Due to technical difficulties, all of the comments I have posted on my partner's blog have continuously disappeared. Both my partner and I have made several attempts to attach them to his blogs, with no success. Therefore, I have decided to create this blog, where I have inserted all of my comments on each of his blogs throughout the six weeks of our blog apprenticeship.
Hope you enjoy my comments and we both apologize for the inconvenience.
Week 1 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
I think you did a very nice job introducing the content-area text which you are reading. Your introduction was informative, clear, organized, and concise. It was very easy for me to follow and comprehend.
I particularly like how you provided background knowledge concerning the events of the text. This truly helps me, as a person who is less knowledgeable about these historical events, understand the context of the text.
Week 2 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
Thank you for sharing your preferred reading strategies. I believe that this may help me better understand how to approach and successfully read through a text in your content-area. I also believe visualization is a great reading strategy. Imagery is very important to much of the literature in my content-area. Many times the authors of English Language Arts related texts attempt to create the image for the reader with their words. I can see how visualization can be useful when reading historical texts as well. It is probably easier to understand the historical event by envisioning the scene, the time period, the figures, and the people.
The photos you have incorporated into you blog this week have truly helped me envision the events which you are reading about in your text, especially the action photos, such as the honor guard for RFK’s funeral; the photo entitled “Beginning of Clash,” which depicts the police on one side and the protesters on the other (this picture is truly symbolic); the photo entitled “Wide Shot of Chaos Outside of Convention,” which is an amazing overhead shot of the convention; and the photo entitled “Infamous Photo of Violence,” which is the most telling photo. I believe the last photo really captures the essence of the text.
My favorite part of your blog this week was how you provided some background knowledge for each photo which you included. I found this very useful and fascinating. I feel more prepared to read this text. I am also excited to do so.
Week 3 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
By reading your blogs over the past three weeks, I have gained a new appreciation for the visualization while reading technique. Prior to these blogs, I may have underestimated the value of creating images in one’s mind during reading. I can now see how creating and connecting images to the words on the page could bring the text to life. This is an especially important strategy for dependent readers to learn and develop. I plan to encourage all of my future students to create their own mental pictures in connection with the words they read on the page.
Lastly, I would like to say that I appreciate how you made connections between past events and events of present day. I feel that those connections are very useful to me. I do not believe I would have been able to make those same connections myself due to lack of prior knowledge concerning these historical events.
Week 4 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
I found it interesting to see a different approach to reading the text than my own, by reading about your reading process and your interpretation of parts of the text. It was especially interesting to gain the perspective of someone who specializes in a different discipline.
I particularly like how you continuously made personal connections between the text and your life throughout your reading in order to make sense of the text.
It was also interesting how you had difficulty visualizing certain scenes. Since this is your preferred strategy, I imagine this must have been a challenge and may have brought you out of your comfort zone.
Week 5 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
I like how you continuously made personal connections to the characters throughout your reading. I believe that this is always a good reading strategy in the literature of my discipline because it tends to make a text more interesting and engaging when you develop empathy for the characters.
I also like when you discussed how the author uses food to demonstrate Tita’s emotions. I believe you were describing symbolism, which is a key literary element, as the author of this text seems to use food as a symbol throughout the book.
One of my favorite moments of this blog was when you connected your discipline to the text. This demonstrates that in reality all disciplines are interrelated and connected.
Week 6 of Blog Apprenticeship
Matt,
I think it is interesting and useful how you have continued to make connections to your discipline. This demonstrates that as readers we try to remain in our own comfort zones, even as we read texts from outside of our content-area. We tend to make sense of the things we do not understand by connecting them to things which we do already understand. I believe this also relates to prior knowledge.
I also observed that you have not used visualization as much while reading this text, compared to when you were reading the text from your own content-are. I wonder why this is so.
I found it both funny and amusing that you began to side with Tita and called Pedro a jerk. This demonstrates the connection you have developed with Tita’s character and the empathy you have developed for her.
Great job with both of the texts!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
My Reading Process of My Partner's Content-Area Text (Part III)
Image #1: .32 caliber pistol (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #2: Large, Black and white Pig (Refer to reflection #2)
Image #2: Large, Black and white Pig (Refer to reflection #2)
This is the final installment of the reading guide I have been creating from my reading of my partner’s self-chosen/content-area text, Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.
This blog will focus on the final section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 59-68 of the text.
I will be applying the same format I used with my first and second set of reflections from my reading of this text.
1.
Text:
“Johnson drew a .32 caliber revolver from a flight bag and fired a shot, narrowly missing one of the officers” (59).
Reflection:
I picture a young man, quickly pulling out a small black pistol from his flight bag (I had to look up images of flight bags on Google because I wasn’t sure of what a flight bag looks like. It turns out that it is a type of carry-on bag) and firing off one shot quick enough to prevent officers from stopping him.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
2.
Text:
“On Friday the 23, the Yippies nominated their own Democratic candidate: a 145-pound black and white pig dubbed ‘Pigasus’. The Yippie candidate for president was ‘released to the public’ at the Civic Center Plaza and was promptly ‘arrested’ by the police as he was being ‘interviewed’ by waiting journalists” (60).
Reflection:
I can envision this pig, ‘Pigasus,’ black and white, and big. I can also imagine him running around the Civic Center Plaza, with police officers and others chasing after him.
Strategies:
Here I am again using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
3.
Text:
“Police spokesperson Frank Sullivan said that security not censorship was their main concern” (61).
Reflection:
This makes me think of security and censorship today. I also started to wonder if the mayor would get away with turning away the media in a situation such as this today. I don’t believe that the current mayor would get away with that. When there is an important event, people want to see what is going on, people want full media coverage.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection between the past and the present in terms of what the government had power to control then and what they do not have the power to control today. I am actively engaging in the text by questioning some of the ideas found in the chapter.
4.
Text:
“Indeed, a disbelieving Hayden realized how much Daley’s saber-rattling had set back their efforts” (62-63).
Reflection:
What does the term saber-rattling mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of this term. (Saber-rattling means a show or threat of military power, esp. as used by a nation to impose its policies on other countries.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
5.
Text:
“Emboldened by the events in Old Town and the face-off in the park with the officers, however, some protestors became more strident, deciding that the cops had no legitimate authority over them. Pressures soon built between protestors and police near the field house” (64).
Reflection:
I predict that the tension between the police and the protestors will soon erupt and both will be forced to retaliate against each other.
Strategies:
I made this prediction because the tension between the two groups has been gradually building throughout this chapter of the text and this quote from the text appears to show that the tension is coming to a head.
6.
Text:
“Former officer Hank Pacnik recalls that the department was extremely lenient and reasonable with the allotted time for demonstrators to leave the park” (64-65).
Reflection:
This is just one of the many examples throughout this chapter of the text that suggests that the author’s intention was to portray the police in a better light than the protestors. Instead of displaying a balanced recount of the event, it appears to me that the author’s agenda is to place the bulk of the blame on the protestors. The author appears to have used more police testimonial than protestor testimonial, giving the former an unfair advantage in the retelling of this event.
Strategies:
Here I am using context clues from the text in order to identify the author’s agenda.
7.
Text:
“Driver’s began to blast their horns, adding to the cacophony of screams, angry shouts, and the sickening sound of batons meeting flesh and bone” (66).
Reflection:
I can imagine this horrific combination of sounds. I can hear the sounds of the car horns, screams, angry shouts, and blows from the baton in my head. These sounds assist in bringing the terrifying scene described in the text to life.
Strategies:
Here I am allowing the text to activate one of my senses, my sense of hearing. Just as imagery in a text can activate visualization, description of sound can activate an imagination of sound.
8.
Text:
“The cops manning the side streets showed restraint. ‘I remember, I think it was Sunday, when we let them run right by us, thirty or forty of them, they had their hands guarding their faces, and we let them drift on into the night, which was best-they were not up to a fight,’ recalls Tom Freeborn” (66).
Reflection:
This is yet another example from this chapter of the text that suggests that the author’s intention was to portray the police in a better light than the protestors. Instead of displaying a balanced recount of the event, it appears to me that the author’s agenda is to place the bulk of the blame on the protestors. The author appears to have used more police testimonial than protestor testimonial, giving the former an unfair advantage in the retelling of the event.
Strategies:
Here, I am again using context clues from the text in order to identify the author’s agenda.
9.
Text:
“Says Jerry Ewaschuck, “You could feel the cameras on us already-every time you looked over your shoulder, there were journalists there, and they were looking at us, even when we were not engaged, more than they were on the hippies and their placards. They were waiting for us to slip up a bit-just an inch, and then flash their bulbs and go running after the hippies for a comment. It was unfair from the beginning. They portrayed us as storm troopers before the convention even got underway. They were judging us and it was only Sunday’” (68).
