For my make for George, I decided to used one of my art projects that I did in high school. The purpose of this project was to express who I was through phases and pictures that I felt represented me. In class we sat inform of the projector and had a big white sheet of paper behind us that would outline the silhouette of our upper body. We then had a partner trace our outline and once that was done we used magazines, paint, makers and just about anything we wanted to fill in our outlines with.

This project is a great way to have the students express themselves through art and create am imagine of who they are, they’re interest, where they came from and much more. It also gives the class the opportunity to meet one another and if this activity is done the first day of class there is a way to combine this with a role sheet and asking each student about the name they like to go by and their preferred pronoun. This way if it is okay with the student that name/pronoun can be used when signing their art piece.

P.S I am waiting to see if my mother can find my project so that I can post it on here.

Also, I also thought of two songs that I feel that George/Melissa would listen to.

 

George is about a little boy who identifies as a girl. Early on in the text you realizes that he refers to himself as a she. He keeps a secret stash of magazines from women’s fashions to relationship advices and only when she feels secure and is alone in her house does she bring them out and embraces how she feels. Georges feels that she cannot share her secret with anyone because she is scared of what they would think of her. The book mentions how uncomfortable Georges feels in her body and how much she hates the word boy but especially man.

The book does a good job of showing the reader how George feels and paints a good imagine of George’s perspective. There is a sense in where George goes to the restroom and the pass she needs to carry around spells out BOY on the stick. The passages gives detail as too how George grabs the very tip of it and she drags it along the wall as she walks that way she doesn’t have to carry it because she hates it. Then it goes on to Say how she will not drink any water in hopes of not having to use the restroom so that she doesn’t have to go to the boys restroom. The book has definitely been an eye opener for me because its has shown me the daily struggle that people go through because of the way society has taught us what all guys should like and act vs. the role of a girl.

The chapter book George, reminded me of a book I read for my EDTE302 class.  The book is Princess Boy. In Princess boy, the little boy sees himself as a male yet he enjoys feminine things like dolls and dresses. His parents embrace him as a person and courage him to dress how he chooses as well as engage in activities that he likes. The reason George reminds me of this book is because George wishes he could have that life where he can dress the way he chooses and engage in whatever activity he pleases too.

In the series book Keena Ford and the 2nd grade mix up, Keena keeps a diary where one of the first people she mentions happens to be Mr. Lemon. Keena is sent over to Mr. Lemons room quite often and there she has time to reflection on her actions and write apology letter when necessary. For this reason I decided to look up different apology letters that can be used in a classroom setting. I think that is this good way to have students reflect on their actions because sometimes they might not realized what it is that they are doing. Also this can be a way that they share out the reason they are acting out in class and this helps us as teachers to have a better understanding of their behaviors. I choose 3 different formats of apology letters that I think give the student an opportunity to reflect on themselves. I feel that these sheets don’t necessary meant as a punishment yet it more for reflection. It gives the student a time to process their behavior and how that might affect other around them. I think it shows students that it is always good to apologize for our mistakes and it gives them a step by step on how to create a sincere apology.                 

My series book is Keena Ford. This little girl has a big personally and don’t know much about filters yet. The book does a good job with description and really painting on picture of what keena’s thoughts are and her life in 2nd grade. I like that Keena mentions in the book that her mom buys her a journal and then the rest of the book is in journal form. THere are multiple journal entries, times, and dates. I think it made the book flow better. This series is meant for young kids, either as a book that the teacher reads in class or for any kids who feels comfortable reading but want to read a littler book. The central characters in this book are Keena, her mom, her dad, her brother Bian, best friend Eric and Ms.Campbell. I think the assumptions about children is that they make lots of mistakes but they learn from them. All throughout the book Keena describes how she makes errors but in her outcomes she is taught how to fix them. This book would be a great way to introduce journaling to the classroom. It’s an example of what a journal should look like and all the things that it can be used to write about. 

 

Millers book so far makes it in a point that reading is important. I like that she mentions ideas of how there should be a designated time for reading in the classroom. As well as creating an environment in the room that encourages reading. I think this could help future children sustain their love of reading and not push it off to the side as many of us have done because of all the reading assignments and old english readings that have been forced upon us. I want to encourage to students to read what they enjoy and just as we have been doing in the class, to always have a book handy for the opportunities when they have to read. At the same time z it is a bit scary teaching them about reading because I don’t want to suffocate them, I want to find a balance.