Future Classroom!

I would want to use "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in my future classroom! All of my little cousin's and children in my church love this book. I would like to use the book first all because it is cute, but is all packed with information. The book can be used as a science lesson because of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly and can be used as a health lesson because all of the junk food makes him sick. Also, can be used as a math lesson because of counting the food items. This book provides many opportunities to decorate the classroom and such. We could have a brainstorming time about a time when a child got extremely hungry. When did the child do? What did the child eat? Was it a healthy option? There are many routes to take with this fun book and I cannot wait to use it in my kindergarten classroom! :)

What Makes Writing Worth Reading?

This is a question that I have never consciously thought about before. Writings are worth reading when one can tell the writer prepared. I do not like reading when I have no idea where the paper or book is going because it has no clear direction. The writings needs to be clear of grammatical errors and everything must be spelled correctly. Personally, I choose to read things that share insight into the author's life. I like to see a glimpse of the author in his or her writings. I do not expect everyone to be able to write perfectly, but in order for me to take my time to read it, I must feel that the writer honestly tried for perfection. I hope to make my published story worth reading because I want others to be able to relate and reflect on their special family memories throughout their life.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones..."

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me," is a saying that I have heard my whole life. but not found to be be true. Literally words cannot physically break a bone or such, but words can be very damaging. I was the subject of cruel words for a season in middle school and I remember the pain and tears that came from those words. Words do have power because I witnessed it personally in my younger years. During this phase in my life I was quoted this from many people, but it never helped.

How Did I Learn Langauge?

I have never taken the time to truly evaluate the way a child should learn language, so this is an interesting topic to learn. In k5 my class used balanced literacy with phonics and whole words. We learned to sound out words and were encouraged to sound out every word silently before saying the word aloud. In addition, we learned sight words or whole words that may be exceptionally difficult or hard to sound out. We had weekly spelling tests that consisted of about ten words and then two or three sight words. I believe that balanced literacy is the best method of teaching children language. I was able to read most any book placed before me by the end of k5 so I am a firm believer in the way I was taught to read. I will use this method in my future classroom!