A look back...

When you start a class you never know what you are going to take with you when it is over. You never know what impact the people in your class may have on you, or what impact you may have on them. You never know what impact your professor may have on you, or you on her.

This was my first graduate level class and I chose to take it at Mount Saint Mary. Most people that work at my school got their graduate degree online. I was not sure what I wanted to do when I first had to make my decision. I chose to come to Mount Saint Mary because I wanted the classroom experience. I wanted the discussions and activities that happen in an interactive classroom. So far I got all of those things at Mount Saint Mary.

One of the authors that came to visit and speak to our class was Lesa Cline Ransome. Here is her blog 

Here is a video of her speaking in our class.

This is her and her husband, who illustrates many of her books.
Another author that visited our class was KL Going.                             Here is her  blog

This is her speaking in the Villa library. 

Chuck Stead, a famous storyteller also visited. Here is a link to an article in the Hudson Valley Press Online about his visit. 

I chose to just show that authors that visited our class in my blog but there were many other aspects of the class that helped me to meet all of the objectives. These were genre presentations, author or illustrator presentation, creating a classroom text set, and many various classroom activities. 

Impersonation?

For grad class we had to pretend we were an author or illustrator and present to our class as if we were that person. At first I thought that it was crazy. Then we had two real authors come to speak to our class, and I thought that it was very interesting. I loved hearing about why they wrote certain things in the book and what was cut out of the book by their editors. 

For our class we research whatever author we choose and then present to our class as if we are the author. Here are some of my classmates presentations:

                            

Andrea Davis Pinkey

Patricia Polacco

       Joseph Bruchac

Response to Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction?

Historical Fiction sounds like an oxymoron to me. History should be facts and fiction means something that is made up. Historical fiction is actually defined as the story of the world and its people and of cultures that rise and fall across time. They tell the stories of history, imaginative narratives, grounded in the facts of our past. 

A great book that is historical fiction that I read in my 5th grade classroom is Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. This book is part of the fifth grade common core. It is a book that teaches social studies as well as ELA. 

Book Trailer 

Storytelling Strategies I would use in my Classroom

After reading Jane Gangi's article Deepening Comprehension Through Storytelling I realized there are some techniques I would use in my own classroom and some that I would not. I agree that the storytelling technique is much different than the read aloud experience. I think that storytelling creates a relationship between the teller and the student. 
Storytelling helps the audience or in my case my students become part of the story instead of just sitting back and listening. The students are actively engaged. Making them part of the story aids in their comprehension. 
Storytelling can also help students to make connections to the book. The three types of connections we ask students to make are text to self text to text or text to world. 
                                  

Fantastical Literature

Fantastical literature includes folklore, fantasy, and science fiction derived from traditions, myths and legends to explain and explore mysteries of the world. Alice in Wonderland was the first book written in fantastical literature.
 
There was a genre presentation in my grad class on fantastical literature that was very informative on this topic. The power point was very informational and helped me to understand what fantastical literature was. Our presenters also created interactive games that helped us to understand what fantastical literature was. 
                           Power Point

Storyteller - Chuck Stead

Guest storyteller Chuck Stead came to speak to our graduate class. He was engaging and informative. He just received his PhD and defended his thesis.He grew up in Ramapo, NJ. Growing up in this area helped to guide his interest in all aspects of the area namely the local Indian tribe and Ford factory.  

He brought his hide with totems that guide his storytelling. He believes there is no rush on storytelling. The story must take you where it needs to in however much time it needs. 

His Grandfather would tell him his story over and over again about how he was an orphan and he still remembers it even though he was just a little boy. This shows me that even at a young age children can absorb so much. 

Chuck was a trapper at a very young age and would go out in the woods for days at a time. This is what lead him to his discoveries of the wrongdoings of Ford. 

I can easily relate this to the classroom because I think that my students would love to have someone like Chuck come in and tell them stories. I think it is important to recognize this firsthand account of history. 

Chuck Stead Telling a Story

Folklore

There are many different types of folklore. These include nursery or Mother Goose rhymes,fairy tales, fables, myths and legends, and folk songs. Most folklore started as an oral tale that has been passed down from generation to generation. I believe these stories are best when the reader can tell that they have really been passed down through generations.
                                                                                                              Storytelling
Cornerstones of folktales are what makes them stand out to children and adults. It makes them easy to recognize and use in their own writing, such as "Once Upon a Time."

Tuck Everlasting

Tonight in class we made videos on a website called animoto which allows you to create videos out of images. 
We read a fantastical book called Tuck Everlasting and then broke into groups to make videos. My group chose to make a video all about themes that are in Tuck Everlasting. 

One of the themes in Tuck Everlasting is time. Would time seem different if we had more of it? Tuck is unable to treasure the smaller moments in life because he knows they are infinite. For Winnie every second counts. 

Another theme in Tuck Everlasting is greed. This theme is shown through the character of the man in the yellow suit. He exhibits his greed by wanting the fountain of youth. 

Lastly a theme in Tuck Everlasting is moral judgment. Characters are faced with decisions the may seem like they are choosing between right and wrong. 

My Video