Reading is Fun

Hello Class of ED641,

The presentation was very interesting and informative. Thank you for all your handouts. I was able to learn a synopsis of your multiculltural books that all of you have presented in class. I find the books very multicultural because they seem to have real experiences depicited as well as a feel of many peoples's social impact from the WWII. As I sat there listening to everyone's presentation, I was able to find out many things about your books. From the brief descripitions, accuracy, expertise, respect, purpose and with an added bonus, some links related to each book was made available. Everyone's presentation was excellent. We are able to grasp a view of how the author came up with their books. The accuracy, the involvement of cultural elements such as langauge, food, and life experiences have made all the books very real and interesting to read. Kudo's to everyone. See you next week!

Esta La Bista, Si Albert

Multicultural Books

Books, Books, Books, Wow! I loved all the books that were presented today. The presentations were very informative and fun. Richard, I loved "Her Wild American Self" and will patienly wait until March. Charlene, the Island of the Blue Dolphins will be next on my list of reading. Crystal, I agree with your purpose part of the evaluation--there is no way the events could have taken place in the US. The six components of Literacy is important and I was glad that we had a chance to go through them today. Comprehending, sentence order, oral communication, interpreting, the power of prints are all components of Literacy. It is important that we teachers provide the opportunities for our students to fine tune and integrate these components. The joyful Noise was a fun activity. It brought the different strategies we can use with our students. Students will be definately engaged, interact, think, and cooperate with each other. It is an activity where everyone will be involved. What a fun way to introduce poem/poetry to the students!

Multicultural Books Analysis

I was very pleased to hear of everyone's analysis on their tradebooks. The content of the books that were shared that I have not read are very compelling. I like that because of the way everyone presented their analysis, I have become inspired to learn more about history by reading more tradebooks/novels about that take into account historical events.

Many of the books that were analyzed were about World War 2. I'm not very much a history buff, much less a fanatic about World War 2. Though I'm liking it more and more each day. However, after reading fictionalized accounts of the events and the dramatic experiences of the characters, I'm compelled to read more like them. The history books don't really tell about how what was really going on, like how exactly the people felt and lived. Wow, all of a sudden history has become interesting to me ... in a sense. Yes, I'm referring to books with a storyline that also teach about history. I like books like these. And I guess I make up one example of a person enjoying reading a book about something not of prime interest by reading about it in an interesting book. Oh what an oxymoron!

Presentations

Whew! Today started of as a stressful day but towards the end, the day wasn't all that bad. It was an eventful and informative day. A day where there were so many presentations that were interesting and informative. I thought that all the presenters were well informed whom presented valid facts. All the books or stories that were chosen were excellent choices. I learned facts about each book that I never knew. I was so nervous on my presentation. I bet everyone was, but give yourselves a pat of the back because everyone did a good job.
The presentations were great because we got handouts, we were listening, we were viewing,we were reading, we had visual representations, and at times we were writing. So, I know learning did occur during our presentations.
Chrystal made an interesting fact that I thought that was true. She said "Children follow facts more than fictional qualities in the story." I believe that children can relate more to facts because facts are real and are experienced. Today was interesting outcome. A stressful day can become a learning day!!!!

I'm buggy about reading!

Nothing like sharing a good book with a friend. Thanks for all the great info about your books. I think we all made excellent choices. I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoy reading those young adult books. Does that mean I'm still a young adult? At heart maybe. Seriously, students can gain a lot of knowlege from historical fiction while being entertained at the same time. I think they will remember facts easier when they enjoy what they are reading.

Activity 7 reinforced my belief of how important literacy is to all of us, but most importantly, children. Children who read well do better in other subjects and in all aspects of schooling and beyond. As the world becomes more complex, reading is increasingly important for children trying to find their place in it.

Research shows that writing develops higher order thinking skills and helps students learn content across subject areas. And the more students write and receive positive feedback, the more their writing performance improves.

Speaking and listening go hand-in-hand. Only by combining the two is it possible to gain understanding and promote open communication.

Using visual aids enhance learning for children as well as adults. All these components go together to build their literacy.

Have a Great Week!

The More we do it, the wiser we get.....

Hello ED641 Members, 2/12/07

Today's class was very enlightening. I was able to load up activity 1 on live text and everything went smoothly, thanks to Dr. Rivera's well explained instructions. I also would like to thank Sheila for showing me how to get other clip arts with google. To be honest, I am beginning to know where to access more resources such as clip arts and learning more about Louise Rosenblatt's Transactional Theorys. It is very important to learn more about the world of literature. After reading Ms. Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory, I was able to reflect one of her theories with activity 1. Her theory on aesthetic stance helped me to understand what I felt after reading a book called "A Lonely Heart." I seemed to connect with many different emotions reading about the life of a blind man. I was able to understand the many difficulties of being blind, the feelings that I seemed to feel--as if I was trying to be the blind man. I felt captivated with this man's experiences throughout his life.

In addition to today's experience in class, everyone was able to share their life story of how they started reading and writing. Practically, everyone had a different experience. Thank you everyone for sharing your life to us. You know, this is one of those experiences that we have not experienced for a long time (especially for me). Sitting down and listening to everyone talking about a portion of their life was very rewarding to me. It has been a long time that I gathered around to sit and talk to each other and tell about each of our life experiences. It was great! Thank you! It was very personal and I felt warm listening to everyone. I hope everyone felt the same. I can see the value of activity 1 in this course.

