TLS 481 BENCHMARK

ASSIGNMENT
Emily Winslow

DECEMBER 4, 2017
 Responding as a Reader

Reflecting in my journal each week and after different events has helped me see my

progress grow over the course of this semester. At the beginning of the semester I started off

with being less confident in reading these books and was nervous about finding books that I

would be able to relate to my students. As the semester went on I started to become more

knowledgeable about what different types of books my students would enjoy for me to read to

them. I was able to learn what is age appropriate for my students and how to engage them into

the book.

Each week when I go to write these reflections it engages me to think about what the

main points are to each of the class discussions. While I write each reflection it helps me

remember what we did in class and has me start thinking in new ways I can incorporate this into

my future classroom. I also look back at the reflections that I have written through out the year to

remind myself of ways that I am able to incorporate the lessons and ideas that we have talked

about in class with the students I am working with now.

Overall, I find that writing reflections allows me to step back from all of the work I am

doing and reflect on my learning though out the semester. Writing these reflections is an

opportunity for me to think of question I may have and to see everything that I have learned

though out the week.

 Examples of Children Literature Reflections

Setting Personal Goals: August 22, 2017

During this course I intend to accomplish having a strong sense on what books would be

good for my future classroom and different ways to get the children engaged in the books. I plan

on reaching these goals by making sure that I stay on top of assignments so that I am able to do

them each to my best ability. I also plan on making sure I attend every class because I learn best

when I am in the classroom. The support that I will need so I can accomplish this is getting extra

help when I need it. I am dyslexic and have a very low processing speed so occasionally it will

take me longer to read than another student. However, I am very focused on my school work so I

don not typically have any issues turning in assignments on time. I think what I am most nervous

about is the amount of reading that is assigned. My classmates will be able to support me by

helping clarify assignments when I need it.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: September 1, 2017

In the chapter book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon it is about a young girl that has

been told stories by her father and is on a mission to find fortune for her family. She eventually

decides to leave her parents and find the fortune and along they way she comes across many

different surprises. She finds a dragon who becomes her friend, meets more fish that can speak,

and makes a friend whose parents had died and is still happy. At the end of the book her fortune

ends up being that the bare mountain was now covered in flowers and was beautiful. I enjoyed

this story because I thought it was a unique way to show how stories can impact a child’s life.
The Danger of a Single Story: September 13, 2017

While watch the TED talk on the danger of a single story it made me realize how little I

actually know of the world. I know what I read in books, see in social media, and hear on the

news. However, this is just one of many sides of someone’s story. This helped me realize how I

will need to make sure that my future students are well educated on different cultures and

countries. Although I knew there were parts of Africa that weren’t in war or terribly poor I would

have still thought of Africa as a whole that way. This is mind set that I have been taught to think

from the world around me. I think it is important to show the world that Africa does have terribly

poor area but that the continent is not all that way. People should not be known for just one fact

about them and that everyone has more than one story about themselves. If children learn this at

a young age it will help them see the world in a different and better way than past generations

have.

Week 8: October 12, 2017

This week’s focus was on poetry and illustrations for children. There were many different

factors of what type of poetry is good for children that I did not know of before reading. When

the class was asked to write our own I Am poems I was a little nervous at first because I am not

the best writer or poet. I found it difficult to write the I Am poem because I found it hard to say

that I was something. This had me thinking in a new way and all of the things that I like and

whether or not I was that. I ended up going with facts about myself instead of feelings. I found it

easier to relate to the facts like I am from Cape Cod, Massachusetts than feelings such as I am

energetic. I enjoyed writing this poem though because it had me reflect on myself instead of a

reading or someone else’s work.

 I found looking at the different images in books very interesting and I looked at them in a

new way. The book that I was given to look at images was The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette

Winter. While I was looking through the book without reading the words I was able to make out

the idea of the story. I enjoyed doing this because I was trying to think of how a child who could

not read yet would see the book. I thought that the images were very powerful and influential.

This exercise helped me realize that children need books with strong images to help them fully

understand what is happening in a book.

