Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
Eric's Biography
Harvesting Hope:
The Story of Cesar Chavez
By Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Most of you may have heard of Cesar Chavez before. Many people were named after him and still are today. Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, where workers had no way to protect themselves from labor, discrimination, hate crime and more. Cesar was born and raised in Mexico and his families spend working in the fields of farm, they suffered famine, poverty and more. They decided to move to California for new life, but in the end, fate was same for his family and him. He was frustrated and decided to led an agricultural strike in U.S., the first successful in U.S. history. He captured world's attention by leading hunger strikes and marches, in the end; the National Farm Workers Association was founded. Contracts would promise farmers better wages, health insurance and other safeguards. His belief was that peaceful strike should dedicate to a cause, which was more effective than force and it was successful.
After reading and reviewing, this book is obviously based on the true story and also focused on the importance historical figure. Cesar Chavez was a real person, and his story was also real, this book focused on the impacts Cesar made on farmers' lives nowadays. This matched biography genre's description. In my opinion, this book focused on issues of social injustice and social movements and social changes for the six elements of social justice. This book emphasized on the changes of social injustice toward farmers' ethnic and background, and also Cesar's social movements and changes.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Liv's Biography Blog
The book I chose is, A Picture book of George Washington by David A. Adler Illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner.
This book is a picture book about the life of George Washington who was raised in Virginia farmhouse. The book opens with young to teenage version of GW riding on horse, going to school where he learned how to read and write, and helping watching his younger brother and sister. Later in the book when GW becomes a young adult, he started his job that he enjoyed related with maps and nature. However later in time he became a soldier and fought in French and Indian war on England's side. During that war he was well known leader throughout all thirteen colonies. When GW became 26 he married to Martha Custin and moved to Mount Vernon. The war lasted for eight years and finally in 1783, American colonies won the war and GW was the hero. After being well-known leader during that war, he was selected to become first president in United States.
The genre of A Picture book of George Washington will be biography. This book definitely suits in the genre of biography since this book talks about the life of George Washington. I felt this book clearly explains what GW's life looked like from young to adult age with lot of visual pictures to make connection with the text.
For social justice elements that applies to this book will be self-love & knowledge and respect for others. Why did I pick those two because I felt that students could connect with this book focusing on where they are from? Probably some of their families are living in Virginia and use that connection to discuss about the book. Also let other students learn to respect each other especially talking about where they are from. I want to make sure students learn something new about each other in connection with this book. What would I do with class activities? I would pick out one scene from the book and let students act out for fun, I also could add props to make it look old fashioned.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Eric's Nonfiction
Owen & Mzee: The True Story of A Remarkable Friendship
Told by Isabella Hatkoff, Graig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. Photographs by Peter Greste
This story is truly inspirational, because it is based on a true story obviously. This is about a baby hippopotamus, named Owen, who got separated from his pod during the devastating 2006 tsunami . The locals decided to rescue him from being stranded on the reef, the locals knew it was very dangerous thing to do, but they still went to rescue Owen though. After numerous unsuccessful rescues, they finally rescued him and realized that they don't have anywhere to put him since the pod tend to reject a newcomer and probably would kill him. They knew and they found animal sanctuary place for Owen. After putting Owen in a sanctuary, he immediately develop a bond and befriend with 130 years old tortoise named Mzee. Graciously, Mzee accepted him as his companionship.
For Six Elements of Social Justice, Self-love and Knowledge definitely apply to this book, because this described the relationship between Mzee and Owen. They learned to befriended with each other, although, they were different species. Respect for Others also apply to this book, Mzee and Owen didn't get along with each other in the first place, but eventually, they finally got along with each other later. It was who Mzee accepted Owen as his friend and guided him anywhere, even taught him to eat too.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Liv's Nonfiction Blog
The book I chose is, The Fascinating World of... Wolves by Maria Angels Julivert.
This book explains the life of wolves and what they do in their daily life. It includes profile of a hunter, carnivorous food sources, a great predator, life with a pack, territories of the wolf, communication and language, finding den, loving parents, world-wide habitats, American subspecies, Europe and Asia, and Humans. Here are some examples, adult wolf eats between two and four kilograms (4 1/2 and 9 pounds) of meat per day. The animals they eat will be reindeer, hare, beaver, or boar. Wolf is a social animal as it lives in groups that are sometimes as large as 40 or as small as 3 or 4. It all depends on type of hunting available and the leader of the group tend to be strongest or alpha male. Wolves express their feelings and emotions such as anxiety, aggressiveness, facial expressions, and body movements. When wolves yelp which means a short type of wail with low voice expressing their dissatisfaction with something they want but cannot get. Towards end of winter the pair of mother and father wolf separate temporarily with rest of pack. The female will search for peaceful place to take care of cubs such as cave, crevice, a hollow trunk or burrow. Largest wolf populations are found in Alaska, Canada, and Russia; they also can be found in steppes, deserts, or harsh tundra.
