Week 8 Questions

1. How many hours did you complete?  

• 5 hrs

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

• I spent a large portion of my time observing the Reading/Language Arts teacher. I enjoyed learning some of the strategies she uses in her class as well as learning more about my students and their abilities in a Reading/Language Arts classroom. This was also beneficial for me as a planned and taught a lesson to one of these students. 

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

• Through my observation in a Reading/Language Arts classroom I was able to reflect on my own stengths and weakness as a teacher as well as evaluate the teaching and learning of a co-worker. Not only could I evaluate my own strengths and weaknesses, but also that of my students. It was very interesting to see the difference in my own students from one core subject to another. (KTS 7: The teacher reflects on and evaluates teaching and learning.)

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

• I have thoroughly enjoyed my field experience not only for this class, but in all my classes. It is amazing how much I have learned about myself as a teacher and my students through field experience. I found it very helpful to observe a coworker teaching and the strategies she used with the same students I teach on a daily basis. I feel it is easiest to realize your own strengths and weaknesses through observation of another teacher, and in my case, a more experienced teacher. I feel like this teacher did a great job in using higher order questioning, which is a very important strategy. Although observing some of the more experienced teachers are very helpful, I also noticed some of my strengths: creativity, organization, classroom management, etc.

Reading Log & Wiki List

Reading Log for 25 books 

Genre / Titles you read (Hit enter after each one and a new number should pop up)

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems by Mel Glenn

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card’

3)      Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen

3)      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

4)      If a Bus Could Talk: The story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (1 reflection required on blog – can be a picture book)     

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Monster by Walter Dean Myers

3)      Pandora by Robert Burleigh

4)      If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

3)      The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

4)      Soccer Chick Rules by Dawn Fitzgerald

5)      Runaround by Helen Hemphill

6)      The Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Riding the Tiger by Eve Bunting

3)      The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

4)      Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting

5)      The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka

6)      Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya




Wiki Checklist
Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is two total posts, in two different categories)

_____ Social Studies
_____ Science
_____ Math
_____ Music
_____ Art
__1_  Reading/Language Arts
_____ Physical Education
__1__ Other

My Life in Dog Years

Paulsen, G., & Paulsen, R.W. (1998). My life in dog years. New York, N.Y: Delacorte Press.

My Life in Dog Years contains stories about several of Paulsen's dogs. A few are sad, but even the sad ones can be funny. For instance, in "Dirk," Paulsen lives in a basement, surviving on what he can earn from setting pins at the bowling alley and selling newspapers in bars and trying to avoid having his money stolen by teenage thugs. This is a bleak background, but Paulsen tells the story with much vigor, and the descriptions of Dirk chasing away thugs are very funny. Other stories describe disastrous circumstances, but Paulsen seems to attract dogs that love him, at least two of which he characterizes as coming close to being "a live nuclear weapon," and a smart dog or two that were smarter than many humans. My Life in Dog Years is adventure in the wilderness, it is dogs, bears, skunks, pigs, gardens, and barns, and it often tugs at the heart, but mostly it is fun. The lingering impression from the book is happiness.

It is easy to discern why My Life in Dog Years is an example of informational literature. It provides the reader with factual material from which he or she might gain insightful information. The theme and style of this book also allows for the reader to conclude that yes, it is an informational book. I loved reading this book. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I also made text-to-self connections while reading My Life in Dog Years. I would highly recommend this book for any age group's perusal as it does not limit itself to one particular age.

Field Experience Reflection

           I have thoroughly enjoyed my field experience not only for this class, but in all my classes. It is amazing how much I have learned about myself as a teacher and my students through field experience. I found it very helpful to observe a coworker teaching and the strategies she used with the same students I teach daily.

            I feel it is easiest to realize your own strengths and weaknesses through observation of another teacher, and in my case, a more experienced teacher. I feel like this teacher did a great job in using higher order questioning, which is a very important strategy. Although observing some of the more experienced teachers are very helpful, I also noticed some of my strengths: creativity, organization, classroom management, etc.

