Field Experience Reflection

1. How many hours did you complete?

I completed 5 hours, or 300 minutes, of field experience.

2. In a short paragraph or bulleted list, how did you spend your time?

I spent two hours of my time observing Mrs. Bugg, our school library media specialist; two hours observing Mrs. Cole, a first grade teacher; and one hour implementing a lesson in my classroom. 

I observed Mrs. Bugg during two different fifth grade library lessons.  The first lesson was on characteristics of Appalachian drama.  The students first reviewed the three types of cultures that they had read plays from – Colonial, Cherokee Native Americans, and Appalachian cultures.  Students then were assigned parts in a Reader’s Theater from Appalachian culture called Old Dry Frye by Paul Brett Johnson.  Students spent the rest of their time reading and acting out the Reader’s Theater.  The second time I observed Mrs. Bugg she was identifying the different genres of literature and reviewing genre characteristics.  First, student groups were given genre cards and they shared with the rest of the class what the meaning of that genre was.  Next, the class used the Smartboard to play a game that gave questions about genre characteristics as they moved around a game board.  Through my observation, I saw first hand how much content Mrs. Bugg teaches during the library special area class.  I always knew she taught and didn’t just check out books, but I learned how in depth her lessons were.

My two hours observing Mrs. Cole and her first graders showed me how she incorporates reading into all subject areas.  I observed her class before Mother’s Day, and they were reading The Mother’s Day Mice by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett.  Mrs. Cole did a lot of things that we learned about in this class, including asking BIG QUESTIONS and focusing on the illustrations, too, not just the words.  Some of the questions she asked were “Why do you think…,” “Can you make an inference about what you think he might do?,” and “How will mom feel about that?”  When talking about the illustrations, Mrs. Cole used the illustrator’s name and made connections between this book and others illustrated by Brett.  During another observation, Mrs. Cole read an informational text about pennies.  This book has big color photographs that showed what old and new pennies looked like, what a mint looked like, etc.  While reading, the students made text-to-self connections. 

I spent one hour in my own classroom, implementing instruction for Rosa by Nikki Giovanni.  During a discussion on Civil Rights, I read the book to my class, asking BIG QUESTIONS as they arose, discussing new vocabulary words, and highlighting the illustrations.  My students had many different opinions on whether they would sit there strong and silent like Rosa, or if they would leave the bus, or (in some cases) punch the bus driver.  This book allowed us to have a discussion about Civil Rights and let the students feel like they were actually in Montgomery with Rosa Parks.

3. How did the experience help you to strengthen at least one Kentucky Teacher Standard? (be sure to name the standard)

         My field experience helped me strengthen Kentucky Teacher Standard #3 – creates and maintains a learning climate and Kentucky Teacher Standard #4 – implements and manages instruction.  By observing other teachers, I was able to see how they handled discipline problems in various situations.  I will be able to take these techniques back to my classroom and use them to better myself as a teacher.  By implementing my Rosa lesson, I was able to take things I had learned in this class and use it with my students.  By incorporating BIG QUESTIONS into my lessons, I was able to deepen the understanding of my students.

4. Talk a little about one thing you learned because of this field experience.

I learned that it can be easy and effortless to incorporate books into various subjects.  Of my five field experience hours, three of them used reading in other subjects – math, drama, and social studies. The more this technique is used, the more seamless it will be for students.  I will definitely be incorporating more reading instruction into all the other subjects that I teach.