The genre of The Fascinating World of... Wolves will be nonfiction. This book sure fits into the genre of nonfiction well with many different informations and facts about wolves. It is something children would enjoy to read and understand the life of wolves as well in different places around the world. There also are many good pictures inside the book which is easier for us to imagine what it looks like.
I feel this book do not apply to any form of social justice issues but more of informative book about specific animal. What class activities I would use to apply with this book would be more of hands on activities. Such as making wolf mask, giving out worksheets about wolves and to see if they remember what they just learned, or giving out short play about wolves and could be one part they liked from the book.
This book explains the life of wolves and what they do in their daily life. It includes profile of a hunter, carnivorous food sources, a great predator, life with a pack, territories of the wolf, communication and language, finding den, loving parents, world-wide habitats, American subspecies, Europe and Asia, and Humans. Here are some examples, adult wolf eats between two and four kilograms (4 1/2 and 9 pounds) of meat per day. The animals they eat will be reindeer, hare, beaver, or boar. Wolf is a social animal as it lives in groups that are sometimes as large as 40 or as small as 3 or 4. It all depends on type of hunting available and the leader of the group tend to be strongest or alpha male. Wolves express their feelings and emotions such as anxiety, aggressiveness, facial expressions, and body movements. When wolves yelp which means a short type of wail with low voice expressing their dissatisfaction with something they want but cannot get. Towards end of winter the pair of mother and father wolf separate temporarily with rest of pack. The female will search for peaceful place to take care of cubs such as cave, crevice, a hollow trunk or burrow. Largest wolf populations are found in Alaska, Canada, and Russia; they also can be found in steppes, deserts, or harsh tundra.
The genre of The Fascinating World of... Wolves will be nonfiction. This book sure fits into the genre of nonfiction well with many different informations and facts about wolves. It is something children would enjoy to read and understand the life of wolves as well in different places around the world. There also are many good pictures inside the book which is easier for us to imagine what it looks like.
I feel this book do not apply to any form of social justice issues but more of informative book about specific animal. What class activities I would use to apply with this book would be more of hands on activities. Such as making wolf mask, giving out worksheets about wolves and to see if they remember what they just learned, or giving out short play about wolves and could be one part they liked from the book.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Historical Fiction
The Wall
By: Even Bunting
Illustrated by Ronald Himler
A well-descriptive book talks about a son's perspective during his trip to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall with his dad. Both of them wander to search for a grandpa's name on the wall. While dad keeps searching, a son notices an old man giving emotional support for her wife, a group of girl students passing by, and people placing a bunch of beautiful flowers in front of the wall. A heartbreaking moment happens when dad discovers a grandpa's name, George Munoz. Taking a long silence, he decides to put a paper over the letters and rub on it with a pencil so the paper goes dark. In result, the fonts appear in white and the full name can be seen clearly. As there is a noise in the background, Dad just stands there with his head bowed and a son besides him. Out of a son's curiosity, he asks "Grandpa won't know who I am." Dad replies back in calm, "I think he will...I know. But it is a place of honor. I am proud that your grandfather's name is on this wall."
Self-love and Knowledge
Teachers are responsible to provide students opportunities to learn who they are and where they come from. Students of diverse backgrounds are to learn and practice acceptance and respect. From that book, students are to be aware with Vietnam War and its history to understand the story better. Losing a family member is pretty tough. Exchanging the stories about a student's family history is helpful classmates and a teacher to understand who he/she is.
Nonfiction
Finding Winnie
The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
By: Lindsay Mattick
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
An inspirational tale based
on a true story about the black bear named Winnie who was being adopted by one
of solider in Europe during World War I. This remarkable story led to a legendary
children’s book character, Winnie-the-Pooh in Walt Disney. The beginning of the
story, Lindsay, a mother is Harry Colebourn’s real-life great-granddaughter
shares a bedtime story with his adorable son, Cole. Harry was a professional veterinarian
in combat and an owner of Winnie. In August 24, 1914, Harry spotted a tiny,
cute bear sitting on ground at train station with a leash on. According to
inside book’s documented diary that mentions his decision on adopting Winnie
for 20 dollars.
During their journey, Winnie
became the famous mascot of his unit; she was also labeled as the best
navigator, finding the hidden food/things easily. When the unit relocated to
France for combat, Cole sent Winnie to London Zoo for his safety. She remained
at a popular attraction until she died age in May 1934.
“Gorgeously illustrated by
Blackall…this delightful telling of the story behind A.A Milne’s
Winnie-the-Pooh is also a family history” (The New York Times Book Review).
