My personal reflection of the course and how I developed this semester was how if I want to have engaged readers, literate, and creative writers I need to be intentional and direct when creating my curriculum. I have always thought that writing and literature can be taught in a classroom without traditional “what I read” sheets being the assignments. This semester though I began to actually write out lesson plans, research ideas, and organize my thoughts so that I am prepared to teach students without requiring them to fill out work sheets. One of the best ways I think is to use literature that relates to different classroom subjects and I have thought of three specific ways I can use literature in my classroom in social science, art, and science.

The social sciences are one of the most obvious ways to encourage literature. This semester I became convinced that it is not enough though to simply have the books in the classroom but there has to be a way to help students realize that there is information that relates to them in the books. I think that one of the best ways that I can encourage students to be interested in reading about other places, cultures, and people is to let them chose the people, places, and cultures they want to read about. If the school curriculum requires certain social issues to be studied then I can put those on the list of possible books to read. Oh, there are so many ideas running through my head about projects and assignments relating to this topic but the truth is that this is the first semester I realized that the school’s specific curriculum should hinder my creativity as a teacher to create a classroom that is engaging and based in literature and writing.

Another subject that I want to incorporate literature in is art. When I do my own art I find inspiration in things around me, and one of my favorite ways to find inspiration is in children’s picture books. I think that before doing an art project we could read portions of a picture book that demonstrates the style of art we will be using in art class that day. I actually have a few motivations in this. First, I want to increase my student’s awareness of the different moods literature can create by discussing why the artist’s work relates to the mood the text creates. Second, as we have discussed in class relating literature to students’ lives helps them value it. I think most Kindergarteners sincerely care about their art work and so I believe this is the perfect subject to talk about audience, mood, and styles found in literature. Throughout the year I have learned that it is important to relate literature to subjects, people, and places my students care about.

Unfortunately many students already do not believe that science is important to their lives but I think that literature can help me engage my student in science. I have never enjoyed writing a research paper more than when I had to write a grant for this English class because I knew that what I was writing had real world application. While writing this paper I was not motivated by the grade but by the possibility that there was real world application to my writing. An idea I had to motivate my own students was to have each of my students write a scientific article, I could even establish classroom peer editing boards, and then eventually publish our own class scientific journal. In a classroom of Kindergarteners I think if I showed my students a scientific journal and we then published our own my students would be motivated to write and research because they could see how both science and writing have real world application.

Because of the lessons I learned this semester I have begun to think of ways I to incorporate literature in social science, art, and science. I was shocked to learn how many creative ways there are to teach literature and writing without relying on worksheets. Now, I firmly believe that it is not important to think of imaginative ways to teach literature but engaging ways to teach literature.

Sometimes I think teachers believe they can change nature, which, is really quite laughable because even a gardener knows that you cannot change the seasons or make the sunshine. A successful gardener changes the environment: they build greenhouses, the plant seeds at the right time of year, but every good gardener knows that naturally not all plants grow in all areas or during all seasons. The article Viewpoint: Teaching for Literacy Engagement by John T. Guthrie helped me to think of ways that I can create a classroom environment that grows engaged readers no matter what type of “seed” my students are. I reflected on a few ways I can change my classroom environment to harvest more engaged readers. Some simple things I can do to change my classroom environment are to allow my students to choose what they read, encourage out of classroom reading, and to have free reading in class.

Something from the article that impressed me was the author’s detail about how important it is to allow students to make their own choices about what they read. The research in the article supported the author claim that students perform better when they chose what they read, but how can I incorporate reading choices into my kindergarteners curriculum. First, the article suggests to let students chose books and research topics form a specific list. I know that many districts have a required curriculum and I would compose my list from these required subjects. Instead of having my students each research a topic I think that allowing them to vote on the order we research the topics as a class will improve their reading. We would read books on the topic in class then then encourage students to do out of class reading. I could organize class field trips to the library, talk about Google book, and if the student’s parent is in a profession that relates to the subject we are researching we could have them fill out a class written questionnaire. Because I will be working with such young students I think that it is more important for me to show them how many different ways we can do literary based research from the internet, textbooks, and magazines. I believe that introducing my Kindergarteners to all of the different types of literature and then asking them to research their own chosen topic would be an over stimulating curriculum. I think by allowing my student to vote on which order we research the topics and also then providing different choices of how they can research at home my curriculum will be engaging with choices but not overwhelming.

