So far this The Girl with the Brown Crayon has brought up some real life issues that I do not think people look at every day.  One point is the color we are and what it means to us.  Reeny tries for find a color that fits her skin type while coloring.  I feel this could be a frustrating situation for some people because it should not be that difficult to try and match a skin color.  Reeny is only in kindergarten and already has a lot of understanding, but also has a lot more to understand.  When she read the book by Leo Lioni she comes across a mouse that is the same color as she.  Later on in the book she realizes that the mouse and her have the same skin color but that is not all the identifies her with him.  When I think back to when I was in kindergarten, I do not know how I would have reacted when I discovered that I am different than everyone else.  

The concept of power and wealth over friendship is discovered in the book about Tico.  All he wanted was golden wings to be able to fly far beyond all the other people.  Unfortunately, Tico discovers that he must choose between his friends and his new found power.  This happens in society all the time.  I was watching the View the other day and the ladies on it were talking about how they all lost friends when they became famous.  They were saying it was because the friends thought that they thought they were too good for the friends.  And without talking to them the friends decided they did not want to be friends with celebrities anymore.  This reminded me of their stories and made me make a connection between the story of Tico and the women on the View.  (T-W)  On the other hand sometimes those who do come into power take advantage of it and do forget what is important in life, like friends and family.  When this happens the person often finds himself or herself alone in the world because they let fame and fortune take over.  Reeny is a smart little girl and I feel I can learn a lot from her in the book just like we learn a lot from students in our classes.  

Literature Circles

Literature Circles are when students choose a book from a list the teach provides, then they get into groups and read and respond together about the book.  The teacher takes part in some of the discussion,  but the students come up with the discussion schedule on their own.  The good part about this is the books are available at a variety of reading levels.  Students also have opportunities to work with their classmates which can be very benefitial to their learning.  In my classroom for Tuesday Experience I have not seen any kind of literature circles formed within the class.  This may change in the weeks to come when I get to see different things they do.  It is hard to see everything when I am only there on Tuesdays, this may not be the day they do literature circles.  But I intend to talk with the teacher about the other days of the week and the lessons they do when I am not there.  

Thematic Units

Thematic Units involve science or social studies topics. They incorporate the six language arts elements in activities and demonstrations. The teacher uses the text as just one source of learning for the students. Students use technology to explore and enhance learning of these content areas. Teachers scaffold instruction as students work independently, in small groups, and together as a class. In my Tuesday experience class the students do not seem to have many resources for science and social studies. The teacher spent 45 minutes reading from the text book and then she asked the students questions right from the book. The students were reviewing for a quiz which they would be taking in a few days. Next to the text book the students were given a print out black and white map with some explorers travels on it. I think the teacher could have made the learning more interesting by having the students color the map and trace the course of each explorer. I have not been able to observe a science lesson, but I am excited for when the time comes, I love science and hope that the teacher has some fun activities to do with the students.