Modern Fantasy- Chapter 6

Defining Modern Fantasy-

Modern fantasy is about beings, places and events not occurring in the real world.  Identifiable authors create extraordinary characters and worlds which challenge and expand our sense of the norm.

Qualities in Modern Fantasy

• stories must always meet criteria for excellence in narrative fiction
• effective settings are detailed and believable within the context of the story
• themes are meaningful, challenging the reader to ask questions and think about life
• writing is rich and structures, syntax and word choices are clear
• story events are imaginative, and logically consistent within the story world
• characters are multidimensional, with consistent and logical behavior

A writer makes fantasy seem believable by providing vivid descriptions of characters, setting and action while giving details such as color, taste, and smell of the fantasy worlds. Writers also engage the hearts of the reader by grounding the story in reality and the human condition: humor, joy, grief, pride, shame, hope, and despair. Lastly, the writer maintains consistency by abiding by the rules established in the fantasy world. Veering from the rules causes the reader to stop and speculate about the viability of the story, preventing suspension of disbelief. 

Types of Fantasy

Animal	human thoughts, feelings and language attributed to animals	Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo	The Underneathby Kathi Appelt
Miniature Worlds/Enchanted Realism	miniature beings and worlds highlight the human desire and needs magical objects, characters or events appear	The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Literary Lore	the writer imitates the traditional qualities of ancient folklore	The Stinky Cheese Manby Jon Scieszka	Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
Quest Tales	characters meet challenges that seem endless and unbeatable characters are portrayed having inner and outer struggles, but the goodness of the character prevails (good vs.evil)	The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke	Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, p. 207-208.


Why is Modern Fantasy important to teach?

     Modern Fantasy incorporates some of my favorite books of all time. The Wizard of Oz, Charlottes Web, Winnie The Pooh are just a few examples of what demonstrates Modern Fantasy literature.

     So why is Modern Fantasy important to teach? When reading fairy tales or modern fantasy, children learn how to use their imagination, to view situations from various perspectives, and to know that events can be seen from different viewpoints. These stories are not real, they are even sometimes unimaginable. Modern Fantasy captures the interest of children and adults, and allows them to use their imagination, something that may not often be tapped into, to create an image of the story they read. 

     Categories of Modern Fantasy include: Time Warps, Unreal Worlds, Ghost Stories, Magic Powers, Preposterous Characters/Situations and Quest Tales. ( Johnson, pg.149.) Time Warps focus on the main character moving through difficult periods of time and life through ideas such as time travel. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, is a great example of the category time warps. When You Reach Me Book Trailer

     Unreal worlds can be defined as a  story that is set in a fantasy land. The fantasy land is so developed that it makes the world almost believable to the reader. Books in this category have so much detail, so much fantasy that the books themselves seem to come alive. I love the category of unreal worlds because it helps spark students imagination. I would use books such as these in my English class. Reading a story like Coraline by Neil Gaiman, we can then use the book to write alternate endings, a writing strategy. Books that are so developed such as Coraline, are also sometimes made into feature films. Reading this book then becomes an entire unit of study that you know the students will be interested in following.

     

     The next categories Ghost Stories and Magic Powers can be linked to one another. Ghost stories speak of ghosts and hauntings. Magic Powers is just that. A character can have powers. If we correlate the two together, we can say that a character can see ghosts, using a magic power to see the ghost. 

     The last two categories in this section are Preposterous Characters/Situations, and Quest Tales. Preposterous Characters are characters developed through clear and descriptive images. The features, dress, looks, and personality are so descriptive in this type of reading, that you can close your eyes and see the characters. Games and the Giant Peach is a great example of a book falling in this category. When creating my classroom library, I will make sure to have plenty of Preposterous Characters/Situations books on the shelves. These books inspire the students to read and catch their imaginations along the way making the books themselves interesting and fun.

     Quest Tales are tales that "borrow" magical settings and characters from traditional tales of heroism. What this means is that the tales are lead by well known characters. Batman, Superman, even Curious George are examples of quest tales and can be classified by creating a common theme of good over evil. 

