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Today in class 2 groups presented their genre projects. I really liked the presentation Why the sun and the moon live in the sky. They presented this very well I love the costumes, music and little houses. This is the first time I have seen a presentation like this. I believe one year I will do something like this to get the students involved. Loved the pineapple cake!!!! The presentation about recycling was cool and informative. I had the song from the presentation in my head for the whole day!

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Star Trek

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Here is a book that a student at the elementary school recommended me to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He said this is a awesome book. It must be I tried checking it out at several libraries, but they are on hold as soon as they are checked in. Here is the website http://www.wimpykid.com. I was able to check out this website and learned a little about Jeff Kinney the author. Check it out!

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I observe a first grade class they introduce me to the Junie B. Jones books they are really cute books. The class and I like the books because they students can relate to the books. The author to the books is Barbara Parks here is the website http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/books/books.html.

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Here is a cool website http://www.patriciapolacco.com/. Check out this website there is all kinds information for teachers. You might want to read Pink and Say this is such a sad book. I really enjoy Patricia Polacco books.

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Jennifer Myers read out loud video

The teacher on the video did a great job doing a book walk. She made sure show and explain everything on the verso-page. The teacher also clarified the meaning of text to text connection. Her voice was very animated and soft. there was a word in the video in a different language she made sure to translate in English so the students knew exactly what she was talking about. She stops and ask students questions and allows them to be involve in the read out loud. I like they way she allowed the students to share their predictions with their shoulder partner.

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I purchased a children's book this weekend by Barbra Lehman "Museum Trip". This book is the coolest book ever. It is full of colorful pictures. The cool thing about this book is that there are no words. This allows you to use your imagination to make up the story. You may want to check this book out.

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My Expository is "How to make a Patriotic Pin"

This will be an activity for 2nd graders. I will need my materials, instructions, and a example of what my patriotic pin will look like. I will pass out the instructions to the students. Next I will read them to my students. I will pass out all of the materials needed for this project. Last I will show the students a example of this pin. Together as a class we will work on the project step by step.

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Chapter: 7
In class we discussed how interesting picture books really can be. When i think of picture books I just assume they are for children and children only. Since I've been taking classes here at Texas A&M I look at these books in a whole new light. Now that I have learned to appreciate the art work and the stories I find myself as a fan to children's picture books. My favorite author is Eric Carle love the colors and pictures he uses in his books.

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Stiletto Stoners
Today in class we watch a video about the "Stiletto Stoners" . These are women that are very educated with great careers that have a secret habit. The women in this article say to help them unwind from a long day they go home and smoke marijuana. I think this is CRAZY! For some reason the I don't picture educated stiletto wearing women smoking weed. However if this makes them feel better by all means this is there life they can do what they want. They just need to be careful for many reasons. If they listed what companies they work for they may just start drug testing to find out who is smoking weed. If for some reason they decide to leave their house and drive they may seriously hurt themselves or someone else. I personally would not do it.

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Here is a cool website I found about Judy Blume and her childrens books. One of my favorite books is Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I wish I knew how to add pictures, but it keeps telling me I have an error. If anyone would like to teach me I would be thankful and happy to learn:).You may want to check out this website http://www.judyblume.com/books.php

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What is a narrative?
A narrative is a genarally a poem, a play, a novel or even a short story. No matter what type of narrative you maybe writing there always needs to be a link to make sure everything in your story stays together. This is a type of writing that has a beginning middle and end. A narrative tells a story with characters, plot and a setting. The narrative may be true or fictitious. Narratives are usually colorful picture books.
A few examples of a narrative is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Rotten Ralph by Jack Gentos, Just for you by Mercy Mercer.

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Micah's Independence Day

Once upon a time there was a little boy name Micah. He was so excited because tomorrow was going to be Independence Day. This is one of his favorite days of the year. He knows every year on the fourth of July he, his family, and friends go to the Missions Baseball game to watch Americas favorite sport. The best part of the event is when they eat hot dogs, peanuts, and crackerjacks, and get watch the firework show at the end.

At 8:00 in the morning on Independence Day Micah woke up and was so excited knowing he had a big day ahead of him. Micah‘s mom and dad were in the kitchen preparing breakfast for him. As Micah is finished his breakfast he heard the door bell. Micah answers the door and on the other side of the door is his two best friends Jordan and Jonah. They all packed their tickets, baseball gloves, baseball caps and sunscreen.

As they drove to the ballpark they listened to Micah’s dad tell how on The fourth of July in 1776 there were many soldiers that fought and gave their life so we all can be free. They finally arrived at the ballpark but the sun was so hot. Micah’s mom reminded the boys to apply sunscreen on their bodies and put their baseball caps and sunglasses on to shield them from harmful sun rays. As soon as they walked into the ballpark they found their seats near the third base line. The boys were so excited this is their favorite section. They know that most baseball players are right handed so they tend to hit the ball to the left section where their sits are at. The boys were feeling hungry and hot so Micah’s mom gave them money to buy hot dogs and snow cones to keep them cool.

