week 15 review

Thursday December 10, 2015 was an announcement that I thought was amusing because of the cat meme. I love Christmas Memes!

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Famous Last Words Week 15

I find myself finishing up this class the night before everything is due. I had my schedule made out for this week and did not want to be in this situation. However earlier this week I received a call that my best friend’s dad suffered a stroke and had passed away. I also learned that the funeral was going to be fairly quickly so I had to make a fast trip to my hometown to be there. I had to schedule work and homework around this in a way. Either way I will get the work done so I can obtain a good grade in this class and be there for my friend. Thank goodness for my online classes that has allowed me to be there for my friend and her family during this time. Even though we are students, I think sometimes people forget that we have lives as well that include friends and family. I’m very thankful to be home during this time and have an understanding boss and coworkers. I was proud of myself earlier in the week because I was working ahead of schedule.  

On a bright note, I am looking forward to being done with all of my classes on Monday and finally start my Christmas break. I will get to spend two weeks at home with my nephew playing catch for a majority of the time I’m sure. He has also taken up playing with legos, but that usually means he wants me to build the cool truck or car and then he plays with it. It’s a work in progress on understanding it is for him to build. I am ready to spend time with my dog as well. I was unable to come home very much this semester because of school and football games.  It’s been real!

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Tech Tip Weather Widget

I added a weather widget to my blog. My Favorite weather is 70 degrees with a light breeze. I'll also take the cold over the heat on most days. As I am getting older that is starting to change.

week 15 Curation

I tend to google most things. I am still working on being better at curation. I was able to come up with a few sites that helped me fins what I needed for class this week.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_(Disney)

I used Wikipedia to learn and refresh my memory of snow white for my storybook

http://rointheknow.com/2921/ent/the-top-five-best-disney-movies/attachment/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs-1920x1200/

Site I was able to find the perfect picture for my storybook.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-sit-on-a-throne-of-lies

I was able to find a good buddy the elf meme for one of my post about Growth Mindset.

#curation


 
I thought thus meme was appropriate.
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Reading Week 15

My favorite readings were the Brothers Grimm and the nursery rhymes. I enjoyed the stories that were more “original” than others. I also enjoyed the stories that had a moral instead of just for entertainment.

The reading story diary strategy that was the more effective for me was taking notes. I stayed with a format of listing the characters, setting and plot. I think doing this helped me break down the story and see the important elements to retell the story with.

The reading was a little overwhelming for me because I have so much reading with other classes as well. I found myself towards the end of the semester only completing one reading diary per week because it was all I had time for.

My advice would be to do both reading diaries in the same night. Doubling up on assignments would definitely help. I know that might seem like a lot but it keeps you from doing it every day. Time management is key! 

Growth Mindset Week 15

I have tried talking about growth mindset with children and how having a positive attitude changes everything. This week I chose to talk about growth mindset with my roommate. She is finishing her first semester of grad school and is also taking her finals this week. She was familiar with the growth mindset project. She has applied growth mindset with her classes this semester. She had to learn new ways to study because the material was so dense. For example using her closet door mirrors as a dry erase board for studying. Her studying has also taken several hours of dedication and saying no to social events. I think as college students we struggle the most with self-discipline and time management. I think it is something we have to learn to be successful. 

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In honor of finals and Christmas.

Reflections

I can only look back on this semester and take away positive aspects. I am impressed that I was able to write as many storytelling posts that I did and feel very good about them. I was proud of each story I wrote even though I thought some were better than others. My writing is something that I have always been a little self-conscious about and this class forced me to let that go and use my creativity. I liked to integrate the things I enjoy in life such as hunting, my hometown, and children in my stories. I enjoyed the readings very much. I also liked the growth mindset challenges. I think they helped me throughout the semester. I mainly focused on what having a positive impact can do for you and for others. My favorite part of this class was probably the storybook. I remember being nervous at first about writing it. Once I read the comments from my introduction and first story I was relieved to find that my work had been entertaining. I think getting direct feedback from my peers has helped me the most. I think it is something that I can definitely use in the future because I have to remember to be descriptive because not everyone has the same mental image as I do. 

Famous Last Words week 14

This week was my last week to add a story to my storybook. I really struggled with this one because I did not have any ideas that came to mind. I’m kind of a perfectionist so sometimes that enables me to start my work because I don’t have a clear idea in my head. I thought about just trying to revist all the character I had talked about in my introduction, which is what I ended up doing. It turns out that once I started I was really able to run with the idea. I then started rereading the stories about snow white and adjusting some of the details to fit my story’s needs. I always like to have a big finish and I think I did because the final story ties my introduction up nicely, in my opinion. I can only hope that others see it the same way. A lot of what helped me was actually making myself start the project. That is always the worst part for me. I am actually very satisfied with how my story book turned out. It is something that I don’t mind reading to my roommates or my family members because it is something I am proud of. I also put several hours of effort into these stories. Not only my story book, but also the ones on my blog. I am very happy to share those with anyone (especially the ones that I think are some of my best work). I did not know how I would do in this class at first, but I do like to write. I am glad that I was able to do that freely and not be judge strictly by the book but instead by creativity. I have enjoyed this class and would recommend it to anyone. 

