.  All of their questions, definitions, pictures, anything are all in one place.  From beginning to end they can look back at what they did not know at the beginning and how those questions are getting answered.  It seems to start off very broad and slowly narrow as the unit goes on which does not overwhelm the student.  The Pirates Pullout read really focused on students digging deeper, visitng and revisiting their book and really understanding what they are reading.  I think this helps students develop a discipline of how important re-reading is and really taking apart a text.

all the small poems and fourteen more

This book is a little touch and go for me.  I’ve never fully grasped poetry and meanings that other people pull from something I have just read do not usually match up.  Not that this is a bad thing, I am not a very abstract thinker.  I like stability and meaning and sometimes interpretation can be interesting, but other times I feel like it is too read into to try to be something else.

However, I am enjoying this book to an extent because when we do pick certain poems and discuss them, I feel that I am learning more about poetry and how everyone’s mind thinks differently and poetry is a great outlet for students to be creative and not have “right or wrong” answers.

WRITING AND COMPOSING WITH MY STUDENTS

I believe it is very important to write along with my students, give examples, and help with ideas.  I want to be an example for my students and be excited about writing and have my journal to show them how much I write, edit, and revise.  If I am not excited, my students will not be excited.  Examples definitely help students with their own writing.  Some students will run away with ideas and fill their notebooks with great determination.  Other students will need a bit more guidance and those are the students that will benefit most from me composing along with them and showing my excitement.

Brown Angels

I read this book and found myself reading some pages more than once to fully understand the meaning.  Once I read Love that dog and saw that Walter Dean Myers was such an influence I went back to the book to read the full excerpt of Love That Boy.  Everyone has someone in their life that they love and often will compare someone to something they love.  I enjoyed this particular poem because it was repetative and really made a statement.

The pictures really put my mind into another time period.  I enjoyed a visual beside the poems of who it could be about or someone like the picture.  I found this book to be relatable and an interesting “subject” Brown Angels, because we do not often see books dedicated to such an intimate subject.

Ordinary Inspirations

These two items go together … “Squish” and “Bank”.  I’m not sure why I leave the “L” out of blanket or my abbreviation, I just always have.  Squish is the “pillow” I take with me everywhere minus my real pillow.  I am very territorial of Squish and share Bank when necessary.  I don’t like Squish to be on the floor or handled roughly.  I love these two seemingly ordinary items!!

This is a pen my mom gave me that lights up when you hit the ball at the top on something.  I love this pen because it intertains me and writes really well.  We have a red one at home and I plan to give my students these pens for reward.

Love That Dog

This book was nothing like I expected it would be.  Jack made me look at Poetry in such a different light.  I was always the student that didn’t have anything to write about or if I had a subject I couldn’t make it into a poem that I thought was good enough.  As the book progressed I loved how Jack was figuring poetry out.  He gradually understood poems and even connected with them.  He used those poems as inspiration for his own poems.  I really liked how he would tell the teacher to be anonymous at the beginning but by the end he was writing his own poems, typing them up how he liked them, and putting his name at the bottom.  To connect so closely with a poet and write them a letter and actually have them come to the classroom must have been an experience Jack will never forget.  I think if I were so inspired by someone like that and met them I would write more and more poems and have many ideas because he believed enough in me to come to my school.

This was a great book to read and for students it would really show them the progression of poetry.  That is can be boring and confusing and once you connect with one tiny poem, poetry can be another outlet of writing that would be very enjoyable! I liked that they emphasized that poetry does not have to take up pages and rhyme.  It can be any sort of writing that makes sense to the reader.

What’s in a name

I’ve never really looked up my name like this before but found it pretty interesting.  My name is Casey Ryan Gill and I am quite happy with it!

Casey:

From an Irish surname . The name Cathasaigh means “vigilant” in Gaelic. It is also given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case, Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.  It also means alert or watchful.

Ryan:

From an Irish surname .  The given name Rían probably means “little king”.

Gill:

I didn’t find much about this being that the site was mainly for first names.  I found that this is a very common last name for men and women. 

Growing up my last name was what people would tend to “pick on” me about.  Fish Gills was the biggest thing I can remember.  I don’t hear that anymore, mainly my nicknames from friends have to do with my first name or my hair.

Most common nicknames (referring to my hair): Red, Ging(Jinj), Ginger

Friends or family: Case, Ca-bug, Sweetpea, Short Stuff, Lefty,  Casey Ryan

Statistics:

• There are 127,548 people in the U.S. with the first name Casey.
• Statistically the 455th most popular first name.
• 65.06 percent of people with the first name Casey are male. 
• There are 78,270 people in the U.S. with the last name Gill.
• Statistically the 430th most popular last name.
• There are 32 people in the U.S. named Casey Gill.

I love stats like this because I would never imagine how many people would have my first or last name, or both!!!

I loved this activity because I am a total name person.  I am constantly telling my family what I’m going to name my daughter or son and it is constantly changing! I like original/unusual names.  I’ve been on an Ella/Madeline kick, and boys names are about the hardest things ever!