The game finally started Micah’s family and friends were so excited to be at the Missions game on Independence Day. At the beginning of the 7th inning the boys heard and noticed a foul ball headed towards Micah’s mom. She screamed thinking she was about to be hit by the ball. The boys ran toward her with their baseball gloves on and Micah caught the ball! He felt like a hero who saved his mom from the flying ball. Everyone cheered and that’s when Micah wondered if that’s how proud his forefathers felt. At the end of the 7th inning Micah his family and friends started the singing Take me out to the Ball Game as the crowd sang along watching the firework display.

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The film on Maya Angelou was very inspiring. She is such a motivating speaker it would be nice if young kids of today are able to listen to speak. This may inspire them to enjoy poetry. Maya Angelou can encourage our youth to stay in school. Maya Angelou writes awesome poetry this is a sample of one that I like: Remembrance
Your hands easy weight, teasing the bees hived in my hair, your smile at the slope of my cheek. On the occasion, you press above me, glowing, spouting readiness, mystery rapes my reason When you have with drawn your self and the magic, when only the smell of your love lingers between my breasts, then, only then, can I greedily consume your presence.
Maya Angelou

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One of my favorite childrens author is Eric Carle I love his books they are so bright and colorful. www3.amh www3.amherst.edu/~museums10/index.php?

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Today in class we spoke about memories. This was a great exercise we did in class. I didn't realize how hard it is to share memories. However this was a great time to get to know a little something about everyone in the class.
My sad memory is when I go to the nursing home that I volunteer at and find out that one of the elderly residents passed away. My church, family, and I volunteer once a month at a nursing home on the southeast side of town once a month. I believe I have blogged about this before. We bring the residents goodies keep them company and share a little bit of the bible with them. There are residents that really look forward to this time of month. The reason is cause they are lonely or just don't have family at all or their family just does not go visit them. There was this resident who every little fellowship we had he was the first one and would sit in the front row. Never failed he was always in the front. This pass month of September my children and I got there a little late and noticed he wasn't there. We asked my mom where is he she said " he has gone to be with Jesus". It was really sad he suddenly got sick and passed away in the hospital. This makes me realize how precious life is cause one day your here then the next day your gone. The good thing about this story is that he accepted Christ in his heart:)

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Personal writing is a huge part of peoples everyday life now days people email , text, blog and even write letters in order to communicate. I personally prefer to email or text cause there are times that I am on the go or busy that I don't have time to talk. My mom is so stuck in the old days she hardly knows how to use a computer. So we set up a HTML account for her now she is able to communicate with people through her personal spiritual writing. The coolest thing was she actually learned how to text. It may take her a little while to send a message. Now she is constantly sending me sweet motherly messages even when she knows I am in class. This is the funniest thing ever that my mom is doing high tech personal writing.
One of the things that makes me really happy is to be with my family.
Dear family,
I just want every one of you to understand how much you mean to me. I know there are times that you may feel neglected, but I do promise once I am done with school I will make time for the speaial things we used to do. Just want you all to know that I am determine to fulfill my goal to become a elemantary school teacher. I am really proud of you "Esh" that you are going to graduate this year. I will be there to help you as you apply for nursing school. I remeber you as a child playing that you were a nurse. I believe you have a passion for this so you will be a great nurse. Jay you are a junior in high school and still undecided about what you want to do in the future. Thats ok you still have time you can always enroll in classes at the local college and get your pre requisites out of the way until you deicide what you may want to do. My husband just want you to know I appreciate you and everything you do for us. I know its hard paying all of the bills while I am a full time student. I promise to do my best in school so I can one day get a job and help out.
Love, mom

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Today in Mrs. Picketts class we learned how important it is to understand what you read. Comprehension is the main part of reading this helps you understand exactly what you are reading. I had no clue that there was such a thing as decoding words. It was interesting to read that students can read a book without any struggle then you can ask them what they read and they have no clue. I know there are times that I may do that, but didn't know that there was a word for it. I guess it is true when people tell us we learn something new every day. There other ways students may comprehend is using their prior knowledge in order to make a connection. The more schemata a student has they are more likely to comprehend and enjoy what they are reading. Teachers have a huge role in helping children to read they are to try to make them as independent as possible so they can have the skills to continue to develop when teachers are not available. My goal is to become a aesthetic reader by the end of this semester. I am trying to get into the habit of picking something up and reading it instead of turning the television on and watching reality T.V.

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If I won a million dollars I would continue to pursue my degree in teaching. This is a goal that I will achieve no matter what shall transpire. Next it would be great not having to worry about how I am going to pay for school and my student loans. This has been my lifelong dream to become a teacher I think it’s important to have teachers in the classroom that have a passion for this profession. There are too many teachers in the classroom that shouldn’t be. Having my education is something that I will have that no one can take from me no matter how much money I have or don’t have.
The wise thing for me to do is to invest my money well. I would hire a finical advisor to help me make wise decisions. I would make sure I have money saved for my children so they can pay for their college education. I would purchase a new car for each of them. This will give them a way back and forth to work and school. They will be required to have a part time job until they graduate. This is so they can buy all the extra stuff that they may want. I just want to teach them some type of responsibility. I will help them out if they ever need it; however my main concern is that they have money for college. My family and I volunteer once a month at a local nursing home. Every month we ask a few residents at a time what they would like so next time we visit we bring them what was on their wish list on the next visit. Instead of the residents waiting on their turn I would make a wish list for all of them at the same time.
The last thing I would do is to improve my quality of life. I would make sure all of my bills are paid off. I would buy my husband and myself a new vehicle. Then I would pick my mom up and we would go on a serious shopping spree for purses and shoes. Next I would surprise my husband take him to Hawaii and layout on the beach all day and sip on Mai tai drinks.