Reflection:
What does the term placard mean? What is a placard? I think I will have to look up the definition of this term. (Placard means a paperboard sign or notice, as one posted in a public place or carried by a demonstrator or picketer.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
This blog will focus on the final section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 59-68 of the text.
I will be applying the same format I used with my first and second set of reflections from my reading of this text.
1.
Text:
“Johnson drew a .32 caliber revolver from a flight bag and fired a shot, narrowly missing one of the officers” (59).
Reflection:
I picture a young man, quickly pulling out a small black pistol from his flight bag (I had to look up images of flight bags on Google because I wasn’t sure of what a flight bag looks like. It turns out that it is a type of carry-on bag) and firing off one shot quick enough to prevent officers from stopping him.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
2.
Text:
“On Friday the 23, the Yippies nominated their own Democratic candidate: a 145-pound black and white pig dubbed ‘Pigasus’. The Yippie candidate for president was ‘released to the public’ at the Civic Center Plaza and was promptly ‘arrested’ by the police as he was being ‘interviewed’ by waiting journalists” (60).
Reflection:
I can envision this pig, ‘Pigasus,’ black and white, and big. I can also imagine him running around the Civic Center Plaza, with police officers and others chasing after him.
Strategies:
Here I am again using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
3.
Text:
“Police spokesperson Frank Sullivan said that security not censorship was their main concern” (61).
Reflection:
This makes me think of security and censorship today. I also started to wonder if the mayor would get away with turning away the media in a situation such as this today. I don’t believe that the current mayor would get away with that. When there is an important event, people want to see what is going on, people want full media coverage.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection between the past and the present in terms of what the government had power to control then and what they do not have the power to control today. I am actively engaging in the text by questioning some of the ideas found in the chapter.
4.
Text:
“Indeed, a disbelieving Hayden realized how much Daley’s saber-rattling had set back their efforts” (62-63).
Reflection:
What does the term saber-rattling mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of this term. (Saber-rattling means a show or threat of military power, esp. as used by a nation to impose its policies on other countries.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
5.
Text:
“Emboldened by the events in Old Town and the face-off in the park with the officers, however, some protestors became more strident, deciding that the cops had no legitimate authority over them. Pressures soon built between protestors and police near the field house” (64).
Reflection:
I predict that the tension between the police and the protestors will soon erupt and both will be forced to retaliate against each other.
Strategies:
I made this prediction because the tension between the two groups has been gradually building throughout this chapter of the text and this quote from the text appears to show that the tension is coming to a head.
6.
Text:
“Former officer Hank Pacnik recalls that the department was extremely lenient and reasonable with the allotted time for demonstrators to leave the park” (64-65).
Reflection:
This is just one of the many examples throughout this chapter of the text that suggests that the author’s intention was to portray the police in a better light than the protestors. Instead of displaying a balanced recount of the event, it appears to me that the author’s agenda is to place the bulk of the blame on the protestors. The author appears to have used more police testimonial than protestor testimonial, giving the former an unfair advantage in the retelling of this event.
Strategies:
Here I am using context clues from the text in order to identify the author’s agenda.
7.
Text:
“Driver’s began to blast their horns, adding to the cacophony of screams, angry shouts, and the sickening sound of batons meeting flesh and bone” (66).
Reflection:
I can imagine this horrific combination of sounds. I can hear the sounds of the car horns, screams, angry shouts, and blows from the baton in my head. These sounds assist in bringing the terrifying scene described in the text to life.
Strategies:
Here I am allowing the text to activate one of my senses, my sense of hearing. Just as imagery in a text can activate visualization, description of sound can activate an imagination of sound.
8.
Text:
“The cops manning the side streets showed restraint. ‘I remember, I think it was Sunday, when we let them run right by us, thirty or forty of them, they had their hands guarding their faces, and we let them drift on into the night, which was best-they were not up to a fight,’ recalls Tom Freeborn” (66).
Reflection:
This is yet another example from this chapter of the text that suggests that the author’s intention was to portray the police in a better light than the protestors. Instead of displaying a balanced recount of the event, it appears to me that the author’s agenda is to place the bulk of the blame on the protestors. The author appears to have used more police testimonial than protestor testimonial, giving the former an unfair advantage in the retelling of the event.
Strategies:
Here, I am again using context clues from the text in order to identify the author’s agenda.
9.
Text:
“Says Jerry Ewaschuck, “You could feel the cameras on us already-every time you looked over your shoulder, there were journalists there, and they were looking at us, even when we were not engaged, more than they were on the hippies and their placards. They were waiting for us to slip up a bit-just an inch, and then flash their bulbs and go running after the hippies for a comment. It was unfair from the beginning. They portrayed us as storm troopers before the convention even got underway. They were judging us and it was only Sunday’” (68).
Reflection:
What does the term placard mean? What is a placard? I think I will have to look up the definition of this term. (Placard means a paperboard sign or notice, as one posted in a public place or carried by a demonstrator or picketer.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
My Reading Process of My Partner's Content-Area Text (Part II)
Image #1: Security (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #2: Sea of Police officers in the street (Refer to reflection #3)
Image #3: Football practice (Refer to reflection #7)
This is a continuation of the reading guide I am creating from my reading of my partner’s self-chosen/content-area text, Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.
This blog will focus on the middle section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 51-58 of the text.
I will be applying the same format I used with my first set of reflections from my reading of this text.
1.
Text:
“Police were ordered to guard every pumping station and filtration planting starting the Saturday before the convention” (51).
Reflection:
I picture two police officers, one standing on each side of each door of each pumping station and filtration plant in the city, standing completely upright, with serious facial expressions, dressed in full uniform, and weapons in plain sight. I imagine them like secret service security guards.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
2.
Text:
“Fort Daley” (52).
Reflection:
This is the subtitle of a section of text within this chapter. I predict that this portion of text will be about how Mayor Richard Daley attempted to protect Chicago by creating a metaphorical “fort.” Perhaps, he hired extra police security, denied many new permits to potential protesters, and took other precautions in order to prepare for the worst.
Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction. However, this is a little different from the other predictions I have made based on this text. This prediction is based on a subtitle alone. I assume that this subtitle aims to encompass the main theme of this section of the text. In literature this can also be called foreshadowing. Making a prediction based on a title or subtitle is also a pre-reading tactic.
3.
Text:
“The usual contingent of 6,000 officers on the streets grew to 11,900 on twelve hour shifts, up from the usual eight” (53).
Reflection:
I picture a giant sea of police officers in the streets of the city.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization once again. The words, and in this case, the numbers were able to trigger related images in my mind.
4.
Text:
“About 500 SDS members-a fraction of their number-planned to travel to Chicago, along with members of the Chicago Police Council, the Communist Party, the Fifth Avenue Peace Parade Committee, and the Cleveland Area Peace Action Council” (54).
Reflection:
I wonder what SDS stands for. I cannot remember if SDS was mentioned in the prior pages of the chapter that I read last week or if possibly they mentioned SDS in earlier chapters of the book which I have not read. Clearly SDS stands for some type of group of people.
Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to make better sense of it.
5.
Text:
“The plank proposed by Senator Eugene McCarthy a week before the convention, however, left the front-runner with little room to maneuver” (56).
Reflection:
I wonder what “front-runner” means. I believe I have definitely heard the term used before and I may or may not have known the meaning at one point in time. However, at this point I am just not completely sure. I think it must be a political term. (A frontrunner is defined as a person who leads in any competition.)
Strategies:
Here I used both context clues in the text and looked up the meaning of a word in order to better understand the text.
6.
Text:
“By convention time, the antiwar movement reviled Humphrey more than anyone else in the party” (57).
Reflection:
This quote reminds me of the last presidential election. Many people wanted to vote for Obama due to the fact that McCain was seen as more for the war. People who were “antiwar” likely voted for Obama. Therefore, politics in the 1960’s can be compared to the politics of the present.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection between the politics of the 1960’s and current politics. This is useful because it helps me to better understand what was happening during that time period in relation to what is happening today.
7.
Text:
“Sun-Times reporter Brian Boyer thought the kids looked like a ‘football team going through summer practice’” (58).
Reflection:
I have an excellent image of a football team practicing tackles, passes, and throws. The author makes a very good comparison between the protesters getting ready for the convention and football players getting ready for opening game of the season.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The author was able to effectively create an image for the readers to better understand the scene that is being described.
Image #2: Sea of Police officers in the street (Refer to reflection #3)
Image #3: Football practice (Refer to reflection #7)
This is a continuation of the reading guide I am creating from my reading of my partner’s self-chosen/content-area text, Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.
This blog will focus on the middle section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 51-58 of the text.
I will be applying the same format I used with my first set of reflections from my reading of this text.
1.
Text:
“Police were ordered to guard every pumping station and filtration planting starting the Saturday before the convention” (51).
