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A little about Me

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Hi I'm Christal! I see you found your way to my blog and that's perfect. I'm currently a junior at Houston Baptist University and majoring in Elementary Education and loving every minute of it! I remember reading many books throughout my young life and I can't get enough of it. I find that there's always a book, for any situation. I also enjoy reading because it keeps my brain sharp and I like it that way.  I've always known that I wanted to be a teacher from around the time I was about 11. I always enjoyed working with younger kids and I like to be a mentor to them. I can't wait to be a teacher and start impacting the lives of my students, I know they'll do the same to me. Hopefully you enjoy this blog just as much and I enjoy writing.  - Peace. Love. Giraffes.

Bomer Chapter 11 Reading

       While reading chapter 11, I chose two Bomer types of notebook entries to talk about 1) Reaching into Memory and 2) Thinking About a Person. Reaching into Memory is a writing style where we reach back into our memory and write about the first thing that comes to mind. It doesn't have to be anything glamourous, big, or super important, it could be a small moment that we sit and focus on, and write about it. I chose Reaching into Memory because this can allow students to focus on something small, and not pay too much attention to the writing form. Almost like with the Slice of Life, we focus on something minor and write about it, we reminiscence on it and see where our memory takes us, as opposed to he slice of life we focus on being in the moment. I also feel that this requires writers to focus on this memory, and not combine many memories or get off topic, but talk about this moment and what they remember from it. Introducing this to my students could be hard, because student

How Poetic

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Title: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems Author/Illustrator: Marilyn Singer/Josee Masse Genre(s): Fiction, Children's Literature, Poetry Age: 6-11     This book has traditional fairy tales and when their words are flipped upside down, they create a second meaning to the beloved fairy tale. We read them first as familiar old-fashioned tales, then the words were read from the bottom up to give a twist on each story. The first one challenged to look at stories differently, and who says the only way to read something down is true, and that this was a poem that would challenge us to see it differently. Cinderella's Double Life presented the story in a traditional way, but when read in reverse we see that she spends the whole night dancing and will take off her shoes at midnight from them hurting her feet, unlike her getting a chance with the prince it's her sisters who are now waiting and stuck in a corner. In The Sleeping Beauty and the Wide-Awake Prince twist was that p

My Slice of Life #2 - A Morning During a Winter Storm

 Monday, February 15, 2021 - 8:15 am Waking up in my double insulated bed, and soft sherpa blanket due to freezing temps outside, I immediately got up to look outside my window excited to see "snow". I knew I had the whole day to be productive and get some school work done.  IF ONLY I KNEW.... Should I go out and play in it or  just take pictures from my window? After about 3 minutes of debating I made my choice.  I'll just take pictures on my phone.  Grabbing my phone from under my pillow. I go, open my blinds, and take my pictures. While taking pictures I look down my street to see if any of my neighbors are out enjoying the snow, but they weren't (it might've been too early,  for them). Spending the next 10 minutes (yes 10 minutes) looking at friends' social media, seeing how much fun they're having in the snow, t hinking 'It's way to cold to go out there even for some pictures." Getting bored ,  I start to wonder if my mom is up, like any

History Makes For A Great Story

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Title: Pink and Say Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco Genre(s): Children's Literature, Fiction Age: 6-9     In this story we are taken back to a time during the Civil War. Sheldon's daughter Rosa, is retelling the events as he told her in his own words. When he was just a lad, he had been in the war for about a year, and he had been hurt real bad, and he was wishing he was home. He would go in and out of consciousness, and he was wishing he could be back home with his Ma, eating biscuits. He heard a voice talk to him, and he gave him a drink from his own kit. This man wanted to help him, but if he had been hit in the belly he'd have to leave him behind, but he wanted to get him to his fit, since it was only a leg injury and bring him back to where the other wounded soldiers were. He remembers having to stumble to the ground and trying not to be seen, he may have been half asleep, but he remembered these details.         Pinkus Aylee, found Sheldon while he was lost from

Book, Head, and Heart Connections

      In our first book club book,  New Kid by Jerry Craft, I discovered a few connections within myself, and life. This book hit several important issues kids face in this society, and climate, and can relate to, especially kids of color, with their white peers and teachers. In the Book:     Within the book Jordan was starting at a new private school that was predominantly white. he was one of a few black students at this school, and they experienced many racist comments and actions towards them. Jordan tells this story through his eyes, and his drawings of his journal to depict what it's like going to this school and how things are a completely different than what he's used to. The author wanted to write this story to highlight changes we go through, and how humans can have unconscious or completely conscious biases and racial tendencies whether they realize it or not. By calling him the wrong name constantly, accusing him of not being engaged in the school, and only being n

What A Story! Could It Be Real?

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Title: Life Author/Illustrator: Cynthia Rylant/Brendan Wenzel  Genre(s): Fiction, Nature Writing Age: 4-8     This book is highlights the beauty of nature and life and how things start out small and grow into bigger things. We see the beauty through the animals of the good and bad things. We started out with a baby elephant and they are one of the biggest animals, but life starts out small for them too. They grow beneath the sun and moon. The author implied asking the animals what they love about life, and the hawks would say the sky, the camel will say the sand, and the snake will say grass, all of these are where the animals are most comfortable from predators and danger. The turtle has seen a lot in his life, that's why he loves life, because he's seen so much.      But life isn't always easy. With human growth forests are becoming less common and birds may struggle to find home and shelter, but the wilderness does eventually come to an end. When the wilderness ends, it

Reading As Thinking

     When I read I see things interestingly, and in perspective. I see them as I read in my head, creating the images based on what I read. Sometimes the words will pop off the page, creating a 3D effect as I'm reading.  For the most part, when I read it's relatively easy to create a movie in my own head. Most of the books I choose are things that I know will excite me, and make me question the author's purpose for writing the book, which allows me to have more fun with it.  When I'm reading I hear myself as a narrator. I insert my own thoughts like I'm talking while a movie is playing or saying how something made me felt in that moment, it's almost as if it's an autobiography.      As I read, I imagine the characters based on who I know, or who I would Like to see in it if it were a movie. There's one celebrity actress, Elaine Hendrix, who I always see as the bad guy in any movie, because that's how I've known her, so if there's a book with