Picture Book Evaluation and Caldecott Exercise Reflection: The Caldecott Exercise was very useful in taking an in depth look at picture books. It gave me a better understanding of the factors that go into choosing a truly excellent picture book. By doing this exercise, I realized how difficult it can be to determine whether or not a book should be recognized as a “winner.” There are so many great picture books written and illustrated every year that this process becomes a very difficult one. We had all chosen books that we loved as kids and that we continue to love today. In addition to that, we all really enjoyed each other’s chosen books as well. We agreed on the elements that were important in choosing a winner, but it is hard to compare two totally different styles of pictures books. Even though the criteria seems to be direct at first, once you start evaluating each book the criteria seems to become more broad and harder to determine. It is very difficult to decide between so many great books that all master their individual styles. I am willing to bet that the committee that has been doing this for years still has trouble deciding on winning books.
Poetry Anthology Reflection: At first this assignment seemed to be tedious and just time consuming but after searching through pages and sites full of poems I realized that finding poems that are appropriate and worthwhile to children is tedious and time consuming, thus making this assignment a worthwhile one to have completed before teaching. Making this anthology allowed us not only to explore the thousands of poems and poets out there but also think about which poems would be best to read to our future students and what kinds of activities we could incorporate them into. In a classroom all of our students are going to have different interests so by doing this topic based anthology all of our students could find a poem that they enjoy. Is it best to make your own anthology or use the many that are already compiled for you in efforts to save time?
Fairy Tale Exploration Reflection: This assignment really made you think about what types of things you look for in a fairy tale and what types of things really make up a fairy tale. These things aren’t always noticeable while we are reading but if they were to be taken out of a fairy tale we would surely notice. Many fairy tales contain patterns within them and patterns that connect themselves to other fairy tales. By doing this assignment, I was really caused to think about what I expected in a fairy tale and how the story would change if these things were not present. It was interesting to see how some of these elements really gave us a lot of information about the characters themselves and their personalities. I enjoyed making the connection between airy tales that have been around for years to other interpretations and even to movies.
Annotated Bibliography Reflection: The annotated bibliography assignment was extremely time consuming, but totally worthwhile. It is SO important as a teacher to have a wealth of knowledge about a variety of good children’s literature. This assignment was really useful in doing just that. After searching the web for lists of books under each category, I chose books that were not only good books but ones that I looked forward to going back and reading. I remembered reading many of them as a kid and remembered bits and pieces of them. Of course the majority of my chosen were books that I remember loving but need a refresher on. This assignment became enjoyable and definitely something that I will refer back to when I start teaching.
Picture Books Reflection: I enjoyed picture books very much and this genre is a very important one for children, especially in the primary grades. These books make up some of a child’s first experiences with literature so it is critical that the be presented with excellent material that will interest and engage them. There is a plethora of picture books out there and it is best to find a wide variety of styles and topics to include in your classroom library.
Children’s Poetry Reflection: This course introduced me to a lot of children’s poetry that I was unfamiliar with and that was better than what I remember experiencing in elementary school. I found some of the more dated poems interesting and it is amazing to see how much poetry has changed over time, especially in regards to how poems are written for children now. I feel like poetry has come a long way. There is a noticeable shift from poems designed to teach a moral lesson and poems today that are designed to be humorous and just enjoyable.
Fairy Tales Reflection: I find it interesting that fairy tales started off as oral traditions and made it as far as they did without changing much of the plot. They also were meant for adult’s too and now they are told to all children and written with children as their main audience. The endless possibilities that fairy tales can take is exciting in its self. I was surprised to learn that many of the original fairy tales are far from the Disney version i grew up with. I have to say, I like the happier versions much better. Overall, this genre allows for the imagination to run free and the imagery to be easily accessed.
Novels for Children Reflection: Novels for children are great and the wide variety of types allows most all children to find something that piques their interest. Novels can easily be incorporated into lesson plans of any subject. The type of novel will really depend on the purpose and subject of the assignment. Novels can be used not only to teach reading, but can be used across all content areas and really help integrate the subject areas. When reading a novel, always ask question about the plot for example, “what is the problem?” and “how is it solved?” The plot will be one of the most important parts of a novel.
Realistic Fiction Reflection: These books are very catching because they tell a story of that could very easily have been true or become true. Some contain real things such as the setting or some of the characters. I like that this genre tells a story in a realistic way and allows feelings to be easily felt but at the same time one could argue that this is not a good idea to share with younger children. Children could easily think that these stories are real and once something is believed, it is hard to break it. We must be careful when choosing realistic fiction books for our students and be sure they understand that it is still fiction. This was my favorite genre as a child and I think children often like fantasy or realistic fiction and usually not both. It is important to have a good balance in the classroom. I think this genre is popular because these are often stories that children can relate to.
Modern Fantasy Reflection: I really enjoy these books because of the creative and imaginative elements that are involved. Modern fantasies contain alternate worlds and talking animals that create such vivid visual imagery. They are written more of today’s time periods and seemingly realistic until you discover some sort of power or ability that is not real. These books can really catch the minds of a young reader. I think it safe to say that fantasy is incredibly popular and gets children reading.
Historical Fiction Reflection: It is critically important to look for accuracy when choosing historical fiction for children. Historical fiction books are great to teach history in an exciting and more creative way. I really enjoy the historical novels that develop feelings within their characters and allow you to experience a particular time period or historical event as a character in the book. I think this allows children to better understand what it may have been like to experience certain things first hand.
