Blog 4: 3321

International literature are literary works written in a different language other than English and are originally published in another country. It can be translated and released into English. International literature can also be written in English but in another country. This type of literature differs from multicultural literature because it can teach about other geographical places in the world, allowing the reader to picture an entirely different place than where he or she lives or has seen. Whille multicultural literature teaches people about different cultures and values , the stories may be written by someone who hasn’t or doesn’t actually live in the culture being portrayed. International literature goes beyond that by providing stories of other cultures around the globe, connecting the reader to other parts of the world through words.
2 activities that I could do with a kindergartener through to a second grader with multicultural literature would be to do a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting parts of the students culture and that of another culture after reading and discussing the book read and the children’s culture. Children can also do a reader response to the story based on a question discussed during whole group time.
2 activities I could with the same group involving international literature are making a T chart using an ingredient such as an egg, and write what foods we eat and the foods another culture makes with the same ingredient. The students can also do a problem/solution from the story then discuss how we’d solve it differently.

3344 blog 4

Writing assignment for RAFT
Role: ESL student to self in the format of a diary.

Hola Diary,
It's me again. What a day I had! First, I got on the wrong bus because I didn't know where VIA was or if that was where I needed to go. When I finally made it to school, I was relieved to see something familiar. I felt more than ready to begin my day. The trouble didn't stop there. Whenever the teacher called on me, the other students laughed at the way I pronounced words. It makes me feel like not trying but I know my parents expect me to learn English so I can have a better life than they have. At lunch, I couldn't understand what the lunch lady was saying and the line was backing up because of me. I ended up bursting into tears and running from the cafetaria, so I didn't get to eat. By the afternoon, I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. Luckily, I have my favorite teacher in the afternoon. She is always patient with me and treats everyone equally. No one laughs at me in her class and I always want to try my best for her. Today she told me I was doing so well that she is giving me more challenging work to do. I promise I will work very hard for her and for myself. Now that I know what VIA is (thanks to my teacher) I was able to get home without any trouble. It feels like I always go through so many emotions every day and it leaves me feeling exhausted. But I will keep trying so I can get better at English and get a good job one day. Until tomorrow.......

EDRG 3321 Ch. 3

To effectively evaluate books for children, the story should be good and about something that could happen. Elements the author uses such as plot, conflict, characterization, setting, theme, and the author's style should be taken into consideration as well as the reader's age and level of reading. Books should be accessible for children and conforming to the reading level in order to read independently. The book should be of interest to the particular child reading the story. These criteria for evaluating children's books can show the timelessness of a character's feelings and their actions as well as understanding what the setting represents. By evaluating books, children can learn their heritage as human beings, learning that all people have conflicts in their lives that can be resolved, especially if a child can identify with a character in a book. Reading about other places and eras in which characters had problems to overcome helps foster personal development in children and they gain emotional intelligence as they read about character's feelings. If the story is well written with qualities in plot, characterization, setting, and theme, children not only expand their knowledge and imagination, but they carry values gained from literature into adulthood.
Character analysis helps childrn to better understand the character's flaws, feelings, strengths, and past to better understand the character themself as human like children are. This can help the reader to personally conncet with the character and the story. The same can be said of seeting analysis in that it halps the reader better understand the mood of the character through the words describing the time and place of the story and the feelings the characters have about those elements. Through analysis, readers can travel with the character to the time and place of the story and feel connected to the history in the book, whether it be through symbolism or through a historical or geagraphical background. In this way, the reader can be transformed to another place and time through a book and by analyzing these components, can understand how the author was able to accomplish the fact.

EDRG 3344 Ch.3

Reading and writing processes are interrelated and go hand in hand. In the reading process, prereading has the reader choosing books, getting background information such as topic of book, genre,and illustrator. The reader decides the purpose for reading, whether for pleasure or information, then previews the book by looking at the length adn difficulty. In writing, a similar process occurs when prewriting. In prewriting, the writers chooses the topic, decides what form to write in and who the audience will be along with organizing ideas and why they are writing. The next process in reading is the actual reading of a selection that compares to drafting in the writing process. Readers use knowledge of words and strategies to read and can use shared reading, guided, independent, or buddy reading, or reading aloud . Writers put ideas on paper by actually writing without worrying about conventios, just getting their thoughts on paper. The reading process of responding to what a reader has read can involve writing in reading logs about thoughts and feelings while writing, talking about feelings or thoughts and comparisons. The writing process involves the same concept with revising. At this time the writer refines and clarifies written ideas by rereading what was written, sharing compositions, making revisions, and conferencing with the teacher. The exploring stage of the reading process involves rereading the selection, the author's use of text and literacy language, learning new words and thier meanings, and learning strategies on reading. It is the same in the writing process through editing. This is when the writer corrects spelling and mechanical errors through rereading and learning about proofreading. Finally, in the reading process, applying what has been read to deepen understanding by reflecting on what was read and interpreting through writing, visually representations or oral presentations. Writers publish finished work by making books, reading their compositions aloud, or sharing their compositions with others.
I pretty much use the same processes when writing by first getting my ideas down on paper. I usually write my thoughts out than type it out using double spacing in order to read and revise my thoughts in a way that flows and will make sense for whomever reads what I have written. I then retype my words in the revised form using double spacing and I print it out. This way I can reread what a wrote and look for any errors, in spelling or mechanical. Once I'm satisfied, I save my final draft on the computer as final draft and I print it out the finished piece to be shared with others.