Self-love and Knowledge:
His love for animals was
beyond amazing; he ignited fire of happiness in his unit with Winnie’s warm affection
and playful actions. He was such a thoughtful gentleman who showed his
dedication and commitment in providing Winnie a good home and an adventurous life.
Social Movements and Social
change:
Winnie’s story and presence
in our collection is a reminder of how wonderful bears are besides their
dangerous looks. This book is definitely
a good demonstration to help students understand that animals do have feelings.
It is a well-educated book that helps students to acknowledge about the issues
of endangered species today.
Monday, April 4, 2016
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
By Mordicai Gerstein
This book won the Caldecott medal award, this book is about man, Philippe, who was an extraordinary talent performer. He would ride an unicycle, juggle balls and fiery torches and also walk on a rope he tied between two trees. He always challenged everything whenever he saw opportunities. He was born and raised in France and he desired to accomplish his dream by walking across from the South Tower to the North Tower in the NYC. This book explained Philippe's experience and journey including accomplishing his biggest dream and how he did it.
After reviewing and reading Mordicai's, it mentioned about respecting others, according to the six elements; Philippe suffered a claustrophobia moment when he was doing a ropewalking in his locals and there were young boys that pulled trick off on him. He got scared and fell off the rope, but that didn't stop him from doing more ropewalking. He knew that he could still do it as long as people still respect him no matter whatsoever. He across from the South Tower to North Tower, because he knew that people would still show their respect for him after what young locals have done to him with pulling that stunt.
Amy's Historical Fiction Blog
The book I chose for Historical Fiction called Separate is Never Equal. It is written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. This story is about little girl, Sylvia didn't like her school because everybody tease her for being Mexican. Sylvia explained her experiences about seeing her family fought for their children to be in same school with whites. In 1944, Sylvia and her family moved to Santa Ana, California. She tried to enroll for the public school on 17th Street. The school refused to let them enroll because they are Mexican. They told her to enroll in Mexican School. So they enroll in Hoover Elementary which is known as Mexican school. the building was a dirty shack and students had to eat outside with flies around. They also don't have playground. Her parent got upset because the school is not teaching them anything so they decided to fight. They tried to ask for help but nobody would because they are in fear for their job/life. Later on, They finally hired a lawyer, David Marcus. on March 2, 1945 they finally filed a lawsuit against that school. they went to the court and won the case. However the school decided to appeal again. Sylvia and her family won the case again. Now, Sylvia can go to that school. Sylvia felt that she should be proud of what her parent did for her and that she should ignore those who tease her. In the end, she made a new friends from different background.
I recognized the book genre as an historical fiction because of the setting was set in about 1800-1900s. It is based on segregation which is famously known as in history.
I think this book include all of the six elements of social justice. As for self-love and knowledge, it is important for us to learn to embrace our culture, our race and to love ourself for it. For respecting others, it showed how we can respect for their diversity and how to show our kindness and empathy for their experiences of being segregation. This is a great example of social injustice, they discriminate Mexicans and refused to allow them in school with whites. That showed the history of racism and oppression. And the fourth element, is social movement and social change. The book show how they address to the racism. Sylvia's family gather other families to unite and fight for their own justice. As for the Awareness Raising, the book raise awareness about Mexicans' experiences of being segregation also, it is not just blacks that is only going through those kind of oppression. Lastly, Social Action, Sylvia's family did something about it, they fought for their children's rights and they won and that helped change the segregation.
This is a great book to use in classroom to discuss about segregation. Especially when it is about Mexicans and whites because not often of this will be talked about in school. It will help black students to recognized that they are not alone in this situation. The activities can be children drawing about what they know or learn about segregation and do the gallery walk.
Kenzie's Historical Fiction Book
Vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr56UBEFXXQ
The Historical Fiction book I picked was "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne. The genre of this book is Historical Fiction because this books relates back to the time when the Nazi's and concentration camp occurred when Hitler took over Europe and in this story is explains how this young boy is in a stripped Pajamas has to go through and move from his home far away with his family but as soon as he gets to where he is suppose to go, he tries to go out and explore and become adventurous, he later meets a friend that is similar to him and they resulted in becoming good friends where they developed their own friendship but as soon as they got caught, they unfortunately faces unnecessary actions that was not the most pleasant and they had to suffer only because they had were different and had to be punished just because they were different.
The social Justice of this book would have to be self awareness because during that time people had to be aware of who they were and if they matched the criteria at the time, they were expected to leave from their families and go to a place that was unpleasant and were punished and had to suffer and this was all cruelty and no one should have gone through that just because of who they were or because of how they looked. In my future class, if we were to discuss history of the concentration camp, I could use this book to set up a guide and somewhat have a lead so the students could have discussions and become a character and we can share how we feel if we were in their spots and also would help my students be able to remember this story because they became a character in the book.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
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