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Week 14 Growth Mindset: It works!

I started off my growth mindset challenege with my children at school. I currently run a “homework club” (at an afterschool program) where for 30 minutes they do their homework and then go to an activity. I wanted to see if having a positive attitude from all of the staff and being overly excited would help. I have to say I think it has. We really struggled with the kids not wanting to do worksheets if they did not have homework. There was a level of disrespect I was receiving from them. I feel like I have given them speeches until I am blue in the face. They have finally gotten to a state in which they accept that they have to get their work done. We also established a reward system with prizes and getting to do a different activity earlier for good behavior. I am proud to say that a positive attitude means everything! 

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Storytelling Week 14: The Rivalry

He was the star athlete on the basketball team. He never worried about how he was going to perform because he averaged at least twenty points a game at a high school level. This week was a big game against their rival and Cody was not even a bit worried. Neither were Cody’s teammates because they knew they had him for a point guard.

All week at school there had been pep assemblies and rally lunches to bring excitement for the big game. Of course, what is a good rivalry game without a prank? The boys had decided that the night before the big game they were going to travel to Checotah, their rivalry town, and teepee their gym.

Thursday night came and Cody and his buddies, John and Landon, headed towards Checotah to do the deed. Checotah had just built a new school and gymnasium while Eufaula was in need of a new gym but could not get a bond to pass for one. The boys were jealous of the nice facility that Checotah had with their high quality locker room and workout equipment.

When they arrived it was around 2 a.m. and not a soul was lurking around the school. The boys gave each other a boost and managed to get into a window in the locker room. After they were inside they through all of the boys things that were in the lockers down on the ground such as, uniforms, shoes, and warm up clothes. The boys then decided to poor water all over them.  Next was the gym. The boys started throwing toilet paper over the goals and sprayed silly string all over the bleachers.

Finally the place look like a disaster and Cody and his friends took a step back to look at their accomplishment.

“That ought to do it,” Cody said as he rubbed his hands together.

The boys all laughed when suddenly they heard a noise.

They looked at each other and suddenly all took off separate ways.

Cody went back to the locker room and jumped out of the window and ran back to the truck to wait for his friends. It seemed like an eternity before Landon and John showed up.

“Where have you been?” said Cody.

“We were hiding from the cops and the principal. We thought we were in the clear, but the principal is pretty mad. We heard him say something about how he was glad they had installed cameras now.”

“Cameras?” said Cody.

“Yeah, hopefully it will be too dark to see our faces because they said if it was one of us we would be suspended from the game.” said John.

Cody could not sleep that night. He knew he needed rest for the big game but it was not possible. The next day at school the players had a meeting. The coach told the boys that the game would be played at their gym instead due to vandalism. He said that they were working on finding out who was responsible. After the players were dismissed coach told Cody to stay behind.

“I sure hope you had nothing to do with this son, but if you did you will be benched for the game,” said Coach Campbell.

“I understand,” said Cody as he felt a lump grow in his throat.

That evening right before the game the principal from Checotah talked with Coach Campbell and told him what they found on the tape. His star player and two of his best post players were guilty. They were then forced to sit out and Checotah ended up winning the game.

Author’s Note:

I wrote this story from the idea of The Fox and the Cat. The fox thought that he could do no wrong and that he was smarter than the cat. However his confidence ended up costing him in the end. Just like Cody’s did. He was the king of the school and he cost the game for his team and the school. It is good to have confidence but sometimes it can be too much and it is better to be humble.  The Rivalry is real in my hometown and there are pranks, some of them have involved severe punishment but most of them are just for fun.

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Reading Diary B:Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)

I chose the Brothers’ Grimm Unit for my reading this week. I thought it might help me figure out who my next villain in my storybook should be because I am having a hard time choosing.

The Fox and the Cat

Characters:

The Fox

The cat

The dogs

Setting: In the woods

The cat seems to have looked up to the fox until she meets him and figures out his true colors. I think we can apply that scenario to people in today’s world. The cat was able to be smarter than the fox and get away from the enemy. I think that the moral of this story is something several people have witnessed before; someone that is over confident and ends up crashing and burning.

The Little Lamb and the Little Fish

Characters:

Stepmother

Brother

Sister

Cook

Peasant woman

The stepmother did not agree with the children’s happiness. After all they had been through at least they had each other. Once they were separated they were no longer happy. In this story the evil villain was clear to see, the stepmother. The cook saved the life of the brother and sister by listening to them when they would speak. I was happy to see that the brother and sister were turned back into human form and lived happy afterward.

One thing I noticed is that these stories were more like the ones at the beginning of the semester. They showed a moral and were not just entertainment. That is something I liked to replicate in my own stories.

