Curriculum Connections

With my topic of alphabet books and holidays I found that most Language standards could be addressed in some way. I decided to choose one from each grade K-4 to include.

K.1.3 Understand that printed materials provide information.

1.5.3 Write simple rhymes.

2.2.2 State the purpose for reading.

3.7.9 Read prose and poetry aloud with fluency, rhythm, and timing, using appropriate changes in the tone of voice to emphasize important passages of the text being read.

4.4.2 Select a focus, an organizational structure, and a point of view based upon purpose, audience, length, and format requirements for a piece of writing.

I have the most experience teaching fourth grade so I will focus there. I think a great application for my project with fourth graders would be to have them create their own alphabet books on a topic of their choice. I believe by leaving the topic open I am maintaining some guided inquiry aspects. In the Blue Book, Callison says that questions based on previous experiences are more meaningful to students. Letting students choose what they want to learn more about or share with others would help me accomplish this goal. I also would like to leave the Wrapping or presentation up to them too. It always amazes me what kids come up with! I hope to try it soon!

Favorite Websites

I found several websites about holidays, but these were the best. The websites helped me out when I was stuck with those tricky letters: J, O, Q, U, W, X, Y, and Z.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0875655.html

http://www.listofholidays.net/Oktoberfest

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/holiday/

http://www.nqaquilts.org/NatQuiltDay.html

http://www.listofholidays.net/sitemap

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0875655.html

This website really helped me get the idea for an electronic alphabet book:

http://www.saskschools.ca/~qvss/grassroots02/lenzen/start.htm

I've Wrapped! Now I'm Waving and Wishing

I've posted my PowerPoint in Oncourse! I'm thrilled to be done! It was a fun project, and I'm glad I chose it! I am Waving and as Kuhlthau says with presentation the search has been completed. Now I have a new understanding about alphabet picture books. I would like to try my hand at a print version not just an electronic version, but perhaps another time.

I am sharing my presentation with all of my classmates by posting it in Oncourse. I also will be sharing it with fellow teachers and my family. I would welcome suggestions from those who view it.

Well my biggest wish with this project has been that I wished I'd had more time. I have so much going on right now that it was hard to find time to work. When I first started thinking about the project, I was lost. I had no idea which direction to go. It helped me out when I got to Wondering. As Dr. Lamb says during Wondering students begin to find "manageable chunks" of information. Once my list was smaller, I felt more confident. Writing information down during Webbing helped me decide what I wanted to present at the end of this project. The research aspect of my project was easy. I didn't expect I'd have a hard time finding information about holidays or alphabet books. I would probably try a different strategy for Weaving perhaps using the computer next time to organize my thoughts. Wrapping was my favorite part. I had a lot of fun writing the little poems I included in my "book."

This project was very different from projects my students completed. I was free to make all the choices. That made the project a lot more important to me. I am not in a position now where I could apply what I've learned, but I do look forward to applying it as soon as I am working again as a teacher or as a media specialist. Making the learning personal is the key.

Wrapping things up

"Questions are drawn from the student's personal curiosity at the time of the assigned activity and are strong enough to continue beyond the academic experience-a lifelong learning mystery."
Callison- The Blue Book.

I am started to understand inquiry a bit better now as I am wrapping up my project. I was not sure where I was going to start when it was first assigned, but rereading the quote above helped me realize that it doesn't matter what I chose as long as it was relevant to me at the time I chose it. As a teacher, alphabet books have always been important to me. I used them with all of my classes. Understanding and sharing different holidays is important to me also. I've always tried to help my students understand the world around them better. Holdiays are a big part of understanding our culture.

I am finishing up my PowerPoint and getting ready to share it soon. I'll be waving soon...

Wiggling, Weaving, and a bit of Backtracking

Busy, busy, busy- that's me. I haven't blogged as much as I'd hoped, but I have been working on my project. I have a brand new modem as of today too since mine crashed. The cable guy said it was one of the oldest modems he's seen, but I digress... I was pretty confused last time. Since then I've made some lists and diagrams, and now I am feeling a bit more confident in my project. I stepped back a bit and investigated some other models to see if that clarified things for me at all.

I do feel like I am moving through the 8Ws, I like how it is an open model that allows flexibility as Callison states in The Blue Book, but I also like Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz's Big 6 Model. I thought with my confusion it might be good to look at a model aimed at younger learners. I've been working on defining my task and locating and using information.

As I said in my title I did a bit of backtracking. I had decided on alphabet books as my topic, but I went back and realized I could combine two of my original ideas. I started making a simple web with alphabet books in the center. I divided it into primary grade books and books for all ages. Then it got a little crazy. I decided to focus on the all ages side and then something clicked and I added holidays. I turned over the paper and just started listing ideas that came into my head(see diagram-Sorry it's so messy, but that seems to be how I work best!). I am going to create an electronic holiday alphabet book.