 Knowledge of Children’s Literature and Stories

Having to read eighty books of different genres and cultures has given me the opportunity

to find books that I like and want to share with my classroom in the future. I was able to learn

about new cultures and how a child’s life in another part of the world is. These books helped me

realize that I will need all need to have books that relate to each one of my students to help them

feel special and to know that they are not the only ones in the world who have two moms or have

curly hair. Reading these children’s books it helped me realize my potential as a future teacher

because it has pushed me to find books of cultures and languages that I am not use to reading

about.

A book that pushed me to think as a future teacher was Stella Brings the Family by

Miriam B. Schiffer. This book is about a little girl who has two dads and does not know who to

bring in for Mothers Day. Stella ends up bringing her entire family to school that day because

she realizes she is loved by so many. This book made me think of how I would handle my

classroom if I ran into this situation so that everyone can be happy and not feel as though they

are not equal to everyone else. This same situation can occur when a child celebrates a holiday

different than everybody else in a classroom. That child should still be able to celebrate their

holiday in the class and teach the other students about it. It can be hard however, when a child

does not celebrate any holidays or birthdays to respect that families culture while still engaging

with the children who do celebrate those holidays.

Overall, this assignment of having to read eighty different books for all different culture

and genres has pushed me as a future teacher. I am now looking at books in ways of thinking

how I can use it to teach my future students and what they can learn from it. I am looking

forward to using some of these book in the future to help my students grow.
 Reference Sources

Having the four different library sources has given me the opportunity to find books in

new places that I was unware I could do. Knowing that I have these resources now will help me

find books for my students. I will also be able to get them new books consistently with out

having to spend any money.

For the first library experience I was required to go to the UA main Library and check out

two children’s books. Although I go to this library often I had never checked out a book and was

not aware that they even had children’s books. At first this experience was overwhelming since

the library is so big and I had a hard time finding where the books were located. Once I found

where they were there were many different options and I was able to find two books.

The second library experience was to the Joel D Valdez Main Library. While I was there

I was able to get a Pima County Library card and check out three different books. Having this

library card will be very beneficial in my future because I will be able to get books at no cost for

my students constantly.

Shel Silverstein was the author that I looked up for the third library experience on

University of Arizona’s Library data base. I was able to find out about his life growing up and

how he became successful. This assignment made me realize how important authors are in this

world. That children need well written children books in order to develop and become interested

in learning. This gave me the opportunity to learn how I can find information for my future

students. For the last Library Experience I was able to research Eric Carle. He is important for

young children to learn about because he has many well written and illustrated books for them to

grow up with.
 Literature and Storytelling Engagements with Children

The three different read aloud that I had done with children have really pushed me to

think of new ways to interact with children that engages them in thinking of new ways. Having

to come up with open-ended questions for children to have them stay engaged on the topic but

still being able to share their own stories.

During the first experience I had to tell a story to a child and then let them interact. I was

challenged at first because I wanted to ensure that the child would be learning something

valuable but stay engaged though out the story. I told the child about how I had pet butterflies

because he was very interested in bugs. This ended up being an huge learning experience and

Dylan was very excited to share his stories about different bugs with me.

While I read to a small group of students I faced many challenges, the main one was

having all the students stay focused. The book I picked was about a young girl who found

different rhythms though out her city. This challenged me in finding ways to connect the book

with the students. I found a way by having them try to recreate the different beats that the girl in

the story found. I really enjoyed working with the students in the small group because I felt as

though they were all able to speak and could listen to one another. I also liked being in charge of

my own activity and being able to engage the children on my own. I was unsure how the students

were going to respond to me instead of their lead teacher.

Doing an author study helped me realize how every author has a different way of writing

and how the illustrations help tell a story. My author study was focused on Shel Silverstein and

how he mostly used just a black pen for his illustrations. I really enjoyed working on this project

because I felt as though I was challenges with finding ways to work with young children with his

work. Although this assignment pushed me I felt as though it was worth while because I can now
engage students with his work. I will be able to show how authors have a style of writing and the

way that the images connect to their words.

