Pablo Cantu
LSSL 5360
Textbook Assignment #3
October 15, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

K What You Already Know About the Topic	W What you learned about the topic	L What you still need to learn about the Topic	S How do you plan to share what you learned?

Assignment #3.  Read chapter on (a) Poetry, (b) Realistic Fiction, and (c) Fantasy and Science Fiction

K What you already know about the topic?

(a)  I am not sure if I knew that much about Poetry, than what I learned while in High School.  What I do remember is that it’s a form of literature, it rhymes, it has stanzas, and it can written in different forms.  There are Haikus, Sonnets, Limericks, Couplets, Narratives and Free Verse.  I remember that most of the literature I would read as a Pre-K child was mostly in rhyme.  Once I went to school I remember having to memorize and recite different types of poems.  The one that stands in my mind is one about the two pigeon eggs; do not remember the title but all I remember is that there were two pigeon eggs; which surprised me at that time because I did not realize that pigeons would lay two eggs at a time.  Another poem that I remember reciting in Elementary school was Jabberwocky by Lewis Carol.  After elementary, I really do not remember that much about different poems except that we had to dissect them in my high school English classes.  That’s where my love of poetry went out the door.  As an adult the only lines from a poem that I can remember is that from Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas.  “Do not go gentle into that good, Old age should burn and rave at close of day, Rage, rage at the dying of the light.”  That is all that I remember.  And for the most part, my knowledge of poetry.  (b) I am not quite sure what Realistic Fiction is.  I really do not know what it is?  So I will make an educated guess as to what I believe it to be.  Realistic Fiction are stories that can actually take place in real life.  Stories that are about people and situations that are real without any supernatural powers or extreme situations.  Examples of Realistic Fiction could include the book Silver Lining Playbook by Matthew Quick or About a Boy by Nick Hornby.  Now realistic fiction are stories that can be true and not stories that are based on true stories like  Moneyball  by Michael Lewis or The Accidental Millionaires by Ben Mezrich.  That’s my educational guess.  (c) Science Fiction and Fantasy are two forms of literature that I am a little bit familiar with.  Growing up I was a fan of the different books, comic books, television series and movies that dealt with this genre.   From reading Brave New World at an early age; I was hooked.  I also loved reading old Buck Rodgers comics and enjoyed watching television series that were such as Buck Rogers and the 21st Century, Battlestar Galactica, and of course Star Trek.  And the when going to the movies; I was deeply enthralled seeing Star Wars, and the Godzilla movies.  After seeing the movies and television series; I was in love with this subject and started to read all the books and comic books that were tie-ins to these shows.  So what I know about Science Fiction and Fantasy are that the stories should be about the future or have an element of science.  Frankenstein, in my opinion could be considered as a form of Science Fiction because it deals with creating a man from different body parts and using chemicals and lightning to bring him to life.

W What you learned about the topic

(a)    Well, I really did know that much about Poetry, but that is why we are here.  We are here to learn.  But I am glad that I did know that poetry is not a genre but a form of literature that can be found in various forms such as fantasy, historical fiction, and realistic fiction as well as in traditional fiction.   I was unaware that novels that are written in verse are not the same as poetry; but they are both written in a similar form.  I learned that there are different criteria to evaluate children’s poetry.  1) When writing a poem; the author needs to make sure that the subject of the poem is one that is familiar to children.  The subject that is the main focus of the poem must be clear the child and not one that is abstract.  It is ok when the child is older to infer the abstract subject of a poem; but that this should come after they have read numerous poems about the subject at hand. 2) The next part is that does the poem use imagery.  The images that are evoked from reading the poem should be easy for the child to interpret.  Images that relate to smell, taste, sound, texture and sight are easy for children to relate.  3) Next, does the poem rhyme?  Though poetry can be written in various forms that are not done in a rhyming scheme; children need the rhyming pattern in poems.  As they grow up they will become more appreciative of free verse and other forms of poetry.  4) The next piece of criteria used to evaluate children’s poetry is how rhyme is used in the poem.  While meter and foot are not necessary; it is ok for it to be included.  This way, children can begin to learn about the different beats in the poem.  We must also look at how does the rhyming fit with the subject of the poem.  Is it written in a natural form or is it forced?  5) The last part of the criteria that we must ask is how does sound play in the written form of the poem?  What literary devices are being used?  Is there alliteration, assonance, consonance, or onomatopoeia used in the writing? Those are just a brief description of the five pieces of criteria that are to be used to evaluate children’s poetry.  Besides the criteria on to evaluate poems; I found out that through a research study, children prefer narrative poetry because it has a story within the writings.  Children do not like free verse or haikus, but they do like rhyming rhythms and sound devices to be included.  They also like poems that are funny, that deal with animals and regarding familiar experiences.  And last they prefer poems that are contemporary because of their familiarity with the language and subjects of the poems.  (b)   I was right to an extent as to what Realistic Fiction is about.  It does go by other names, such as Contemporary Realistic Fiction or Modern Realistic Fiction.  It is set in contemporary or modern times; and it is a story where everything about it is consistent with the real world.  But realistic fiction is not the same as science fiction or historical fiction.  Those are two different subjects that I will soon learn about.  There three key points that must be examined when one evaluates realistic fiction.  They are 1) everything with the story needs to be consistent with what is happening in the real world where kids live.  When evaluating the literature using these criteria we must look at the speech that is being used; the way the characters behave and are they avoiding any stereotypes.  The second point that we must use is 2) if the theme emerges naturally throughout the story.  We need to make sure that the story is not being preachy.  In other words are they not teaching us a lesson.  Normally there are more than one theme that is used in most stories; but we need to make sure that the theme(s) are emerging slowly and consistently and not being blunt and just thrown out you.  The last thing that we must look at when evaluating realistic fiction is that 3) is the topic relatable to modern times.  There are many subjects that can be discussed which include sensitive topics such as death, violence, sexuality, sexual identity, and divorce to name a few.  What used to be taboo several years ago are now the subjects of modern books.    (c)    I was sort of right; but once again I learn something new.   First of all Science Fiction and Fantasy are not the same.   All science fiction is a form of fantasy; but not all fantasy is a science fiction.  There are different standards set in evaluating fantasy.  These include 1) the characters must behave in a constant and believable way.  2) There are rule as to how life is led in the fantasy world.  3) The writers of fantasy literature must assist the readers to believe in the willing suspension of disbelief. And 4) the theme must explore universal truths.   When thinking about the genre of fantasy; I was surprised to learn that Charlotte’s Web is considered as fantasy because of the communication between the animals.  When evaluating science fiction we need to see if the story is based on science; is it set in the future; or is it set in a different world.  Does the story defy the laws of nature; does it involve space travel or even if there psychic powers used in the story.  There are different types of science fiction that include: apocalyptic and post apocalyptic stories; cyber punk, steam punk, bio punk and the one that I am most familiar with: dystopian literature.  Books such as Brave New World, the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent, 1984 and The Giver are all novels that would be classified as dystopian because of the plot where there is resistance to the government.  As well as where the main characters are usually disillusioned with what is going on and end up joining the rebellion in order to bring down the government.   While I am not as familiar with the apocalyptic or post apocalyptic literature that is out there; I am becoming a fan of the genre with the different television shows and movies that are out there regarding this subjects.  Movies such as Deep Impact, the Strain and the Fifth Wave deal with apocalyptic themes.  While The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead can be both considered apocalyptic and post apocalyptic because the first seasons deals with virus strand and the deaths that are occurring which transforms them to zombies. The following seasons deal with the aftermath and how they come to grips of living in a post apocalyptic world.