     

Modern Fantasy Literature Trailor

Here is an idea of some Modern Fantasy series for younger readers:

1) Adventures of Captain Underpants                11) Frog and Toad
2) Amelia Bedelia                                                 12) Froggy
3) Arthur                                                                  13) George and Martha 
4) A Series of Unfortinate Events                        14) Harvey Angell Trilogy
5) Berenstain Bears                                              15) Little Bear
6) Bunnicula                                                           16) Magic School Bus
7) Clifford, The Big Red Dog                               17) Magic Tree House
8) Commander Toad                                            18) Mercy Watson
9) Dragon Slayer's Academy                               19) Olivia 
10) Eddie Dickens Trilogy                                    20) Paddington Bear Adventures

*Remember in previous posts that we MUST check and make sure the books we are adding to our classroom library are not on the banned list for our school. Hunger games and Harry Potter are not allowed in the classroom....If you have missed that post, scroll back! It is very interesting!

Chapter 8-Historical Fiction

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis is a great piece of literacy that exemplifies Historical fiction. This book works to incorporate a story of a young boy encountering a very violent time, and an African American family's fictional account. (Johnson,208)

The definition of historical fiction is as follows: Historical Fiction presents readers with a story that takes place during a notable period in history, and usually during a significant event in that period. This type of writing evokes a world where there is strong connections to our own experiences. In the text, Winters and Schmidt state the following," The writer of historical fiction creates another world, but it is a world firmly rooted in the real world and, in creating it, to allow the reader to see his or her own world more fully, from more perspective, from deeper inside."
My interpretation of this quote is that Historical Fiction works create a place that makes people see history more clearly, and these readers are able to make connections to their own lives in the process.

Another way to look at Historical Fiction is by noticing that it: conveys a sense of life as it was lived, happens to ordinary people, broadens perspectives, and helps children to  understand that the present and future are linked to actions of the past. (Johnson, 209)

Gone With The Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell and Pat Conroy, is a great example of a Historical Fiction work. My favorite section in this chapter of the text is early on, when Johnson talks about how historical fiction helps children realize they are not just outsiders looking in, that they can connect with a character and have a deep experience about the time, and their role in the future.





Outlined are  Categories of Historical Fiction.

1) Ancient Times- Stories of ancient civilization including Greece, Rome and Egypt. Examples: The Thieves of Ostia,by Caroline Lawrenence and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.

2) Medieval Times- Stories taken place during the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire. Examples: Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman and A Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli.

3) Colonial Times- Stories of the settlements of Jamestown, Plymouth, and Boston. Examples: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare and The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alica Dalgliesh.

4) Revolutionary Area-Stories about the events of the Revolutionary war. Examples: Early Thunder by Jean Fritz and Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen.

5) Early Frontier Era- Stories about the move westward before the Civil War. Includes different perspectives of settles and Indians. Examples: Lyddie by Katherine Paterson and Adaline Falling Star by Mary Pope Osborne.

6) Civil War- Books that describe the antebellum period, slavery, and the war between the states.Examples: Charlie Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty and Nettie's Trip South by Ann Turner.

7) Post Civil War- Stories about the move westward and the Industrial Revolution, and immigrants. Examples: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Immigrant Girl by Brett Harvey.

8) World War 1-Stories surrounding events of World War 1 and its aftermath. Focuses on different countries characters. Examples: Summer Soldiers by Susan Lindqust and No Hero for the Kaiser by Rudolph Frank.

9) Great Depression- Stories surrounding the economic depression in the 1930's. Books often portray the hardships faces by main characters. Examples: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse  and Bud,Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.

10)World War 2- Stories surrounding World War 2, Hitler's rise and fall, and Japanese Military Activity. Often focuses on characters who struggle with effects of war. Examples: Number The Stars by Louis Lowry and Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi.


11) Post-World War 2- Stories about the continued conflict in Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. Examples: The Wall by Eve Bunting, and Grandfather's Dream by Holly Keller.

12) Civil Rights Movement- Stories about the fight for civil rights that took place from the late 1800's through the mid-1960's. Focuses on the discrimination in the South and the struggle for equal rights. Examples: Francie by Karen English and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor.