I decided my best sources for this project would be found online and at the library. First I did an Ask.com search for holidays. I found that there were just too many hits so I narrowed my topic down to holiday list children. I found several websites. I looked at them to make sure the information was appropriate for all ages; most of my hits were educational websites of some kind. I also searched for alphabet books. I wasn't sure how to narrow that one down, but I was able to find a website that has information about online alphabet books. This is similar to my idea so I saved it. At the library, I found several books in the juvenile nonfiction section about holidays. I think I solved my problem with the "tricky letters" by looking at multicultural books. I also looked at lots of different types of alphabet books. I'm just starting wrapping. I'm thinking of ways to use all this information I have gathered. I started another list too. I listed a-z down the side of my paper and started filling it up with holidays. I talked with the librarian at my school and my husband and decided to focus on well-known holidays, but I will have some multicultural ones as well- Z for instance was nearly impossible to find.

Well, that's where I am now. I am feeling a lot better about things.

It's all about questions

I've finally chosen a topic for project 1! It will be picture books. I've decided to focus on alphabet books specifically. I am already feeling frustrated, does that mean I've moved into webbing? Here's what I'm thinking:
What kind of a project can I do about picture books?
Can I create an alphabet book?
What topic should I use?
Should I create a bibliography of alphabet books?
There's so many where would I start/stop?
Should I focus on a grade level or just make it broad?
Should I interview others about their favorite alphabet books?- I thought more about this one when I was thinking of just picture books.
Where should I look?- ask.com yielded a whole bunch of books for sale
What other types of information can I look for besides books?
How am I going to meet all the requirements for project 1 in just 2 weeks?
Is this a good topic?
As you can see, there's lots going on in my brain right now. I think I need to step back and think a little more about how I can organize my thoughts. I think I'll try some kind of visual organizer.

More wondering and watching

Well I've had some time to reflect on my ideas. I've narrowed my list down a bit.
Still in:
Cake Decorating- I'm still considering this one. It could be fun.

Disney- I'd still love to do some kind of project with this topic, but I'm still stuck on what.

Picture Books- I'm still thinking about this one. I know it would be a good choice.

Holidays- This is another one that would be helpful to me as a teacher and a librarian. I'm still thinking about it.

Out:
Saltwater Fish- this is something that I enjoy, but it is really more my husband's thing.

Candy Making- I've decided I can remove this one from the list.

Ancient Egypt- I'm removing this one from the list. There's just too much for me to narrow down.

Hallmark- I don't think there's too much that I want to investigate here.

I guess I've cut my list in half. That's a start, but I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Pretty soon I need to start webbing.

Wondering

Yes, that about sums it up. I have been wondering all week about my topic. I still don't know where I want to begin. I guess I'll list the ideas I've been thinking about. Here they are in no particular order:

Saltwater Fish- My husband and I have 2 saltwater aquariums in our home. A 65 gallon reef tank and a 20 gallon fish tank. We have lots of friends in both of these tanks.

Cake Decorating- This is an interest I developed several years ago. I have always admired beautiful bakery cakes. A few years back I purchased a complete set of decorating tips half off on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). I have decorated a few cakes since then on my own. I've considered signing up for a class, but I didn't really have anyone to go with. Cake decorating is kind of what I think of as a dream job- perhaps less stressful than teaching?

Candy Making- I had this thought when I was thinking about cake decorating. Another interest, but I haven't done as much with this one. I've not been as successful either.

Disney- I love Disney! My wedding ring is in the shape of Mickey Mouse with bow tie. I remember watching the cartoons with my family on The Wonderful World of Disney. I also remember seeing all the animated Disney movies as they were released and re released with my family. My grandparents lived in Kissimmee so we were able to visit Disney World a lot when I was younger. My husband and I have visited Disney World twice in the ten years we've been married. Obviously this is something I am interested in, but what kind of project could I do?

Picture Books- I love picture books! There are so many great ones out there. My all time favorite when I was a child is sadly no longer in print. It's a Rosemary Well's book called Benjamin and Tulip. As a teacher, I've found so many more since then. A project with picture books could definitely be helpful to me as a future elementary school media specialist.

Ancient Egypt- I've always had an interest in ancient Egypt. There's lots to explore here.

Hallmark ornaments- One of my favorite days of the year is Ornament Day. That's the day after Christmas when my sister-in-law and I hit the Hallmark stores for half price ornaments. I started collecting Christmas ornaments when I was in high school. My mom started buying them and I thought they were really fun. Since then I have been adding to my collection every year. In 2003 I attended a Hallmark convention in the Chicago area where I learned a lot about how the ornaments are designed. There might be more for me to explore.

Holidays- I enjoy decorating for a lot of holidays that people don't normally decorate for. This is one way I have found to display more of my non-Christmasy ornaments. I also enjoyed holiday themed projects when I was a teacher. It was easier to do projects with my first graders than it was with my fourth graders, but I tried to do things with both. If I was currently teaching, I'd certainly be discussing Martin Luther King Day on Tuesday.

Well, as you can see I've got a lot of thoughts. I feel kind of confused right now. I guess I need to reflect a bit more. I'd love any comments you have.

Still Wondering...