Overall, these different experiences made me become more confident to read in front of

children and be able to engage with them. I also feel much more prepared for next semester when

I will be teaching lessons to these students everyday.

 Example of one of my Read-aloud

Read-Aloud Mini Inquiry #2

The book that I selected to read for this read aloud was I Got the Rhythm by Connie

Schofield-Morrison and illustrated by Frank Morrison. My mentor, Ben, helped me pick this

book because he thought it would be good and the kids would respond well with the book. I Got

the Rhythm is about a young girl going around her town and finding the different types of rhythm

around her. She finds rhythm from the way she walks, people playing drums, blinking her eyes,

and tapping. I selected this book because it gave the children I read the book to many

opportunities to interact with what was occurring in the book. After each sentence there would be

a noise such as “tap tap” and then the children would do that motion how they wanted to. I

planned on introducing the book by telling the kids I had a book to read to them about a girl

traveling her town finding new noises. The kids were very excited for me to read them a new

book. I planned to ask the kids how they would act out the different sounds though out the book

and how they could make those sounds. At the end of the book I asked each of the kids to make

up their own rhythm and how each one of their rhythms is different.

While reading this book I sat in chair on the circle time rug while the children clustered

around in front of me so that they could see the pictures in the book. I did this read aloud to the

students who arrived to school early that day. So the other students in the classroom were

finishing up their morning work while I read. I read the book to six students who were either

three or four years old. While I read the book the teacher helped the other students do their

morning work, which is writing their name. At the beginning of the read-aloud the students

seemed to be distracted by the other children coming into the classroom and were not able to

focus on the book. However, once I started having them interact with each page by having them
recreate the sound they were very focused and excited about the book. While I was reading the

book the illustrations were very significant to the story because they showed how each of the

noises that were talked about were made. After I read the book to them they were all excited to

make up their own rhythm. I facilitated the conversation by asking the children what is rhythm.

One child answered by saying “when you hear a sound go on and on like beat beat beat”.

Another child acted out what rhythm was to him by clapping. I then asked each child to come up

with their own rhythm and we went around giving each child a chance to share their rhythm. I

kept the children on task of the book by asking them question that were open-ended so that they

continued to think. I ended the discussion of the book by telling the children that they all came

up with new and exciting rhythms and that they could could pick another book to read until all of

their classmates arrived at school.

Overall I felt as though the experience went well and better than I expected it to go. I was

successful in reading my story because I was able to grasp their attention with the book and the

children engaged in the discussion about the book after. The children were focused on the book

more than I expected them to be so I was able to read and engage with them. This is what I

initially planned but I did not know how it was going to go. The criteria I evaluated myself off of

was if I could get the children’s attention and was able to engage with them after the reading. I

also asked my mentor for feedback after I finished. He told me that I did a great job and that the

children seemed to really enjoy it. I was surprised at how one of the students sat through the

entire story, he just turned three and typically runs around when we have circle time. I was

surprised at myself that I was able to keep the children’s attention during a busy time in the

morning.
 The connections I made while reading the I Got the Rhythm with the course TLS481 was

that reading the book in different voices helps the kids pay attention. That if I asked them

questions while I read it kept them engaged and interested in what was going to come next. If I

was to change anything about this experience it would be to read the book at a different time. I

felt as though the children had a hard time focusing at first because of the different children

coming into the classroom. I would have kept the book and the questions that I asked the

students the same because it seemed to have kept their interest. I noticed that in the read aloud

one the child was more into telling me long stories while in a small group the children gave me

shorter answers. This book has informed me that I need to plan out how I want to engage the

children with different books. That each book needs to have a purpose and make the students

think about new things.