            It was also interesting to see how my students behaved and interacted in a classroom other than mine. Some of my students seemed smarter than maybe I had previously seen them based on my subject matter of math. However, some didn't do as well as what they do in my class. Not only could I evaluate my students based on academics, but also their behavior. One student was very disruptive in the class I was observing, but is always well behaved in my room. This suggests to me that I have good classroom management and organization, allowing fewer opportunities from disruptive behavior.

            Through my observation in an English/Language Arts classroom, I was able to learn more about the students I would be working with to teach my lesson for this class. Since I teach math, I tend overlook my student’s reading and writing abilities. So, through this observation, I was able to determine the areas my students need additional help. Overall, my field experience has been very helpful and been a great learning experience as I grow as a teacher and strive to better my teaching methods and strategies. 

Soldier's Heart (Book Trailer)

Paulsen, G. (1998). Soldier's heart: A novel of the Civil War. New York: Delacorte Press.

What Happened to Goodbye

Dessen, S. (2011). What happened to goodbye. New York: Viking.

Book Talk

How would you like to walk through a new door and become someone completely different...a new name, new appearance, new mannerisms, new everything!

That is what seventeen-year-old Mclean has been doing for the last couple of years. Her dad is a restaurant consultant and they move a lot—four times in the last couple of years—and each time Mclean walks through the door of her new school, she is someone new. And to tell the truth, if you asked her about the real Mclean, she wouldn't be able to tell you who that was anymore.


Taking on a new persona is Mclean's way of not being the daughter of a couple whose divorce was public, brutal, and scandalous. Though she lives with her father, their relationship is not the best, and she can hardly stand to speak to her mom who is now remarried with three-year-old twins.  

At Lakeview, Mclean is finally making some real friends, both a her school and at the restaurant her father is trying to save. She is especially close to the boy next door. She even tells him her real name! So when the time comes for her father to move on, for the first time, Mclean really doesn't want to go. 

Learning that life is often a series of concessions and compromises, the real Mclean now is faced with decisions she's never had to make before. Will Mclean move with her father, back with her mother, or neither? To find out read Sarah Dessen's book What Happened to Goodbye.

Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems

Glenn, M. (1997). Jump ball: A basketball season in poems. New York: Lodestar Books/Dutton.

Reflection Here

A high school basketball season is experienced through the personal poems of the members of the basketball team as well as other key members to the story. Competition, dating, pregnancy, and tragedy are explored throughout the pages. We read about Garret James, a player looking to go pro, and his love of the game and dislike for the media's questions. Author Mel Glenn uses the poetry to convey attitudes of the characters. We feel like James is somewhat quiet and prefers to do his talking on the court. Mary Beth Hoskins' poem reveals her tolerance for having a husband as a dedicated basketball coach, but we also sense her loneliness as we read, "I often eat, sleep, and live alone." The poems give you glimpses into the accident that occurs at the end of the book and readers will be anticipating the outcome.

Jump Ball is an abstract play on emotions. The reader will connect with the lives and feelings of the characters and will develop their own hopes of what happens to them. Readers will also connect with the cultural language that is used with words such as, "ain't doin' nothin'," "outta here," and "I ain't no ball player, you is." Differentiated poem sounds and structure are used to keep readers interested. For example, poems with same word endings like "zone" and "zone" in Garret James (below) and slant rhyme poems like Dennis Carleton can spark interest among users with words that don't rhyme but are similar like "enough" and "but" or "son" and "was." In addition, the Basketball Pulse poems are concrete poems with also appeal to young readers.

Garrett James

I've played in tournaments 'round the country.
I've gone coast-to-coast,
From one baseline to another,
From one ocean to another.
I've flown over more time zones
Than you can remember.
But there is only one zone that counts,
Not the parking zone,
             hospital zone,
             loading zone,
             commercial zone,
Not the combat zone,
             red zone,
             end zone,
             neutral zone,
When I am in THE ZONE,
Every pass connects: every shot clicks.
I can't hear the crowd or the coach.
I am alone, alive, above the rim, above the arena,
Playin' in a zone for which there is not defense.
Nobody can ever hurt me up there.
I am untouchable.