Skip to main content

LSSL 5360 Assignment #6


Wonderstruck will appeal to readers who are drawn to graphic novels but also to those who like historical fiction. Set in both 1977 and 1927, the stories of Rose and Ben wind around each other as they come to their mutual conclusion. The beautiful illustrations interspersed with a riveting story would be a huge draw to many readers. The illustrations captivate as does the puzzle style of storytelling that Selznick uses to advance the plot. Brian Selznick's other books include the hugely popular Caldecott winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Houdini Box, and The Robot King. The Invention of Huge Cabret is similar in style and scope. The Houdini Box is also a historical fiction with illustrations, though it is less involved than Hugo or Wonderstruck. The Robot King also features beautiful illustrations, but the story is a more fragmented realistic novel without the trappings of history that surround the other three books.

Selznick, B. (2011). Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic.



Love That Dog is a free verse poetry book that will appeal to older elementary students, especially boys who will connect with the main character, Jack. It may also appeal to students who are not strong readers as the short poetry excerpts may seem less intimidating to those readers. Creech has written many books, including Walk Two Moons, Ruby Holler and Bloomability. The other books are all written in narrative, unlike Love That Dog but they all feature adolescent characters embarking on personal journeys in which they learn more about themselves.

Creech, S. (2001). Love That Dog. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

El Deafo

Summary:  When 4 year old Cece gets meningitis, her parents are scared. But she recovers and everything seems like it is going to be just fine, until they discover that Cece has suffered permanent hearing loss. Told through a graphic novel, Cece Bell's somewhat autobiographical story stars a world of bunnies where Cece navigates her first grade year while dealing with her deafness, wearing a hearing aid and making friends. She copes by creating an alter ego for herself, "El Deafo", the hearing aid wearing superhero. In the end, Cece gains confidence and learns to be more assertive with other people who just don't understand how their interactions with her can have an effect. Strengths: This graphic novel is geared towards a younger set of readers than most of the books I will be reviewing this fall in this blog, but it still has some value and strengths for the young adult reader. The theme of dealing with being different will resonate with young adult readers,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bloom's Taxonomy for a Digital Age

Bloom's Taxonomy. One of the things we are constantly hearing in our school is the push for increased rigor in our classroom, as a result of the STAAR tests and others like it becoming more rigorous. We are told to push for higher order thinking and questioning from our students. One of the tools we use to look at how we can increase rigor is Bloom's Taxonomy. But some things about Bloom's don't translate exactly when we are talking about the digital age and the classroom or library. For example, remembering is the lowest piece of the triangle for Bloom's, but remembering looks different when you have instant access to a powerful computer that can use essentially limitless online resources to find answers. I've mentioned to my husband just how much more this and future generations will know about the world around them simply because they no longer have to remember everything they're interested in knowing. If I pass a historical marker for a place I haven...
7 comments
Read more

The Clark-Kozma Debate in the 21st Century

In the 1980s and 1990s, as educational technology was first becoming a budding field, Richard Clark published an analysis of data where he determined that the media that delivers instruction is no more than a delivery tool. He used an analogy of a truck carrying the information to the learner. He concluded that the media chosen has no effect on the learning taking place - that the instruction in the only thing that influences the learning.  In 1994, Kozma responded and prompted the current debate. Kozma states that some media have specific characteristics that do effect learning as more than a vehicle. While there is little research to support Kozma's claim, he suggests that the way the media helps shape the learning does have impact and that evaluating this impact requires more than raw data as the media and the way we use it has become more complex and nuanced. Clark has stood by his original conclusions and has even subsequently released articles further supporting his stanc...
2 comments
Read more