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| Bud, Not Buddy |
This is our last blog for the term! I am finishing my
reading on the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and plagues. I have been able
to use most of the material I have read, but not all. However, none of it hurt
me. For my purposes, the nonfiction pieces were by far the better reading
selections, but the fiction gave me a nice break. Since my goal was to find
materials I could use with my classes, I think this semester was successful. I
wanted to find some more poetry, but then realized I hadn't spent much time
doing that, so I will have to work on that over break.
The Great Depression: The Road to Rock Bottom, PBS (movie)
An hour long documentary on the hardships of the 1930's.
Although I watched it on VHS, it is available on youtube. (I had to relearn the
darn VHS player as it has been so long since I used it. I should have looked
for the youtube version first.) The video is informative, but at 53 minutes I
don't think I would use it with a class. I might pull out one section of the
video though. The some short pieces. It was informative but too long to be
useful for my English 10 classes.
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| Migrant Mother |
I selected to read Migrant Mother by Don Nardo after I heard
one small moment of Florence Owens Thompson's story. Sometimes we have to be reminded
to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. The story I heard was Thompson hated
the popularity of the famous image. This picture was taken at the lowest moment
in her life - a time when she feared her children would starve, the most
desperate days for her family. She thought agreeing to the picture would lead
to help for her family - it never has. Thompson has never received a single
dime for these images; she was also not given any food or supplies in exchange
for her cooperation. I realize that Lange (the photographer) was not supposed
to give any money or goods in exchange for the photo, but there must have been
some misunderstanding on Thompson's part. To have a moment of hope at that time
and then have it not appear must have been terrible. I am not sure that I could be graceful when constantly faced
with the public image that captures the worse day of my life. A slide show of all six photos taken by Lange can be found here.
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| Deza |
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| From Teachingbooks.net |
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis Let me
start by saying one of the reasons I miss middle school is Christopher Paul Curtis's
books. He writes such good books. (Here is a sample of Curtis reading from Bud.) I loved the book Bud, Not Buddy, so I was
excited to have the opportunity to the story of Deza Malone, who first appears in
Bud. I think this book (as well as Bud) really gives students an understanding
of life during the Great Depression. One reoccurring event in Miss Malone is
Deza's toothache. Her family could not afford to take her to the dentist, but
infection in her teeth grows progressively worse as the plot develops. I can
not image the constant pain she put up with, but I know the choice was to
tolerate it or have a family member pull it - neither were good choices, but
choices were limited.
Next week I will be reading from a student's reading list. I
am looking forward to Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. Katelyn Riddle
recommended this book to me. It wasn't a hard sale on her part, I loved Sepety's
Between the Shades of Gray, and I love New Orleans. I am ready for a switch from my selected
readings. After next week, I get to read what ever I want! Romance? Historical
fiction? Or perhaps I'll read Reading Nonfiction: Note and Notice (a book of
teaching strategies).
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| The Mighty Miss Malone |
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