I believe fantasy should be encouraged in children. I like the genre of fantasy because I found it interesting and valuable for children. Children would love fantasy because it grabs their attention. It is effective because fantasy is a higher form of literature. The knowledge that a children can gain through the fantasy experience is incredibly valuable. The reading states that there is a clear positive neural affect to reading fantasy. The students experienced heightened activity in the left temporal lobe of the brain by reading fantasy. This area of the brain relates to semantics. The readings mentioned how fantasy novels can awaken imagination, creativity, and a passion for story-telling. This is important at the elementary level because it stimulates key areas in a child’s development. At the elementary level, the children would be engaged to learn. Another reading mentioned how fantasy novels are key to being vital for the human mind. Children can learn to fill the gaps between knowledge, reality, and experience. As children progress in their development and through fantasy novels, they can develop coping mechanisms that will benefit them as they develop into adulthood. Fantasy for children can act as a “safe” way to explore intellectual feelings. This is why I like the genre of fantasy and I find it valuable at the elementary level.

Fantasy is important because it emphasizes our sense of wonder as readers. The readings stated that readers are hungry for a sense of wonder, excitement, and curiosity through literature. Fantasy is a great literary genre to enlighten these emotions.

A mythical character name that I would be is Aditi. I chose this name because it starts with the letter of my first name and I enjoyed it. The power would be controlling the sun and being a mother figure. This suits me because I always look out for others and I hold that role within my life by looking out for others such as my friends and family. It means being entire and genuine.

Writing Standard for Grade One 

            Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure. 

Goal: Students will create a writing piece that states their opinion on a topic of their choice or a title of a book and then provide details to support their opinion.

Define terms: Peer reviewed writing is a practice where a writing piece can be reviewed by others to help the writer improve their piece.

Guided Practice/Independent Practice

            During writing time, students in first grade will write their own opinion piece in which they introduce a topic of their choice or a title of book they choose to write about. In the writing piece, students will state their own opinion and provide supportive details for their opinion. Then, students will provide a sense of closure to support their opinion and statement that they chose to write about. To do this, I will provide a graphic organizer that has headings for Introduction to Topic, Opinion Statement, Reason, Reason, and Supporting Key Details. There will be spaces on this organizer for the students to fill in to support their writing process. Students will be able to share their writing with the class as part of peer reviewed process. 

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is an award winning picture book by Mo Willems. It earned the Caldecott Medal Nominee (2004) as well as numerous other awards. When a bus driver takes a break from his job and route, a pigeon unusually volunteers to take his place. The pigeon pleads and begs throughout the book, leaving areas for readers to answer back to the pigeon. This allows for the readers to decide the fate of the pigeon. The pigeon becomes increasingly frustrated and upset because nothing seems to be working. The pigeon begs for a chance to break the rules. Children would find this as a hilarious book to read by following the pictures and the words themselves throughout the pigeon’s journey. The illustrator is also Mo Willems, who is a popular cartoonist. Mo Willems perfectly captures the children’s perspective when creating this award winning picture book by utilizing colorful illustrations and unique words to enhance the interest of the readers.

The literary element in the book can look at the character analysis. The pigeon is a simple character that engages the kids. It engages the kids to follow along in the pigeon’s journey. Another element could be illustrations. The illustrations did an effective job in engaging the reader to follow along in the events in the story. The colorful pages and facial expressions of the pigeon allows the reader to gain a deeper insight into the pigeon’s character.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems is an award winning picture book that earned the Caldecott Medal Nominee (2005) and Borders Original Voices Award for Picture Books (2004), as well as numerous other awards. The illustrator is also Mo Willems. The illustrations portray black and white photographs of Brooklyn. This award winning picture book tells a story of Trixie and Knuffle Bunny taking a trip to the laundromat with Dad goes terribly wrong when Trixie realizes the Bunny has been left behind. The attempts to tell Dad about how Knuffle Bunny is missing goes unsuccessful. The Mom in the story is the character who realizes that the Bunny is missing. When this realization occurs, the family books it back to the laundromat in search of Knuffle Bunny.

The literary element of illustrations and words on each of the pages seem like an effective pairing to tie the story together. It seems like a great children’s story to read and I can see how it is an award winning picture book. The illustrations and words help emphasize the elements of the story and they are easy to follow throughout the book. For example, the characters, setting, conflict, and actions are easily followed in the story.

A time that I remember learning about Mythology in school was in high school. I learned about Athena and various gods and goddesses. I learned the myths that aligned with them and what phenomenons were present. I think having students study mythology will help them build a better understanding of the world because it offers different aspects of the world and society that can help build understanding. Through mythology, students are introduced to numerous world cultures while comparing those cultures to their own. Mythology also teaches history to students by covering a period of time. In addition, students should study mythology to help them build a better understanding of the world because it will help them with language. This can be related to literature because it is important for students to strengthen their literary skills through reading and writing different genres. Mythology is an effective way to strengthen students language skills. In myths, many English words are derived from characters and events found within them. Mythology can allow for students to gain an appreciation for art and Literature by understanding the many mythological allusions. By having students study mythology, they are given context into the world, literature, culture, and beliefs.

Why might students enjoy learning about mythology and how would you teach it to them in order for them to understand how to read and write mythology? I think students might enjoy learning about mythology because it will spark their interest in learning about cultures and hidden truths. Myths are a different type of way to form literature and to deliver it to students. I would teach mythology to students by providing them with a writing worksheet to help them write mythology. I would teach them the elements of a myth that may include characters, a god or goddess, a good vs. evil topic, the journey that the character will take, and how the journey will end. To read mythology, I will teach the students about those elements and how to identify them when reading mythology.

Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers was a great read. It revolved around these older men trying to teach life lessons to younger boys, Jimmy and Kevin. There were life lessons that were prevalent throughout the book. Many lessons involved choosing the right decisions in life to avoid going down a negative path. Near the end of the book, the boys realize the advice that the men have been giving them. Everything started to make sense to them in their lives. This is a fictional story and acts as a handbook for these boys to follow in their lives. A distinct theme in this book is to try to make positive choices to avoid going down a bad path. Also, everyone has their own situation in their life, good or bad. However, you can always do something to make your life better.  

The Rabbit and The Tiger: A Fable was the fable I chose. The setting is in the jungle. The rabbit and the tiger are the two characters in the story. A theme is to be nice to one another and treat others kindly. The culture of this fable can help young children realize that it is important not to be mean to peers and not everything that is visible is as it truly seems. To teach fables to my students, I would explain what a fable is. When reading this fable, I would ask literary questions regarding key messages, characters, setting, and other elements that help understand the truth idea of the fable.