Reflection:
I picture two police officers, one standing on each side of each door of each pumping station and filtration plant in the city, standing completely upright, with serious facial expressions, dressed in full uniform, and weapons in plain sight. I imagine them like secret service security guards.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
2.
Text:
“Fort Daley” (52).
Reflection:
This is the subtitle of a section of text within this chapter. I predict that this portion of text will be about how Mayor Richard Daley attempted to protect Chicago by creating a metaphorical “fort.” Perhaps, he hired extra police security, denied many new permits to potential protesters, and took other precautions in order to prepare for the worst.
Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction. However, this is a little different from the other predictions I have made based on this text. This prediction is based on a subtitle alone. I assume that this subtitle aims to encompass the main theme of this section of the text. In literature this can also be called foreshadowing. Making a prediction based on a title or subtitle is also a pre-reading tactic.
3.
Text:
“The usual contingent of 6,000 officers on the streets grew to 11,900 on twelve hour shifts, up from the usual eight” (53).
Reflection:
I picture a giant sea of police officers in the streets of the city.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization once again. The words, and in this case, the numbers were able to trigger related images in my mind.
4.
Text:
“About 500 SDS members-a fraction of their number-planned to travel to Chicago, along with members of the Chicago Police Council, the Communist Party, the Fifth Avenue Peace Parade Committee, and the Cleveland Area Peace Action Council” (54).
Reflection:
I wonder what SDS stands for. I cannot remember if SDS was mentioned in the prior pages of the chapter that I read last week or if possibly they mentioned SDS in earlier chapters of the book which I have not read. Clearly SDS stands for some type of group of people.
Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to make better sense of it.
5.
Text:
“The plank proposed by Senator Eugene McCarthy a week before the convention, however, left the front-runner with little room to maneuver” (56).
Reflection:
I wonder what “front-runner” means. I believe I have definitely heard the term used before and I may or may not have known the meaning at one point in time. However, at this point I am just not completely sure. I think it must be a political term. (A frontrunner is defined as a person who leads in any competition.)
Strategies:
Here I used both context clues in the text and looked up the meaning of a word in order to better understand the text.
6.
Text:
“By convention time, the antiwar movement reviled Humphrey more than anyone else in the party” (57).
Reflection:
This quote reminds me of the last presidential election. Many people wanted to vote for Obama due to the fact that McCain was seen as more for the war. People who were “antiwar” likely voted for Obama. Therefore, politics in the 1960’s can be compared to the politics of the present.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection between the politics of the 1960’s and current politics. This is useful because it helps me to better understand what was happening during that time period in relation to what is happening today.
7.
Text:
“Sun-Times reporter Brian Boyer thought the kids looked like a ‘football team going through summer practice’” (58).
Reflection:
I have an excellent image of a football team practicing tackles, passes, and throws. The author makes a very good comparison between the protesters getting ready for the convention and football players getting ready for opening game of the season.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The author was able to effectively create an image for the readers to better understand the scene that is being described.
Monday, October 5, 2009
My Reading Process of My Partner's Content-Area Text (Part I)
Image #1: RFK's Funeral (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #2: 1960's Little League (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #3: 1960's Veterans (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #4: 1960's housewife with apron (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #5: Hippies 1960's (Refer to reflection #4)
Image #6: Woodstock 1960's (Refer to reflection #4)
Image #7: Bellboys (Refer to reflection #5)
Image #8: Greased Pig (Refer to reflection #5)
Image #9: Black Panther Party (Refer to reflection #7)
Image #10: Full Black Attire (Refer to reflection #7)
Introduction:
This week we begin reading our partner’s content-area/ self-chosen text. My partner’s content-area/ self-chosen text is a historical text, entitled Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.
My partner has stated that he finds it useful to frequently use visualization and to make connections when reading a historical text. In taking this suggestion, I will attempt to use a lot of visualizing and connection making in combination with other strategies that seem appropriate throughout my reading of this text.
This reading guide will be focusing on Chapter 4 of the text, "'On to Chicago': Countdown to August."
This blog will focus on the first section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 43-50 of the text.
In the same fashion which I presented the reflections from my content-area/ self-chosen text, I plan to organize each of these reflections into three parts, the first, a direct quote from the text; the second, my reflection; and the third, the strategies which I have used.
The following is the reading guide I have created in the process of reading this text:
1.
Text:
“Boys in Little League uniforms, caps in hand, veterans, women in aprons, the young and the old stood alongside the tracks of the 226-mile funeral train that took the body of Robert Francis Kennedy from New York to his final resting place in Arlington, Virginia” (Page 43, Paragraph 1).
Reflection:
This quote triggered images from the 1960’s in my mind. I could see images of how little league players, veterans, and housewives from the 1960’s are portrayed in movies and television. I could also see JFK’s funeral images in my mind. I have seen video clips from his funeral on television. However, I don’t recall ever seeing video clips from RFK’s funeral. I imagine that they were similar, since they took place in the same decade and in the same nation.
Strategies:
Here I used both visualizing and making connections. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind. And I was able to make a connection between JFK’s funeral and RFK’s funeral because they took place in the same decade and in the same nation.
2.
Text:
“The night before his funeral, former SDS leader Tom Hayden, who had serious disagreements with Kennedy, sat in the back of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and wept. Among those standing as an honor guard close to the senator’s coffin was Richard Daley, head down weeping. Despair crossed political boundaries” (Page 44, Paragraph 3).
Reflection:
Although tone is a literary element, usually found in literature read in the English Language Arts discipline, this quote gives the reader a real sense of the tone of this portion of the text. The scene described really conveys a very somber tone.
Strategies:
Here I am using my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify tone.
3.
Text:
“The assassinations of King and Kennedy, Gitlin recalled, constituted the ‘murder of hope’” (45).
Reflection:
Again, although this is a historical text, I have found literary elements within the text. In this particular quote from the text, the author seems to be using metaphorical language. As I have said before, it is important to be able to identify metaphorical language in order to better understand the text. The author is making a comparison between the murders of King and Kennedy and the figurative ‘murder of hope.’ Readers must be able to discern this figurative comparison in order to appreciate the message that the author is attempting to convey. It does not matter whether it is literature, historical text, or etcetera, understanding the purpose of metaphorical language is significant.
Strategies:
Here I am clarifying the text by again activating my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify metaphorical language in the text.
4.
Text:
“A veteran of Berkeley and the student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Hoffman took his ‘theater of the absurd’ to New York’s Lower East Side where he joined Rubin in a thriving hippie community. The pair devoted themselves to a revolution by drugs and sex, creating absurd situations, uttering outrageous statements, and provoking public demonstrations and stunts-all designed to attract media attention” (46-47).
Reflection:
I picture a Woodstock type of scene, where thousands of hippies, with long hair, big sunglasses, headbands, face paint, peace sign jewelry, and further hippie attire, are openly using drugs and conducting sexual acts.
Strategies:
Here I used both visualizing and making connections. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind. And I was able to make a connection between my prior knowledge of hippies and how hippies are being described in this text.
5.
Text:
“Their well-publicized threats included placing LSD in the city’s water supply, nominating a pig for president, floating 10,000 nude bodies down Lake Michigan, dressing up as bellboys to try seduce the wives of delegates, and picking up delegates in fake cabs and dropping them off in Wisconsin. They also threatened to slash tires along the freeway while releasing greased pigs throughout the city” (47).
Reflection:
This quote conjures up a number of disturbing images, from hippies disguised as bellboys to greased pigs running through city streets. This quote truly allows the reader to envision the hectic scene of chaos which the “Yippies” intended to create.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
6.
Text:
“The Yippies had called for a spring equinox celebration at midnight on March 22 at New York’s Grand Central Station. Six thousand people arrived. Many of those who showed up, however, had more on their minds than to mark the cycle of the seasons. As cherry bombs went off, some climbed atop the information booth and chanted: “Long Hot Summer, Long Hot Summer.” Without warning fifty New York police officers waded into the crowd and attacked with nightsticks” (47-48).
Reflection:
This quote is rich in imagery. There is a lot going on here, visually. It creates a very detailed and horrific scene in your mind.
Strategies:
Again, I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind to create an entire scene.
7.
Text:
“’I remember the years before-the radicals used to wear black all over or turtlenecks when it was hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car and sunglasses on cloudy days’” (49).
Reflection:
I picture the Black Panther Party and thieves that strike in the middle of the night because they dress in a similar fashion to what was described in this quote. I picture full black attire, including a black long sleeve turtleneck, black pants, black shoes, black hat, and a pair of black sunglasses.
