Modern Fantasy; Modern fantasy is what most children's books consist of. The material of the books help to develop the imagination of a child. Cats with wings, People who fly, and animals portrayed as people help make the story more interesting for the kids. Making it more interesting helps make kids want to read.
The section that discussed using a book to stimulate an entire lesson or activity. One book can derive art projects, discussions, reports, role playing, and other sorts of activities. While all the long teching the elements of the story; plot, theme, setting, style, and charaters. It was interesting and I never really put a book into place as a teaching tool like this before.
I have always enjoyed reading the modern fantasy books and I also believe that these books are very important to a child’s life. I also agree with the author that these books offer a way to expand the curiosity of child and also they learn about how to be sensitive to rules and variations in the world. The plot in a fantasy books often give disbelief of things that happen in the book. The characterization in the books is believed to a certain point in that animals take on human characteristics as well as inanimate objects take life as well. They also use supernatural beings as hero in the story as well. I do like the book the Tale of Peter Rabbit and also The Ugly Duckling as well. I have read most of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowlings which are full of fantasy and wizards as well. The modern fantasy books are by far my favorite children’s books, because the animals and toys come to life as well. The time warp books are great at encouraging the children to consider what has happened in time and about geographical location and also what could have been different in the world as well. My favorite science fiction book was A Wrinkle in Time; I found this book to be very fascinating and exciting.
These books do offer a way to expand the curiosity and imagination of children. It is a better alternative than tv or movies. Telling the kids how the characters look or what the illustrations are inhibits the imagination. Allowing the minds to run wild helps create critical thinkers.
I was the weird kid in class who read science fiction and modern fantasy. Though I suppose there is a fine line between some books in this chapter such as stories of Merlin from King Arthur or tales of Unicorns and elves and the books from the last chapter. A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorites. I’m glad to see that the book included the other books in this series. So often people read A Wrinkle in Time and don’t realize that the story goes on. I had an English teacher come to me asking for a good Science Fiction book for her daughter to read for school, and I suggested this book and she just loved it even though she was a real girly girl. It is the type of book that doesn’t have to be so much just science fiction like most science fiction books are. I think that science fiction books can open the mind to consider new ideas and possibilites. Jules Vernes books were written well before some of the ideas and things in his books were realities. They stretch your mind. Fantasies can take you to new and magical worlds but you do have to be careful when teaching with them because they can be considered out of line for some parents who don’t want their children exposed to the magical aspects of it. Yet there are some books such as The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe series that get around the magical aspects of it but then you might have problems with people wanting the religion out of it. If you have just read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and not the other books in the series you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. I think that the other books in this series are actually better. This is one of those books that there is a fine line between modern fantasy and castle stories since part of it takes place in a setting like castle times. One thing about this textbook that I’ve noticed is a lot of the books that they discuss have been made into movies. I suppose that the movies could get you interested in reading the book, so I do wish that the textbook would discuss more books that aren’t also movies. I know that there is nothing that can be done about it I just wanted to mention it.
Fantasy seems to be a favorite of many people. Norton mentions "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" as two fantasy stories that bring to life a fictional story through the use of languages.
Fantasy helps us to forget the world for a short period and travel to a "land far, far away"
These books do offer a way to expand the curiosity and imagination of children. It is a better alternative than tv or movies. Telling the kids how the characters look or what the illustrations are inhibits the imagination. Allowing the minds to run wild helps create critical thinkers. Benjamin, I like the idea of letting the reader to 'run wild' with developing the characters appearance because this also helps the student to use their imagination, to be able to create pictures in their heads. I work with many kids who can not imagin anything. And to only see the written word in a story is a sad waste of the multitask and diverse mind.
This chapter discusses fantasy books. Most books I have seen are fantasy books and that seems to be what children are drawn to also. Children like to reinact the characters of the book and this is the part the children are most drawn to. Children have big imaginations and like to think that these stories are actually true. Come to think of it, most children's books are fantasy in some way. To me this means that these stories couldn't happen in the real world. Although it would be neat if they could! I liked reading about the animals in the fantasy stories and how children love to see animals be able to talk, play, and even save people in stories. I know there is a lot of controversy in some fantasy stories but I think these books help develop and expand the mind of a child!
