Dr. S.'s Literacy Read Aloud & Literacy Podcast

Ramona the Pest - Chapter 2 - Show & Tell

In which Ramona tries to be just like Beezus and bring something for Show & Tell but along the way, she gets her friend Howie Kemp to to bring something as well, as then Ramona finds Howie causing her problems when she wants to be the centre of attention.

Ramona the Pest - Chapter 1 - The First Day of School

Ever since her older sister Beezus started school, Ramona has waited impatiently to begin kindergarten. Today's her big day but it does't go exactly as she anticipated.

The Difference Between Literacy & The Language Arts

There was a time when we held classes in Language Arts. As a teacher, my daybook had Language Arts and each day I would have some other aspect of that subject. But today, in order to cultivate literacy in a group of individuals, we have to understand that our daily approach has to change. I explore the difference between Language Arts and Literacy in this podcast episode.

Back to Individualization

Since we have already determined that the goal of literacy education in the 21st century has to be to be able read and apply new ideas, concepts, information into already existing hierarchies of knowledge, then the only way we can do that is to individualize classroom instruction. No longer can we do reading the way it used to be done. It cannot be whole class or levelled groups but it must be individualized as much as possible.

What Should the Long-Range Goal of Education Be Going Forward?

If our understanding of what Literacy implies in the 21st century and we know how and why classrooms have changed, then we need to put this all together and understand our long-range goal has to be educating individuals who are able to understand the barrage of information coming at them and use new learning to further enhance concepts going forward. Only when new learning contributes to a better understanding of the world will we be members of a society that can succeed going forward.

The Prince of the Pond - Chapters 10 & 11

In which the family of frogs believes the Frog Pin was eaten by the Hag and then they realize that was not so but still can't find him. Then Jimmy is picked up by a princess and at the last minute, Pin pushes Jimmy off and takes his place in the palm of the princess who is just about to ........and you should know the rest of this story. Suffice it to say that the princess is confronted by a naked male prince.

The Prince of the Pond = Chapters 8 & 9

In which, first the male and female frog and their froglet start to relate as a family and explore what it means to be husband, wife, mother and father, and then have a son. Then in which Jimmy, the son froglet is captured by the Hag and then Prin and Jade try to save Jimmy and are helped by the other froglet brothers and sisters.

The Prince of the Pond - Chapters 6 & 7

In which, first Pin gets lessons on how to mate and make tadpoles and then he worries about keeping them safe from harm and shows the female where they will begin to grow and then they are crowded in the well and get moved to a pond. After those get eaten, Pin returns with the female frog to the well where 50 are safe and watched with amazement as they metamorphose. Eventually they all get back into the big pond.

The Prince of the Pond - Chapters 4 & 5

In which Pin the Fawg learns to eat and what he can and cannot eat and amazes his female friend with the things he says he can eat. Then the two pond frogs talk about tadpoles and how they come about. In the next chapter, they continue becoming closer and then Pin saves the female from a Water Snake proving that friendship is becoming something more.

The Prince of the Pond - Chapters 2 & 3

In which Pin and the narrator of the story, a female pond frog, learn a bit more about each other and the female is finding all the nice things about the male frog, Pin, but he's very unhappy with himself. The female begins to teach him how to really be a. frog. Then they meet a sow bug and the male frog talks about eating lobster and the female frog finds it very funny and doesn't believe him. He calls himself the Fawg Pin and then they meet a snapping turtle that thinks he can eat Pin but Pin outsmarts him.