Strategies:
Again, I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
Image #2: 1960's Little League (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #3: 1960's Veterans (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #4: 1960's housewife with apron (Refer to reflection #1)
Image #5: Hippies 1960's (Refer to reflection #4)
Image #6: Woodstock 1960's (Refer to reflection #4)
Image #7: Bellboys (Refer to reflection #5)
Image #8: Greased Pig (Refer to reflection #5)
Image #9: Black Panther Party (Refer to reflection #7)
Image #10: Full Black Attire (Refer to reflection #7)
Introduction:
This week we begin reading our partner’s content-area/ self-chosen text. My partner’s content-area/ self-chosen text is a historical text, entitled Battle Ground Chicago: The Police and The 1968 Democratic National Convention by Frank Kusch.
My partner has stated that he finds it useful to frequently use visualization and to make connections when reading a historical text. In taking this suggestion, I will attempt to use a lot of visualizing and connection making in combination with other strategies that seem appropriate throughout my reading of this text.
This reading guide will be focusing on Chapter 4 of the text, "'On to Chicago': Countdown to August."
This blog will focus on the first section of Chapter 4, “‘On to Chicago’: Countdown to August,” pages 43-50 of the text.
In the same fashion which I presented the reflections from my content-area/ self-chosen text, I plan to organize each of these reflections into three parts, the first, a direct quote from the text; the second, my reflection; and the third, the strategies which I have used.
The following is the reading guide I have created in the process of reading this text:
1.
Text:
“Boys in Little League uniforms, caps in hand, veterans, women in aprons, the young and the old stood alongside the tracks of the 226-mile funeral train that took the body of Robert Francis Kennedy from New York to his final resting place in Arlington, Virginia” (Page 43, Paragraph 1).
Reflection:
This quote triggered images from the 1960’s in my mind. I could see images of how little league players, veterans, and housewives from the 1960’s are portrayed in movies and television. I could also see JFK’s funeral images in my mind. I have seen video clips from his funeral on television. However, I don’t recall ever seeing video clips from RFK’s funeral. I imagine that they were similar, since they took place in the same decade and in the same nation.
Strategies:
Here I used both visualizing and making connections. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind. And I was able to make a connection between JFK’s funeral and RFK’s funeral because they took place in the same decade and in the same nation.
2.
Text:
“The night before his funeral, former SDS leader Tom Hayden, who had serious disagreements with Kennedy, sat in the back of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and wept. Among those standing as an honor guard close to the senator’s coffin was Richard Daley, head down weeping. Despair crossed political boundaries” (Page 44, Paragraph 3).
Reflection:
Although tone is a literary element, usually found in literature read in the English Language Arts discipline, this quote gives the reader a real sense of the tone of this portion of the text. The scene described really conveys a very somber tone.
Strategies:
Here I am using my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify tone.
3.
Text:
“The assassinations of King and Kennedy, Gitlin recalled, constituted the ‘murder of hope’” (45).
Reflection:
Again, although this is a historical text, I have found literary elements within the text. In this particular quote from the text, the author seems to be using metaphorical language. As I have said before, it is important to be able to identify metaphorical language in order to better understand the text. The author is making a comparison between the murders of King and Kennedy and the figurative ‘murder of hope.’ Readers must be able to discern this figurative comparison in order to appreciate the message that the author is attempting to convey. It does not matter whether it is literature, historical text, or etcetera, understanding the purpose of metaphorical language is significant.
Strategies:
Here I am clarifying the text by again activating my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify metaphorical language in the text.
4.
Text:
“A veteran of Berkeley and the student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Hoffman took his ‘theater of the absurd’ to New York’s Lower East Side where he joined Rubin in a thriving hippie community. The pair devoted themselves to a revolution by drugs and sex, creating absurd situations, uttering outrageous statements, and provoking public demonstrations and stunts-all designed to attract media attention” (46-47).
Reflection:
I picture a Woodstock type of scene, where thousands of hippies, with long hair, big sunglasses, headbands, face paint, peace sign jewelry, and further hippie attire, are openly using drugs and conducting sexual acts.
Strategies:
Here I used both visualizing and making connections. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind. And I was able to make a connection between my prior knowledge of hippies and how hippies are being described in this text.
5.
Text:
“Their well-publicized threats included placing LSD in the city’s water supply, nominating a pig for president, floating 10,000 nude bodies down Lake Michigan, dressing up as bellboys to try seduce the wives of delegates, and picking up delegates in fake cabs and dropping them off in Wisconsin. They also threatened to slash tires along the freeway while releasing greased pigs throughout the city” (47).
Reflection:
This quote conjures up a number of disturbing images, from hippies disguised as bellboys to greased pigs running through city streets. This quote truly allows the reader to envision the hectic scene of chaos which the “Yippies” intended to create.
Strategies:
Here I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
6.
Text:
“The Yippies had called for a spring equinox celebration at midnight on March 22 at New York’s Grand Central Station. Six thousand people arrived. Many of those who showed up, however, had more on their minds than to mark the cycle of the seasons. As cherry bombs went off, some climbed atop the information booth and chanted: “Long Hot Summer, Long Hot Summer.” Without warning fifty New York police officers waded into the crowd and attacked with nightsticks” (47-48).
Reflection:
This quote is rich in imagery. There is a lot going on here, visually. It creates a very detailed and horrific scene in your mind.
Strategies:
Again, I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind to create an entire scene.
7.
Text:
“’I remember the years before-the radicals used to wear black all over or turtlenecks when it was hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car and sunglasses on cloudy days’” (49).
Reflection:
I picture the Black Panther Party and thieves that strike in the middle of the night because they dress in a similar fashion to what was described in this quote. I picture full black attire, including a black long sleeve turtleneck, black pants, black shoes, black hat, and a pair of black sunglasses.
Strategies:
Again, I am using visualization. The words on the page were able to trigger related images in my mind.
Monday, September 28, 2009
My Analyzation Of My Metacognative Content Area Reading Process (Part III)
General reflection
As my partner has shared that his preferred reading strategy is visualizing/picturing, I thought it would only be fair to share mine. My preferred reading strategy is looking up unfamiliar words. As someone who was an English major and has always been an English lover, I am curious to know the meaning to every unfamiliar word I come across. I enjoy expanding my vocabulary, which helps my reading in the process. I find that it is sometimes crucial to look up unfamiliar words when reading. If a reader does not recognize a word, it could sometimes cause them to lose the meaning of an entire passage. I do use all of the other reading strategies when necessary, however, I would say that I tend to look up unfamiliar words most often.
Image: Falling apricots (Refer to Reflection #2)
Image: Running horses-pulling a carriage (Refer to Reflection #7)
Focused Reflections
Due to the fact that the content area reading I have chosen is a fairly simple read, I have decided to continue reading past the minimum twenty pages.
For blog #2, which was the first blog entry in which we focused on the analyzation of our metacognitive reading processes, I chose to focus on pages 1-29 of my content area text, which included all of chapter one, entitled “January/Christmas Rolls” and the first half of chapter two, entitled “February/Chabela Wedding Cake.”
For this blog, I will continue analyzing my metacognitive reading process by focusing on pages 30-41 of my content area text, which includes the remaining half of chapter two, “February/Chabela Wedding Cake.”
Here I will use the same format I have used in blog #2 to organize each of my reflections. The reflections will be broken up into three parts, the first, a direct quote from the text; the second, my reflection; and the third, the specific strategy/strategies which I have used. The following is a continuation of the reading guide I have already begun to create in blog #2.
1.
Text:
“Heat the apricot paste together with a little bit of water; after the mixture comes to a boil, strain it, preferably through a hair flour sieve, but a coarser strainer can be used if you don’t have either of those” (Page 31, Paragraph 1).
Reflection:
While reading this portion of the text, I came across the word ‘sieve,’ I had never heard of this word before. By using the context clues in the sentence, it is very simple to figure out a general meaning of this word. The word seems to mean some type of strainer, one which is less coarse than typical strainers. However, since these recipes are essential to the book and especially if the reader would like to prepare this particular dish, then it may be useful to look up the specific definition of the word. (Sieve means an instrument with a meshed or perforated bottom, used for separating coarse from fine parts of loose matter, for straining liquids, etc., esp. one with a circular frame and fine meshes or perforations.)
Strategies:
Here I used both context clues in the text and looked up the meaning of a word in order to better understand the text.
2.
Text:
“To prevent Pedro from looking at her leg, Tita let go of her skirt. When she did, all the rest of the apricots rolled onto Pedro’s head” (Page 32, Paragraph 2).
Reflection:
Here I am picturing Pedro on the kitchen floor, on his hands and knees, picking up the fallen apricots. While Tita, standing directly over him, lets go of her skirt, to drop all of the remaining apricots, which were held by the skirt, on top of Pedro’s head, like an avalanche of apricots.
Strategies:
Here I am using the visualization technique to picture the events which are described in the book. I am illustrating the story by creating my own images in my mind, using the words on the page in combination with my prior experiences.
