“Why Am I me” by Page Britt is about a young boy children questioning why they are who they are. The book goes on asking different questions and different locations. It brings up the ideas and thoughts about people being different both physically and internally.

This book would be great to use to start a lesson or discussion about diversity. Children reach a point in their life where they begin to question who they are and readin this book to students can help them see that their questions are being recognized and maybe answer them. The illustrations of the book help guide the theme of diveristy being everywhere and how not everyone is the same.

“Before Morning” by Joyce Sidman is about a girl who wants snow to fall and her mother works as a pilot. This book is very unique because each page is filled with many illustrations, more than words.

It is a great book to use while teaching students about poems because it uses metaphors and descriptive words. Apart from the words it allows children to observe the illustrations and come up with their own perspectives about the book and the message.

Chapters: Prologue to Does Life Work? Part II

Mia and I discussed at the beginning of our session about the characters and talked in depth about who they were and what they did. We then shared our thoughts and opinions about certain parts of each chapter.

Main Characters:

Jimmy: He is the main character who is telling the story. His parents are divorced. He got into trouble when he got into a fight with another student and beat him up really badly. He helps out at Duke’s barbershop after school per court orders.

Inez: Jimmy’s mom who is divorced and works as a waitress.

Duke: Is a sixty-eight year old man who took over his father’s barbershop. He helps troubled kids get on the right track. He goes out of his way to help others.

Kevin: He also works at Duke’s barbershop because his mother caught him smoking weed so she called the police on him. He was not sent to jail because Duke gave him a chance to help at the shop to stay on the right track. He seems to be the smart boy at school but just makes bad decisions.

Claudio Morales: His nickname is Mister M and works at the barbershop. He owned a restaurant and an antique shop.

Edward Mills: His nickname is Cap because he used to work as a guard at the court.

Prologue:

Right from the beginning I was disturbed on how the judge just sentenced Jimmy to the youth facility without letting him explain himself as to what happened & why.

Duke’s Place:

• Cap always seems to have an opinion about everyones actions. For example, because Kevin arrived late to the barbershop he told Duke he was just wasting his money on him.
• Jimmy feels that those at the barbershop judge him too much and don’t know what it feels to be a young teen.
• I think that it is great that part of the money Jimmy earns is to help pay for Martin’s medical bills. It teaches him responsiblity for his bad actions.
• Jimmy seems to have an immaginative idea for his future. He says he wants to skip college if he can and join the NBA. Earn some money, open a business, and retire. He doesn’t have a realistic future planned out.

Victims:

• I found it absurb how Jimmy’s English teacher got so mad because he forgot to do a homework assignment and called him out in front of the entire class. This teacher shows many negative approaches that a teacher should not do in their classroom.
• Duke uses many of his clients stories and events as teaching lessons for Jimmy. Which I think is great since it allows Jimmy to hear to real world examples even if he does not like to listen to them at first.
• Duke explained how Pookie lived his life day by day without taking life and issues seriously. Once he was confronted with the consequences he saw himself as a victim.

The Blind Monkey Strut

• Jimmy went in to a restaurant to ask about the job opening and when he questioned the owner why he was looking for someone with expertise even though it is just to fry fish Sam automatically assumed Jimmy was being disrespectful.
• Jimmy seems to think that adults think they have more knowledge and power of the young. But once the young teaches them something it is seen as being disrespectful.
• Duke explains to Jimmy about The Blind Monkey Strut connecting it to Frank’s situation about going ot court for being involved in stolen items.
• Uncle Gilbert was going through a dream book to figure out the meaning of his dream about losing teeth. Jimmy’s mom knew it meant that there would be death in the family. When I read this I was able to connect because in my culture we believe that certain dreams have meanings.

Does Life Work?

• Jimmy starts off believing that he is no different than any person who comes into the barbershop
• Duke rienforces that Jimmy is different than other because at the shop they talk about their actions and the meaning of life rather than everybody else who just goes throughout their day without thinking about it
• Duke states that many people become spectators instead of “players”. They tend to make life work in their interest.

Does Life Work? Part II

• Mack came into the shop and shared a story about him giving fourteen cents to a guy in need. But the guuy through it on the ground and disrespected him.
• At the shop they discuss about if everyone is entitled to 3 meals a day regardless if they work or decided not to work.
• Jimmy thinks that even though life didn’t work for everybody did not mean it did not work at all.

The second reading is about using pictures to understand the characters in the story better. Think about a children’s book you’ve read and explain how the illustrations supported the plot, theme, emotions, and analysis of the story and the characters.

When I was younger I liked to read “Froggy Learns to Swim” by Jonathan London because of the story itself and the illustrations. The book was about Froggy going to the pond with his parents but not wanting to go into the water because he did not know how to swim so he went on the sings. He swung so high that he fell into the water and was afraid to drown. Throughout the story the illustrations help me understand how Froggy was feeling on the swing, after he feel into the water, and after he learned how to swim. The illustrations helped me realize what was happening in the story.

