https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag en-us 2017-01-18 18:50:35 UTC 2017-04-01 10:40:00 UTC hello@padlet.com gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/147916281 The first chapter is when everyone is being introduced and the plot is being set up so it is hard to judge this book at the moment. However, I think parts of this book would be good for children. Liza K feels very motivated to protect her home and the alligator, Dajun. She likes to spend her time outdoors and appreciates being around nature as opposed to being stuck inside a house. I believe those aspects of the book would be beneficial for young children to read because it may motivate them to be more like Liza K in that aspect. However, the parts where it talks about the dad beating her may be a bit too rough for young children. I am not pretending that children do not go through situations like that, nevertheless I think the way the author was so blunt about it is too rough for young children. The chapter ended with Liza K saying she was glad she was in a place where her dad could not hit her with his belt. I think that is too direct and intense for children to read in a science class. I am interested to see what happens as the book keeps going.]]> 2017-01-18 18:52:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/147916281 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/149497111 I'll admit that when we first started reading this book, I did not think I would like it. But now I am thinking that I will like it. Not only that, but I can see how it can be applied to a science class now. The author provides a lot of scientific vocabulary to describe the environment they are in and the animals and their habitat that surround them. If I were to read this book with my students one day, I would either create a vocabulary sheet and go through it with my students before reading, or I would pause after every new word and help them define it and add it to their own word wall. The author introduced a character named Priscilla, a woman who lives out there in the woods voluntarily and writes poetry about Dajun. This I feel will give the book a more emotional feel when the students are reading it. This chapter made me excited to keep reading the book and find out what happens next.]]> 2017-01-26 02:16:22 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/149497111 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/151223339 This chapter did a good job of describing the environment and the scenery. They used vibrant colors and other descriptive words to paint a picture of what Liza K. sees. Liza K. says Dajun is cold blooded and then explains what that means by describing his actions and behaviors. She references herself to an eagle when she climbs up in the tree and describes an eagle's behavior and an eagle's-eye view. Both of these descriptions would help students learn about cold blooded animals and eagles in a new and relatable way. Everything Liza K. says she starts with "I learned this in school" and then she explains the fact. This helps it sound like it is just a kid talking to a few other kids and helping them learn about what she has learned about in school.]]> 2017-02-02 17:27:45 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/151223339 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/152674995 This chapter was a lot more informational than others. It also took on a serious and sometimes controversial issue, pollution. Liza K. describes the tiny mosquito fish that she sees called gambusia. She describes how they look and what they do in their niche. She also talks about how they sprayed for pesticides in nearby areas to get rid of the gambusia, but it ended up getting rid of both the good and bad pests, which affected the environment. She took time in this chapter to describe the food chain of animals, hydrilla, mangrove swamps, and Miami blues and how they all work together to affect the environment of Gumbo Limbo Hole. James James describes to her how the salt water is getting into the fresh water at Gumbo Limbo Hole and killing the fresh-water life. They also talk about how blue-green algae is not good and it is a pollutant. This is a good topic for students to be well-versed on so that they can form their own opinion on it and take action. Students need to know how dangerous pollution is to the environment and what they can do to keep it from doing more harm. So far, this is a good book to teach that.]]> 2017-02-09 04:53:28 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/152674995 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/154047413 In this chapter, the author talked more about pollution, but also showed that even children can help do something about it. In the beginning, Liza K. talked about recycling and how important it is. She talked about how most kids do it, which I believe will help students who do not recycle see that it is very easy for anyone to do. It also focused on Liza K. going to the government office to get answers. This would show students that anyone, even children, can use the resources that the government provides. Another interesting part of this chapter was when Clara Lee Dade at the government office told Liza K. about her memories of Florida. She said now everything she once loved has been cemented over or drained. This shows young students that the world is changing fast and that preserving nature is now more important than ever. ]]> 2017-02-15 15:45:12 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/154047413 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/156212496 This chapter also focused more on pollution, but more specifically water pollution. The author discussed the harmful effects of PCP and of salt water mixing with fresh water. These are important facts for children to know and the book does a good job of displaying the information. Children today are usually bombarded with facts in either an aggressive or boring manner. Coming from an entertaining book and from a character close to their age, students may be more apt to listen to the facts. Liza K. also talks about how everyone in her community uses soap instead of detergent because detergent is harmful to the environment. Not only does this teach the students an important fact, but it also teaches them something they can use in their everyday lives to make a difference. I like the idea of using a chapter book to teach science and teach new skills. I have never thought about using a book until this class and now I want to try it out for my field placement class. ]]> 2017-02-25 22:57:32 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/156212496 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/157132893 This chapter continued with describing the environment and factors that affect the environment. Liza K. and Priscilla discuss the possibility of what could happen to the animals that eat the fish that were killed by the PCP. Since the author does not give an answer to this, this could be a good time to use the student's inquiry skills and have them research the answer to the problem. Also, Liza K. describes armadillos and their habitat. She then says that she knows so much about armadillos and animals in general because she likes to hang out in the woods. This is a good method to get students outside. The teacher could use this chapter and create a project that has the students explore outside and discover a new plant, animal, or bug. Then the students could do research about their new discovery and present their information to the class. ]]> 2017-03-01 18:46:12 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/157132893 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/162519933 This chapter gave me some ideas for how to use this book to teach a lesson. For example, Liza K. talks about how she plays a butterfly game where she goes through all the stages of a butterfly. This would be a good way to introduce a game like that to the students to help them learn all the stages that a butterfly goes through. Kinesthetic learning is a great tool when it comes to teaching students with special needs so that would be useful. Another example is when Liza K. said that Dajun changed to be able to come out at night. He adapted to his surroundings in order to stay alive, which is an important subject to teach students. This could be an introduction into a lesson about adaptation or even evolution. I am liking this book more and more as we keep reading it, even more than I thought I would at the beginning. Even though my students may not be able to read the book on their own, I could read it aloud to them and print off pictures to help them follow along while I am reading. ]]> 2017-03-24 20:24:09 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/162519933 gyemanta2 https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/164096109 This chapter explains a lot that has been unknown or unclear throughout the entire book. The author explains who was washing the containers with a wood preservative in the canal and caused the PCP to be leaked into the water. The author also explains that since the person did not know, they got a warning. This section could be used to teach students what the consequences are when a person contaminates the water with PCP. Liza K. also discusses in this chapter how she was acting like a lepidopterist and then gives a kid-friendly definition about what a lepidopterist is. She says it is a person who identifies butterflies like bird watchers identify birds. This could be used in a lesson to help students learn about the different types of butterflies. The teacher could tell the students that they will all be able to become lepidopterists and go outside and write down different characteristics of the different butterflies they see. If the weather is not equipped for looking for butterflies, the teacher could set up a virtual field trip that has different butterflies that the students could go through and take notes. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and it gave me new ideas on how to combine multiple subjects for one assignment such as language arts and science. ]]> 2017-04-01 10:23:17 UTC https://padlet.com/gyemanta2/xeu8c9ecjfag/wish/164096109