3.
Text:
“Tita stood as if in a trance, staring at the whiteness of the sheet; only for a few seconds, but long enough to cause a sort of blindness” (Page 33, Paragraph 3).
Reflection:
I can personally relate to the feeling which Tita is experiencing at this moment in the text. When I have a lot going through my mind, I tend to spontaneously stand, staring as if in a trance too, usually at the worse times, such as at work or in a meeting. In Tita’s case, while preparing for her sister’s wedding to the man she loves.
Strategies:
Here I am making a personal connection to the text. I believe that making these types of personal connections while reading is essential to fully understanding a text. If I did not understand Tita’s actions, then I might not understand her character as much as I do.
4.
Text:
“She felt powerless against it, feeling that at any moment the white color might seize her mind, dragging along those snow-white images of her childhood, May-time images of being taken all in white, to offer white flowers to the Virgin” (Page 34, Paragraph 2 or First full paragraph).
Reflection:
In this section of the text, I sense that the author is using symbolism. This is an important technique in English Language Arts. It seems as though the ‘white color’ which is haunting Tita is, in fact, her own virginity. The word ‘childhood’ in the sentence seems to represent the idea of innocence. She seems disappointed at the fact that she will be forced to remain a virgin for the rest of her life, due to the fact that she cannot marry if she is to stay home and care for her mother until she dies.
Strategies:
Here I am using my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify symbolism.
5.
Text:
“Only the pan knows how the boiling soup feels, but I know how you feel, so stop crying, you’re getting the meringue watery, and it won’t set up properly-go now- go” (Page 35, Paragraph 7).
Reflection:
In this section of the text the author uses metaphorical language. As a reader of literature, it is important to be able to identify metaphorical language in order to better understand the text. As a reader of this particular text it is important to be able to identify this quote as metaphorical language in order to both better understand the text and to pick up on the fact that this is one example of how food is a significant theme throughout the text.
Strategies:
Here I am clarifying the text by again activating my prior knowledge of the writing techniques used in my discipline in order to identify metaphorical language in the story.
6.
Text:
When she finished beating the meringue, it occurred to Nacha to lick some of the icing off her finger to see if Tita’s tears had affected the flavor. No, the flavor did not seem to have been affected; yet without knowing why, Nacha was suddenly overcome with an intense longing” (Page 35-36, Paragraph 9).
Reflection:
I predict that maybe Tita’s tears have, in fact, affected the meringue and that anyone at the wedding who will eat the cake, which will be spread with this icing, will experience the same longing that she feels, the same way Nacha has experienced a longing of her own after eating the icing containing Tita’s tears. In a way her tears must produce a magical spell.
Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction about what will happen in the subsequent part of the book.
7.
Text:
“She and her sisters were taking a quiet carriage ride when some boys set off a firecracker. The frightened horses bolted. When they came to the edge of the village, they ran wild and the driver could not control them” (Page 37, Paragraph 7).
Reflection:
Here I am picturing a firecracker bursting into the sky, in very close proximity to the carriage which held Tita and her sisters, lighting up the sky in designs of different shapes. I can also imagine the thunderous sound of the firecracker and the noise the horses must have made when they began to quickly and abruptly gallop away. I am picturing the horses galloping at a dangerous pace toward the edge of the village, while Tita and her sisters are uncontrollably bounced up and down in the carriage. I can also imagine all of the confusion and fear in each of the sisters’ expressions.
Strategies:
Here I am using the visualization technique once again, to picture the events which are described in the book. I am illustrating the story by creating my own images (and sounds in this case) in my mind, using the words on the page in combination with my prior experiences.
8.
Text:
“Pedro, holding her much closer than convention allowed, took advantage of this unique opportunity to whisper in Tita’s ear: ‘I am sure I will be, since through this marriage I have gained what I really wanted: the chance to be near you, the woman I really love…’”(Page 38, Paragraph 5-6).
Reflection:
I wonder how Pedro plans to be happy living with Tita, when he is married to her sister. Technically, he will be closer to her, yet she is forbidden because she is his wife’s sister. Therefore, even though she is close in proximity, she will probably feel even further away than before. Will they sneak around? Will this actually make either one of them happy?
Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to better understand the text and the characters within the text. I will have to read on in order to gain possible answers to these questions.
9.
Text:
“The moment they took their first bite of cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing” (Page 39, Paragraph 2).
Reflection:
Here, my prediction was proved accurate. I predicted that Tita’s tears had affected the cake and that whoever ate a piece would experience longing. And this is, indeed, exactly what happened at the wedding.
Strategies:
This is a perfect example of how a fix-up works. I developed a simple theory and by reading-on, I was able to see my prediction confirmed in the text.
10.
Text:
“What motivated such a monstrous punishment was Mama Elena’s conviction that Tita, in league with Nacha, had deliberately ruined Rosaura’s wedding by mixing an emetic into the cake” (Page 41, Paragraph 2, or First full paragraph).
Reflection:
While reading this portion of the text, I came across the word ‘emetic,’ I had never heard of this word before. By using the context clues found in the prior pages of the story it is very simple to figure out a general meaning of this word. I suspect that this word means an agent that causes vomiting. However, it may be useful to look up the specific definition of the word, incase, I am missing a significant part of the definition or a possible alternative definition. (Emetic means causing vomiting, as a medicinal substance.)
Strategies:
Here I used both context clues and looked up the meaning of a word in order to better understand the text.
Notes*
I have also chosen to enhance this portion of the reading guide by including both the paragraph number and the page number, when citing the text. In the first portion of this reading guide (blog #2) I had only included the page number. However, after reading my partner’s blog entries, I noted the fact that he tends to include both the page and paragraph numbers, which I feel could be potentially very useful and convenient to both my partner and other readers.
For this blog, I have also incorporated my use of discipline-specific strategies, such as identifying symbolism and metaphorical language.
In this blog, I have also included images for each of the two instances where I used the visualization technique during my reading of this section of the text, which were reflection number two (image: falling apricots) and refection number seven (image: running horses-pulling a carriage). I have continued the pattern of incorporating images in my blogs because my partner prefers to utilize the visualization technique over any other strategy when reading. These images can be found at the top of the blog.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
My Analyzation Of My Metacognative Content Area Reading Process (Part II)
The Mexican flag
Mexican Christmas Rolls
Images
Mexican Christmas Rolls
The book cover
I have recently realized that in my previous blog, I jumped right into the individual instances where I used metacognitive strategies during my reading and failed to provide a general overview and background information for the text. I apologize for that and will do so in the following paragraphs.
The book I chose to read for my content area text is entitled Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel. I had originally planned to read this book with my twelfth grade English class during the time I was student teaching. However, the first two books we read took up the entire semester and we never got up to this one. I chose this book from the literature list which the school provided for the twelfth grade level. I had never read or heard of any other pieces by Esquirel, however my cooperating teacher had advised me that this was a good book to choose.
Like Water for Chocolate is a piece of fictional literature. The setting of the story is Mexico, during the turn of the twentieth century. The story focuses on a character named Tita De La Garza, the youngest daughter of the De La Garza family. Although Tita is in love with a boy named Pedro Muzquiz, she cannot be with him because of the fact that her role as youngest daughter, in the Mexican tradition, requires her to refuse marriage and live at home in order to take care of her mother until she dies. To make matters worse, her mother has offered Tita's sister to Pedro and Pedro has accepted.
The story is structured in monthly installments. The story takes place over the span of one year and each of the twelve chapters is titled with one month out of that year. Each chapter also begins by describing a traditional Mexican recipe. Food and cooking are significant to both Tita and the story. In essence, this book is both a novel and a Mexican cookbook.
The author, Laura Esquirel, was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1950. Aside from her work as an author, she was also a kindergarten teacher and a screen writer of children’s television shows during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Other works by Esquirel include, The Law of Love (1996), Swift as Desire (2001), and Malinche (2006).
The section of the book which I chose to work with is chapter one, entitled “January (Christmas Rolls)”.
The book I chose to read for my content area text is entitled Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel. I had originally planned to read this book with my twelfth grade English class during the time I was student teaching. However, the first two books we read took up the entire semester and we never got up to this one. I chose this book from the literature list which the school provided for the twelfth grade level. I had never read or heard of any other pieces by Esquirel, however my cooperating teacher had advised me that this was a good book to choose.
Like Water for Chocolate is a piece of fictional literature. The setting of the story is Mexico, during the turn of the twentieth century. The story focuses on a character named Tita De La Garza, the youngest daughter of the De La Garza family. Although Tita is in love with a boy named Pedro Muzquiz, she cannot be with him because of the fact that her role as youngest daughter, in the Mexican tradition, requires her to refuse marriage and live at home in order to take care of her mother until she dies. To make matters worse, her mother has offered Tita's sister to Pedro and Pedro has accepted.