L What you still need to learn about the Topic

(a)    There is still a lot that I need to learn about poetry when it relates to children’s literature.  There are additional criteria that I need to make sure that I can understand and use to evaluate the poetry.   The additional pieces of criteria to evaluate children’s poetry are 1) is the poem lively with the use of rhyme and meter.  2) Is there an emphasis on the sound that is being uses or is there any play on words?  3) Just like in the previous criteria, is there visual imagery that allows the child’s imagination to expand? 4) Are the stories simple and do they introduce any stirring scenes of action? 5) Are the poems written in a form that are on level to the child’s age or are they “talking down” to them?  6) Does the poem allow the child to interact with the poem? 7) Does the subject of the poem actually emotionally touch the child? And 8) Is the poem good enough to be re-read over and over?  The only way that I will be proficient to be able to evaluate the poems is by reading additional children’s poetry.  Some say that many poems written by celebrity authors “talk down” to their intended readers; but I never felt that way.  So I guess I need to re-read the poems and dissect them to see how well they meet the criteria listed above or do they fail miserably?  That’s the only way that we can learn and become proficient; and that by practicing what we have learned.  (b)   We will also be students and we will always be willing to learn.  One of the things that I still need to learn about realistic fiction is to be able to distinguish it from historical or science fiction.  I need to be able to determine from what I read in a story of whether it meets the three different criteria points in evaluating realistic fiction.  The best way to practice this will be by reading different books from various authors and gaging what I read and determine how well it meets the standards set.  (c)    There is a lot that I need to learn about science fiction and fantasy.  First of all, I need to get it in my mind that there is a difference between the two.  While I realize that all science fiction is fantasy; not all fantasy is considered science fiction.  The second thing I need to learn a lot about is about the different punks.   I had heard about steam punk, but had no idea there was also bio punk, cyber punk, diesel punk, splatter punk, and elf punk.  I need to read up on all the different forms and at least become somewhat familiar with the subject so that way I know what I can recommend to students when they are seeking different stories to read.  This is also important because when I become a librarian I will be able to purchase the different genres so that there could be more options for students to choose.

S How do you plan to share what you learned

(a)    This is a hard question to answer.  How can I use poetry and the criteria that I learned in my everyday life and share it with either my students or colleagues?  Just thinking out loud, I could assign my Yearbook students to find a poem and evaluate it using the criteria listed; and if it passes that checklist they would need to take pictures to illustrate the poem.  We would as a class analyzes the different poems that they chose and then after modeling what they should look at; they would then take the reins and do the same.  As for sharing this with my colleagues, I would share the criteria with them and a list of poems that I feel would be beneficial for their students to read.  While we do teach secondary students; they sometimes need to go back to basics before they can explore free verse, haikus and abstract writing.  Reading certain children’s poetry might also be beneficial for our LEP students to help them practice reading out loud and understanding the terms that are being used.  The imagery will be great to help these students learn to read and write especially when it comes down to students passing their End of Course STAAR exams.  (b)   Once again, I am stumped as to how will I share with what I learned.  Just like poetry; using the criteria set for evaluating realistic fiction might work well with my Economics students.  One of the problems that kids have in Economics is understanding the terms that are associated with this class.  What comes to mind is that I have the students write a story using the terms from a chapter (ex. Opportunity Cost, Substitutes, Complements, Demand, Supply, Monopoly, etc.).  The story that they write must meet all standards of realistic fiction; where the story must relate to modern times, the theme must emerge naturally, and most important that everything is consistent with what is happening in the real world. (c)    Finally, I know how I will share what I learned with others.  The first thing that I can do is create a list of appropriate “punk” books that my library can purchase.  This will introduce different genres to students and staff that are not familiar with them already.  I will also give the teachers in the English department a list and brief synopsis of the books that the library will be purchasing to give out to their kids.  By sharing the different book titles with all students we can inspire students to read more.