Harry and the Censors

We are fortunate to have the freedom to read and review Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and to use this book in considering the issue of censorship. In addition, please read the following article by Jim Trelease:
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/censor_entry.html

Do you agree/disagree that the book should be available in the classroom?

Would you use it as part of your instruction? Why or why not? What problems would it present? What benefits would it offer?

Write and post a detailed reflection about the book and the issue of censorship. Be sure to include the information your read from the web sites to support your reflection; think about how you might handle a censorship question raised in your classroom.

Additional information about banned books can be found at

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm.

Please label your post with your name and Assignment.6, separated by a comma. Your post is due by 8:00 pm on Friday, October 23. You need to comment on at least two of your classmates' posts by 8:00 pm, Sunday, October 25.

Informational Texts

Read a picture book biography (Jeanette Winter and Kathleen Krull are two noted biographers), and read an informational book of your choice. The following authors are some of the best writers of informational text:

• Steve Jenkins
  
• Seymour Simon


• Gail Gibbons
  
• Russell Freedman


• Jim Arnosky


• Aliki

Complete a Bio-Poem for “your famous person” using (or modifying) the following template:

Line 1: First name of biographical subject

Line 2: Four adjectives or phrases describing the person

Line 3: Husband/wife/sibling/child/friend of . . .

Line 4: Lover of . . . (three things, people, places, or ideas)

Line 5: Who feels . . . (three emotions)

Line 6: Who finds happiness in . . .

Line 7: Who needs . . .

Line 8: Who gives . . .

Line 9: Who fears . . . (three things)

Line 10: Who would like to see . . .

Line 11: Who enjoys . . .

Line 12: Who like to wear ______ when______

Line 13: Resident of . . . (city/state/country)

Line 14: Last name of biographical subject

If possible, try to include a visual of your famous person. Feel free to include additional biographical information about your individual.

Please post this bio-poem on our class blog by 8:00 pm Friday, October 2. Please comment on at least two of your classmates' poems by 8:00 pm Sunday, October 4.

Bring your biography and your informational text to class Monday, October 5 and be prepared to share your books. Think about the following reader response questions during/after reading your nonfiction book:

• What did you notice in the book?


• How did the book make you feel?


• What does the book remind you of from your own life?


• What interesting facts did you learn from the book?


• Explain the significance of an important quotation or passage from the book. What does it mean? How did it make you feel? What does it remind you of? What special meaning do these words have for you?

NOTE: These questions also serve as excellent reader response questions-no matter what the genre!

Found Poems

Found poems are arrangements of words that have been selected from, or "found" in a reading selection.

After reading, return to the text to identify words and phrases that are appealing, important, or meaningful. Arrange these words and phrases to form a poem. Try several arrangements until you find the one that satisfies you.

Here is a sample of a found poem, based on The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

How Different Dreams Can Be

A stolen childhood...

Where I had to work like an adult

Although I was small and weak.

Nobody cared about that.

A joyless childhood...

I'm going to find that merry-go-round

So nobody can treat me

Like a stupid pet animal ever again.

The failings, the pains of age...

You wouldn't understand.

Children don't feel the chill.

They skip around in the puddles

and don't even get a cold.

The boredoms of age...

What do adults do all day?

Work,

Eat,

Shop,

Pay bills,

Use the phone,

Read newspapers,

Drink coffee,

Sleep.

Not really very exciting.

The boredoms of youth...

This is just how I wanted it.

I got back

What had been stolen from me

All those years ago.

And now

I find playing with all this

Quite boring.

Strange, isn't it?

He wished that out there,

On that island,

There really was something

That could turn the small and weak

Into the big and strong.

How different dreams can be.

Please compose a found poem based on The Thief Lord, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, or your Caldecott book.

Please post your poem by 8:00 pm on Friday, September 18. You need to label your post with two labels: Assignment.3, your name. The two labels should be separated by a comma. Please comment on two of your classmates' poems by 8:00 pm on Sunday, September 20. I hope you enjoy this assignment.

A Good Book

Using our class discussions, information from your textbook, information from the IMC website, and your own experience, please tell why a specific children's book (of your choosing) could be considered "good." Feel free to use the book you shared with the class today...if you think it's a "good" book.
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Please post a response no later than 8:00 pm Friday, September 4. Label your response with your name and Assignment.2. Please read and respond to at least two of your classmates' posts by 8:00 pm on Sunday, September 6.
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Think Back...

What is your earliest memory of reading?
Who read to you? Did they read to you often?
What was your favorite book as a child?
Did you ever discover, love, and devour an entire series of books?
Did you like to read as a child? Was reading a joy or a struggle?
Did your teachers read aloud regularly? What books did they read?
Did a book ever make a difference in your life?
Do you choose to read for pleasure now?
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Please reflect on these questions and share your thoughts with us in a post. You should post no later than 8:00 pm on Friday, August 28, 2009. Please label your post with "Assignment.1" and your name. Please read your classmates' posts and comment on at least two by 8:00 pm on Sunday, August 30.
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