The story is structured in monthly installments. The story takes place over the span of one year and each of the twelve chapters is titled with one month out of that year. Each chapter also begins by describing a traditional Mexican recipe. Food and cooking are significant to both Tita and the story. In essence, this book is both a novel and a Mexican cookbook.
The author, Laura Esquirel, was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1950. Aside from her work as an author, she was also a kindergarten teacher and a screen writer of children’s television shows during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Other works by Esquirel include, The Law of Love (1996), Swift as Desire (2001), and Malinche (2006).
The section of the book which I chose to work with is chapter one, entitled “January (Christmas Rolls)”.
Images
Above I have included three images. I have included these images because my partner, Matt, has stated that he prefers to use the metacognitive strategy- visualizing, when he is reading a text. I thought these images might help him visualize this particular text.
The first image is of the Mexican flag. This story is about a Mexican family and takes place in Mexico. Mexican traditions are very significant to the story. Therefore, I thought this was an appropriate image for this text.
The second image is of Mexican Christmas rolls, which are described in the chapter I am working with. Food is very significant and so is the process of cooking. This is why I chose this particular image.
The third and final image is of the book cover. The book cover illustrates Tita, the main character. In my experience it is nice to have an idea of how the main character looks. This usually helps to better visualize the text. Also, in this illustration, she is cooking, this helps demonstrate the importance of cooking in her life. Lastly, her facial expression is one of agony, this may provide further insight into this character and her struggle.
Monday, September 14, 2009
My Analyzation Of My Metacognative Content Area Reading Process
Throughout my careful reading of my self-chosen text, I have employed the strategies listed on our assignment prompt sheet, including making predictions, visualizing, making connections, identifying problems, and using fix-ups.
However, I also used additional strategies such as looking up unfamiliar words, making inferences, clarifying, and questioning the text, simultaneously, keeping the Daniels and Zemelman text in mind.
Keeping our goals in mind, I have organized each of my reflections into three parts, the first, a direct quote from the text; the second, my reflection; and the third, the strategies which I have used. The following is the reading guide I have created in the process.
1.
Text:
“Take care to chop the onion fine. To keep from crying when you chop it (which is so annoying!), I suggest you place a little bit on your head” (5).
Reflection:
When the text states ‘I suggest you place a little bit on your head,’ do they mean a little bit of chopped onion? (The prior sentence suggests that it is the chopped onion which the narrator is referring to.)
Strategies:
Here, I am confused, so I am questioning the text. Then I use a context clue found in the prior sentence to come to a conclusion.
2.
Text:
“Since there was no such thing as powdered milk in those days, and they couldn’t find a wet nurse anywhere, they were in a panic to satisfy the infant’s hunger” (6).
Reflection:
Since the quote states the words ‘those days,’ I am assuming that this event took place long ago, or at least before powdered milk was invented.
Strategies:
Here I made an assumption/inference based on key words found in the sentence.
3.
Text:
“Likewise for Tita the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food” (7).
Reflection:
I predict that food will be a central theme in this story.
Strategies:
I made this prediction because the author associates and makes a connection between ‘the joy of living’ and ‘the delights of food.’
4.
Text:
“While Tita was singing and waving her wet hands in time, showering drops of water down on the griddle so they would ‘dance,’ Rosaura was cowering in the corner, stunned by the display. Gertrudis, on the other hand, found this game enticing, and she threw herself into it with the enthusiasm she always showed where, rhythm, movement, or music were involved” (8).
Reflection:
Who are the two girls mentioned in this passage, ‘Rosaura’ and ‘Gertrudis’? (I believe they are Tita’s two sisters, because I looked back at the text, re-read and looked for clues. The prior sentence states, “Tita managed to convince them to join her in watching the dazzling display made by dancing water drops dribbled on a red hot griddle.” In order to figure out who ‘them’ is referring to, I went further back in the text. The sentence before that sentence stated “Her sisters were just the opposite: to them, Tita’s world seemed full of unknown dangers, and they were terrified of it.” I can now conclude that ‘Rosaura’ and ‘Gertrudis’ are Tita’s two sisters.)
Strategies:
I began by questioning the text where I became lost and confused. I resolved/ fixed-up the issue by going back and re-reading the text in order to clarify what I was reading.
5.
Text:
“All the women in the family had to participate: Mama Elena; her daughters, Gertrudis, Rosaura, and Tita; Nacha, the cook; and Chencha, the maid” (9).
Reflection:
Based on this portion of text, I would infer that this family considers the cook and the maid to be a part of their family.
Strategies:
Here I have made a text based inference. I base this inference on the fact that the text states that “All the women in the family had to participate,” and proceeds to list not only the actually female family members, but also the cook and the maid.
6.
Text:
“When it was all finished, they went to their bedrooms to read, say their prayers, and go to sleep” (10).
Reflection:
Based on this passage in text, I would infer that this family is religious.
Strategies:
Here I have made a text based inference. I base this inference on the fact that the text states that they would all “say their prayers” before they would go to sleep.
7.
Text:
“Tita knew that discussion was not one of the forms of communication permitted in Mama Elena’s household, but even so, for the first time in her life, she intended to protest her mother’s ruling” (11).
Reflection:
I predict that Tita will eventually go against her mother’s wishes later in the story.
Strategies:
Here I have made a prediction concerning what will happen later in the text. I base this prediction on the fact that this is the first time Tita has ever ‘intended to protest her mother’s ruling,’ which suggests that she feels very passionately about this particular issue.
8.
Text:
“What passed for communication between them resumed when Mama Elena, who was inspecting the clothes each of the women had been sewing, discovered that Tita’s creation, which was the most perfect, had not been basted before it was sewed” (12).
Reflection:
I picture a designated sewing room, where each of the five women, sitting in a row, at individual tables, are diligently sewing away at their creations, while Mama Elena, both hands behind her back, walks by and stops at each and every one of their stations in order to critique their work like a drill instructor.
Strategies:
Here I am visualizing what I imagine is going on in this scene of the text based on a combination of descriptions in the text and what I have seen before in real life, on television, and in movies.
9.
Text:
“Mama Elena took comfort in the hope that she had finally managed to subdue her youngest daughter” (13).
Reflection:
What does the word subdue mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word subdue. (Subdue means to conquer and bring into subjection.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
10.
Text:
“Tita knew Chencha sometimes exaggerated and distorted things, so she held her aching heart in check” (14).
Reflection:
Based on this passage, it seems as if Tita may be in love with Pedro, or at the least have some type of feelings for him.
Strategies:
Here I have made another inference based on both the text and my prior knowledge. The text states that Tita ‘held her aching heart in check’ at the idea that her mother had offered her older sister in substitution of Tita. Based on my prior knowledge about love and feelings, Tita’s heart would not ‘ache’ at this idea, unless she cared for Pedro.
11.
Text:
“That overpowering chill lasted a long time, and she could find no respite, not even when Nacha told her what she had overheard as she escorted Don Pascual Muzquiz and his son to the ranch’s gate” (15).
Reflection:
What does the word respite mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word respite. (Respite means a delay or cessation for a time, esp. of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief: to toil without respite.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
12.
Text:
“A deep flush suffused her face and no matter how she tried she could not find a place for her eyes to rest” (16).
Reflection:
What does the word suffused mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word suffused. (Suffuse means to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
13.
Text:
“Tita’s fear of her mother was enough to make her forget about Pedro for a moment, and she applied herself to convincing Paquita, any way she could, that she was thinking clearly, that her mind was alert” (17).
Reflection:
Why is Tita so afraid of her mother? Maybe I’ll need to read on in order to find out.
Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to better understand the text and the characters within the text.
14.
Text:
“I know this declaration is presumptuous, and it’s quite sudden, but it’s so hard to get near you that I decided to tell you tonight” (18).
Reflection:
What does the word presumptuous mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word presumptuous. (Presumptuous means unwarrantedly or impertinently bold; forward.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to understand the intention of the text.
15.
Text:
“It wasn’t decent to desire your sister’s future husband” (18-19).
Reflection:
This is a confirmation of what I originally speculated earlier in the text (that Tita may be in love with Pedro). Tita is in love with Pedro. She clearly‘desire[s] [her] sister’s future husband’ as demonstrated by the text.
Strategies:
By using a fix-up method, which, in this case, is reading on and by making a connection between this passage and the passage I had read earlier, I was able to clarify one aspect of the text.
16.
Text:
“This preserving technique had been employed on the ranch since time immemorial to ensure a supply of this nourishing and indispensable food throughout the winter” (25).
Reflection:
What does the word immemorial mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word immemorial. (Immemorial means extending back beyond memory, record, or knowledge: from time immemorial.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word. This helped clarify the intention of the text.
