Helping One Student to Succeed

Last semester in my TEFB class I was required to attend a school every week for two hours and help students one on one with reading, spelling, and writing. So, every Wednesday from 10 to 12 I went to Navarro Elementary in Bryan. I would work with one little boy for thirty minutes on a writing excercise, spelling flashcards, then reading if we had time. After that group of students left, I would go to a certain teacher's classroom and help her with anything she needed, often times working with some of her students individually with anything they were struggling with. I stayed there for about fourty-five minutes and then had to tell the kids I had to go, which they didn't like to hear. I'd then go back to the HOSTS room to work with another little boy for thirty minutes, doing the same three things. The second boy I worked with struggled much more than the other with reading and recognizing letters and words. However, I saw much improvement each week with him, as well as the other little boy. At times, I would also "sub" for those who's mentors weren't there, so I got to work with even more children. It was a great experience for me and I think it helped me get a better feel on how teaching elementary students will be once I become a teacher.

*Modern Cinderella*

Substitute a cell phone for a glass slipper, a classic convertible for a magic pumpkin, and the busy suburb of L.A. for a kingdom far, away and what do you end up with? A happily-ever-after twist of the Cinderella fairy tale!!! The 2004 Warner Brothers Entertainment movie featuring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray is today's version of the classic Cinderella fairy tale.

I absolutely love this movie and watch it all the time! I grew up knowing and loving the original Disney classic Cinderella too, so it was easy to follow and compare the two when first watching this movie. Just like the Disney Cinderella, there was an evil stepmother and two stepsisters, a prince (or cute, popular boy), and a dad that wasn't shown much in the movie, and of course a "cinderella" (unfortunate teenage stepdaughter). And even though the dad only appeared at the beginning of the movie, he was basically present in spirit and remembrance through Sam ("cinderella") the entire movie. I won't give too much detail about the movie cause you have to see it for yourself if you haven't already!

And after reading the early Cinderella versions from the Brothers Grimm, Perrault, Jacobs, and others, they seemed very different than what I grew up knowing as the "Cinderella" fairy tale. In addition, as I've grown up there have been numerous renditions of Cinderella with movies, books, tv shows and so much more. They've even had a movie with superstar Brandy playing Cinderella. Who knows what our society will come up with next as we move into the future....????

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

"The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf" is a children's classic written and read all around the world. There are so many versions out there, including the mixed up version know as "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig." This version is about three innocent little wolves who are just trying to build a house for themselves. However, the big bad pig keeps destroying their work. Eventually though in the end, the pig realizes how violent and rude he was to them, befriends them, and they all live "happily ever after."
This twisted children's story is very cute and entertaining. It's nice to see the wolves as good characters (after being seen as the antagonist(s) in "Little Red Riding Hood" and the original "Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf"). It's also entertaining to see the pig as "big" and "bad." Usually, in real life and in children's stories, pigs are seen as cute and cuddly. Another thing I took a liking to with this story was the fact that it ended with EVERYONE living happily ever after. In the most fairy tale stories, only certain characters live happily ever after while another character may end up dying or just incredibly unhappy. And not only did this story have a good plot and a happy ending, but it had nice illustrations to add to it and make the story more enjoyable and real. Helen Oxenbury did an awesome job with her illustrations.
It's stories like these that children fall in love with and want to hear over and over again. It's stories like these were children enjoy telling to their friends or whoever wants to listen. And, it's stories like these that I can't wait to read to my students as well as my own children. They're so easy to add excitement and character to as you read them whether it be to yourself or to a group of students!

Stepmothers, Children, and Food

After reading various versions of the classic Hansel and Gretel in "The Classic Fairy Tales" book as well as the comments and critiques made in the beginning, I noticed a lot of the same characteristics in all of them.

First off I noticed the presence, as well as the absence, of food. Not only does it possess a great deal of importance in Hansel and Gretel, but also fairy tales such as Snow White (when the wicked witch insists on eating the heart and liver of the beautiful Snow White), as well the favorite Little Red Riding Hood (when the wolf eats the grandmother and then wishes to eat Little Red as well). Food also seems to be rather important in society today too.

Another thing that appeared the same throughout the different versions was the evil stepmother (well except for Perrault and Jacob's versions). For some reason the "evil stepmother/witch" is a recurring character in many classic fairy tales of the past as well as the present. Again, we see her in Snow White and Cinderella as well. And not only is she evil, but she is usually older and not the most attractive person. With children reading fairy tales that have stepmothers portrayed this way it's only obvious that they would most likely perceive their stepmothers (if they had one) in a similar, if not the same way.

One more thing found recurring in the various Hansel and Gretel versions is children who are victims of the story most of the time. It's possible that these fairy tale writers place these children as victims because they are infact victims in our society today. They are blind and naive to several aspects in life; and fairy tales are usually responsible for making them this way most of the time.

Red Hot Riding Hood

Today in class we watched a video of another version of Little Red Riding Hood called "Red Hot Riding Hood." I had never seen this before and it is quite commical. Even though it is quite a bit different than the traditional LRRH and the other versions we read in "The Classic Fairy Tales," it shares some of the same aspects at the same time. This short video has some sexual aspects to it just as "The Story of Grandmother" version and Perrault's version does. Both the wolf and the grandmother in the video are turned on by the opposite sex and act upon it. In addition, the video is a satire just like Dahl's and Thurber's versions of LRRH are. The wolf just gets himself in trouble by beating Red to grandmother's apartment and can't seem to get away from grandmother. In fact, he seems to be the victim as opposed to most versions were Little Red Riding Hood is the victim.






Outside Reading List:

Book#1: The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
Author: Eugene Trivizas
Picture Book? Yes
Post date: 1/27/08

Book#2: Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Picture Book? Yes
Post date: 2/3/08

Book#3: Aquamarine
Author: Alic Hoffman
Picture Book? No
Post date: 2/12/08

Book#4: Heather, Belle of the Ball
Author: Sheri Cooper Sinykin
Picture Book? No
Post date: 2/23/08

Book#5: One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
Author: Dr. Seuss
Picture Book? Yes
Post date: 3/1/08

Book#6: Make Way for Ducklings
Author: Robert McCloskey
Picture Book? Yes
Post date: 3/24/08

Book#7: The Ghost of Fossil Glen
Author: Cynthis DeFelice
Picture Book? No
Post date: 3/30/08

Book#8: Love You Forever
Author: Robert N Munsch
Picture Book? Yes
Post date: 4/6/08

Book#9: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Author: Ann Brashares
Picture Book? No
Post date: 4/10/08

Book#10: Among the Hidden
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Picture Book? No
Post date: 4/25/08