Reading Log and Wiki Post Checklist

Reading Log by Genre

KEY:

RQ = Required for class

BP = Blog Post

WP = Wiki Post

PI = Picture Book

          I.     Non-fiction/Informational:

1)   Hurricane Force: In the Path of America’s Deadliest Storms by Joseph B. Treaster (BP)

        II.     Poetry:

1)   Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? by Mel Glenn (RQ)

2)   Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art by Diane Siebert (BP, PI)

3)   All the Small Poems by Valerie Worth (WP)

      III.     Modern Fantasy

1)   A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (RQ)

2)   Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (BP)

3)   The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

4)   The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

5)   The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, Adapted by Robert Venditti, Art by Attila Futaki, Color by Jose Villarrubia

      IV.     Historical Fiction  

1)   Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (RQ)

2)   Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine (WP, PI)

3)   The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (BP)

4)   Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

5)   The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

6)   Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln by Patricia Polacco (PI)

7)   Silent Movie by Avi (PI)

8)   Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom  by Carole Boston Weatherford (PI)

        V.     Multicultural/Traditional

1)   The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (BP)

2)   Lies and Other Tall Tales by Zora Neale Hurston (BP, WP, PI)

3)   Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire (WP)

4)   The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone (PI)

      VI.     Realistic Fiction

1)   Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (RQ)

2)   Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (BP)

3)   Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies

    VII.     Picture Books

1)   Seven  Blind Mice by Ed Young (RQ)

2)   Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco (BP)

3)   Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (BP)

4)   The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco (BP)

5)   Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes (BP)

6)   The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Wiki Checklist:

__1__ Social Studies – Henry’s Freedom Box

__1__ Science – All the Small Poems

____ Math

____ Music

__1__ Art – Lies and Other Tall Tales

__1__ Reading/Language Arts – Book of Greek Myths

____ Physical Education

____ Other

So you want to know about a hurricane?

Treaster, J.B. (2007). Hurricane force: In the path of America’s deadliest storms. Boston: Kingfisher.

For this week’s non-fiction/informational book, I read Hurricane Force, which is an informational chapter book all about hurricanes.  This book is divided into chapters that tell everything from the history of hurricane hunting, the definitions of what makes a hurricane, how people prepare for hurricanes, and multiple stories from various hurricanes throughout the last hundred years.  One of the things the writer focuses on is Hurricane Katrina, since he was there during the storm.  These personal stories are great at painting a picture of what is going on during the storm.  I loved all the anecdotes about the different hurricanes of the past because it made hurricanes a real thing, not just a scientific phenomenon.

This book had an interesting structure to it.  There was lots of description.  Characteristics of hurricanes were included.  One thing I liked was learning that hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all the same thing; it depends where you are in the world for what they are called.  There was also a structure of cause and effect.  Hurricanes were described, but the aftermath of the storms was given equal importance.  I also think there is problem and solution included in the structure of Hurricane Force.  This book answers questions like “how do you take shelter during a storm?,” “how do you make a hurricane-proof house?,” and “what do you do in the aftermath of a storm?”

When evaluating this book, I used the Evaluation and Selection criteria in our textbook.  This book met a lot of the criteria.  This book is written in clear and direct style.  However, some of the sections are lengthy, and some students may not like reading all that information at once.  If using this in my class, I would probably select a few sections that I found most interesting for my students to read.  Students who are interested in this topic can continue reading the rest on their own.  The facts are very accurate and, since it was published in 2007, pretty current.  Some of the information, like the word “hurricane” coming from the Mayan god Hurakan, I have read before in other texts.  This is a New York Times book, which adds to its credibility.  This book is beautifully illustrated with photographs from numerous hurricanes.  If there is not a photo on every page, then there is one on every spread.  Each comes with a caption that tells what the photo is of, where it was taken, and usually the year (especially if of hurricane damage or radar pictures).  You could spend an hour just looking at the photographs and reading the captions, and would get a ton of information about hurricanes.  Lastly, this book included a ton of reference aids.  There is a table of contents at the beginning and an index at the end.  There is a resource list with further readings, which would be really useful in suggesting other books for students to read on the subject.  There are all kinds of maps, charts, and tables throughout the book.  The maps show just how large a hurricane is, which makes them even more dramatic.  Another feature this book has is a timeline of Hurricane Katrina.  I feel that Hurricane Force is a great example of informational literature. 

A writing activity I would do with my students while reading this book is to have them choose one of the photographs and write a story based on that photograph.  They could write a creative story, or could write a piece on how they would feel if they had been there when that photograph was taken.  The type of writing would depend on which photograph they chose.

