scholarly journals Fatima and the Clementine Thieves by M. Messier

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Schock
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Natural World ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
High School English ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Strong Statement ◽  
The University

Messier, Mireille. Fatima and the Clementine Thieves. Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Red Deer Press, 2017Fatima helps her grandfather in their clementine orchard every day, caring not only for the trees and their harvest, but also for the spiders that protect the trees from insects. But when elephants ravage the orchard that she and her grandfather rely on, Fatima worries how they will save both the orchard and the elephants. Relying on advice from neighbours, Fatima’s grandfather determines to shoot the elephant mother and two calves, spending his last coins on a gun and ammunition. But Fatima seeks a solution outside human invention and rallies her spider friends to protect the orchard, saving both the orchard and the elephants from destruction.Messier’s Fatima is capable and inventive, driven not only by care for her family but also for the natural world: the spiders, the elephants, and the clementine trees. In a story otherwise populated by men, Fatima is a leader, embracing and befriending spiders who are usually feared or ignored, seeking solutions that will be best for all. Messier ensures that Fatima’s voice fills the pages; though the story is occasionally awkward in its transitions from scene to scene, her joy, her fear, her tenacity, and her words hold this story together. While the treatment of the orchard as the family’s sole livelihood is perhaps simplistic, Messier makes a strong statement about violence, in the end turning a gun into a support for a repaired clementine tree.Grimard’s beautifully warm illustrations are the star here, evoking Fatima’s joy and the grandfather’s devotion to her; the beauty and power of the elephants; and the strength of the smallest creatures, whether little girl or spider. Fatima and the Clementine Thieves is a lovely book that reminds readers how, with compassion and tenacity, someone small can make a powerful difference. Recommended for ages 5-7.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Katherine SchockKatherine is a high school English teacher currently working on an MLIS at the University of Alberta. Her passion for children’s literature is kindled daily by her two small children and her much larger students. 

scholarly journals Toca Lab: Plants by T. Boca

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Schock
Keyword(s):  
English Teacher ◽  
High School English ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Small Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Sound Effects ◽  
The University ◽  
Google Play ◽  
Play Experience

Boca, Toca. Toca Lab: Plants. June 2017. Version 1.1.1. iTunes App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1225994089?mt=8 Ages: 4-6Price: $2.99Available for Apple, Google Play, and Kindle Fire Toca Lab: Plants, from developer Toca Boca complements other apps in the Lab series, which aim to make science accessible through play. Toca Lab: Plants provides an open and unstructured environment to both nurture and experiment with plants. Upon opening the app, players enter a lab where a plant bobs happily in in the center, waiting to be played with; the plants are quite friendly and invite the player to interact. Five lab stations offer chances to experiment: a grow light, watering tank, nutrition station, cloning machine, and crossbreeding apparatus. In playing with these lab tools, the player can propagate plants, discover new plants, nurture others in pots, and keep track of them all in a botany chart. The plants, as characters in this app, are endearing. They respond with joy and exuberance to stimuli they like and with fear and shudders at stimuli they dislike. They even giggle and shake their leaves in response to touch. The lab itself is visually interesting and begs to be explored. Each station has machines to turn on, knobs to crank, faucets to open, or buttons to push. Since the play is wordless and largely without text (species are labelled with their Latin and common names at some points), the sound effects help to clarify what is happening and the materials in use, such as running water or electricity. The graphics are classic Toca Boca: beautiful bold colours, exaggerated blocky shapes, quirky plant characters, and uncluttered scenes. While all these elements – the app’s open play that supports experimentation and discovery, the beautiful visuals, and the endearing plants – make for a compelling play experience initially, the app is limited in extending play beyond these initial encounters. When compared with the imaginative possibilities in Toca Builders or Toca Blocks, for example, which allow users to create new spaces, scenes, structures, and worlds, Toca Lab: Plants feels limited. Players can only create so many new plants before the species begin to repeat themselves. Similarly, with the experiments, once all the plants have been moved through each experiment, the play is essentially mastered. Other than the plant chart (which is simply compiled as the player plays), there is no opportunity to construct something here, such as a garden or living structure with which to extend the world. Still, the app is beautiful and engaging, invites discovery and experimentation, and provides surprises and excitement as plants grow and change in response to the player’s actions. There is much fun to be had here in Toca Lab: Plants.  Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Katherine Schock Katherine is a high school English teacher currently working on an MLIS at the University of Alberta. Her passion for children’s literature is kindled daily by her two small children and her much larger students. 

