EDED 4310/ Chapter 5

Compare the features and instructional applications of GIS and GPS tools. How can educators use GIS and GPS tools to enhance student learning?

Well first of all a GIS or Geographic Information System is a computer system that is able to store different information about geographic locations in a database and can display the stored information on a map. An example of this would be a famous internet tool by the name of "Google Earth". We can use Google earth many different ways in the classroom to enhance student learning. It would be a great tool to use in Geography. The students could examen far off parts of the earth without stepping out of their classroom and with a few clicks of the mouse. Google Earth can also be used in a History class. For example if we were to be learning about the pyramids in Egypt we could actually visit the pyramid site through Google Earth. This would give the students a realistic experience, increase their interest, therefore they would learn more.

GPS or Global Positioning System is a worldwide radio navigation system made possible by a bank of 24 sattelites and their ground stations. I found it interesting that a GPS can calculate positions of anything on earth accurate to a matter of feet or inches by using sattelites as reference points. GPS can enhance student learning when doing science projects. The GLOBE Project is an environmental science project that utilizes remote sensing and ground-based observation to study the local environment. Through this virtual program students can investigate such things as land soil and weather.

EDED 4310/ CHAPTER 3 Teaching With Instructional Software

"Some people say drill and practice is really 'drill and kill.' What can teachers do to make
sure this kind of use doesn't happen and drill and practice can serve a useful function?"

Their are many drill and practice software programs that can be beneficial to students but to ensure that they are indeed beneficial the programs should have certain characteristics. First of all the students should have control over the presentation rate. The book states that students should have all the time they need or wish to answer the questions and also be able to review the feedback provided before coninuing to the next question. If the software program has open ended questions rather then multiple choice then the program should be able to judge whether or not the answer is correct or incorrect. The software drill and practice program should also provide appropriate feedback. Some programs display feedback that is much to elaborate and can bore the students. The books suggest that feedback should be simple and display quickly. In other occasions the program may be providing feedback that encourages the student to answer incorrectly by displaying feedback when a question is answered incorrectly that is more entertaining or animated than the feedback provided when the correct answer is given. If teachers assign drill and practice software activities that follow the described criteria then there is a greater chance that students will benefit from it instead of having a 'drill and kill" experience.

EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 11

This chapter is about shared and guided reading. This is a joyous, collaborative activity in which students and teachers read carefully selected texts, usually in enlarged format. Their are a few critical elements of shared reading. First of all we should establish a comfortable environment. We should select a variety of enlarged, predictable texts. We should also ensure that all children have the opportunity to actively participate. Lastly we need to provide opportunities to reread favorite books and also focus on text features and reading strategies. Guided reading is a good opportunity for the teacher to observe and learn what students are able to do.



AUTHOR PROFILE


Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was written in 1972 with interior illustrations by Roy Doty. It is for the higher elementary grade levels such as third grade and up. It is the first of the "Fudge books". It was followed by Superfudge, Fudge-A-Mania and, most recently, Double Fudge. Though Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great features many of the same characters as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, it does not fit exactly in the continuity of the Fudge books because it only focuses on Peter's classmate, Sheila.

The story focuses on a fourth-grader named Peter Warren Hatcher and his annoying brother Farley Drexel, and Peter's pet turtle. Farley hates the sound of his legal name, and prefers Fudge for any and all occasions. Chapters 4 and 7 also focus on Jimmy Fargo and Sheila Tubman, Peter's classmates.



Double Fudge by Judy Blume






This is also a book by the same author as the book above. It is just as fun to read as her other books and will be a interesting, funny literature experience.

EDRG 3321 Literature for Public School/ Chapter 10

This is one of my favorite chapters. It is called Reading Aloud which is one of my favorite things to do, so much that my whole family gets annoyed and tell me to be quiet. While growing up my mother always read aloud to me and I was frequently read aloud to in the classroom as well. The books stresses the importance of reading aloud to children when they are very young or in their primary years because it is when the seed is planted for developing a love for reading. The book talks about the misconception many of us have about reading aloud to older students or higher grade levels. No matter the age reading aloud should be done for students throughout all school levels and one of the benefits listed is increased listening comprehension. It is important to animate the read aloud and engage your students by drawing them into the book. Another tip given in this chapter is to always maintain eye contact. It is also good to create a setting for your read aloud. The best setting is when you sit on the floor at the same level as your students while they sit around you.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Maniac Magee is a Newbery medal-winning young adult fiction novel written by American author Jerry Spinelli and published in 1990. Exploring themes of racism and homelessness, it follows the story of an orphaned boy looking for a home in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Two Mills. He becomes a local legend for feats of athleticism and fearlessness, and his ignorance of sharp racial boundaries in the town. The book is popular in elementary school curricula, and has been used in scholarly studies on the relationship of children to racial identity and reading. A film adaptation of Maniac Magee was released in 2003.

Harriet the Spy by by Louise Fitzhugh

It was published in 1964. It won the Sequoyah Book Award.