Another thing that the article brought to my attention was the importance of out of classroom reading. The author stressed how an engaged reader would read at home and an unengaged reader would not. This made me think of how important it is to create a classroom environment that encourages reading outside of the classroom as well as during class. There are a few simple things that I can do in my classroom such as have a class library with books that can be checked out or go on class field trips to check out books from the local library if it is close or the school library. I think that another way to encourage at home reading with Kindergarteners would be to have a class reading wall were they could recommend books to each other. Because I intended to work with younger students I think on my classroom reading wall I would have them draw a picture from a book they read at home and want to recommend. Personally, I do not believe the reading incentive programs are highly effective and I do not believe that this author found them effective either. Consequently, in my classroom I would try and avoid “rewarding” students for out of class reading at all costs. I hope to be able to encourage out of class reading by making reading an important and social part of my classroom.

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how I can practically have a free reading time with a group of kindergarteners. The article was mostly directed at teachers in grades 3^rd to 8^th, but that does not mean that I cannot apply these suggestions to younger grades. The first thing I learned from the article is that the more opportunities I provided for my students to be engaged in reading the more likely they are to improve in their reading. Most of the students I will be working with will be “too” young to read and those who can will probably not competent readers. Until I read the article I thought that a free reading time would be a waste of time. All of the research in the article supported common sense though that the more you practice something the better you get at it, and if I want to have better readers in my classroom I need to allow them time to practice reading. Even though right now I am afraid that free reading time with kindergarteners will turn into an empty period of the day this article has inspired me to research ways that I can incorporate a free reading time with kindergarteners.

The article Viewpoint: Teaching for Literacy Engagement by John T. Guthrie inspired me to think of ways I can change my classroom to harvest more engaged readers by give resources to my students that will help them choose how they want to research our chosen class subject at home, to encourage out of classroom reading, and to think of practical ways I can have a free reading program with Kindergarteners. I cannot change nature. I cannot go against were my students come from. I cannot change who my students are. I can change the environment of my classroom and this empowers me enough to help my students’ grow.

EFY application

After regurgitating ideas in a club meeting about our Homecoming Parade Float, the instant we had a realistic designed I volunteered to drive and get my family’s hay bail trailer. A few hours later my brother helped me hitch it, I drove ten feet, hit the barn, blew the tire, STOPPED THE ENGINE, and crawled out. My 6’9” and almost 300 pound brother examined the brownout tire and asked me if I was ok. I nodded. He smiled, “A little shaken up?” He helped me call the shop and said to call when I got to Provo. I called the other club members and explained why I would be late. Once the tire was fixed I drove to campus. We won the Most Spirited Club Award in the parade, but I learned no matter how powerful someone is a team leader stays calm.
While volunteering in Navajo Nations Reservation I was discussing art and asking the students to describe Window Rock (a local natural monument). At first, it was impossible to get the students to say anything beyond red and brown. So, I began asking specific question and the list snowballed: scribble through fire engine red and circle around basketball orange. When the small chalk board was out of room I erased part and kept writing until there was silence. I called for more colors before I turned around and almost dropped my chalk. The students were leaning out into aisles, standing up in the back row, gripping the edge of their desks- all their eyes were on me to know what was next. In that instant I understood that what I was doing mattered: Window Rock, their color being written on the board, me (their teacher), and they (the students) all mattered.