scholarly journals Enhancing Engagement in Reading: Reader Response Journals in Secondary English Classrooms

1944 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
High School English ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
English Classrooms ◽  
English Students ◽  
Student Journals ◽  
Positive Results

Writing reader response journals during the act of reading provides ideal opportunities for secondary English students to deepen and expand their understanding of literature. Based on data from three case studies conducted by a former high school English teacher, currently an English educator, this article examines the effectiveness of students recording response entries as they read a novel. Excerpts from student journals illustrate the positive results of combining the acts of reading and writing. Student engagement with text leads to better comprehension and through writing reflective responses, students become more effective readers.

scholarly journals 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Dalmer
Keyword(s):  
Red Deer ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
School Students ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
The University ◽  
Made In

Tools for Schools Africa Foundation. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana. Red Deer, Alberta: Tools for Schools Africa Foundation, 2011. Print. Since 2003, Tools for Schools Africa Foundation has been working to increase educational opportunities in northern Ghana. A registered charity based out of Red Deer, Alberta, they have been working to advance the quality of life of those living in the northern regions of Ghana by improving access to post-primary education. One of their recent projects includes the publication of an ABC book for primary school students. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana is an amazing piece of beautiful artistry; each letter colourfully depicting animals, activities, plants, traditions, history and other aspects of Ghanaian life. Each of the 26 letters is illustrated by a different artist, allowing readers to be introduced to a variety of artistic mediums, including oils, pastels, watercolours and pencil. The artistry from letter to letter is unique, featuring different uses of colour and technique, yet each image is consistently impressive. The accessible and well-written sentences that accompany each illustration introduce readers to Bolga baskets (grass baskets made in Bolgatanga), Kapok trees (used by people and farm animals for its shade), Oware (the national game of Ghana), and the Black Volta River (full of crocodiles) amongst many other interesting facts and features about this country. In addition to the few sentences used to explain the illustrations associated with each of the 26 letters, there is a detailed appendix with additional facts about the object or focus of each letter which could serve as a useful teaching tool for using this book in the classroom. The appendix also includes several additional photographs and paintings of Ghana. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana is highly recommended for elementary school libraries as well as public libraries. With its varied and vibrant illustrations, and with proceeds from the sale of this book supporting scholarships for girls in northern Ghana, this will also make an excellent addition to any reader’s collection. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Nicole Dalmer Nicole Dalmer is a Public Services Librarian at H.T. Coutts Education & Physical Education Library at the University of Alberta. She is interested in health literacy, pinball, and finding the perfect cup of coffee to accompany a good read.

What is English? Who decides? An interview with Lisa Scherff

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Rafael Heller
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
High School English ◽  
College Professors ◽  
Arts Curriculum ◽  
The Subject

In this month’s interview, Kappan’s editor talks with high school English teacher and researcher Lisa Scherff about the ongoing struggle over who gets to define the English language arts curriculum. Dating back to the creation of the subject area, more than a century ago, classroom teachers have advocated for a varied course of study that helps students use language more effectively across a range of contexts. However, explains Scherff, they have always had to contend with college professors, textbook publishers, school boards, and others who’ve sought to constrain the curriculum.

