2011年5月21日 星期六

Textbook: My Heart Is Like a Zoo

My Heart Is Like a Zoo

http://www.myheartislikeazoo.com/

By Michael Hall
Publication Date: January 2010
Other Editions of This Title: (January 2010)
Categories: Animals , Emotions & Feelings

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Spring 2010 Kids' Next List
“Feelings are characterized by animals created entirely of hearts in this energetic picture book. My Heart is Like a Zoo is a refreshing Valentine's Day choice and a must-have for school libraries.”
-- Camille DeBoer, Pooh's Corner, Grand Rapids, MI



Description
A heart can be hopeful, or silly, or happy. A heart can be rugged, or snappy, or lonely. A heart holds every different feeling, and debut author-artist Michael Hall captures each one with a delicate touch.
For each feeling, the bold, graphic artwork creates an animal out of heart shapes, from "eager as a beaver" to "angry as a bear" to "thoughtful as an owl." An accessible and beautiful debut, My Heart Is Like a Zoo is everything a classic picture book should be: honest, sincere, and speaking directly to even the very youngest child.
Ages: 0 - 5





About the Author
Michael Hall is the creator of the critically acclaimed and nationally best-selling picture book My Heart Is Like a Zoo. He is also an award-winning graphic designer whose work has been widely recognized for its simple and engaging approach. Michael Hall is the co-owner and principal designer at Hall Kelley, Inc., and lives with his wife and two daughters in Minnesota.




Praise For My Heart Is Like a Zoo
“Children just learning about shapes will revel in these pages.”
-Publishers Weekly

“The bold digital collages of zoo animals in this debut picture book are clear and bright, and the simple rhymes about feelings will have preschoolers savoring the words, joining in, and pointing at every playful zoo scene.”
-ALA Booklist

“Starting with one simple shape, Michael Hall shows us a nearly infinite number of ways to make a menagerie of love.”
-Brian Selznick, Caldecott Medalist

“This title will have a wide audience, whether in a classroom, library, or at home. An outstanding choice for one-on-one sharing.”
-School Library Journal

“Now hear this! The art in this book will astonish Earth!”
-Chris Raschka, Caldecott Medalist

“It stole my heart.”
-Robert Sabuda, New York Times bestselling author

“Animals, adjectives and hearts—lots of hearts—combine in this bright, appealing selection, reminiscent of the works of Lois Ehlert.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“Michael Hall’s My Heart Is Like a Zoo is a combination of deceptive simplicity and gorgeous graphic design. Colorful, fun, and thoroughly enjoyable.”
-Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Caldecott Honor Artist, New York Times bestselling author

2011年5月20日 星期五

Textbook's Evaluation: My Heart Is Like a Zoo


Book Evaluation: My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

1.      Goal of the course
Helping students learn vocabulary about animals, feelings and emotions. Also use those vocabularies well in the daily life. 

2.      Background of the students
  1. age: preschool, kindergarten, and elementary (1-3 grade) students
  2. native language and culture: Chinese and Taiwan’s culture
  3. educational background: beginner
  4. motivation or purpose for learning English: love English and learn the second language
3.      Approach
Theory of language

4.      Language skills
Students can use those vocabularies to create sentences or short stories and it help students train writing skill. Also, students will read other people’s sentences or stories to help they train the reading skills. In addition, students will say their own sentences and stories; therefore, they can train their listening and speaking skill.  

5.      Quality of practice material
Teachers can design many exercises or games based on this book. For example, teachers can design the role play, cloze and puzzle. Those exercise helps students memorize those words and learn how to use those words correctly. 

6.      Sequencing
This book is sequence by situations.

7.      Vocabulary
This book gives 60 different words about animals, feelings and emotions for students and those words can be useful in the daily life or write the diary. Also, students can learn 20 colors of background; it helps students learn different colors.

8.      Format
This book is very attractive because the pictures and colors. All of these 20 animals are made of heart shapes. Each page consists of a short sentence and an animal; therefore, it is clean that help students read the sentence and see the picture. The layout is comfortable. Also, this book is big enough for every student sees the pictures.