Joyful: My name is Joy and I want to live up to my name even at work.
Creative: Some how art becomes apart of any job I do because it is how I express my thoughts, heart, and ideas.
Worker: I grew up on a farm and am not afraid of difficult or dirty work.
Friendly: People can not be stereo typed and stored like boxes but relationships should grow just as people do. My friendly personality helps me to befriend people I work with.
Brave: Life= new things+ mess ups + ask what to do better+ try again

REL

Light and truth it seems so simple, but even in my physical science class it is difficult. No one knows exaclty what it is and how it works and what it does and how to measure it and when to watch it... well the list goes on and on. I often times get intimidated when I think of how little I know about the gospel and how little I know at all. Most days I am still trying to figure out myself; I am still trying to remember how to open the door at the WSC. It is not enough to tell you how many dumb things I do every day and how offten I do them, but that is not what the Lord focuses on in this passage. That is not the attitude taht I got any way. The feeling that I recieved was that I must continue to search for light and truth, let it fill me. That I can not stop and say I am too dumb to figure that out, because the truth of the matter is that I am not too dumb to figure it out.
In these passages the Lord tells us that we have potential to become like Him, filled wtih light and truth. That we have the potential to know the things that were, the things that are and the things that will be. I have been thinking the past few days about spiritual gifts, and wondering if it is a spiritual gift to have the ability to be given... does that make sense. Like for example I have been given so many things: family, friends, education, clothes, roof, food, comfort, physical body... the list can go on and on about all of the things that I have been given. It has caused me to wonder if the it is a spiritual gift to be given. I believe that it is, because in these verses the Lord talks about giving light and truth, and that he will give more unto us the more that we receive. The light and truth that I receive is from God, all things are from God, but I am still exploring the question about is getting gifts a spiritual gift, and how to I spreed and use this gift to bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man?

Reg

The spirit of understanding scripture. This passage was about the word of wisdom something that I feel like gets a little too much attention in my home. I was pondering upon the spiritual lesson behind the word of wisdom one evening while I was driving home and I had the idea that the word of wisdom is atattched to the lesson that everything was created for a purpose and that not following that purpose is against the commandments of God.
For example, meat has a purpose and should be eaten sparingly. The lesson book also says that it should not be eaten when it is rotten. That there are many health benifiets from following this advice, well, commandment from God.
I feel that I can apply this to myself. I have a particular purpose. There are times and seasons to my life purpose, and there are certain percasions that I have with my own purpose. That my physical body, and my spiritual body have a particular purpose. That when I help to keep my body fit and active I can better full fill my life purpose. I fell that keeping the word of wisdom is not making a list of do and don't but it is understanding that every thing, even grain, meat, fruit, all of it has a purpose and that I should respect the purpose of all of God's creations.
The second lesson for me is that by respecting the purpose of God's creation I can better full fill my own purpose. That when I respect the purpose of Tabacco and use it as a medicine and not as an addiction I can utalize the purpose of Tabacco to more fully complete my own life purpose. It testifies to me that all of our purposes are interrelated and that by making the choice to respect other of God's creations purpose I can better respect my own. That when I respect my own purpose I can help others to find and obtain their life purpose. That is what I believe about the word of wisdom.

REG

Timing. That is what I learned from this chapter. God has timing. He has his own timing. All things it seems will happen: the second coming, Christ entering the world, everyone will hear the truth, but it is all depending on God's time.
That has been a central theme He has been trying to send me lately. The devotional was on prayer; trusting in the answers that God gives and not praying to have the answer that we want.
There have been three times this week that I have been struck with the lesson about asking questions: the first time was when I went to Church instead of going to the normal Sunday School class I went to the Mission Prep class and the lesson was on what types of questions to ask the Lord and that He wishes us to ask Him questions, the second time was when I was studying for my Physics test the article was on how religion and science are a kin to each other because they are based on asking and discovering true answers, the third time was at the form today on campus (the speaker's entire talk was about asking and testing the gospel to know if it is true) That leads me to believe that part of a growing testimony is constantly questioning my testimony to expound upon the knowledge that I know. I have been wondering why I have been impressed with so many talks about questions: is there a question that God needs me to ask right now. I guess that I am more wondering if there is an answer He is trying to give me right now. Most of all I believe that it starts with asking questions; I need to ask God more questions about truth. I focus on asking questions about me, my life, my problems. This may be a point in my life when I need to start to learn how to ask questions for others, enabling me to help them in their eternal progression. How this process begins I am not quite sure... does it relate to the whole time thing? I am sure that it does.
Some questions I can begin on my list:
In the timing of God what can I do to prepare myself now for the life that is going to come?
When is a time that I was a ware that God was preparing me for something that came later in life?
How have other people's lives been blessed because I was prepared?
Things that I know I want to be prepared for: temple marriage, being a loving wife, being a loving mother, the second coming, trials that will surly come (making the Savior my rock), maintaining an organized and clean home, teaching... I feel that sometime shortly I should read my blessing and learn of the things that I know I can begin to prepare for now in my life. When God's timing is these things will surly come to pass.