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Famous Last Words: Week 13 What I am Thankful for

This week has been busy for most of us I am sure! The holidays always cause havoc on my schedule. I was able to travel home to spend the holidays with my family and for that I am very thankful! I enjoyed my much needed time off. My nephew’s birthday is this week and I was able to stay home to celebrate with him. I am thankful that I have got to watch him grow into a kind hearted little man. Even if he is only six, there is so much to say about the amazing things he has done. I learn from each and every day, nothing like a child’s perspective! He has conquered a diaphragmatic hernia, adhesions from the first surgery, and doctor’s appointments on doctor’s appointments. He was in the hospital for 3 weeks after he was born. His first surgery was at four days old. We were unable to hold him until after he was 17 days old. He fought for life each and every day during those three weeks. That is a big reason of why he is my inspiration for several things. Any time I think going to the doctor doesn’t sound like fun I just think of what all he had to go through and how one doctor’s appointment is meaningless. He was put through another surgery at four years old. The adhesions from the first surgery were wrapped around his bowel and it was 12 hours from bursting when he was transported to his surgeon at OU children’s hospital. Another reason OU holds a place close in my heart. They have taken awesome care of the one that is most important to me in life.

 I was also relieved that we were able to pull another bedlam win this weekend! Boomer Sooner!  

Baker for Heisman! 

Growth Mindset: Memes Week 13

One of the Growth Mindset challenges I have completed is finding memes. I have found several inspiring memes. I like the ones that have to animals. I have found that people really like to do commentary on their own cat or dog, which makes me happy because I do that with my own dog. I think memes are a quick way to tell someone to keep going or to give someone a quick laugh. I have liked using memes throughout my blog. Here are a few of my favorites.

 

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Storytelling Week 12: Tribe 321

Lauren is putting up the tree,

Hoping that underneath soon there will be,

Presents for her and all of us to see.

She has asked day and night,

Waiting for all of us to say without a fight,

Yes we will put up the Christmas tree tonight!

She claims to be Cindy lou hoo,

But the Christmas lights she chose were the color blue.

However, you won’t see a frown from Lauren

Not unless you catch her snoring

After all, a moment with her is never boring.

Then there is Hannah,

Who really likes to eat bananas,

Never does she swear,

Because after all she really does care.

She really likes to dance,

In her Mario Pajama pants,

She also likes to do hand stands,

Even though she can barely land.

She often causes a clatter

Which makes our downstairs neighbor wonder what’s the matter.

Occasionally she ends up on the bar

Because she thinks she is a star

Last but not least there is Shelbi

You never know where she will be,

Often she is hiding behind a dark corner

Ready to scare the living daylights out of a foreigner,

She too likes to dance,

Usually late at night,

Is the best time to see such a sight.

Watch out for her on the floor,

there she sleeps but she will never snore,

However when she is awake,

Everyone knows she is not fake.

Upstairs there is one that doesn’t belong,

He bangs and clangs all day long,

His steps are heavy,

His name is probably something like eddy,

We often bang on the ceiling,

Trying to make him understand our feeling,

We put up with the noise,

At least until august,

We’ve made our self that promise,

In our moments of despair,

We just have to scream it is not fair!

Now that you have met the tribe of 321,

You know how these rhymes once begun.

It all started from scratch,

That is when this sisterhood began to hatch,

For each other we would fight,

Against each other sometimes we just might,

Through burnt dinners and undone laundry,

We have learned to just laugh and have a party,

Different paths we may take,

Because after all life is no cupcake,

However I know that I can always count on my tribe,

Even without a bribe.

Author's Note:

I had a hard time trying to retell a nursery rhyme so I decided to make my own rhymes. The rhymes are about my roommates. Don't worry I read them all out loud to them so they know exactly what they say. While trying to write the rhymes I realized how difficult it can be. I also included what we go through with our upstairs neighbor. I hope that my rhymes at least give someone a good laugh!

Personal Photo of Tribe 321

Since one story did not inspire me more than the other here is the link to the Nursery Rhymes

Bibliography 

The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang (1897).

Reading Diary A: Nursery Rhymes

I chose to read Nursery Rhymes this week.

A few things I noticed while reading these Nursery Rhymes: The alliteration used and the rhyming scheme. I always liked nursery rhymes as a child and I enjoyed the first reading of this unit.

A few of my favorites of the nursery rhyme tales

The Lion and the Unicorn

There was a Crooked Man – in this one the word “crooked” is repeated several times. It was used to describe his behaviors and objects he came in contact with.

I found the one about Simple Simon to be very strange. This rhyme did not have a significant ending to me.

In the proverbs I liked the rhyme If Wishes Were Horses.

I also liked the line about how laziness and wickedness take more hours of sleep. I think this is true because it is easier to be nice to someone then to work at being mean or making their life difficult.

My favorite from the Proverbs would be Monday’s Child. I think the rhyme sums how society feels about days of the week. I think it is strange that even from an old nursery rhyme we can see that Monday is not the best day of the week. We can also see how the rest of the world is perceived. 

Nursery Rhymes

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Storytelling: Week 12 The Mistress and the Witches

There was a knock at the door.

When she opened it she was surprised to see a dark shadow with a tall pointed hat and a broom near the side of the figure.

When the lightning struck she saw a horrifying face to the figure, which led her to scream at the top of her lungs and run backwards. While running she felt her leg hit the back of the sofa forcing her to fall and hit her head. It was then that the mistress lost her vision.

Meanwhile, at the door the witch took it upon herself to come into the mistress’s home. She found a few pastries the mistress had baked. She carried them to the couch by where the unconscious mistress lay. The witch had a seat on the couch and began to eat. She sat there slowly rocking back and forth slowly counting to eleven.