Touched by Fire by I. N. Watts

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Pearce
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Minor Characters ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Family ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Watts, Irene N., Touched by Fire. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2013. Print.In the first decade of the 20th century, Miriam Markovitz and her family have fled their small town in the country to live in Kiev. She and her family are Jewish and the Tsar does not favor Jews. After narrowly escaping the pogroms, Miriam’s father Sam dreams of taking the whole family to America. Known as the “Golden Land”, in America Jews are free of persecution.     Over the next few years the family relocates to Berlin where Miriam’s parents and grandparents work hard to save enough money. The plan is for Sam to travel to New York ahead of the family. Miriam is fourteen years old when the first set of tickets to America arrives in the mail from her father. Leaving on the adventure of their lives, the Markovitz family must endure illnesses, family quarrels, and filth. For Miriam it seems crossing the ocean is the hardest thing she has very done, but she is destined to witness an even worse tragedy in her new country.     Touched By Fire is an enlightening story that brings to light many of the injustices Jews were forced to face, long before the anti-Semitism of the Nazis’ era. It is easy to form an attachment to the characters, and I found myself hoping and worrying for the Markovitz family. Miriam is especially vivid and comes out clearly as a strong and self-sacrificing heroine.These positive points aside, there were some peculiarities about this book that stood out in my mind. Firstly, Miriam’s journey is relatively tame, especially when you consider how graphic young adult literature has become. While there is a fair share of danger and hardship in the journey, Watts has left the harsher struggles to be faced by minor characters, leaving Miriam as merely a witness. I would also have liked more development of the characters Miriam met along the way. Leaving these characters underdeveloped reduced the impact of their struggles and made Miriam’s feelings about them somewhat flat. Finally, I must admit to some puzzlement as to why Watts chose to give the book the title Touched By Fire, as it refers strictly to the tragedy detailed in the conclusion, when most of the book’s focus is on Miriam’s journey and her maturation.In considering these criticisms alongside the overall story, I found myself divided as to how I felt about the book. I have to conclude that younger readers may not be drawn to these inconsistences and nuances, but would rather enjoy the story for the picture it paints of the time period. I have therefore given the book three out four stars. Touched by Fire is most suitable for children ages 9-13 and would be enjoyed by young readers that enjoy historical fiction.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Hanne PearceHanne Pearce has worked at the University of Alberta Libraries in various support staff positions since 2004 and is currently a Public Service Assistant at the Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library. In 2010 she completed her MLIS at the University of Alberta. Aside from being an avid reader she has continuing interests in writing, photography, graphic design and knitting.

scholarly journals Orchards by H. Thompson

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Huck
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
American Girl ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Media ◽  
The University

Thompson, Holly. Orchards, New York: Delacorte Press, 2011. Print. Orchards is a poetic novel written by Holly Thompson. It tells the story of Kana Goldberg, an American girl, half-Jewish and half-Japanese, who is sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family in Japan working on their mikan farm. (Mikan is a type of Japanese orange.) A school-mate, Ruth, has committed suicide and Kana is a member of the group of girls who had excluded and locked horns with the girl over a boy, not realizing at the time that she suffered from bi-polar disease and that she was reaching out to the boy for support. The book is less about Kana accepting responsibility for her involvement in the confrontation with Ruth than it is about mending relationships and the process of Kana overcoming her anger and feelings of guilt. The book challenges us to set aside our own pre-conceived notions about bullying and consider the idea that everyone is vulnerable to depression, and that what gets sensationalized in the media as bullying is not always a black and white case of cruelty, but is sometimes a case of misunderstanding that escalates in dramatic fashion when emotions are mixed in. Kana’s fixation on Ruth and the pressure of a community that blames her and the other girls constitute an invisible burden that puts her at risk of the unthinkable, too. “Suicide can spread like a virus,” Kana’s grandmother warns. Kana’s ‘exile’ to a strange country turns out to be a chance to ground herself amongst her family, make peace with the presence of death in life, find confidence in who she is, and learn how to make a difference in the world of the living. Readers expecting a remorseful narrative may feel unsatisfied, but because the book reads quickly and the language is pleasurable, they may also decide to re-read it for a second impression. The reason it reads quickly is that Thompson has chosen to tell the story in a kind of free-flowing verse. Stanzas of varying lengths define sentence-like sequences, with the breaks between stanzas replacing the conventional sentence demarcators of full stops and capitalized first words. Line breaks play the role of commas, controlling the flow without impeding it. These syntactic arrangements complement the imagistic and uncluttered style of the writing, giving an inward, contemplative feel to the story. Because it is a subtle book, it would be most suitable for an older teen who is perceptive and has literary sensibilities. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: John HuckJohn Huck is a metadata and cataloguing librarian at the University of Alberta. He holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and maintains a special interest in the spoken word. He is also a classical musician and has sung semi-professionally for many years.

scholarly journals The Great Sheep Shenanigans by P. Bently

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
School Libraries ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
Small Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Peter The Great ◽  
The University