EDRG 3344

Children are usually introduced to literacy when they are read to by caregivers. They learn that print on the things they see in their environment correspond to meanings. Their first attempts to write look like scribbles that will eventually become letters then words as they develop. In a classroom setting, play centers help develop reading and writing if they are equipped with materials that have print or materials to write with. As they develop, children also learn letters and the sounds that correspond with each letter. This can be done as books are read to them or even with songs. Vowels and consonants are learned as well as blends of consonants and vowels. As they go from emergent to beginner to fluent readers and writers, they learn the generalizations of language and spelling patterns. The development through these stages can be accomplished by the teacher using a variety of instructional resources. Shared reading allows the teacher and children to read together and using big books, the teacher can model print, how to read from left to right, and spacing between words with whole group time. Predictable books can help students learn patterns through repeated words in order to predict what may happen next in the story. Many schools now have older children from upper grades partner with a younger grade in order to read to each other and discuss the books. Other activities that can help in the development of early reading include traveling bags of books children can take home as well as students dictating their own words to be recorded by the teacher and later read. Writings come from their drawings and speech and teachers can model correct structure of words and sentences. What begins with a letter to represent the whole word can become sentences and paragraphs as the child becomes fluent in reading and writing.
I see how the children can go from one stage to the next and since I believe reading is the core to all learning, the examples given in the text were ones I will incorporate into my classroom one day. I have seen the traveling bags of books where I once worked that had paper and crayons for drawing pictures of the story along with toys and stuffed animals to get the child more involved in reading. As I was reading the chapter, I noted many things that I feel I'll be able to use and have seen examples of the strategies used by teachers previously. By using songs and play incorporating reading and writing, I think it makes the learning experience more fun for the children and the older children reading with them gives them another experienced reader to learn from. I think these types of activities should encompass a large portion of the classroom schedule, even going into other subjects.

EDRG 3321

The history of children's literature begins with the oral tradition of children listening as the values of their elders were passed down. Early printed children's books treated children as small adults to be instructed on manners, morality, and spiritual behavior. The first of these types of books made thanks to the invention of the printing press that mass produced print and was mounted on wood. It wasn't until the publication of "Pilgrim's Progress" that literature began to give some entertainment to children instead of just instructing them in spiritual and moral matters. With adventure and exciting characters, it was entertaining to children. Ideas about children began to change, and with those changes, came changes in literature. But the literature was geared towards the upper middle class children, while those in poverty spent their time working to keep surviving. There were some authors who chose to write about the less fortunate children, using children as the main characters for their stories but still it was mainly those better off that got to enjoy the written words. Ilustrations also had changes from woodcuts that were colored in to brightly colored, fanciful pictures that were appealing to children. Many more types of books were becoming available besides the beautifully illustrated picture books, Books about adventure, fantasy, and real people were becoming popular with the upper middle class children, who were now, by the 1800's, less expected to be miniature adults and instead able to be more free. It showed a changing attitude towards children, where they were beginning to allow them to develop naturally. Eventually books became available for all children and despite censorship, have access to a variety of genres. As times have changed and the structure of a typical family have changed, so have the books written. When God and family were most important, literature stressed conscience and traditional family roles of men and women. When times changed and optimism ruled the day, especially in America, familes in literature were portrayed as happy and secure, children had few problems, and patriotism was strong. From the 1960's to present day, families and personal values have changed dramatically and are reflected in literature with children facing problems that the girls in "Little Women" could have never imagined. The range of literature has broadened to encompass so many different genres that there is surley a book for every type of person in the world.
I, for one, am glad that literature changed with the changing world. I imagine I would have been very bored reading the limited text that was once available for children. I don't think children really understood the grown up language that was being pressed upon them so long ago but they had no choice. Toda, there are so many choices for which I'm thankful for. I have one son who loves to read fantasy/adventure and the other one prefers to read about science or cartoon editions of Garfield and Zits. At least they are both reading and have such a variety to choose from.
Since ther are so many choices now, I think classrooms should have a variety of genres and should include the early classics like Robinson Crusoe, Oliver Twist, and Little Women beside biographies and realistic fiction. Of course, younger children can be introduced to various genres with books specifically written for their age group. I am a true advocate of reading and plan to have many different books in my classroom. I have saved all the wonderful books I read to my children and the dozens I have bought from their scholastic book orders and plan to have a wonderful classroom library. I will enjoy sharing the same books I read to my sons with my own classroom.