She was counting to for her sisters. After about five minutes one by one they showed up at the door.

“Hello sisters! It is time that we came here to finish our business. Someone get the kettle boiling!” said witch number one.

Witch number three and four each grabbed a leg that belonged to the mistress and started dragging her towards the fire place. They laid her there while the others gathered supplies for the pot of boiling water. They put different spices, leaves, and hair all in the water. One of them ran around the pot chanting a curse.

Slowly the mistress started to regain consciousness. She realized what was happening. The man she had been seeing had warned her that they would come for her. He was married to a woman that would not let him go. He rebelled by sleeping with women, but every time his wife found out he had another lover she would cast a spell. The spell involved one witch at first, but since the first day the man cheated the numbers have grown.

The witches gathered the body of the mistress and put her in a chair.

“It is time!” said witch number one.

Then the twelfth witch brought over a bowl that the witches had been cooking.

The first witch looked down at the mistress and said “This won’t hurt a bit. It is time you became one of us.” She then splashed the concoction onto the mistress’s face. Her smooth clear skin then turned to wrinkles and she began to grow a horn on her head.

The curse was now complete. The witches’ numbers had grown to thirteen and the wife was completely happy that the woman had become one the thirteen ugliest people in the world.

The Horned Women

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Bibliography 

The Horned Women by Joseph Jacobs from Celtic Fairy Tales (1892).

Author's Note: 

The original story made me think of how the witches would have appeared. I thought of how strange it would have been to be the mistress. It made me wonder why the mistress deserved this treatment. that inspired me to write of a cheating mistress and how the wife was able to seek revenge on every woman the helped her husband cheat. I thought the Celtic tales were very entertaining and could be interpreted in many different ways.

Extra Reading Diary: Celtic Fairy Tales

The Field of Boliauns

Characters:

·         Tom Fitzpatrick

·         Leprechaun

Setting: The hedge

When reading this story I could picture the leprechaun being a tiny guy that was trying to get away from the human. I think the leprechaun was probably scare of that was going to happen to him. That is probably what sparked the lie of telling Tom about the gold. I could picture Tom looking over the hedge to see something so small and how the leprechaun must have felt.

The Horned Women

Characters:

·         The witches

·         The mistress

Setting: The mistress’s house

I thought this story was very peculiar. It was weird to think that every time the woman answered the door there was a witch there. I thought it was fitting that the witches had horns because it reminded me of how witches are usually perceived. Most of the time they have warts or strange skin color when an image is provided. I sympathized with the mistress thinking how scared she must have been. 

When I think of a witch, the witch from the wizard of Oz comes to mind.

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Storytelling week 11: The Birth of Robin Hood

There once was a boy that had no family. He was raised by the wolves in the woods. He grew from a small boy into a man that respected the woods very much. It was his home.

When he was old enough to separate from his wolf brothers and their den he set off on an adventure to find a new home. He walked through the forest talking to the birds and other animals he met along the way.

He thought he would never run out of the dirt path through the magical place he lived. It was getting dark and he thought he should find a place to sleep. He climbed a tree and found a nice spot to rest his head. He gave a quick howl that echoed through the forest so his brothers could hear that he was safe for the night.

He drifted off to sleep when he heard a ruckus coming from below the tree. He opened his eyes and to his surprise there were others like him. There was a man and a woman having an argument below his tree. Robin Hood listened to what they were saying.

“Give me that purse or I will bring harm to you!” said the man.

“This is all I have and I am better off dead without it,” she screamed back.

The man then threw the woman against the tree Robin Hood was in.

Robin didn’t know much about humans. He had only been raised with wolves. Something inside him told him what was happening was not right. He had to take action against the man that hurt the lovely lady. He then grabbed a tree branch and let out a cry of war that he and his brothers used.

He then swung down from the tree knocking the man off his feet. He grabbed the bag and through it back towards the girl who was laying below the tree. He then crouched down like he did with his brothers before they were about to fight. The man pulled out a knife and pointed it towards Robin. He was not afraid he knew his brothers would be on their way. He then howled the war cry again and growled at the man.

The man did not know what was happening. He was scared because he had not seen this behavior in a human before he then dropped the knife and started running towards the town he had snatched the girl from.

When he got back to town he told the town about the boy that lived in the woods. The towns people wanted to know what he looked like and he told them about how he mostly wore leaves for clothes and had a funny shaped hat on his head. The towns people laughed at the thief and began calling the boy in the woods Robin Hood for his behavior of giving the poor girl her purse back, and for the way he dressed were you could not see anything but his eyes.

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Author’s Note:

I liked the original story of Robin Hood. The unit I read made him seem like someone else to me. I wanted to create a new image of him as well, which is why I created the wolf brothers. There isn’t much about how Robin Hood was raised so I wanted to explain his actions. I thought this would be a good time to make the audience see that he was not familiar with how to act with humans but he knew the difference from right and wrong. I also wanted to create a connection between the woods and how that life is all he had ever known. 

Bibliography:

“Robin Hood’s Progress to Nottingham,” by Francis James Child from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882-1898).Story Link

Reading Diary A: Robin Hood unit

I chose to read about Robin Hood in the British unit. I was interested to read about Robin Hood because I enjoyed the fable as a child.

