Volume I, Issue 2
WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom is a regular on-line publication of WOW containing vignettes written by classroom educators about children’s experiences reading and responding to literature in the classroom setting.
Contents
Part 1: Creating a Context for Professional Learning
Part 2: Developing Conceptual Thinking
Conceptualization as a Way of Thinking in Schools, by Lisa Thomas, Instructional Coach
Thinking Conceptually about Journeys through an Author Study, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Mapping Our Understandings of Literature, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
“Life is a Journey and an Iceberg”: Creating a Context for Conceptual Thinking, by Amy Edwards, fifth grade teacher
Encouraging Symbolic Thinking through Literature, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Writing as a Tool for Synthesizing Our Learning, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Part 3: Considering Multiple Perspectives
Moving Across the Arts to Consider New Perspectives, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
Making Connections through Text Sets with Young Children, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Encouraging Intertextual Thinking in the Classroom, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Re-Visioning the World through Multiple Perspectives, by Amy Edwards, fifth grade teacher
Taking Action with Young Children, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
Exploring Action and Responsibility through Literature, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Part 4: Exploring Taking Action
Young Children’s Explorations of Multiple Perspectives, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
Taking Action through Emotional Connections, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
Exploring Voice and Responsibility through Literature, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
An Inquiry on Taking Action: Exploring Human Rights, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher, and Derek R. Griffith, Filmmaker
Editor
Kathy G. Short, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Production Editor
Rebecca K. Ballenger, Worlds of Words
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Told in her own words, here is the true story of a girl who posed as a boy during World War II — and dared to speak up for her fellow prisoners of war.With the Japanese army poised to invade their Indonesian island in 1942, Rita la Fontaine’s family knew that they and the other Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian residents would soon become prisoners of war. Fearing that twelve-year-old Rita would be forced to act as a “comfort woman” for the Japanese soldiers, the family launched a desperate plan to turn Rita into “Rick,” cutting her hair short and dressing her in boy’s clothes. Rita’s aptitude for languages earned her a position as translator for the commandant of the prisoner camp, and for the next three years she played a dangerous game of disguise while advocating against poor conditions, injustice, and torture. Sixty-five years later, Rita describes a war experience like no other — a remarkable tale of integrity, fortitude, and honor.
Move over, James Bond— Daisy is going undercover!In this hilarious third book in the quickly growing series, Daisy decides she wants to play her favorite dress-up game: spies! But how can she accomplish her missions if no one understands her secret code language? Daisy is almost ready to call it quits when her mom gets into the action, and Daisy realizes that being a spy just might run in the family. The special friendship shared by a mother and daughter shines through this new Daisy tale, as does the fun. Children’s Book of the Month Club selection
When she finally joins her father and brothers in their new home in Switzerland, a twelve-year-old Turkish girl encounters the tremendous difficulty of living in a foreign country without knowing the language and customs.
“When a war ends it does not go away,” my mother says.“It hides inside us . . . Just forget!” But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember. In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home. Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.
Two friends, a young hippo named Owen, and a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee live in Kenya.In spite of their many differences, Owen and Mzee are inseparable. What’s even more amazing is that the pair seem to have developed their own” language” of soft sounds and gestures, which continues to baffle wildlife experts.
A visiting dove provides the answer to Grandmother Maloko’s financial problems when floodwaters destroy her crops and she must rely on the sale of her homemade jewelry.
Introduces Canadian holidays, including festivals celebrated by the various ethnic communities in Canada, such as harvest festivals, Christmas, New Years, and religious holidays, and includes recipes for holiday treats.
A collection of poems by various Canadian poets that deal with kings, laughter, travel, sailors, forests, outlaws, magic, flying, the seasons, clouds, cats, bears, and elephants.