I think that fantasy stories are appealing to adults also. For adults, we know that these things aren't true but when we read them it takes us away to the story so we can actually escape some stress and be somewhat relaxed!
Chapter 7 had a lot of good information regarding modern fantasy – there were points that were completely new to me and those I remember from when I was young. Stories about animals are what I remember most from what I read as a kid… really enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh. At the time I never really looked at them as fantasy, just interesting books that I could not put down. I think modern fantasy books are important for younger students to read because they can be so many different things – children use their imaginations often in these types of stories, there are humorous stories that encourage children’s love of reading and modern fantasy can present new and strange ideas that children have not experienced before.
I liked how this chapter detailed so many different authors because there are so many that I am not familiar with and it’s just great information to have. I think it’s important to provide variety to students, and this will help me do that. The other part of the chapter I thought was very useful was the teaching with modern fantasy section – I gained a lot of good ideas.
You made such a good point about replacing tv and movies with books. I remember just getting lost in books when I was a kid, could read for hours and hours. I think it's a harder sell today to get kids to read but with the different elements of modern fantasy - I think these types of stories are a great place to start.
Modern fantasy is easily one of my favorite genres of literature. To be honest, I never really enjoyed it as a child, but now love to read those books. I have read Harry Potter to my son, and we waited in line at midnight to get Book 7. In this chapter, it talks about what fantasy books are comprised of, the setting, plots, themes, and characters.
I particularly enjoyed the section of the book that talks about teaching techniques with these books. I would love to do a unit on modern fantasy if I were a teacher. It wakes up the brain and makes you think!
This chapter was interesting to me as modern fantasy is not my favorite genre. I found that, in addition to the types of animals, characters and plots used in this genre, censorship was extremely intriguing. We are all aware that choosing books that we like to read during our personal time is our own choice. It is the choosing of books to be read in our classrooms that may be of concern to us. I never realized that Harry Potter was under so much scrutiny. I know that I am not among the masses when I say that it is not my favorite, but I just simply chose not to read it. I guess what this chapter got me thinking about is that as prospective teachers we need to be aware of not only what literature is available to us, but what message it might send to our students. Certainly all types of students will make up our classes. Prefacing each lesson with something regarding the author and his/her position may serve this purpose. This way exposing students to all sorts of literature would be possible.
I apologize for that last post. I am sorry Sarah. I put your blog in a word doc. so that I could read it and respond and then copied it back here by mistake. Please forgive me :(
Here was my real response... Response to Sarah S, I totally agree that this chapter had tons of good information AND ideas that were completely new to me as well. I am finding that is true with this text as a whole, definitely a keeper! I also enjoyed Paddington and Winnie as a youngster and never realized they were modern fantasy either. Another one of my favorites is Corduroy.
Modern fantasy was a great chapter. I love these books. The Rings Trilogy, Harry Potter, etc are great pieces of literature. I like the way the book said you had to suspend reality. Developing fantasy worlds and fantasy characters is quite challenging and more goes into it than I imagined. Creating language issues that relate to characters and other issues to help develop the characters, settings, and plot are essential.
In regards to the censorship of the Harry Potter books, I had heard about it but never understood it. Now that I've read a little more about it, I still don't understand it. There is magic in most fantasy books, I don't see a real reason to censor these. This is especially silly because the characters are "good" and trying to save the world.
I must say that I'm a big fantasy reader. I read a lot of Star Wars books. As a child, one of my favorite books was "The Borrowers". In fact, I'm doing my author study on Mary Norton.
I think fantasy books are the most important form of fiction. Fantasy books are the books that are going to get kids interested in reading. Fantasy books draw you in and keep you in suspense until the end. On page 272, Chet Romo says that "fantasy writing helps children expand their curiosity, become observers of life, learn to be sensitive to rules and variations within the rules, and open their minds to new possibilities".
A great thing about this text book is that at the end of the chapters, there are ideas for activities to do with certain genres. Fantasy can be read as a class or independently, so the activity would depend on which method I'd use.