The first story/ ballad Robin Hood’s Progress to Nottingham was so different from what I was used to. It created a new image of Hood that I had not seen. I understand now why he stayed in the forest after seeing that he slayed many others. The language in this tale was very different from what I was used to reading. Some of the ballads were rhyming and entertaining. 

The other stories I read created several different views of how Robin Hood was perceived. It was always known that he stole from the rich to give to the poor. However, the stories made him seem more of a thug of the forest and that he was not always the giving person he was thought to be. He often wanted to battle others because he was very good at shooting his bow. This is a difference from the Robin Hood I knew because he was thought to be so modest.

I enjoyed this unit because I felt like I learned a lot about the legend of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood Unit

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Week 10: Famous Last Words

 This past week has been very stressful for me. I find myself playing catch up on Sunday evening because I chose to slack off. I was really struggling in another class and had to come to terms with it. I was also ill due to stress and allergies. Everything seemed to catch up to me all at once and it was a bit overwhelming.

It was also a busy week at work. Working with children around the time of Halloween requires a higher level of patience. We struggled with behavior issues and children that would not listen at all which makes things difficult.

I think this week will go better. I plan to stay on top of my assignments and not fall that far behind again. Writing in this class is something I enjoy. I struggle with wanting things to be perfect and not realizing they can be revised. I also enjoy the readings because most of them have a moral we can apply to everyday life.

The Native American unit was one of my favorites. I was proud of my story from the previous week, “The Deer Ghost.” I was able to relate to the story since I spend so much time in the woods. I liked being able to feel connected to the story because I hunt myself.

I like when I can make a connection to my storytelling. Rather it be a personal experience and I am creating an example, or if it is just something I am passionate about.

I think doing the Famous Last Words post will help me because I can evaluate how the week went. Hopefully this will encourage me to pick up the pace so I can excel in this course. I also plan to do more exercising and activities to relieve stress. I think time management is the key to success and is something I need to work on.

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Week 10: Growth Mindset

In the first Growth mindset post I wanted to explore how talking to my children at school about not having a fixed mindset would help them succeed. I help them with their homework and during the last few weeks their math has gotten more and more difficult for them. Seeing as I struggled with math myself I tried to give them an encouraging example of how you just have to keep trying and it doesn’t hurt to try something different. We used marbles as an example to help with the math problems so they would get a visual image instead of just writing it down on a piece of paper. I found that when they did not have homework they wanted me to write down math problems they could solve because it had made math “fun” for them.

I learned from this a better way to teach them and to help them succeed. I try to apply what works when I study to what might help them. Even though some days are more difficult than others, I think the children are starting to realize it is okay to struggle but it is not okay to give up.

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Extra Reading: Native American Hero Tales

 My extra reading was the Hero Tales of the Native American Unit.

I found the stories of the “Jealous Uncle” to be strange and terrifying for a child. I feel like most of these tales are passed down and told to generations of tribe members. I cannot imagine hearing a story about my uncle killing my siblings. In this story the young boy was the hero because he finally got rid of the mean uncle, but he also used all the resources he had to survive the obstacles that uncle put him through. I found the last of the story to be strange. I understood the significance of the eagle, but not how the child seemed to put on a suit and become one. I found this part very far-fetched and had a hard time wrapping my mind around it to create a mental image. The story did keep my attention because I was constantly worrying if the boy was going to survive or not. I do not know that I could use this story as a retelling because I don’t think I can create a scenario with an uncle that kills children. 

Hero Tales

Image from the story

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Storytelling Week 9: The Deer Ghost

There once was a man that decided to split from the tribe and attempt hunting on his own. His pray was deer that would feed his family for a couple weeks through the harsh winter ahead. He climbed up high in a tree and waited patiently with his bow and arrow for a deer to walk by.

Time went on and he did not see a single deer. He decided he would make camp that night and try again in the morning. When he went to rest for the night he heard some wrestling in the leaves near his camp. He thought it might be an intruder that could be dangerous. The man grabbed his knife and bow. He hid behind a large tree trying to hold his breath so the enemy could not hear him. By the light of the moon he saw a shadow on four legs.

The man was relieved that it was not a warrior of the woods that was there to take his belongings and kill him. However, when he studied the shadow it grew closer to camp, grazing on the acorns that were on the ground. Finally the shadow was close enough he could see the tall horns of a deer that would feed his family for at least 3 weeks.

The man thought he could manage a shot in the dark. He then pulled back on his bow string to let an arrow fly. The deer had no idea he was there and kept eating acorns. Soon the man let go when he had the perfect shot and the deer did not even flinch. How strange the man thought and he loaded his bow to try another shot. This time the deer looked up at him. The man and the deer made direct eye contact and it was if the deer could see directly into his soul. The hunter put down his bow and thought he would wait until the morning.

That morning the man had high hopes of seeing the buck he had encountered the night before. Instead the hunter saw several does that all had fawns. The tribe had always agreed to not shoot a doe that was able to reproduce or needed to provide for a fawn. The hunter waited patiently just hoping he would come back with meat. Soon a doe that was abnormally large walked out from the woods. The man pulled back and let the arrow fly from his bow. He climbed down from his tree to go harvest the deer. He suddenly felt the urge to look towards the woods in which he saw the big buck standing against the tree line.