BIG QUESTIONS: How would you feel if a hurricane destroyed your home?  If you lived in the path of a hurricane, would you evacuate or ride out the storm?

Book Talk on Charlotte Doyle

Avi. (1990). The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Avon Books, Inc.

Imagine you are living back in 1832.  You are 13 years old and are about to embark by yourself on a ship traveling from England to the United States, with no one but the wonderful captain and dirty, unkempt crew to keep you company.  This is exactly what happens to Charlotte in the historical fiction novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.  Charlotte starts the novel as a prim and proper young lady (I know, you boys are thinking, “yuck, a girl book,” but trust me, it gets better) who is not used to the rough ways of the sea.  She slowly learns that Captain Jaggery is not the man he says he is.  There is a stowaway who is shot and killed by Captain Jaggery, a mutiny amongst the crew, and the cook Zachariah is whipped to death by the captain.  Charlotte decides to join the crew and ends up hating Captain Jaggery as much as the rest of them.  During a hurricane, someone (and I won’t say who) is murdered, and Charlotte is accused!  She is thrown in the brig, which is the ship’s jail, and awaits her trial.  Did Charlotte commit murder?  Will she be found guilty?  Who else will die on this voyage on the Seahawk?  You will have to read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle to find out.

Hatchet: an amazing story of survival

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet. New York: Scholastic.

         I absolutely LOVED Hatchet.  I was blown away by how well written it was and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  I could not stop turning the page and reading on and on to find out what happened next.  This is a book I will definitely be reading with my 5^th grade students.

         Hatchet is a realistic fiction novel by Gary Paulsen.  It tells the story of Brian, a 13-year-old boy who is traveling by small plane to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness.  When the pilot suffers from a heart attack and dies, Brian attempts to fly the plane, but it inevitably crashes into a lake in the middle of nowhere.  Brian manages to make it out alive, with nothing but the clothes on his back and the hatchet attached to his belt that his mother had given him as a parting gift.  Brian knows a little bit about surviving in the wild, mostly from watching television shows.  While reading this novel, I used the post-it note strategy to mark important events, record my thoughts, and ask questions.  It is because of those post-it notes that I can include all the details of the following plot.

When Brian gets out of the lake, he first finds a shelter in a rock cliff, knowing he’ll need a somewhat safe place to sleep.  Brian searches for food and finds what he calls “gut cherries”, since they end up making him violently ill.  If you’ve ever wondered how to describe someone getting sick, contact Paulsen, because he is very descriptive in this novel.  Later Brian is able to find raspberries, and those don’t make him sick.  The next night, Brian is stung by a porcupine that has wandered into his cave.  He decides he needs to make a fire, so he tries everything he can think of to create one.  Eventually he learns that his hatchet can make a fire when it is struck against the rock.  This is a turning point for Brian, since he now has hope that he can stay warm, ward of enemy critters, cook any food he could kill, and signal a plane if one comes searching for him.  Next, Brian finds some turtle eggs buried in the sand.  He eats them raw, and hides the rest for later.  He makes a spear to help him hunt.  Then, he hears a plane overhead.  He rushes back to his signal fire, but the plane leaves before he can get it started.  In this moment, Brian is sure he will be stuck in the wild forever.  Later, Brian gets more bad luck – he is sprayed by a skunk that came in trying to steal his eggs.  This encounter with the skunk motivates Brian to make a stronger shelter and create a food ledge to store his food.  He manages to catch his first “fool bird”, so now he has meat that tastes like chicken to eat.  He also becomes quite adept at catching fish in the lake.