REG

"sanctification is explaind in the words that follow, that your inds become sing to God. OUr Lord had regard only to the glory of teh Father, when he undertook the salvation of man. To follow in His footsteps and to be able to say at all times, truthfully, Thine be the honor, is to be sactified; that is to be a Saint" Smith and Sjodahl
I have been thinking about perfection, about working, about getting things done, about being it all, and it has overwhelmed me. Then I was thinking about this idea today, and I came to a rerealization that it is simply Love. Things in life are so much easier if I just do them in love. Getting along with others- love. going to church- love. reading my scriptures- love. Even the hard things like being honest, taking my tests, doing homework are all easier with love. The things in life that I was struggling with all became so much simplier when I simply thought to myself I want to do this because I love that person, because I love all of God's children.
I had been thinking about who I want to be, and what I want to value and how I want to be valued. Then I started to think that it was simple... I had to show love. That I should treat each realtionship like it was its own... soul I guess. that it was living, and unique, and needed to be nurtured. that all relationship just need one thing, and that thing is love. That simply because a relationship is not eternal lmarriage that does not mean that the relationship can not be a love filled relationship, a relationship can be a loved filled realationship and be a friend relationship. I should give my love more, not lust mind you, but love, I want to give my love to everyone!

Letter

After talking to club members these were the ideas for the opening paragraph)

---- Our research teams names, and complete contact information---- we are looking for volunteers to help in our research project, and believe that members of your club would be interested. If you have any questions regarding the context of our letter please email your concerns. If you would like a representative from our research team to come and visit one of your club meetings please send us the date and time that we could visit, and we will work with our and your schedule to send a representative.

(The “formal” letter- body)

To understand how it feels to be different you only have to know one thing- what is normal. The term normal is hard to define because it changes. Once it was normal to have a perm or a greased comb over, and it used to be normal to wear a top hat or walk through a village in a loin cloth. Some fashions and fads are so outlandish it seems impossible to believe that these things could have ever been considered normal, but even quicker than styles can change people change- normal people. In some areas you only have to walk two blocks to know that a normal person on one street would not be normal on the other. Look around the room you are sitting in and define what is normal: in that room, in that setting, and at that time. Did you put yourself into the normal group?

We are all different, but our research team dares to claim how we chose to cope with our differences matters. This research is not about finding the most different person in the most normal situation. It is about how people handle that hot-flushed-feeling when they enter a room and know that every normal person there is staring at them. Sometimes people simply stare with their eyes, but other times they pry with questions or avoid looking- afraid you might realize how un-normal you truly are. You know that you are different, but what we want to know is how you handle the jokes, the discrimination, and the heart ache- not because you are outlandish but because you are normal. It is normal to feel different, but how you chose to cope with being different is entirely unique. This is what we want to know about.

We are interested in a wide variety of people and are looking for volunteers and referrals to interview. Is there a unique person you know who copes with being different. The categories that we have limited our research to are exceptionally short, drastically tall, culturally different, racially different, physically deformed, severely underweight, and dangerously overweight. Unfortunately, because of the complication with parent consent forms we can only interview people over the age of 18. Think of someone in your life who has not simply inspired you but who copes with being discriminated towards, teased, and misjudged. These people have inspired you, and now is the opportunity for them to inspire others. If you know a parent, aunt, teacher, coach, or friends please ask them if you could suggest them for an interview. Submit their full name, phone number, email address, age, and which group(s) they would be willing to interview for to this website (the same website and information that was used for extra credit). Of course, we are interested in you as well and we would ask you to submit your information the same way.

The experiences we gather will be published in an article to help others learn unique ways to handle being different. The interviews will be held on Brigham Young University campus in Provo. All of the questions will be about how to cope with being different. The questions range from everyday subjects such as do you special order your clothes to questions about how your family receives your differences. It would be a simple opportunity to share with others.