When he went back to the tribal grounds he told all of the men about his journey. One of the elders of the tribe spoke up, “There is nothing wrong with your arrows son that is the deer ghost. He roams the woods at night to distract hunters that may be breaking the codes of the tribe by taking a deer when it is not daylight. He was struck once with an arrow while asleep by a white man. Your great grandfather nursed him back to help with certain native potions that made his life eternal.”

Author’s Note:

While reading The Man Who Shot a Ghost I thought about taking a different approach to the story. Several Native American tales have to do with animals or nature and how they are spirits. I wanted to make the deer a spirit. Another influence of this story was what is recently in the news about a young girl that shot a trophy buck. People tend to think that hunters are only about killing an animal for it to be a trophy. I think this attitude is shameful because our ancestors had to hunt for their food as well. Deer are harvested, not gunned down. If the meat is not used by hunters there are donation banks where the meat can be given to people who are in need. I also used the elder telling about the ghost story to imply that hunting is something that is passed down from generations. It should not be lost because there may be a day when every person has to provide for their own family.

The Man Who Shot a Ghost

Bibliography: “The Man Who Shot a Ghost” by Katharine Berry Judson from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains (1913).

Personal photo from my deer camera. I thought this foggy picture would represent a deer ghost well.

Reading Diary B: The Great Plains

 This week I read the Great Plains Unit.

The Ghost and the Traveler

I thought this story was really short. It differs from other stories because it does not refer to a God but instead the “Thunder Beings.” I found it a bit amusing that the man’s response to seeing the woman with no legs was that she might choke him.

The Man Who Shot a Ghost

I thought this story was very interesting because the ghost he had wounded turned out to be a person that had been shot in the head.

The Wakanda, or Water God

This story actually does use a God to show power. It was interesting to see some of the Native American customs that were shown in the story, such as painting their bodies. Many of them would use paint for war, or hunting. In this case they were trying to get their child back. I also thought it was another reference to culture about the white dog that the water god wanted.

The Spirit Land

This story was probably my favorite from this unit. I thought it showed the significance of the term “crow” to the Native American people. Their leader showed no fear and a solution to a problem.

I enjoyed reading this unit. I noticed how it was written in a different language compared to what we are used to reading, which shows the culture of the text.

I thought this image was fitting for this unit. 

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Reading plan

My tentative reading schedule will start with the Native American Unit in week 9 with Regional Anthologies with the Great Plains. I plan to continue reading in week 10 with the same unit but explore Thematic Anthologies Hero Tales. I like stories about heroes and heroines so I think I will find this section the most interesting in the Native American Unit.  In the next unit, British, I am interested in reading the hero tales; especially those about Robin Hood and Beowulf because I enjoyed the story of Robin Hood as a child. In week 12 I would read the Celtic Tales. In week 13 and 14 I would be reading the European Unit. In this Unit I would like to read Brothers Grimm since that is what inspired my storybook. I think the hunt and Crane Units would be entertaining. The Italian Fairy tales would be my next choice.

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Reflections: Looking foward

Looking Back:

In this 8 week of class I find myself being a tad behind. Last week I struggled because I had a huge lab practical and a test that consumed most of my time. I was not very successful at juggling that and doing my homework over the weekend. I usually do most of my homework at my friends or at my own home. I do not utilize the library as much as I probably should because I tend to only be on campus for short periods of time. I like the class being online and that you can work at your own pace. My favorite readings have probably been from the Aesop (Winter) Fables. I liked those because it was stories I had heard when I was a child. They also helped inspired my storybook choice. One of my favorite stories I wrote was about the Old Oak Tree. I liked that I was able to tell my audience a piece of information about my hometown.

 Looking Forward:

I would like to try new strategies such as making an actual schedule of my time. I think this would help me to get my assignments turned in on time and to better prepare for class. I struggle with donating time after work to do online assignments because I get easily distracted by other things that need to be done at home. I think this is where it would be beneficial to go to the library or another setting to do my homework. I will continue to work with new strategies to finish my work on time. I do not like worrying about homework even though sometimes it does get pushed to the “back burner.”

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Storytelling week 7: Eddie's first date

Eddie was a tremendous football player. He was well liked by all of his coaches at the university. He was the fastest running back that any of them had ever seen in their careers. Athletically he was at the top of the food chain, but with the ladies he was not as popular. He only knew how to play football. He hadn’t had a father figure to tell him how to treat a woman.

His teammates teased Eddie about his awkwardness around girls. Prom was coming up soon and Eddie figured he just wouldn’t go. He thought he would pick up an extra shift at the local 7/11 where he worked on the weekends. His teammates wanted to help Eddie get a date. They knew he wouldn’t do it on his own.

 They knew Eddie had his eye on Sabrina. She was captain of the cheerleading squad and the most popular girl in school. The boys knew exactly how they were going to get Eddie a date. He needed a new sense of fashion. Eddie looked like his mother still picked out his clothes because he wore clothes from the local thrift shop. 