17.
Text:
“If you want them to keep for more than a year, place the eggs in an earthenware crock and cover them with a ten-percent lime solution” (26).
Reflection:
This is probably similar to how they preserve some types of food in order to store them at the supermarket while they sit on shelves waiting to be sold.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection to my prior knowledge of this subject.
18.
Text:
“‘I won’t stand for disobedience,’ Mama Elena told her, ‘nor am I going to allow you to ruin your sister’s wedding, with your acting like a victim. You’re in charge of all the preparations starting now, and don’t ever let me catch you with a single tear or even a long face, do you hear?’” (27).
Reflection:
I picture Mama Elena standing over Tita in a very intimidating way, delivering this dialogue in a very hostile tone, with a very cold expression on her face.
Strategies:
Here I am visualizing the events based on the description in the text. I am attempting to put myself in the scene.
19.
Text:
“In a frenzy Tita beat, beat, beat the cake batter, as if she wanted to complete her martyrdom once and for all” (27-28).
Reflection:
What does the word martyrdom mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word martyrdom. (Martyrdom means suffering endured for sake of a cause.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word. This helped clarify the intention of the text.
20.
Text:
“Nacha stopped Tita’s stirring because she felt that Tita was on the verge of a nervous collapse; though she didn’t know the word for Tita’s condition, she was wise enough to realize that Tita could not go on” (29).
Reflection:
In the next part I think that Tita may have some type of psychological breakdown, possibly slip into a state of serious depression.
Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction concerning what may happen next in the story. I base this prediction on the text’s description of what Nacha was witnessing happen to Tita.
However, I also used additional strategies such as looking up unfamiliar words, making inferences, clarifying, and questioning the text, simultaneously, keeping the Daniels and Zemelman text in mind.
Keeping our goals in mind, I have organized each of my reflections into three parts, the first, a direct quote from the text; the second, my reflection; and the third, the strategies which I have used. The following is the reading guide I have created in the process.
1.
Text:
“Take care to chop the onion fine. To keep from crying when you chop it (which is so annoying!), I suggest you place a little bit on your head” (5).
Reflection:
When the text states ‘I suggest you place a little bit on your head,’ do they mean a little bit of chopped onion? (The prior sentence suggests that it is the chopped onion which the narrator is referring to.)
Strategies:
Here, I am confused, so I am questioning the text. Then I use a context clue found in the prior sentence to come to a conclusion.
2.
Text:
“Since there was no such thing as powdered milk in those days, and they couldn’t find a wet nurse anywhere, they were in a panic to satisfy the infant’s hunger” (6).
Reflection:
Since the quote states the words ‘those days,’ I am assuming that this event took place long ago, or at least before powdered milk was invented.
Strategies:
Here I made an assumption/inference based on key words found in the sentence.
3.
Text:
“Likewise for Tita the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food” (7).
Reflection:
I predict that food will be a central theme in this story.
Strategies:
I made this prediction because the author associates and makes a connection between ‘the joy of living’ and ‘the delights of food.’
4.
Text:
“While Tita was singing and waving her wet hands in time, showering drops of water down on the griddle so they would ‘dance,’ Rosaura was cowering in the corner, stunned by the display. Gertrudis, on the other hand, found this game enticing, and she threw herself into it with the enthusiasm she always showed where, rhythm, movement, or music were involved” (8).
Reflection:
Who are the two girls mentioned in this passage, ‘Rosaura’ and ‘Gertrudis’? (I believe they are Tita’s two sisters, because I looked back at the text, re-read and looked for clues. The prior sentence states, “Tita managed to convince them to join her in watching the dazzling display made by dancing water drops dribbled on a red hot griddle.” In order to figure out who ‘them’ is referring to, I went further back in the text. The sentence before that sentence stated “Her sisters were just the opposite: to them, Tita’s world seemed full of unknown dangers, and they were terrified of it.” I can now conclude that ‘Rosaura’ and ‘Gertrudis’ are Tita’s two sisters.)
Strategies:
I began by questioning the text where I became lost and confused. I resolved/ fixed-up the issue by going back and re-reading the text in order to clarify what I was reading.
5.
Text:
“All the women in the family had to participate: Mama Elena; her daughters, Gertrudis, Rosaura, and Tita; Nacha, the cook; and Chencha, the maid” (9).
Reflection:
Based on this portion of text, I would infer that this family considers the cook and the maid to be a part of their family.
Strategies:
Here I have made a text based inference. I base this inference on the fact that the text states that “All the women in the family had to participate,” and proceeds to list not only the actually female family members, but also the cook and the maid.
6.
Text:
“When it was all finished, they went to their bedrooms to read, say their prayers, and go to sleep” (10).
Reflection:
Based on this passage in text, I would infer that this family is religious.
Strategies:
Here I have made a text based inference. I base this inference on the fact that the text states that they would all “say their prayers” before they would go to sleep.
7.
Text:
“Tita knew that discussion was not one of the forms of communication permitted in Mama Elena’s household, but even so, for the first time in her life, she intended to protest her mother’s ruling” (11).
Reflection:
I predict that Tita will eventually go against her mother’s wishes later in the story.
Strategies:
Here I have made a prediction concerning what will happen later in the text. I base this prediction on the fact that this is the first time Tita has ever ‘intended to protest her mother’s ruling,’ which suggests that she feels very passionately about this particular issue.
8.
Text:
“What passed for communication between them resumed when Mama Elena, who was inspecting the clothes each of the women had been sewing, discovered that Tita’s creation, which was the most perfect, had not been basted before it was sewed” (12).
Reflection:
I picture a designated sewing room, where each of the five women, sitting in a row, at individual tables, are diligently sewing away at their creations, while Mama Elena, both hands behind her back, walks by and stops at each and every one of their stations in order to critique their work like a drill instructor.
Strategies:
Here I am visualizing what I imagine is going on in this scene of the text based on a combination of descriptions in the text and what I have seen before in real life, on television, and in movies.
9.
Text:
“Mama Elena took comfort in the hope that she had finally managed to subdue her youngest daughter” (13).
Reflection:
What does the word subdue mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word subdue. (Subdue means to conquer and bring into subjection.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
10.
Text:
“Tita knew Chencha sometimes exaggerated and distorted things, so she held her aching heart in check” (14).
Reflection:
Based on this passage, it seems as if Tita may be in love with Pedro, or at the least have some type of feelings for him.
Strategies:
Here I have made another inference based on both the text and my prior knowledge. The text states that Tita ‘held her aching heart in check’ at the idea that her mother had offered her older sister in substitution of Tita. Based on my prior knowledge about love and feelings, Tita’s heart would not ‘ache’ at this idea, unless she cared for Pedro.
11.
Text:
“That overpowering chill lasted a long time, and she could find no respite, not even when Nacha told her what she had overheard as she escorted Don Pascual Muzquiz and his son to the ranch’s gate” (15).
Reflection:
What does the word respite mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word respite. (Respite means a delay or cessation for a time, esp. of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief: to toil without respite.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
12.
Text:
“A deep flush suffused her face and no matter how she tried she could not find a place for her eyes to rest” (16).
Reflection:
What does the word suffused mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word suffused. (Suffuse means to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to clarify and understand the intention of the text.
13.
Text:
“Tita’s fear of her mother was enough to make her forget about Pedro for a moment, and she applied herself to convincing Paquita, any way she could, that she was thinking clearly, that her mind was alert” (17).
Reflection:
Why is Tita so afraid of her mother? Maybe I’ll need to read on in order to find out.
Strategies:
Here I am questioning the text in order to better understand the text and the characters within the text.
14.
Text:
“I know this declaration is presumptuous, and it’s quite sudden, but it’s so hard to get near you that I decided to tell you tonight” (18).
Reflection:
What does the word presumptuous mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word presumptuous. (Presumptuous means unwarrantedly or impertinently bold; forward.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word in order to understand the intention of the text.
15.
Text:
“It wasn’t decent to desire your sister’s future husband” (18-19).
Reflection:
This is a confirmation of what I originally speculated earlier in the text (that Tita may be in love with Pedro). Tita is in love with Pedro. She clearly‘desire[s] [her] sister’s future husband’ as demonstrated by the text.
Strategies:
By using a fix-up method, which, in this case, is reading on and by making a connection between this passage and the passage I had read earlier, I was able to clarify one aspect of the text.
16.
Text:
“This preserving technique had been employed on the ranch since time immemorial to ensure a supply of this nourishing and indispensable food throughout the winter” (25).
Reflection:
What does the word immemorial mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word immemorial. (Immemorial means extending back beyond memory, record, or knowledge: from time immemorial.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word. This helped clarify the intention of the text.
17.
Text:
“If you want them to keep for more than a year, place the eggs in an earthenware crock and cover them with a ten-percent lime solution” (26).