We will respect your personal privacy. All names in the study will be de-identified with code names and all the data will be kept on a password protected computer. Any information you wish not to publish can be removed during any revision.

(After talking to club members these were the ideas for the closing paragraph)

Thank you for your time and attention. If you are interested in being interview or submitting names to be interviewed please send their information to the above mentioned address. If you might be interested but would like to know more information, or would like to clarify the purpose of the research we will be having a meeting in (room) at (date and time). You do not have to attend this meeting in order to be considered for an interview; the meeting is purely to help answer questions or concerns you may have. Thank you; we hope to hear from you.

-after talking to club members they said that we should hold a meeting on campus to clarify what and who we are looking to interview. I thought this was a good idea to do with in these first few weeks- and we could considered it a time to get possible questions from people and ideas for our own research and directions that we would want to go. Also, by making the meetings optional we are not limiting the amount of volunteers we gather but expand who volunteered and who they referred.

CL CV rough draft

Joy Marie Prior

Classical Civilization 201 H

Cecilia Peek

Dear Athena, You Have Been Replaced by Athens

Each pillar in the Parthenon is the color of smudged white; not eggshell white but the color of paper after a cheap eraser smudged entire paragraphs together. The statues no longer breathe life into the marble, like erased words on a page the statues are missing. Most of the story of the Parthenon is missing: gold, colors, the smell of incense. Now, it lies in Athens for tourists to read the skeleton of a story the Parthenon once told. The myths and legends written on the crumbled stones of the Parthenon were chiseled by Athenians who wanted to immortalize themselves. Athens’ acropolis was the altar and the Parthenon was the sacrifice. A sacrifice to the gods and goddess the Athenians believed themselves to be.

Like many Greek gods Athens rise to glory came through bravery, brilliance, and battle. Based on the historical account of Herodotos the Athens became the foremost city in Greece after the Battle at Marathon (Gomme 79). An estimated Persian fleet of 600 ships sailed into Marathon threatening the Greek Islands with death and slavery (Doenges 5). The Persian retreated to the sea, leaving Greece and thousands of their dead soldiers to be buried beside the hundred and seventy-two Athenians (Gomme 80). The Athenian victory unexpectedly severed the force and moral of the dominating Persian army. It was this battle that gained Athens glory.

Athens attributed their victory to their own brilliance. Athenians fought with admirable discipline and skill; their strategy crushed the Persian army (Gomme 80). It was a victory that proved wars could be won with something more divine than brutal strength and power- brilliance. An enormous pride swelled within each brilliant Athenian as Athens became a model for the rest of Greece (Forrest 2). Even the Spartans praised the Athenians for the victory (Doenges 16). It became a city of brilliance, a city of victory, a city to worship, a city for the Parthenon.

Construction of the Parthenon began in celebration of the Battle at Marathon. The Parthenon is historically recognized as a thanks offering to the goddess Athena (the goddess of war and wisdom) for the miraculous victory (Neils 16). Like many Greek temples the Parthenon illustrates a variety of myths and legends relevant to the god or goddess of the temple.

The narratives depicted in Greek temples are myths the people identified with and valued. While describing the myths depicted in Greek Architecture for the University of Oxford John Boardman said, “Where the subject matter is narrative it is generally chosen to demonstrate the god of the temple, possibly in action or simply epiphany, or there is a myth scene which is related to the cult or city (Boardman).” The narratives on Greek temples do not only describe the life of the gods but the myths embody the values of the people. A crude description of the culture of the city can be determined from the temple’s myths.

The legends and myths depicted in the Parthenon reveal much of the culture and values of the city of Athens. It would be unrealistic to critique each and every myth depicted in the Parthenon in this paper. Instead the focus will remain on elements found in the myths on the metopes that support the Parthenon as a temple to the Athenians themselves. The Athenians believed themselves equal to the goddess Athena in strategy, civilization, and.

The metope on each side of the Parthenon depicts a different myth or legend, there are four stories told across the entire metope. Along the eastern metopes is myth of the Olympian gods defeating the giants. The southern metopes depicts the Battle of Lapith and Centaurs (the Centaurmachy battle) in which the drunken Centaur guests violently attach the Lapithians during a wedding celebration. Across the western metopes are scenes from the legendary invasion of the Athens by the Amazons. Finally, the northern side is of the Trojan War. All of the stories are of battles.