The boys thought they could help Eddie if they created him a new image. So they took Eddie to the mall and bought him new jeans and a collared shirt. They also took him to get a haircut and got him some gel to put in his hair.

 The next day the boys encouraged Eddie to ask Sabrina to prom. Eddie was super nervous and did not even know how he would talk to such a pretty girl. Finally he found the courage and he walked up to her on his way to class.

 “Hey Sabrina! How’s it going?” Eddie said.

 Sabrina turned around shocked at Eddie’s appearance. “Um.. good.. Eddie?” she asked.

 Eddie knew by the look on her face she was shocked that he could clean up well. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight, around 7?” Eddie asked. 

Sabrina still had an astonished look on her face but she managed to mumble a “sure.” 

That night Eddie and Sabrina went to the Dairy Queen for dinner.

 “Sabrina, there something I wanted to ask you…” She turned her head and looked at Eddie “ask away,” she replied. 

Eddie took a deep breath, “Would you go to prom with me?”

Sabrina looked at Eddie confused “is that why you went and bought new clothes?” 

Eddie looked at his plate, because he knew for sure her answer was no. 

Sabrina continued the conversation, “because you could have asked me with that dorky haircut and I would have said yes. Appearance isn’t everything Eddie.”

Author's Note: 

I wrote this story based on the idea of Anansi and Nothing. In the West African Tale, Anansi and nothing set out to find wives. Nothing was dressed in fancy clothes and Anansi was not because he was poor. Anansi convenience Nothing to switch him clothes, and of course Anansi received all the attention. Later when they brought their wives home the ones of Anansi soon realized they were fooled and had picked a poor husband. Nothing's wife tried to share the wealth with the others and Anansi got jealous and killed Nothing. I thought this story was a good representation that looks may make a person appealing, but they are simply not everything.  

Bibliography:

“Anansi and Nothing” by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair from West African Folktales (1917).

Anansi and Nothing


I thought this picture was important to remember because Anansi is supposed to resemble a spider in most West African Tales.
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Reading Diary B: West African Tales

West African Tales

Why the Moon and the Stars Receive Their Light from the Sun

Characters:

·         Anansi

·          Kweku Tsin

·         Dragon

·         Prisoners

·         Cock

Plot: Anansi and his son were looking for food. They had harvested a deer and Anansi left to find materials to carry it. Kweku Tsin was to stay with the deer but he became worried and started to call out for his father. His call brought the evil dragon to his location. He hid the first time but his father insisted on seeing the creature. The evil monster captured them and kept them in prison in his castle. Kweku Tsin made an escape plan that worked. The Gods were pleased and that is how he became the sun, his father the moon, and the prisoners the stars.

I liked this story. I thought it was suspenseful and enjoyed the ending about how he became the sun. My favorite character was Kweku Tsin because he never gave up and led the people to safety. He also put the safety of others first instead of himself.

How the Tortoise got its Shell

Characters:

·         Chief Mauri

·         Koklovi

·         Klo (turtle)

Plot: Chief Mauri wanted to send Klo to pick up some wine for his yam party. Klo picked up the wine but he had a few drinks, which slowed down his usually fast travel time. Once he got back to the castle they were having the party without him and it was raining. It rained for two months before anyone came out of the castle. When they finally did they found Klo dead underneath the weight of all that Mauri had asked Klo to bear. He had formed a shell from all of the earth and weight that had surrounded him. That is how he got his shell. He was later restored to life.

I enjoyed this story as well. I liked that the stories I read had meanings about life. This one stuck out to me because it could be related to a scenario in life so easily. This section might have been one of my favorites, which is why I chose two to really emphasize because it was hard to choose.  

I liked this picture of the tortoise. 

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Reading Diary A: West African Tales

How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"

Characters:

·         Nyankupon

·         Anansi

·         Tiger

·         Bees

·         Boa

Plot: To bring Nyankupon what he wanted to prove that the tales should be named after Anansi. The spider used his wit to capture everything Nyankupon wanted and sent it back to him. I thought the spider was very clever. I can think of someone people and children that are like the spider that are clever to get what they want. I was shocked at how the spider was able to convince the tiger to sew up his eyes. I was also surprised that the spider lived through those encounters.

How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race

Characters:

·         Father Anansi

·         Kweku Tsin

Plot: Father Anansi wanted to keep all of his knowledge from the country’s men because they usually came to him for guidance. He planned to hide his knowledge so he put all of it in a pot and set out to find the tallest tree so that no one could reach it. He was followed by his son who turned out to contain more knowledge than father Anansi.

I thought this story was extremely short, but it had a good moral.

Anansi and Nothing

Characters:

·         Anansi

·         Nothing

·         Nothing’s wife

Plot: Anansi and Nothing wanted to find a wife. Anansi did not have money like Nothing so he convinced Nothing to switch him clothes. All of the women were attracted to Anansi because they thought he had money.  They were tricked. Nothing was then killed by Anansi and his wife was so distraught that she fed all of the children yams so that they could cry with her.

This was my favorite tale I read because of the lesson at the end of the story. That the children were “crying for nothing.” 

West African Tales

A child crying for nothing.