Furthermore, we must not forget to click on the comment section of each blog. Now I know that we could respond to each blog as we go along. Very interesting and very interactive activities. Today was very enlightening as I said before. I am beginning to understand this course clearly. See you all on the next meeting.

Esta la bista, Si Albert

Literacy autobiographies and the connection to Rosenblatt's transactional theory

Hello all!

I enjoyed hearing the oral version of your literacy autobiography. It's interesting to find out how each and every one of your development in reading and writing was unconventional. And good they are because I think that one of the best ways to learn something is by doing it in your own unique and preferred way.

You know, I forgot to mention that although I liked to show off as an elementary school kid when it came to reading out loud, I also hated it when my teachers would tell me what to read. I never liked my reading to be "prescribed." The things that my teachers would tell me what to read were almost always boring to me, and often, I would forget alot of the important parts to the reading because of this (yes, and to think this was in school, huh?). I liked to take my time so as to stir my imagination on the material or subject matter I was reading to better understand and go wild with it.

Now, having discussed more about the aesthetic stance of Rosenblatt's transactional theory, I now am convinced that at least this part of her theory gives me the understanding that the process of its development was carefully done - the researching, studying, and analying. It's like I can almost say to her, "Wow, was I one of your subjects before?" Rosenblatt had definitely created such a powerful theory, and a very convincing one, I should add.

Transactional Theory

There were times when I would just read to get information and there were times I would be so engrossed in a book with emotions flowing. Now I know that there is a theory behind this reactions. The aesthetic and efferent stance clearly explained what I was not aware untill I read Rosenblatt's work. Now I will be able to share these stances with my students. The reflections on everyone's autobiography was entertaining. I found it amazaing that (I think) everyone's recollection of their first brush with literacy was in kindergarten or around the age of 5 or 6. The IRA's strong position statement that the school should initially provide literacy in the child's home language was interesting. As teachers it is important that we learn a little about our students' home language. Tomorrow, I am going to ask my students about their home language and maybe will learn how to say hello or goodbye in their language. The picture reflection brought out the different aspects in how we all see things differently. However, the underlying concept about the activity was all about cooperation, contribution, and succeeding in life. The acitivity reminds us that every child is different and to take what they know and build upon it.

Our Reading Paths

It was great hearing about all your reading paths. We all have experienced some sort of

influence, be it strong or subtle. In connection to our 'Picture Reflection'

activity, my perspective is that we all really do have many people who have touched our lives in one way or

another that we just can't recollect. Somehow, that lady who we just can't recall

her name taught us at least one thing, which has formed who we are

individually. I'm sure Albert, you will always be able to save, upload, and manipulate a picture because one little thing I have done has impacted your knowledge on technology and you may not remember my name ten years from now! (Smile big...that was a little bragging.) But somehow, pieces of our individual puzzles are from others that we can recall and thank, and then there are those people that we just can't remember. As educators, we place a piece of our puzzle together to create the children, our future leaders. Thank you for allowing me to share my story of Amelia Bedilia's impact on me. (Here's the kicker, my mother-in-law's name is Amelia!) Have a GREAT WEEK and Happy Valentine's to you ALL!

Boy, do we have a lot to say!

I think Rosenblatt was a bit of a philosopher. Her theory requires us to "see the reading act as an event involving a particular individual and a particular text, happening at a particular time, under particular circumstances, in a particular social and cultural setting, and as part of the ongoing life of the individual and the group" (Rosenblatt, 1985). That makes me feel like if I want to read something and be able to make meaning of it, I'd have to confer with the universe and make sure all of the stars and planets are aligned for me. However after our class discussion, I understand that she just wants us to "feel" what the author is trying to convey to us and really enjoy the text.

Here I am again sharing my livetext. I remember when we first started with livetext, I didn't have a clue. But with Dr. Rivera's guidance and patience I got to the point I am now, which is more confident and not too shy to show my work. Thank you Dr. Rivera.

It was interesting to hear how we all got our start in reading. We are all such different people from different cultures and backgrounds and yet here we are, all together, seeking the same degree with a lot of the same beliefs and goals. Small world.

The activity we did, again tells me how very different we are as individuals, but how the undertone of our interpretations was very similar.

Practice Makes Perfect

Today (Feb 5, 2007) I mangaged to upload our activity 1, publish my choices of 3 multicultural books, and pick a topic (Writing Workshops). After completing these activities before 11:55pm, I was trying to figure out where will we be doing our forum discussions. Following Dr. Rivera's instruction, I click on the face to face icon (forum) and then it led me back to multicultural books/litarary topic and then I clicked on one of them. It led me back to the assignment. There was a reply on the bottom right hand portion of every one who loaded. I clicked on reply and responded by discussing what others have posted as far as multicultural books chosen and their litarary topic. I just hope I was on the right forum for today. I did just that. Too my surprise, I saw a response from Charlene right after I sent her my response. I also responded to the others too.
As an added surprise, I happen to go back to my email and found out that every time you post a response (discussion), it also sends it as an email to everyone. I clicked on every email in my account and it was all our discussions in the forum. This is great. Is everyone experiencing the same thing? I hope so! Anyways, if I am correct, we blog (just like this one) on every online encounter with each other. Is that correct to my recollection? I hope so! I hope everyone is doing fine too. You guys are welcome to email me at abcaasi@yahoo.com or call me at 472-6691 at home if you need to contact each other for help. You are all welcome. I am enjoying this class. I just hope my DSL internet connection remains till May 07. If you guys have any concerns or if you know something that I must have missed, please, please, call me or email me. I will keep you inform likewise.

Esta la bista, Si Albert