 Shel Silverstein

Sheldon Allen Silverstein was born on September 25,1930 in

Chicago, Illinois. He later died on May 10,1999 after a greatly
fulfilled life. During his life, wrote and illustrated many
children books, poems and songs. One of his most popular
books is entitled The Giving Tree. The song which he wrote
that became an incredibly popular song is called A boy named
Sue sung by Johnny Cash. In 1984, Shel enrolled in the
University of Illinois. Followed by this, he attended Chicago
Academy of Fine Arts but did not feel as though he fit in. In
1950, Shel began at Roosevelt University to study English.
This experience was put on hold when he was drafted into the
army in 1953. He first became known through his illustrations
which often included cartoons. Later, Shel became a cartoon
artist for Hugh Hefner and became even more well known for
his riskier drawings. Shel continued to write and draw
throughout his life. He won two Grammy Awards, one for
Best Album for Children with his book Where the Sidewalk
Ends and another for Best Country Song with his song A Boy
Named Sue.
Website: www.shelsilverstein.com

Invitation for Students:

After reading some of Shel Silverstein’s work and looking at his illustrations, the class will be read a
piece from Shel Silverstein without being shown the illustration. After listening to the piece, the students
will create an illustration on their own with only a black ink pen. They will draw this illustration thinking
of how Shel Silverstein would have illustrated for the poem. This will allow the children to use their
creativity and imagination on how they visualized the poem that was read to them. After taking time to
draw, the students will be read the piece from Shel Silverstein again and will be shown the illustration this
time. They will get a chance to compare their illustration with the author’s illustration. Lastly, they will
see what their peers drew as well.
 The Giving Tree is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1964 by Harper
& Row, it has become one of Silverstein's best known titles and has been translated into numerous languages.

Silverstein, Shel. The giving tree. HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was
published by Harper and Row Publishers.

Silverstein, Shel. Where the sidewalk ends: the poems & drawings of Shel Silverstein. HarperCollins, 2014.

A Light in the Attic is a collection of poems by the American poet, writer, and children's author Shel Silverstein. It was
first published by Harper & Row in 1981.

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic. Particular, 2011.

Falling Up is a 1996 poetry collection for children by Shel Silverstein, published by HarperCollins. It features
illustrations, drawn by the author, for most of the 144 poems. Silverstein dedicated the book to his son, Matthew

Silverstein, Shel. Falling up: Poems and Drawings. HarperCollins, 2005.

The Missing Piece is a children’s picture book by poet Shel Silverstein.

Silverstein, Shel. The Missing Piece. HarperCollins, 2006.

Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook is a children's book by Shel Silverstein. A work in progress for the better part of 20 years, the
book was published posthumously in 2005. The book is largely composed of spoonerisms in rhyming verse.

Silverstein, Shel. Runny Babbit. HarperCollins, 2005.

 Social and Cultural Issues in Children’s Literature

For my illustration book I read The Librarian of Basra a True Story from Iraq written and

illustrated by Jeanette Winter. This story is about a librarian who is trying to save all of her

books during the Iraq War. The images in this story are very well done. The reader is able to

understand the entire story and the different events that are occurring without even reading the

words of the book. I really enjoyed reading this book because I felt as though I was able to

understand how much the war can affect different people. Though the illustrations I was able to

learn how this innocent young librarian was able to save the books in her town and how much

the war impacted her daily life.

My text set was about friends and the different type of friends that there are. I feel as

though doing this project gave me new ideas of how I want to engage my students in the future

with different themes. Friends is an important subject matter for young children to learn because

it is keeping their minds open starting when they are little. Learning about how every one is

different and how that is a good thing will help them acknowledge when a child has a learning or

physical disability that they can still be your friend. It is also important for students to recognize

that if some one is of a different race they them that they are still equals. This project pushed me

to think how I can bring this subject of diversity into the classroom. I felt as though talking about

the different types of friends that someone can have is the perfect way. The books that I choose

also help students see others with friends of all kinds.

Overall, I feel it is important for students to start learning about different cultural and

social issues that are in our world. If a child learns it is okay to come from somewhere else in the

world or have a disability they will be more accepting of our world and their classmates.
 Friendship
By: Shannon Young, Emily Winslow, and Ida Lindholm

Definition of a Friend: a person whom one

knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual
affection

Invitation: Draw a picture of you and your best

friend doing something that you love to do
together. Then write three words that describe
how they are a good friend to you.
Title: Best Friend on Wheels
Author: Debra Sherly
Published: 2008
Age Group: 5-8 years old
Summary: This book is about to girls who are best friends. The book starts off with them being the same
and then we find out that the only difference is that one friend is in a wheelchair. This book talks about
how it is hard for young children not to just stare and how they need to accept this a normal thing.