Bently, Peter.  The Great Sheep Shenanigans.  Illus. M. Matsuoka. London:  Andersen Press, 2011. Print. In this tale, it is really the wolf, Lou Pine (hear the French loup and Lupin, the werewolf from Harry Potter), who gets up to shenanigans, rather than the sheep.  The text is a clever and funny rhyme that tells the story of the wolf trying to catch a lamb to eat.  Along the way, we hear sheep-related cultural and literary references from, “the wolf in sheep’s clothing,” to Red Riding Hood. “I’m just in the mood for a Gran-flavoured snack,” the wolf tells us. The wolf makes many attempts to catch a lamb, but is always thwarted, if not by his own silliness, then by the water-gun toting Ma Watson, by bees, by Red Riding Hood’s Granny, and finally, by Rambo the Ram, who butts him into “a big pile of poo!”  While the intended audience is pre-school, the author sprinkles in some big words, such as “derrière”, “kersplat”, “skedaddling” and “vindaloo”, that children will enjoy and repeat, but adults will need to explain and pronounce on the first reading. The text is often printed over the illustrations, sometimes in extra-large font to emphasize a point.  Sometimes it is part of the illustration.  When “Lou found a thicket of blossoming trees,” the words from the phrase “Down came the blossom” float down the page with the blossoms.  The illustrations are as much fun as the text. The sheep are most often depicted as balls of white with heads, ears and four small pegs for legs.  Lou Pine is a two-dimensional creature, while Rambo the Ram blows steam out his nose and wears boxing gloves. The sheep occasionally have glasses, bow-ties or hair-bows. Because the rhyme is jaunty and the illustrations are fun and inventive, this will be a book that small children will want to have read to them over and over.  Highly recommended for public and elementary school libraries. Recommendation:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals A Material Development of Speech Act as its Contribution For a Vocational High School English Handbook at an Eleven Grade

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Algajaladre Nadya Santoso ◽  
Laily Nur Affini
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
Vocational High School ◽  
High School English ◽  
Material Development ◽  
Directive Speech Acts ◽  
Directive Speech

Theis research has a prominet goal, idenitfying types of speech acts uttered by an English teacher at a vocational high school. This work uses Searle’s theory to discover the dominant kinds of speech act employed by the teacher. The researchers also investigated the additional utterances in showing learning movement. The research methodology is descriptive-qualitative research, where the researcher found three kinds of speech act uttered by the teacher; directive, representative, and expressive. The researchers calculated the data finding and found 297 utterances which comprised of 246 directives utterances or 82,83% of overall data, 45 representative utterances or represented the 15.15% of data, and 6 expressive utterances which covered 2,02%. The most obtrusive was directive speech acts (82.83%) and the less frequent was expressive speech act (2.02%). The most obtrusive was directive speech acts because the teacher often used directives (questioning) to handle the students in the classroom and made sure that the students understand the aims of the English material.

scholarly journals The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by D. Magras

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Young Girl ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Important Lesson ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The University

Magras, Diane. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter. Kathy Dawson Books, 2018. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter is a children’s novel set in thirteenth-century Scotland that tells the story of Drest, a young girl who goes on an adventure to save her father and brothers after they are captured by invading forces. Diane Magras tells an engaging adventure story that sweeps you along with Drest as she tries to navigate a frightening world without her family—learning whom she can and cannot trust, and coming into her own as a young girl who can best adults through both her strength and her intelligence. Written for children, particularly girls of around the same age as Drest (12 years old), this story provides many insights into life, family, and friendship that both children and adults might find extremely powerful. For example, over the course of the story, Drest comes to understand that “you can’t always control your legend”—an important lesson in our modern world where rumour can spread so fast. The story emphasizes that you have to be true to yourself despite what people may be saying around you, and that it is this belief in one’s own self that can guide you through the roughest of times. As details around the lives of Drest’s family and the families of Drest’s friends are revealed in the story, Magras builds another powerful message about how it is ok to differ from and, indeed, disagree with people you love. Magras, aware that certain aspects of the medieval world in which she places her story may be unfamiliar to her audience, includes a glossary of terms as well as an author’s note that discusses the historical setting in greater detail. In particular, Magras does a good job of indicating that gender roles were not as fixed in the Middle Ages as is often assumed, and introduces the reader to the great variety of roles and indeed agency that women could have in the medieval period. Despite these positive traits, Magras’ story does seem to lack some depth to its world and only scratches the surface of the medieval context that she researched for the story. However, the exciting plot and vivacious characters satisfactorily carry the novel’s interest. Overall, this is a good adventure book which also offers a point of departure for readers to explore the medieval world in more detail. Therefore, this book would be a good addition to school and public libraries. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts program and graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

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