Later in the chapter, the role of historical fiction in literacy development is explained as the knowledge that children need in the primary and intermediate grades in history. At this time, it is said that the students have little prior knowledge of history. Effective ways to teach historical fiction can be by reading outloud, showing pictures, and viewing drama events such as movies and plays. (Johnson, 222)

Another great aspect that always interested me while I learned in Social Studies was viewing artwork. In the past we have so many different ways people expressed their lives, emotions, and feelings. A great way of doing this is by viewing these paintings, photos, drawings, or whatever you can get your hands on as a classroom teacher. Every county has some sort of museum or historical place that you can take your students to learn and explore pieces or artwork to connect them to the material talked about in class.




Lee County- Historical Sites to Visit

Places to see:

Cape Coral Historical Museum

Edison & Ford Winter Estates

Koreshan State Park

Mound Key Archeological Site

Museum of the Islands

Old Lee County Courthouse

Sanibel Historical Museum

Southwest Florida Museum of History

Chapter 10- Nonfiction: Biographies and Informational Books

"Children deserve the opportunity to read books they choose every day. Classroom library's must reflect the interests of all children, and high-quality, visual, intellectually and emotionally appealing nonfiction should constitute a significant part of the collection." (Johnson,269).

What does this mean to teachers?
As classroom teachers, we must take into account the interests of our students. Lets say for example there is a library shelf with 20 books. 10 of them are nonfiction and 2 are about cars, student A's interest. 10 of the books are fiction and 8 of them are about cars. What is the likelihood that student A will read nonfiction over fiction? The ratio of fiction to non fiction books is 3/4. This gives student A much more access to books that are fiction pertaining to his interests. 

When planning a classroom library, we must make a consensus of what our students are interested in. Ideally, we would like our students to choose books based on balance, choosing fiction and nonfiction reflectively. In order for this to happen, we have to make sure we have a large stock of materials for that child to read.  In this chapter, the author mentions the importance of getting to your local library. There is no better way to engage students than to switch out the books in the library monthly. I think this is a great idea, because as a future first year teacher, my income will be slightly low and purchasing materials for the classroom would be very difficult. Taking advantage of the resources we have, can give us the best of both world, keeping our students engaged in a diverse set of books and types of readings.

Table 10.2, partly replicated below, shoes the goals of teaching multicultural non fiction. 

Goal

• Contribute to students' self-esteem and self-awareness
• Help children of diverse cultures appreciate the contribution of their ancestors.
• Contribute to the development of respect across cultures.
• Illustrate the history of various diverse cultures in this country and abroad. 
• Provide up-to-the-minute portrayals of everyday lives of youngsters from diverse cultures living today. 

I incorporated this section of goals because it is a reference we should keep within reach, reminding us the importance of nonfiction references. When learning about promoting multicultural understanding, pg. 272, I learned a technique worth sharing. When teaching a lesson, no matter what subject, use fiction and nonfiction books interchangeably. 

In this section of the text, Eric Carls fiction story about a caterpillar was used to introduce a lesson. Because the caterpillar ends up changing his form, to a butterfly, using a nonfiction book about what a chrysalis, is about,  is a great way to get your students to understand what the change is and in turn, appreciate the fiction and nonfiction book much more.

When choosing a nonfiction book, we have to make sure that the book meets the proper criteria to be used as an informational book. My Season with Penguins by Sophie Webb is an excellent example of a fictional book. This book introduces the topic and informative text in a way that is organized for a student to make a easy read. Nonfiction books do not need to be complex reads, they need to be reads that work to our students levels of learning.




Myths and Facts About Nonfiction Biography and Information Books

Myth:
Nonfiction is only a dry recitation of facts, badly reproduced photographs, and practical prose.
Fact: 
Today's quality nonfiction is a piece of literature that is a work of art.

Myth: 
The Information in textbooks is more effective than trade books for learning about a content area.
Fact:
Problems with textbooks have been a major force driving the trend toward using trade books. Trade books generally are more up to date, and provide a more focused, in depth look at particular subjects.

Myth:
Both boys and girls would rather read fiction than nonfiction.
Fact:
Children of all ages prefer reading nonfiction when given the opportunity. First-grade girls and boys prefer nonfiction books; however generally, boys are more drawn to nonfiction than girls.

Below is a short video clip from Patrick Allen, a very well known educational leader who trains teachers on how to  incorporate different aspects into their teachings. This clip is about introducing informative books in the classroom using a read-a-loud method. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va9UWr7Y6rg