A common theme within the metopes is that victory comes to the opposition with a strategy and not to the side attacking with brutal strength. The giants ferociously attacked mount Olympus with rocks while Athena and Zeus formed a strategy based on their wisdom of earth’s herbs and prophesies (Myth). In the Trojan War the goddess Athena constructed the idea of the Trojan horse, which, eventually lead to the victory (Athena). This theme of strategy overcoming brutal strength on the Parthenon parallels the Athenian view that the victory at the battle of Marathon was due to the Athenian’s brilliant military strategy.

The myths and legends are of battles between civilized and barbaric societies. In the Battle of the Lapith and Centaurs the Athenian hero Theseus leads the Lapithians against the centaurs typify of barbarian: a half-human and half-animal creature unable to control animal like passions and pleasures (Woodford). On the western wall the Amazon warriors contradicted all socially acceptable order: they were all women. The Amazon women appear all throughout Athenian myth and never triumph over Athens (ailiathena@yahoo.com). Although, Athens is not victorious in both battles the portrayal of civilization against barbarians is clear. In both stories Athens and the Athenian hero is clearly the model for a civilized society. The Athenians undoubtedly viewed themselves as a property structured society with the ability to control passions and uphold xenia, which, they express through the mythology on the Parthenon.

None of the battles on the metopes depict an individual’s victory, but an entire civilization’s triumph. There are undoubtedly heroes in the myths and legends on the Parthenon but the emphasis of the meteops is civilizations against civilizations. The battle of the Olympians and giants is traditionally told with Herculues as the hero, but on the identified statues of the Parthenon Zeus is the central figure and Helios is shown riding his chariot of fire to depicting the dawning of a new era (Metopes). Each of the battles on the metopes of the Parthenon is of heroic society. The images and stories in the meteopos of the Parthenon support the idea of an entire society being wiser and more civilized than another. The Athenians viewed themselves as a victorious society: wiser, and more civilized than their opponents.

The Parthenon was a temple to the Athenians themselves; it was constructed to worship their victories. After the Athenians strategically defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon Athens became the Greek model of a civilized society. The construction of the Parthenon began shortly after the Athenian victory. The myths and legends illustrated in the metopes of the Parthenon are of dramatic battles of strategy and civility prevailing barbarians. They are images of how the Athenians viewed themselves, a wise and civilized society. The Parthenon is more than ruble pillars scattered by war and mutated statues. It is a story of who the Athenians were. A story written on a page of smudged white pillars that not even time can erase.

Citation

(1999). Myth Man’s Award-winning Homework Help: Gigantes (The Giants). Thanasi’s Olympus Greek Restaurant. http://thanasis.com/modern/giants.htm

(2011). Metopes of the Parthenon. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metopes_of_the_Parthenon

ailiathena@yahoo.com. (2008). Amazons: What’s an Amazon. http://www.paleothea.com/amazons.html

Athena, Greek Goddess: of Wisdom and Craftsmanship. http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/greek_goddess_athena.htm

Boardman, John. (2010). Introduction to Architectural Sculpture. Classical Art Research Center; The Beazley Archive. University of Oxford. http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/sculpture/styles/architectural.htm

Doenges, Norman A. (1998). The Campaign and Battle of Marathon. Historia: Zeitschriff fur Alte Geschichte. Franz Steiner Verlag. 47(1) 1-17. ISSN 00182311

Forrest, W. G. (1984). Herodotos and Athens. Phoenix: Classical Association of Canada. 38(1) 1-11. ISSN: 00318299.

Gomme, A. W. (1952). Herodotos and Marathon. Phoenix: Classical Association of Canada. 6(3) 79-81. ISSN: 00318299.

Neils, Jenifer. (2005) The Parthenon: from antiquity to the present. Cambridge: New York, 16-20.

Woodford, Susan.(1974). More Light on Old Walls: The Theseus of the Centauromch in the Theseion. The Journal of Hellenic Studies. (94). 158-165. ISSN: 00754269.