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Essay: Tricksters and Fools of Filipino Tales

I chose to focus on the tricksters and fools for my essay. In the first story I read the Buñgisñgis was a trickster and a fool. He fooled the animals into cooking him dinner and making them feel threatened by his presence. However, the monkey in the story was also a trickster because he escaped from the Buñgisñgis a few times using his wit. The dog and the Carabao were the fools in the story, which resulted in death or being harmed. I thought this story was unique because the enemy received punishment as well.

The three brothers of fortune had a different twist. The trickster was harder to define but I would say it would have been the grandmother for allowing the boys to have different charms. By using their charms they were able to get what they wanted in life. This including trying to gain a wife. In a way Suan was also a trickster to his brothers because he was able to use the two halves of the girl to bring her back to life for himself. The boys showed selfish behavior about the girl and were possessive.  

In The Clever Husband and Wife the husband was the trickster. He believed he could fool the doctor to give him more money. Later his wife tried her own tricks as well to gain more money. In this story the doctor was the fool. He was so taken with the joke they continued to play that he kept them even when he found out about the mockery.

I did not find a specific pattern to a trickster and fool in the Filipino popular tales. Other than that there was usually more than one trickster and that they usually received pay back from the fool. In some stories the trickster and the fool appeared as the same character.  

Filipino Tales

I thought this MEME explained the fools. Picture Source

Storytelling: Week 6: The three boys, Marley, Eddie, and Jaxon

One day Marley, Eddie, and Jaxon decided they wanted to go on an adventure. Now the three had never been in the woods by themselves before, but Eddie was confident that he could find his way back home.

They decided they should pack a lunch in case they got hunger or did not make it back in time for dinner. Even at the age of five they knew that their parents would be worried so they wrote them a note to let them know where they had went. After the note was placed on the kitchen counter of Eddie’s house the three boys grabbed their lunches and headed towards the backyard.

They decided they were going to look for treasure. Of course all little boys want to find something hidden in the woods. They had heard from their friends that if they found a circle of stones in the middle of the forest, in which there were no trees, only the stones and grass that there would be a treasure underneath. They found a trail to follow on the nice fall morning. It wasn’t long before Jaxon was hungry. He decided he would hang back and eat his peanut butter sandwich while the others went on ahead.

 Marley and Eddie continued on the trail. They finally came to a spot that was very wooden and the trail was getting smaller. Marley started to get nervous looking at the dark and narrow path. Eddie turned around to say “Come on Marley!” Quickly Marley thought of an excuse to not go in to the dark woods. “Eddie I think I will sit here and eat my lunch and wait for Jaxon to catch up.” Eddie was fine with Marley’s excuse and went on about his marry way.

Soon Eddie noticed it was getting dark and the woods were starting to look scarier. He heard a noise coming from behind him. He thought maybe it was his friends but he heard a growling noise. Eddie started to run through the woods. Soon he heard a snap and WAM! Fell to the ground.

 He then discovered he had fallen in a hole and was trapped. He was so scared he did not know what to do but cry. Then an old woman appeared over him. She was the lady of the woods from the legends Eddie had heard. She raised Eddie from the trap and said she was looking for that old Buñgisñgis that killed her friend, the dog, and lamed the carabao, and spared that witty monkey. 

Image I thought this image was fitting from the original story.

Author's Note:

I wanted to take a different approach to this story. I found it a little difficult to connect to the story I chose by using the same plot or characters. Instead I used what the story made me think of, which was one of my children that I work with. He always wants me to tell him a story, generally about an adventure, In the original story, The Three Friends: the monkey, the dog, and the carabao the animals went to the country to hunt because they were tired of the city. Each day one animal would stay behind and cook. During that time the Buñgisñgis would come and bully them out of their food. One day they trapped him but then he was able to escape. That is when he killed the dog, harmed the carabao, and the monkey was able to get away. He met up with the monkey again but was outwitted.

Reading Diary A: Filipino Popular Tales

The Three Friends: the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao

Characters

·         Monkey

·         Dog

·         Carabao

·         Buñgisñgis

Setting: The jungle and the city

Plot: The three friends wanted to leave the city and go on an adventure. They soon learned there were monsters in the forest as well as the city. Some of them lost their life to the adventure.

My favorite character was the monkey because he was able to outsmart his enemy more than once and save his own life.

Three Brothers of Fortune

Characters:

·         Suan

·          Iloy

·         Ambo

·         The young woman

Setting: Neighboring town, island

Plot: The three brothers did not learn much at school but they went on an adventure to neighboring towns. They all found useful charms and used them to capture a girl, but they could not settle on who would take her hand in marriage. When asking the king he split her evenly among them, which was not satisfying to all of them. When the other two brothers tossed her aside Suan made her whole again and they lived happily together.

I thought this story was a little strange. It was very different from the other ones I have read. I like that Suan was able to put the woman back together and keep her as his.

The Clever Husband and Wife

Characters

·         Wife

·         Pedro

·         Doctor

·         Doctor’s sister

·         Servant

Plot:  The two tricked the doctor, who had brought them together, that they were out of money several times. They also pretended each other had died several times to gain more money.

I thought this story was more realistic because it showed two greedy people taking advantage of someone. I thought it was written in a language easy to understand and more modern. 

Image : Pangasinan, Philippines

Filipino Popular tales