Harriet M. Welsch is an outgoing 11-year-old girl aspiring to be a spy, who lives on the Upper East Side of New York City. As practice for her future career, she observes others carefully and writes everything she thinks in a notebook. Her nurse, Catherine Golly (known to Harriet as Ole Golly), has encouraged this. It is shown later in the book that Harriet has become so used to writing things down that she cannot think properly without a notebook. She is very rude to grownups and is a disapproving child.
Harriet has an afternoon "spy route" which covers her classmates, friends and neighborhood. Neighbors whom she observes include Harrison Withers, a bachelor with twenty-six cats; the Robinsons, a very wealthy but boring couple; Mrs. Agatha K. Plumber, an indolent divorcee; the Dei Santis, an Italian immigrant family which runs a grocery store; and the Dei Santis' deliveryman, Little Joe Curry, who has a habit of stealing food from the grocery for snacks and to give to a gang of hungry children who visit him regularly.
Harriet's classmates include rich, popular, class bully and perpetual teacher's pet Marion Hawthorne (described by Harriet in her notebook as a potential "lady Hitler"); Marion's second-in-command, Rachel Hennessey; the repulsive Pinky Whitehead; Laura Peters, who has a habit of smiling at everyone all the time; the somewhat pudgy Carrie Andrews, whose father is the Welsch's doctor; and a new student, the Boy With Purple Socks, who is so dull no one can remember his real name, which is Peter Matthews.

EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 9

I expanded my knowledge the genre Nonfiction in this chapter. First of all, nonfiction means that only factual, and actual, things that really happen, are informed in the book. The key to nonfiction books is that it is interesting and not boring. The book pointed out something very important to verify in nonfiction books. We need to assure that all information is accurate. The reader is relying on the information to be true. One way to check for accuracy is by checking the author's credentials, usually found on the jacket flap, in the introduction, or on the "About the Author" page at the back of the book. If the author is not a recognized expert then we should check the cited resources. There are several types of nonfiction books such as concept books, which usually focus on a specific topic (colors, opposites, shapes, animals).


AUTHOR PROFILE:

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Boyd Henshaw, a writer, never actually appears in the book. The story is actually about Leigh Botts, a young boy who lives with his divorced mother but misses his father terribly. The beginning of the book is a collection of letters written from Leigh to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. The letters show increasing emotional and literary complexity as Leigh grows. They also show his desire to become a writer.The story begins with the main character in the second grade but he progresses to sixth grade in less than 10 pages. Although we never see Mr. Henshaw's reply, Mr. Henshaw apparently answers at least two of Leigh's letters and suggests that a would-be writer should write in a diary every day. At first, Leigh's diary entries take the form of unsent additional letters to Mr. Henshaw, even beginning with the salutation, "Dear Mr. Pretend Henshaw." But as he matures, Leigh eventually decides that he does not need to do this and begins keeping his diary only for himself.
The diary reveals Leigh's loneliness at school, details his troubles with an unknown schoolmate who secretly steals his lunch in the mornings, and most of all shows his sadness about his parents' divorce and his father`s and dog`s (Bandit) elongated absence. The book appears in Houghton Mifflin reading grade 5, theme 4, story 4.

This book was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984.

EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 12

This chapter is about independent reading. This is an activity that I am very familiar with. I love to read and whenever I have spare time I love to read on my own. This is because I grew up surrounded with books and this is what we want for all of our students. There are several critical elements of independent reading. We as teachers need to organize a classroom library, help students select books, and also help students keep track of what they read. We should always provide time for reading in the classroom and opportunities for book sharing. It is crucial that we ensure one-on-one time with each student and focus on reading strategies.


AUTHOR PROFILE


Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo

This is a children's story written by Michael Morpurgo and first published by William Heinemann in 1985. It is set on the island of Bryher, one of the Isles of Scilly, in the year 1914. "You keep away from the Birdman", warned Gracie's father. But Gracie and her friend Daniel discover that the Birdman isn't mad or dangerous like everyone says. It's the Birdman who warns them to stay away from Samson Island – he says it's cursed. Gracie's father then joins the navy and goes to war. Gracie's mother falls ill and can't earn enough money to support the family. Gracie and Daniel decide to go fishing to earn money against Gracie's mother's wishes. Daniel and Gracie get stranded on Samson by fog they have to unravel the island's haunting secrets and help the birdman to keep the curse from crossing to Bryher. Soon after, Gracie comes home to learn of a tragic loss. Is it true? Is Samson really cursed then?

EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 8

The Fiction Family is what I learned about in Chapter 8. The fiction family is divided into realistic, historical, fantasy, and science fiction. My favorite type is hisorical fiction. Historical fiction books are about events that could actually happen that take place in the past up to and including the Vietnam Era in the 1960's. My second favorite type of fiction books is fantasy. I love to get lost in these books that take you to a far off place and make you forget your troubles. This type of work is categorized when it contains elements that are considered impossible in our world. A great example of this is the famous series of Harry Potter which is also one of my favorite books.

AUTHOR PROFILE:

Again, I add another of my favorite books to my author profile. When I read a book I usually leave planet earth and create my own imaginary place and this is the case of many other avid readers. If the book is a quality piece of literature and of interest to the student then we will accomplish our goal of engaging the student with literature.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

This is a work of children's literature about two lonely children who create a magical forest kingdom. In 1978, it won the Newbery Medal. Bridge to Terabithia is the story of fifth grader

Jess Aarons, who becomes friends with his new neighbor Leslie Burke after he loses a footrace to her at school. Leslie is a smart, talented, outgoing tomboy, and Jess thinks highly of her. He himself is an artistic boy who, in the beginning of the novel, is fearful, angry, and depressed. After meeting, and then ultimately losing Leslie, Jess is transformed. He becomes courageous and lets go of his anger and frustration. This book also has a film version.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

This is a children's book series of thirteen novels (or "tridecalogy") written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket, and illustrated by Brett Helquist. It is about the adventures of three children, Violet Baudelaire, an inventor, Klaus Baudelaire, a researcher, and Sunny Baudelaire, a chef (consequently), after the death of their parents in a fire. The setting of the series is anachronistic, presumably set in the 1960s sometime after the invention of skyscrapers, and throughout the series there are many literary and cultural allusions.
A film adaptation of the first three books in the series was released on December 17, 2004, as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.