Then, the horrible day happened.  For no reason that Brian can see, a moose attacks him down by the lake.  The moose keeps hitting him over and over again, and Brian is injured.  The same day, a tornado comes through the woods and Brian loses the wall he built for his shelter, his fire, and all of his tools that he made.  He is again left with just the clothes on his back and the hatchet.  The good news is that the tornado went through the lake and lifted up the plane, so Brian can see part of the tail of the plane.  Brian makes a raft and decides to go out to the plane and see what he can find.  He ends up finding a survival pack stuffed with things – a sleeping bag, pots and pans, meals, and a transmitter radio that he can’t figure out how to work.  After the horrible day, it seems that things might be looking up for Brian.

Does he ever get rescued or find his way out of the woods?  To find out, you will have to read Hatchet for yourself.

As stated earlier, Hatchet is a realistic fiction novel.  It is told in third person limited point of view.  A narrator is telling the story, but we hear Brian’s thoughts.  Since there’s not much dialogue in the novel, it is important to hear Brian’s thoughts to understand what he feels and is going through in the novel.  This is a survival and adventure type of realistic fiction.  Brian, the protagonist, must rely on will and ingenuity to survive a life-threatening situation.  Brian is involved with a person vs. nature conflict.  He is alone against the elements.

This is a good novel to use with students since there are lots of things they can make connections to or have schema for.  One of the ways that I connected to Brian was through the fact that both his parents and my parents are divorced.  This is an issue that Brian is dealing with throughout the beginning of the novel, and is something that some students would be going through, too.  I have schema for bugs and mosquitos.  I seem to always be the person bitten the most out of all of my friends.  When the swarms of mosquitos first attacked Brian, I shuddered.  I can only imagine what that would be like, but YUCK!  I would have run away as fast as I could!

The literary term of flashback can be discussed with this novel.  Brian flashes back to earlier events when he thinks of the drive to the airport with his mom.  We also are told the story of why his parents got divorced through flashbacks.  After Chapter 12, most of the story is told in a flashback.  Chapter 13 jumps from day 5 of being alone to day 47.  Those 42 days in between are told in a flashback.  This novel also uses foreshadowing.  In the beginning, the pilot tells Brian about a survival pack in the back of the plane, in case of an emergency landing.  Brian forgets all about this until he swims back out to the plane at the end of the novel.  It ends up playing an important role in the story. 

Gary Paulsen’s style of story telling is very descriptive.  His details of the setting make me feel like I am there.  In this novel, the setting is integral.  Paulsen’s writing makes me see the different trees, hear the splashes of the fish in the lake, and feel the insects biting me.  Paulsen is also able to build up hope and suspense.  He writes really long, detailed paragraphs and sections, then suddenly, in one sentence, all that hope or suspense comes crashing down.  It’s very sad in some parts and in other parts it leaves me screaming at the book, “No!  Come on!  That HAD to have worked!”  Hatchet ends up being very sad and powerful the whole way through.

There are many different themes that I found throughout this novel.  One is of being positive.  Brian tells himself to “stay positive and stay on top of things.”  This is a motto that he tries to follow throughout the novel.  This is a good sentiment to have in life in general, but especially if you are alone in the woods.  Another theme is of hope.  Brian is filled with hope and optimism that things will be okay when he makes fire from the hatchet and the rock wall of the cave.  A third theme is learning from your mistakes.  After the skunk sprays Brian, he learns that he needs food at hand in case he is ever injured for a long period of time and that he can’t keep the food right next to him in the cave.  He makes a food ledge to store his food, where it will be safe from curious animals.  The last theme I found was that of perseverance.  Throughout this novel, Brian never gives up.  He continues to work until he is successful.  He did this with making fire, catching fish, and killing the fool bird.  Perseverance is a great theme to discuss with students and to teach them to never give up.

There is so much to write about with Hatchet.  I can’t wait to dive into it again with my students in the fall and see what their thoughts about it are. 

BIG QUESTIONS:

1. When Brian catches the first fish and says he “done food,” he is full of pride and excitement.  What have you done that gave you that feeling?

2. Brian tries to keep a mental journal while stuck in the wild.  What event do you have a mental journal of?

3. Brian only has the clothes on his back and a hatchet.  If you were stranded with only one tool, what would you want it to be?