Reflection:
This is probably similar to how they preserve some types of food in order to store them at the supermarket while they sit on shelves waiting to be sold.
Strategies:
Here I am making a connection to my prior knowledge of this subject.
18.
Text:
“‘I won’t stand for disobedience,’ Mama Elena told her, ‘nor am I going to allow you to ruin your sister’s wedding, with your acting like a victim. You’re in charge of all the preparations starting now, and don’t ever let me catch you with a single tear or even a long face, do you hear?’” (27).
Reflection:
I picture Mama Elena standing over Tita in a very intimidating way, delivering this dialogue in a very hostile tone, with a very cold expression on her face.
Strategies:
Here I am visualizing the events based on the description in the text. I am attempting to put myself in the scene.
19.
Text:
“In a frenzy Tita beat, beat, beat the cake batter, as if she wanted to complete her martyrdom once and for all” (27-28).
Reflection:
What does the word martyrdom mean? I think I will have to look up the definition of the word martyrdom. (Martyrdom means suffering endured for sake of a cause.)
Strategies:
Here I had to look up the meaning of a word. This helped clarify the intention of the text.
20.
Text:
“Nacha stopped Tita’s stirring because she felt that Tita was on the verge of a nervous collapse; though she didn’t know the word for Tita’s condition, she was wise enough to realize that Tita could not go on” (29).
Reflection:
In the next part I think that Tita may have some type of psychological breakdown, possibly slip into a state of serious depression.
Strategies:
Here I am making a prediction concerning what may happen next in the story. I base this prediction on the text’s description of what Nacha was witnessing happen to Tita.
Monday, September 7, 2009
My Literacy Autobiography
My earliest memories of literacy development are of reading and writing in kindergarten. I remember being fascinated by the picture books that the teacher kept in a crate by her desk. During playtime, I would choose one and proceed to sit in a corner of the classroom reading and looking at the images all by myself. I figured that I could always play at home, but I could not read at home because sadly there weren't any books in my house. As for writing, I recall practicing our writing skills in our marble notebooks each and everyday.
English has always been my favorite subject and my biggest strength. However, I don’t remember learning to read at all and I only remember little of learning how to write but I always loved to do both and never truly struggled to do either.
Before I entered school, I never read and no one had ever read to me. However, once I entered kindergarten I read as many books as I could get my hands on. As far as learning how to write goes, I only remember learning how to write letters. I had a thin blue workbook with all of the letters in it and the teacher made us practice by copying each letter over and over again in the workbook.
At the age of six, I remember my Aunt drilling me on the week’s spelling words each and every week night, in the kitchen, while she cooked dinner and I sat at the head of the kitchen table. There were always ten words to study each week. She would keep drilling me until I spelled every word correctly or until dinner was ready, whichever came first.
In my early elementary school years, I remember many occasions where I would read an entire book and complete the book report to accompany it all by myself in one evening.
In my later elementary school years, I remember being behind in math and being placed in a resource room environment. I would work one on one with my resource room teacher, Mrs. Harfosh, on math word problems. It was so completely frustrating because I could never seem to get math, especially long division. I would get so frustrated that I would want to cry.
Throughout all of my elementary school years, I remember that each time I visited my grandmother she would sit on her steps with me and help me with my homework. These were some of the best times. She was very encouraging. These are fond memories to me.
In the first two years of middle school, I remember having continued difficulty in math and being assigned to work one on one and receive peer tutoring from my middle school crush, Steven Lee. He actually helped me improve my math skills believe it or not. I took a liking to math for a brief time in my life.
In the beginning of each summer in middle school, I remember going to the local library and struggling to find the most interesting books on the assigned summer reading list. I always looked for a book about the adventures of a young girl around my age. I suppose I felt that I would then be able to relate to the character better.
I remember that Go Ask Alice was the only book I read for pleasure in my entire three years of middle school. I read for pleasure a lot in elementary school, fell off the wagon in middle school, and then started up again in high school. To this day I still love reading.
Beginning around the age of twelve, I remember keeping a journal as a way to use writing in a therapeutic way to get through a really difficult and traumatic event that happened in my life. I believe it helped in a lot of ways.
In my sophomore year of high school, I remember voluntarily staying after school three days a week for a special SAT prep program that was offered at my school. I liked it and met many friends there.
Throughout high school I enjoyed reading magazines such as Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. I found these magazines very fascinating. I liked to read about both fashion and romantic relationships. I suppose I was a typical teenage girl in that sense.
I remember always writing and keeping marble notebooks full of poetry throughout elementary, middle school, and high school. Once I got into college, I could never seem to find the time to do so anymore.
In my early college years I created both Myspace and Facebook pages that I would use to keep in touch with friends and family. I enjoyed reading messages from others and creating message responses. I also liked to read comments posted by my friends and others. I believe that these sites are very valuable.
I remember the first time I encountered language that I found too difficult and too advanced for me in a literature course I took early in my undergraduate years. It was very frustrating. However, once I overcame the language and worked through it, I felt a lot of pride and satisfaction.
I remember going to Italy for four weeks in the summer of 2006 and not being able to understand or communicate with the people. This was also frustrating. I did not like it at all. I felt very out of my comfort zone and vulnerable.
The most recent literacy memory I have is from this past summer. I took an autobiographical writing course. This was some of the most difficult writing I have ever had to do in my life. I had to write about my life, myself, relationships, and past events. It was very challenging for me in many ways.
English has always been my favorite subject and my biggest strength. However, I don’t remember learning to read at all and I only remember little of learning how to write but I always loved to do both and never truly struggled to do either.
Before I entered school, I never read and no one had ever read to me. However, once I entered kindergarten I read as many books as I could get my hands on. As far as learning how to write goes, I only remember learning how to write letters. I had a thin blue workbook with all of the letters in it and the teacher made us practice by copying each letter over and over again in the workbook.
At the age of six, I remember my Aunt drilling me on the week’s spelling words each and every week night, in the kitchen, while she cooked dinner and I sat at the head of the kitchen table. There were always ten words to study each week. She would keep drilling me until I spelled every word correctly or until dinner was ready, whichever came first.
In my early elementary school years, I remember many occasions where I would read an entire book and complete the book report to accompany it all by myself in one evening.
In my later elementary school years, I remember being behind in math and being placed in a resource room environment. I would work one on one with my resource room teacher, Mrs. Harfosh, on math word problems. It was so completely frustrating because I could never seem to get math, especially long division. I would get so frustrated that I would want to cry.
Throughout all of my elementary school years, I remember that each time I visited my grandmother she would sit on her steps with me and help me with my homework. These were some of the best times. She was very encouraging. These are fond memories to me.
In the first two years of middle school, I remember having continued difficulty in math and being assigned to work one on one and receive peer tutoring from my middle school crush, Steven Lee. He actually helped me improve my math skills believe it or not. I took a liking to math for a brief time in my life.
In the beginning of each summer in middle school, I remember going to the local library and struggling to find the most interesting books on the assigned summer reading list. I always looked for a book about the adventures of a young girl around my age. I suppose I felt that I would then be able to relate to the character better.
I remember that Go Ask Alice was the only book I read for pleasure in my entire three years of middle school. I read for pleasure a lot in elementary school, fell off the wagon in middle school, and then started up again in high school. To this day I still love reading.
Beginning around the age of twelve, I remember keeping a journal as a way to use writing in a therapeutic way to get through a really difficult and traumatic event that happened in my life. I believe it helped in a lot of ways.
In my sophomore year of high school, I remember voluntarily staying after school three days a week for a special SAT prep program that was offered at my school. I liked it and met many friends there.
Throughout high school I enjoyed reading magazines such as Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. I found these magazines very fascinating. I liked to read about both fashion and romantic relationships. I suppose I was a typical teenage girl in that sense.
I remember always writing and keeping marble notebooks full of poetry throughout elementary, middle school, and high school. Once I got into college, I could never seem to find the time to do so anymore.
In my early college years I created both Myspace and Facebook pages that I would use to keep in touch with friends and family. I enjoyed reading messages from others and creating message responses. I also liked to read comments posted by my friends and others. I believe that these sites are very valuable.
I remember the first time I encountered language that I found too difficult and too advanced for me in a literature course I took early in my undergraduate years. It was very frustrating. However, once I overcame the language and worked through it, I felt a lot of pride and satisfaction.
I remember going to Italy for four weeks in the summer of 2006 and not being able to understand or communicate with the people. This was also frustrating. I did not like it at all. I felt very out of my comfort zone and vulnerable.
The most recent literacy memory I have is from this past summer. I took an autobiographical writing course. This was some of the most difficult writing I have ever had to do in my life. I had to write about my life, myself, relationships, and past events. It was very challenging for me in many ways.
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