The first reading mentions that pictures are all around us, not just in picture books. How can picture books be utilized to teach children more than just the curriculum in school?

Picture books can be utilized to teach students more than just curriculum it can also teach them how to see the illustrations and appreciate the art and what it is trying to portray. Also picture books can be used to demonstrate and explain what is happening in the world at the moment. Students can learn how to be kind and respectful individuals in society through the use of illustrations.

Picture books can help broader students minds and thoughts to be able to think deeper into what is being shown and be creative with their thoughts.

A Unique Visual and Literary Art Form: Recent Research on Picturebooks

Key terms, knowledge, and skills:

• A picture book is a written text that has images and they both interact with one another.
• Symmetry: the words & pictures are on equal footing
• Complementary: each provides information
• Enhancement: each extends the meaning of the other
• Counterpoint: words & pictures tell different stories
• Contradiction: beyond different narratives, the words & pictures seem to assert the opposite of each other
• Interanimation: process where verbal text draws the reader’s attention to specific parts of the illustration/images
• Informational picturebooks help both students & teachers develop science language
• teachers can encourage students to discuss their thoughts about the text and make their own. This can help them become confident readers and writers
• Students can have a negative feeling towards picturebooks for different reasons. For example, maybe a newer version of the story came out and it is different to the familiar one.
• Resistance to a picturebook can be seen as another form of engagement

Visual Literacy as a Pathway to Character Understanding

• Characters play a huge role in a story, they help readers get a deeper meaning of the story
• Readers need to develop the insights of the visual arts principles
• Visual information given in picturebooks is very important for younger children when developing character traits, interests, and emotions
• Pictorial Content: facial expressions, body postures, and characters’ actions
• It is important as teachers to teach students to use illustration/text clues to better understand characters
• During read-alouds teachers need to make sure every child can see the illustrations and there is time for turn & talks

1. Explain why you think Sympathy is an effective title. Sympathy is an effective tittle to the poem because the free bird comprehends what the caged bird is feeling being locked up behind bars. He feels sorrow for him and what he has to do being caged.
2. Discuss what the cage in the poem represents? Dunbar was an elevator operator does this change your thinking? The cage represents the domestic jobs humans can have. How tough they can be and how it makes them feel like they are “caged” within the job because it is all they can do. I think that Dunbar working as an elevator operator made him feel locked into the job and feel sympathy.

A. Tells us more about the free bird. What was their take on the situation? The free bird flys around the sky without being tied down and has freedom. Unlike the caged bird the free bird is able to enjoy the sky and the view of the “fat worms”.

B. What phrases are continually repeated throughout the poem? Why did Angelou make that decision? What is so significant about those lines? There are various phrases that are repeated throughout the poem like, “his wings are clipped”, “his feet are tied”, and much others. Also, this whole stanza is repeated in the poem:

The caged bird sings   
with a fearful trill   
of things unknown   
but longed for still   
and his tune is heard   
on the distant hill   
for the caged bird   
sings of freedom. I think Angelou made this decision to demonstrate the key aspects of the poem. These lines are so significant to the poem because it portrays the caged bird’s perspective and how it desires to be free so it sings to show it.

C. What messages was Angelou trying to get across to her readers? I think Angelou was trying to compare herself or those who lived in oppression to the caged bird who are tied down against their will. But, they see they try to be positive and have hope that one day they will be free. The free bird is what they desire to be, which is to be free in the world.

D. Compare the two poems what do they say about the human condition? The two poems say much about human condition and the difference lives humans have. Some are oppressed and feel controlled while others feel free and have privelege. But, even though some feel oppressed they still have hope that one day life will get better and some may sing to demonstrate their hope, like the birds in both poems. 

Poetry can be either an easy or difficult style of writing for different students. But, it is a great way for someone to express themselves on a topic that they truly connect with. Some people use poetry to express their feelings whether good or bad ones.

Teachers allowing students to explore the world of poetry by reading poems and writing one allows them to open up their minds to be creative. Students are so used to writing essays and not many creative writing. Just like the article Poetry is Like Directions for Your Imagination by Christine Duthie and Ellie Kubie Zimet states that “Poetry is part of our language culture” (16), poetry is a way students can express language in a different way than usual. It can help with improving language, reading, and writing skills.

Also, in Mara Linaberger’s article, Poetry top 10: A foolproof formula for teaching poetry, the teacher used different writing prompts to assist one of her student’s to change up and add more detail to his poems. By doing this the student’s writing improved little by little each time. Also, the student was able to use example poems to help him structure his own poem but he was creative with the actual writing. Poetry can help build a child’s imagination during writing while teachers address issues in society. Teachers can mention specific issues occurring, create a poem as a whole group and have students write their own poem expressing their thoughts and feelings of the issue.