Multicultural Fiction Reflection: These books are very helpful when learning about different places around the world and the ways that other people live. Some children may never get to experience some of the different cultures of the world first hand so literature is the only way for them to gain global knowledge. Some of them can be biased and show certain cultural customs in a negative light so it is important to evaluate the book and sources. One of our jobs as teachers is to prepare our students for the world and help shape them to become good citizens. One aspect of this understands that not everyone lives the same lives that we do. Through reading multicultural fiction books, students can be introduced to other places and ways of life. These books normally create a lot of emotion within the main characters and draw you into their lives. As a teacher, be careful about how harsh or happy these books make things out to be, making sure they are appropriate to your grade level.
Poetry Anthology Reflection: At first this assignment seemed to be tedious and just time consuming but after searching through pages and sites full of poems I realized that finding poems that are appropriate and worthwhile to children is tedious and time consuming, thus making this assignment a worthwhile one to have completed before teaching. Making this anthology allowed us not only to explore the thousands of poems and poets out there but also think about which poems would be best to read to our future students and what kinds of activities we could incorporate them into. In a classroom all of our students are going to have different interests so by doing this topic based anthology all of our students could find a poem that they enjoy. Is it best to make your own anthology or use the many that are already compiled for you in efforts to save time?
Fairy Tale Exploration Reflection: This assignment really made you think about what types of things you look for in a fairy tale and what types of things really make up a fairy tale. These things aren’t always noticeable while we are reading but if they were to be taken out of a fairy tale we would surely notice. Many fairy tales contain patterns within them and patterns that connect themselves to other fairy tales. By doing this assignment, I was really caused to think about what I expected in a fairy tale and how the story would change if these things were not present. It was interesting to see how some of these elements really gave us a lot of information about the characters themselves and their personalities. I enjoyed making the connection between airy tales that have been around for years to other interpretations and even to movies.
Annotated Bibliography Reflection: The annotated bibliography assignment was extremely time consuming, but totally worthwhile. It is SO important as a teacher to have a wealth of knowledge about a variety of good children’s literature. This assignment was really useful in doing just that. After searching the web for lists of books under each category, I chose books that were not only good books but ones that I looked forward to going back and reading. I remembered reading many of them as a kid and remembered bits and pieces of them. Of course the majority of my chosen were books that I remember loving but need a refresher on. This assignment became enjoyable and definitely something that I will refer back to when I start teaching.
Picture Books Reflection: I enjoyed picture books very much and this genre is a very important one for children, especially in the primary grades. These books make up some of a child’s first experiences with literature so it is critical that the be presented with excellent material that will interest and engage them. There is a plethora of picture books out there and it is best to find a wide variety of styles and topics to include in your classroom library.
Children’s Poetry Reflection: This course introduced me to a lot of children’s poetry that I was unfamiliar with and that was better than what I remember experiencing in elementary school. I found some of the more dated poems interesting and it is amazing to see how much poetry has changed over time, especially in regards to how poems are written for children now. I feel like poetry has come a long way. There is a noticeable shift from poems designed to teach a moral lesson and poems today that are designed to be humorous and just enjoyable.
Fairy Tales Reflection: I find it interesting that fairy tales started off as oral traditions and made it as far as they did without changing much of the plot. They also were meant for adult’s too and now they are told to all children and written with children as their main audience. The endless possibilities that fairy tales can take is exciting in its self. I was surprised to learn that many of the original fairy tales are far from the Disney version i grew up with. I have to say, I like the happier versions much better. Overall, this genre allows for the imagination to run free and the imagery to be easily accessed.
Novels for Children Reflection: Novels for children are great and the wide variety of types allows most all children to find something that piques their interest. Novels can easily be incorporated into lesson plans of any subject. The type of novel will really depend on the purpose and subject of the assignment. Novels can be used not only to teach reading, but can be used across all content areas and really help integrate the subject areas. When reading a novel, always ask question about the plot for example, “what is the problem?” and “how is it solved?” The plot will be one of the most important parts of a novel.
Realistic Fiction Reflection: These books are very catching because they tell a story of that could very easily have been true or become true. Some contain real things such as the setting or some of the characters. I like that this genre tells a story in a realistic way and allows feelings to be easily felt but at the same time one could argue that this is not a good idea to share with younger children. Children could easily think that these stories are real and once something is believed, it is hard to break it. We must be careful when choosing realistic fiction books for our students and be sure they understand that it is still fiction. This was my favorite genre as a child and I think children often like fantasy or realistic fiction and usually not both. It is important to have a good balance in the classroom. I think this genre is popular because these are often stories that children can relate to.
Modern Fantasy Reflection: I really enjoy these books because of the creative and imaginative elements that are involved. Modern fantasies contain alternate worlds and talking animals that create such vivid visual imagery. They are written more of today’s time periods and seemingly realistic until you discover some sort of power or ability that is not real. These books can really catch the minds of a young reader. I think it safe to say that fantasy is incredibly popular and gets children reading.
Historical Fiction Reflection: It is critically important to look for accuracy when choosing historical fiction for children. Historical fiction books are great to teach history in an exciting and more creative way. I really enjoy the historical novels that develop feelings within their characters and allow you to experience a particular time period or historical event as a character in the book. I think this allows children to better understand what it may have been like to experience certain things first hand.
Multicultural Fiction Reflection: These books are very helpful when learning about different places around the world and the ways that other people live. Some children may never get to experience some of the different cultures of the world first hand so literature is the only way for them to gain global knowledge. Some of them can be biased and show certain cultural customs in a negative light so it is important to evaluate the book and sources. One of our jobs as teachers is to prepare our students for the world and help shape them to become good citizens. One aspect of this understands that not everyone lives the same lives that we do. Through reading multicultural fiction books, students can be introduced to other places and ways of life. These books normally create a lot of emotion within the main characters and draw you into their lives. As a teacher, be careful about how harsh or happy these books make things out to be, making sure they are appropriate to your grade level.