9.      Accompanying materials
Teachers and use posters and flash cards for exercises’ materials and games. 

10.  Teacher’s guide
This book is suitable for nonnative-speaking teachers.

2011年5月18日 星期三

Learning Speaking websites

1.                  ESL Online Talk Community http://www.rong-chang.com/talk/talksign.htm




Practice makes perfect, but many ESL students do not have opportunities to practice speaking English. This Website is trying to establish an online community to enable learners to practice their English with fellow learners all over the world, anytime you like.

 

 

2.                  ManyThings.org: American English Pronunciation Practice http://www.manythings.org/pp/

It provides 6 sentences each day, and you can listen the sentence and repeat. You can improve your speak tone by this website.



3.                  English Central http://www.englishcentral.com/

You can record you speaking that you read with the film. And system will tell you which part or sound you should improve. You also can practice the specific pronunciation.

2011年5月17日 星期二

Learning Listening websites


1.      Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab http://www.esl-lab.com/



It provides many different kinds of conversation such as daily conversation or academic conversation. It helps ESL/EFL students improve their listening comprehension skills through practice with self-grading.

 

2.      Daily Lessons  http://www.eslgold.com/daily_lessons.html



The contexts in Daily Lessons are associated with movie. It provides movie’s introduction and conversation in the movie. The speed of speaking is normal like foreigner’s speed of speaking. It also provides the word’s meaning and example while you don’t know the words.



3.      English Central http://www.englishcentral.com/


You can train your listening skill by watch various video. It provides many different kind of video suck as movie, interview and TV show.

2011年5月10日 星期二

Brown Bear,Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See?
Bill Martin Jr. (Author)
Eric Carle (Illustrator)

About the story:
The repetition and colorful illustrations in this classic picture book by Bill Martin Jr, make it a favorite of many children. On each page, we meet a new animal who helps us discover which creature will show up next. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? I see a redbird looking at me...". This pattern is repeated over and over, until the pre-reader can join in with the reader, easily predicting the next lines. Giggles and raised eyebrows will accompany the story as the animals become stranger and stranger (a purple cat!?).

Ready-To-Use Teaching Idea: Language & Literacy.
Materials:
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin
  • tape recorder and cassette, or video or digital movie camera
  • book-making materials, paper, markers, stapler
  • clipboards and markers
  • books about plants
Developing Skills:
  • vocabulary
  • language
  • gaining meaning from print
ACTIVITY
Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the group. 
When you read the book again, pause to let children tell you what Brown Bear saw.

Set up a recording center. 
In the center, individual children can "read" Brown Bear while a volunteer records their "reading." After each child has recorded a reading of the book, set up a listening center for them to hear themselves reading.

Play Brown Bear in your room. 
The children become Brown Bear as you ask them, "Children, children, what do you see?" Children might name tables, chairs, or toys. You can add words children may not be familiar with. Pointing to the Venetian blinds, you might say, "Children, children, what do you see? We see Venetian blinds looking at me!"

Make a class book titled Children, Children, What Do We See? 
Invite each child to think of something they see in the room and name it. You can write the name on a piece of paper or they can do so using invented spelling. Then, children can draw the illustrations. Staple the pages together to make a new book for the library area.

Remember: 
By learning the names of things in their environment, children are becoming acquainted with the idea of nouns-naming words. This understanding is necessary before children can more formally learn nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs during the primary grades.
Children will not actually be reading Brown Bear, but repeating the words they remember. This pretend reading is a necessary step in the process of learning to read.


TAKE HOME ACTIVITY
Send the class book Children, Children, What Do We See? home with children.
Children can take turns checking the book out for the night. Place a note in the book asking parents to read it with their children and write their comments. When the book is returned, share parents' comments.

Curriculum Connection: SCIENCE
Everything has a name. 
Take a walk outside and name the plants you find. Give children clipboards so they can record their observations of plant life. As children see different plants, tell them the names of the plants and record the plants they find.