Pre-service teachers used blogs to discuss award-winning Newbery books using reading roles creativiely adapted from Harvey Daniel's 'Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-centered Classroom'. Contact Anne Davis at adavis@gsu.edu if you have questions.
These blogs were moved from Manila blogs to TypePad blogs. The author shows up on each post as Anne Davis as a result of the transfer. The original posts were made by students and the instructors Lynne Jordan & Anne Davis. The initials on the post title signify who did the actual blogging of the post.
The owl mentioned in Chapter 11 was so significant to May and Summer. It is first mentioned by Summer on page 83. She says that when the owl passed her, she knew then that she would never see May on earth again. I did not truly see the significance until May mentions the owl on page 86. May tells Summer that when they saw the owl that night, she would bring good things. I think that the owl represented a new beginning.
Well, I finally finished the book and I was surprisingly pleased with the ending. I was so happy to find that the author ended the book on a positive note and revived Ob's love for life. I felt so relieved to know that Ob had had a change of heart and realized that Summer desperately needed him. I was also happy about how the story ended for Cletus as well. Cletus' dream to see the state capital finally came true and you could tell that Summer had grown to appreciate and depend on him so much.
I really liked this book much more than I thought and I found myself wanting to keep reading after it ended. Its amazing how such a simple story can have such a powerful meaning.
"Best reading I ever done was in my daddy's old johnnyhouse." (Page 68). I have been told on several occassions that going to the bathroom has some kind of intensity level (maybe because for many, it's the only private place in the whole house) that it can be useful if you want to improve your memory. The theory is that if you want to remember something, put it in the bathroom reading library. I know you think I picked this up in the handout from the Spiritualist Church of Glen Meadows. When I worked in a hospital, Joint Commission inspections were a nightmare. The inspector could literally stop and ask anyone on the floor a question and each and every one of us were supposed to know the answer. One year our supervisor taped these questions and answers to the back of the bathroom doors in our department. Guess what? We made the highest score we had ever made that year. I know, it's not exactly a double-blind study, but it does give you something to think about when you become responsible for CRCT scores!
This is a writing assignment that could be used in Chapter 6.
In Chapter 6, Ob has an embarrassing moment when he oversleeps, and Summer also remembers an embarrassing moment.
I want you to write about an embarrassing moment in your life. Discuss how you felt.
This assignment can facilitate discussion about characters and how they feel.