Title: My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay

Author: Car Best
Published: 2015
Age Group: 4-8 years old
Summary: This book is about a young girl who is blind. She is having a hard time fitting in because she
feels as though her walking stick makes her stand out. She enjoys doing the same activities as her
classmates but has a hard time doing so. She gets help however from her three best friends.
Title: The Princess and the Peanut Allergy
Author: Wendy McClure
Published: 2009
Age Group: 3-8 years old
Summary: This book is about two friends and one of them is having a birthday party. The child that is
having the birthday party has peanut butter there so her friend will not be able to go because she is
allergic. This causes both of the friends to be upset, so she gets the friend her own peanut free cake.

Title: You Can’t Have Too Many Friends

Author: Mordicai Gerstein
Published: 2014
Age Group: 2-5 years old
Summary: This book is about a duck who has makes seven different unusual friends that help him
confront the king about stealing his jelly beans. This book is great to show friends that working together
can help you reach your goals.

Title: Moki Mongoose Finds a Friend

Author: Deborah C. Taylor
Published: 1995
Age Group: 3-6 years old
Summary: This book takes place in Hawaii where Moki soon finds new friends that are all different. This
book shows children that being accepting of other people even if they are “different” than them is okay.

Title: A new friend for marmalade

Author: Alison Reynolds and Heath McKenzie
Published: 2014
Age Group: 3-8 years old
Summary: This book is about two friends who are not willing to let Marmalade or the new boy Toby join
in. But when one of them gets stuck in a tree Toby comes to the rescue anyways. This book will help
children see that you need to give everybody a chance because he did a very nice thing when they were
not nice to him.

Title: Feeding Friendsies

Author: Suzanne Bloom
Published: 2011
Age Group: 2-6
Summary: The children are busily, gleefully preparing a grand feast: puddle-water soup, mud pie, and a
dandelion-and-dirt dessert. Yum! The young chefs are creating these tasty dishes for their special guests,
who chirp, wiggle, and hop.

Title: Panda & Polar Bear

Author: Matthew J. Baek
Published: 2009
Age Group: 3-5
Summary:A little polar bear wonders what's beyond his wintry world and when he falls over the edge of
an ice cliff, he finds out! He's soon befriended by a panda who mistakes the mud-covered polar bear for
one of his own. The two become quick pals.

Title: Ollie and Claire

Author: Tiffany Strelitz Haber
Published: 2013
Age Group: 3-7
Summary: Ollie and Claire are as tight as two friends can be. Every day they picnic together, every day
they do yoga together, and every evening they eat dinner together. But when Claire longs to break free
from this routine and dreams of traveling the world, she worries that Ollie would never join her. So she
takes matters into her own hands and finds a mysterious travel partner when she sees a sign posted on a
tree.

Title: Be Good to Eddie Lee

Author: Virginia Fleming
Published: 1993
Age Group: 4-8
Summary: Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's
Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot
summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful
things can be found in unexpected places.
Title: Bella & Bean
Author: Rebecca Dotlich
Published: 2009
Age Group: 4-8
Summary: Bella wants to write poems. Bean wants to go for a walk. Bella wants to write poems. Bean
wants Bella to look at her cute toes. Could these two best friends be more different? But as Bean's attempt
to coax Bella away from her notepad become ever more over the top, Bella finds her poetry taking
unexpected twists. You might be a Bella or you could be a Bean - either way, this sweet, clever tale will
remind you there is perfect poetry to mismatched friends.

Title: I’m New Here

Author: Anne O'Brien
Published: 2015
Age Group: 5-8
Summary: Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble
speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English in their new American elementary school. Through self-
determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident
and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity.