Candace Carpenter’s Weblog

We talked about Praxis study materials in class today and I figured I would share the name and price of the book that I purchased. It is by ETS (the same company that gives the praxis) and it is called The Praxis Series: Official Guide. It is white with a blue stripe in the middle and the title is in yellow and white. I got mine at Books A Million for $21 so I’m sure that other major book stores would also carry this book. You could probably also order it online from Amazon.
It has practice tests as well as information about what to expect from the test. It also has sample essay questions with sample responses so that you can see how they are scored. I will also (hopefully) not need mine after November so if you are taking it in January and want to either buy or borrow let me know.

I thought this was such a cute book!  I really like that it is written about such realistic situations that could occur within a school or a classroom.  I think it would be great to use this book to get students really interested in writing poetry.  It is also such a great inspiration for a classroom project which would create a book that would really interest students and make them feel accomplished.  I would love to use this book when creating poetry to show students that their is a great variety of different formats that can be used.  The illustrations matched so well with the poems and they also looked like they could have been created by a child which went along really well with the story that it was created by an actual 6th grade class.

I just finished reading The Not-So-Jolly Roger.  I really enjoyed the book and think that it would really hook students in a fourth grade class that were having a difficult time with reading.  I especially liked how the book went back and gave a background for the story in the second chapter.  I thought it was interesting to do so after the introduction but it makes perfect sense because by that point the reader is already hooked.  I also really liked how the author embedded information about pirates and sailing within the book because students are learning without even realizing.  I thought the historical afterword was funny and interesting.  It tied things up and gave some historical content about Blackbeard but at the same time told the funny stories about the trouble that the three time traveling boys got into due to their adventure.
But I feel like there would be some parents who might have some issues with the language used by Blackbeard throughout the book.  I think that it is important to discuss historical occurrences but there are always going to be parents who do not want their children exposed to those words.  I think this might be a time to have a back up choice ready to go if you have parents who do not approve of the book.  That was really my one hesitation with the book.  It was an easy read and one that children would enjoy since it was told through the eyes of young boys.

I thought the Swashbuckling article was very informative and helpful.  It included many great ideas that can be implemented if we choose to complete a similar unit in our future classrooms or if we decide to do a unit concerning a totally different topic.  I agree with the idea that Social Studies can be taught using trade books even more effectively than by using a text book.
I really liked the way that the unit was launched.  I know that, as a student, I would be really excited to have music playing in my classroom as well as having so many new visuals distributed throughout the room.  I liked that the students got the opportunity to explore before any formal instruction occurred.  It allows them to think on their own rather than being told what to think.  I also like the implementation of the KWL and how it will be used throughout the unit.
The Pirate Diary is also something that will get students really excited.  They are actually writing definitions and reflections but they probably won’t realize and complain as much because of the example book Pirate Diary:  The Journal of Jake Carpenter.  It makes them feel as if they are in the time period which is really unique as well as important.
I also thought that the twin texts are a really great way to teach social studies.  I have never heard of this formal term but the concept seems so obvious as well as affective.  I also think that the Double Entry Diaries really get students thinking. But my favorite part has to be the research portion of the unit.  Students often do not get the opportunity to complete research based projects at the elementary level but it is a great way for them to build their research skills as well as to learn a wealth of information about their topic.

I decided to include this entry in my writer’s notebook after reading Love That Dog and the handout, Love That Poetry.  I think concrete poems are really unique and can help increase student interest in writing poetry because of the simple method of composition.

My name, Candace has a pretty interesting story behind it.  My name came from both of my great-grandmothers, even thought neither of them went by Candace.  My mom’s grandmother’s middle name was Candace and my dad’s grandmother’s first name was Candace but she went by Lucy instead.  My parents thought it was pretty unique for both of them to have grandmothers with the name Candace and knew that it was the right name for me.  It makes me have a unique connection to each of these women in my family even though I never met them.
My mom also wanted my brothers and I to have names that could be found in the Bible.  So you can find Candace mentioned in the Bible even though she was not a central figure.

There is also a pretty interesting story behind my middle name.  My parents knew my first name was going to be Candace but were not sure what they wanted to use for my middle name.  My mom liked the Dawn so that was an option but they still were not sure that they liked it.  My parents decided to let my older brother Michael, who was six at the time, help.  Michael being a pretty normal six year old decided that he wanted to name me after himself.  But my parents did not go for it.  But they decided to go with Michael and decided to use the French translation of Michelle to choose my middle name.  So it explains how my brother got his way, sort of, and how I got my middle name.

I know the origins of my last name,Carpenter, are German.  My dad is really interested in genealogy and has traced our family’s roots back to the Strasbourg area of Switzerland.  This is a German speaking area of Switzerland and our ancestors would have had the last name of Zimmerman, which literally translates into room builder.  My ancestor’s have been in American since the early 1800s and went by Zimmerman for a number of years.  But they wanted to translate their name to, as far as research can tell, to fit in and make it easier for people to pronounce and spell.  But several of my ancestors still signed their name with Zimmerman even though it had been officially changed to Carpenter.
I really like my last name and the history that goes along with it.  I enjoy learning more about my family history and hope to learn more over time.

Welcome to my RE 4030 blog! I am just getting started but will continually be adding new things.  Feel free to check back later.