Fricke's Winter Writing Blag

Outline: T he Book of Lost Things is a poignant story about loss and acceptance. It follows the events affecting a young boy named David, during wartime. When David’s mother falls ill and eventually dies, he must attempt to come to terms with her death before the pain of loss clouds his outlook on life. David must decide if he is willing to live with loss or create excuses and foster hatred for others i n an effort to cope with the pain of loss. When David’s mother falls ill, he tries to think of anything and everything to save her. In time, however, she must go to a hospital for the terminally ill. Though he and his father visit her constantly, she eventually dies. The trip to the hospital is long and exhausting, and the emotional toll of her illness is also tumultuous. When David’s mother dies, he feels a sense of relief, though he immediately regrets the feeling, replacing it instead with guilt. The story begins during wartime in London, when most children are ...

As a local Spokanite, it was refreshing to see that Sherman Alexie is also from the same area. The illustrations by Ellen Forney make a book centered around the cultural and social conflicts of a young Native American more accessible to a general audience. The main character Arnold, or Junior, faces a common challenge still present for native youth today. The choice of whether to remain completely in his home culture or to attend school off of his reservation. After a heartbreaking and insightful conversation with his parents, the issue of underprivileged native youth is made clear due to social disparagement and economic hardships. Based off this exchange, Arnold decides to transfer schools to be somewhere with more "hope".       My grandmother, a member of the Arikara reservation in New Town, ND, would often provide me with Native-American legends and other traditional stories. Reading through the narrative, I noticed parallels in the techniques used in the st...

This was objectively a good book, but it was not meant for me. The tongue-in-cheekness that defines the narration is a narrative tone I've always appreciated in writing, but the audience of this book is definitely for a coming-of-age crowd. I would have enjoyed this book much more had I picked it up in junior high, but my first issue with teaching this novel in class is its intended audience. Written from the perspective of a young Latino-American girl, I would anticipate holding the attention of the boys in the classroom with this novel would be a challenge. I don't have an issue with the romance in this novel as I feel that it is unfair to assume that male readers won't have just as much interest in the dynamic. I was able to connect to the situations Margot was in, but I could not connect to her given how she responded to situations. However, the main reason I wouldn't teach this is simple. The intended audience and the character are below the secondary level ages...

I do not feel that the "systematic killing of the love of reading" is at all intentional, but I think it is rather an exacerbation of an existing problem. That problem is the staleness of material and the lack of integration of different texts and unit ideas, and as Gallagher put it, teachers have already discussed a text to exhaustion by the time a class encounters it. If the instructor isn't excited about reading, why should the students be? We interrupt students during reading sessions to point out what are important details pertaining to the overall picture of the novel, but in doing so we take away the enjoyment that students would find in the 'reading zone'. I loved reading when I was younger due to how I could submerse myself in a different world on my own time, but it is ridiculous to assume students will foster the same love of reading if not given the chance to do the same either. The To Kill a Mockinbird unit plan was, in a word, exhaustive. If you'...

I Read It, But I Don't Get It  is written by Chris Tovani and I've found it to be an incredibly useful tool when thinking about how to best use the limited amount of time I have in my practicum. One thing that was reaffirmed for my right away was how the concept of discussion was brought up in the first chapter. I absolutely believe that allowing students to ask and respond to their own questions is one of the best aids for understanding. Learning materials are not being used to the best of their ability if students are not generating their own responses and thinking critically about the topic of the lesson of hand. For these reasons, I'm not afraid to ask hard and difficult questions in my classes. It is okay for a student to not know the answer. What's even better is when a student uses the knowledge they already have to look into something challenging and formulate their own response even if they may be wrong. As long as the correct method if modeled and shown to stu...

Outline: A Wrinkle in Time  is the story of Meg Murry, a high-school-aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space alongisde her younger brother and her friend Calvin. Meg's father has been missing since his latest work on a secret project. They seek to rescue her father from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet. To travel there and to prepare for the upcoming struggle that will secure their father's freedom, Meg and Charles seek out the help of three mysterious characters that refer to themselves as 'witches'. These creatures, Mr.s Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, reassure Meg of the existence of a tesseract, which is a sort of "wrinkle" in time and space. Through this wrinkle Meg and her companions travel through the fifth dimension in search of Meg's father. With a story that strongly values independence, love, and embracing one's individuality, Meg goes from a homely and awkward girl plagued by perso...

The  Making Good Choices  handbook is an essential tool for the teacher candidate. My most commonly occurring question when writing lesson plans for both myself and my program are "what do my instructors want?". This handbook has shown instead that what I should be asking myself is "what do I need to put into my lesson plans that shows that I understand how my students learn through identifying what helps them engage in material and acquire content and analyzing the evidence of their learning?" It is less about simply constructing a play-by-play of the lesson and more about making an important resource that really considers all aspects the lesson will, and could, address. I've never been afraid of having no control over my curriculum past choosing the books I wanted to use in the classroom, but this handbook addresses that as long as I can justify modifying or adding materials just so long as I include my rationalization in my own lesson plan. If ever calle...

The article I found concerning social justice and the classroom was "Teaching for Social Justice: From Conceptual Frameworks to Classroom Practices" by Alison Dover. Her study included 61 teachers from schools with differing multicultural backgrounds and classes and focused on what social justice education looks like within the context of varying classroom environments. An overwhelming number of the participants found that 88% of participants described the importance of civic engagement and social action when teaching for social justice. Within this construct, three themes emerged: "(a) teachers’ sense of themselves as social activists, (b) teachers’ intent to raise students’ awareness of inequity and injustice, and (c) teachers’ intent to promote civic participation and social action among students" (Dover 8). What I take away from this, is that social justice in education is less about simply treating students fairly and with equity, but instead remaining socially...

"Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom," places heavy emphasis on the fact that media and elements of popular culture are important education resources that can make a large impact on students from urban environments.The reality is that neary anything can be considered a "text", and it doesn't necessarily have to be created for education's sake to be considered educational. Lessons should be interesting and engaging for students. I've used popular (and unpopular) music in the classroom to a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Engaged classroom time is interactive, exciting, and mentally challenging. We, as teachers, are to avoid simply dispensing information to students and expecting them to salvage a valuable educational experience from such a stale platform.d I have heard various amounts of criticism regarding the common core, which mostly range from "I can't teach what I want to teach" to "There simply is...