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In Monday class we learned that writing is a process. I can honestly say I have never heard any teacher tell me that writing is a process. It makes me wonder how on earth I was able to put papers together. However now that I have the secret formula I plan to use it. Now that I know this I can pass this information on to my own children. This will be a valuable tool we can use.
There are five different stages in writing.

Stage 1: Pre-writing – This process is when you gather and organize your thoughts. You can use a semantic map to help you with this first stage.
Stage 2: Drafting- This process is when you put your thoughts on paper. This is your first rough draft.
Stage 3: Revising- This is process is when you change add or delete sentences it is helpful when you have a group of 1-3 people to help you make minor changes or comments.
Stage 4: Editing – This process is when you proofread identify or correct mechanical errors. Meet with teacher to do the final editing.
Stage 5: Publishing- This process is when you make the final copy of your writing. Publish in correct format. Place it on the word wall for social justice.

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After reading this chapter made me realize that it is a very important to have a Culturally Responsive Classroom. An activity that I feel I will do on the first day of school is have the students do a project about them and their interest. Hopefully I can get some ideas about their culture from this activity.I believe that having something in your classroom that has to do with each students culture can automatically make them feel comfortable in a new environment. It can be anything such as food, values, sports or even clothing.
A goal that I would like to set is to allow the students to tell the class a little about their culture. I believe that some of these students have no clue that there are other cultures and beliefs than their own. An example given in class is to invite a guest speaker to your class to speak about something special about their culture.This may allow the students to value and respect all cultures, backgrounds and languages.
All students need to believe and understand that their home language and culture is great. Students need community participation to help them understand that all cultures are great no one is better than the other we are all equal. I cant believe that some teachers would actually assume that just cause minority students don't perform well on assessments that this means they are poorly educated or have some type of learning disability. It is the teachers duty to maybe modify or use a different technique. Teachers need to teach all students to the best of their ability. All kids deserve a equal opportunity to learn no matter the color, race, or religion.
Here is a cool webiste you may want to look up it has all kinds of awesome activites you can do. It also gives you a listing of childrens authors http://www.kidsreads.com/authors.

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What is a circular story? A circular story is a story that is told in a circle pattern. This story must begin and end in the same way.There are many ways that teachers can use this in their classroom. I would use this method on helping the students to learn how to tell time on a clock. I would have 12 chairs in a circle then 12 students will be sitting in these chairs. The other students will take turns acting as the hands on the clock. Depending on where the hands want to land. The remainder of the students will take turns having to guess what the time it is. Then you can switch the roles of the students. This should help the students understand the circular story pattern and they can also have fun with it. (Hope you are able to understand my example.)
There are many ways that you can make reading fun for children. I believe that if the teacher shows the students that she is excited about reading and has a passion for it they will too. Students might not admit it, but they really look up to teachers and want to be just like them. Reading to the class and changing your voice to fit the character helps keeps their attention. Another way is to have a creative reading center.

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Ch.1 Is a very informative chapter this chapter describes how a solid reading foundation is crucial for all school subject and everyday life. I think it is very interesting how much research is being done to help teachers come up with effective ways to teach the students.one example is first you must teach the student how to read. Second is teaching the student to want to read (p.5) . Reading this chapter has made me realize how reading and writing support each other for life long literacy. I know I hear this in class, but I think its different when you read it yourself. On pg 6 They gave an example of a teacher who came up with a great idea for the students who are struggling in reading this is called Reading Recovery. The teacher meets with her struggling students 45 min before school to help them understand and change their attitude towards reading. In this same paragraph a colleague asked her what are you doing and why are you doing this its not as if you are getting paid extra. This teacher was surprised of the attitude this teacher. Her colleague believed that not every child can learn. This teacher needs to find a new profession. I believe every child can learn. Our kids are the future so we must give them the best education we possibly can. Most of all have a great attitude towards teaching who wants a grumpy teacher.

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I was online trying to find a childrens author, but so many came up it was hard for me to pick just one. I found a website that may be helpful to you. http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-olsens-author.asp This website is so cool it listed many children authors. It also gives a little biography about the author and their books.

Ch.1 I have not recieved my book yet so I can't really comment on the chapter. I ordered my book on the 26th of Aug. with speedy delievery, but no book. As soon as I receive my book I should be able to blog about ch. 1.

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How do I learn Hmmm.... I am a hands and visual learner. For some reason it is easier for me to understand something as long as I am able to see it or solve it on my own. Maybe this is why on my intelligence program I scored really high on intrapersonal strength:) I guess I would consider myself as a Intrisic.

3321/ m&w Ruby Perry

Here is my new blog.