I see that there are a lot of lovers of fantasy in our class which is wonderful! I'm part of the minority that has never really taken to fantasy, which probably has a lot to do with my need to feel in control personality. I have witnessed the pleasure that fantasy literature brings to children first hand. My son absolutely loves Star Wars and reads books based on the story all of the time. I patiently listen to the stories he reads wishing it was an Arthur book or one that appeals more to me.
What keeps being reinforced throughout our text is the need to provide our children with a variety of books. I think this is one of the biggest lessons I will walk away with and keep in mind when I set up my classroom. Fantasy books help our children be more creative and escape to imaginary places and play far greater roles than I ever imagined.
I am enjoying how our text offers ideas at the end of each chapter on how to apply the information we have learned and give us ideas to use in our classrooms.
I do have to say that while I have never personally been a huge reader of fiction, I do see the importance of it in our lives, especially our children’s. I see there have been a few comments on Harry Potter. To me the Harry Potter books say a lot. There has been some censorship and fuss about the books, but overall I think the books have truly impacted our society. Adults and children alike have found the love of reading thanks to the stories, which is what is most important.
Modern Fantasy.... not one of my favorite readings. In the middle school that I work in, I see a lot of our students reading these types of books. They really seem to enjoy them or it could be they are a lot of AR (Accerlerated Reader) points. I have never understood the fun in reading about wizzards or witches. I guess maybe it's because I'm more of a realistic book reader.
I have also noticed that there are a lot of games that are modern fantasy. My husband plays these types of games. I'm not in favor of them, but it seems to be interesting for young people to play them. They can keep you guessing on what is going to happen next or how to break the spell.
My question is: How do you know if the Modern Fantasy book is the correct book to read to a class so you don't stir up any trouble with the parents? Parents do have different views of these types of books.
Ben~ You are correct, modern fantasy books do open a lot of doors for lessons or activities. I think you have to be careful though on how you apply these books to your classroom because of how parents may react to them.
24 comments:
Modern Fantasy;
Modern fantasy is what most children's books consist of. The material of the books help to develop the imagination of a child. Cats with wings, People who fly, and animals portrayed as people help make the story more interesting for the kids. Making it more interesting helps make kids want to read.
The section that discussed using a book to stimulate an entire lesson or activity. One book can derive art projects, discussions, reports, role playing, and other sorts of activities. While all the long teching the elements of the story; plot, theme, setting, style, and charaters. It was interesting and I never really put a book into place as a teaching tool like this before.
Jacques said
Chapter 7-Fantasy Blog
Due Sat. Oct. 11, 2008
I have always enjoyed reading the modern fantasy books and I also believe that these books are very important to a child’s life. I also agree with the author that these books offer a way to expand the curiosity of child and also they learn about how to be sensitive to rules and variations in the world. The plot in a fantasy books often give disbelief of things that happen in the book. The characterization in the books is believed to a certain point in that animals take on human characteristics as well as inanimate objects take life as well. They also use supernatural beings as hero in the story as well. I do like the book the Tale of Peter Rabbit and also The Ugly Duckling as well. I have read most of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowlings which are full of fantasy and wizards as well. The modern fantasy books are by far my favorite children’s books, because the animals and toys come to life as well. The time warp books are great at encouraging the children to consider what has happened in time and about geographical location and also what could have been different in the world as well. My favorite science fiction book was A Wrinkle in Time; I found this book to be very fascinating and exciting.
Jacques,
These books do offer a way to expand the curiosity and imagination of children. It is a better alternative than tv or movies. Telling the kids how the characters look or what the illustrations are inhibits the imagination. Allowing the minds to run wild helps create critical thinkers.
I was the weird kid in class who read science fiction and modern fantasy. Though I suppose there is a fine line between some books in this chapter such as stories of Merlin from King Arthur or tales of Unicorns and elves and the books from the last chapter.
A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorites. I’m glad to see that the book included the other books in this series. So often people read A Wrinkle in Time and don’t realize that the story goes on. I had an English teacher come to me asking for a good Science Fiction book for her daughter to read for school, and I suggested this book and she just loved it even though she was a real girly girl. It is the type of book that doesn’t have to be so much just science fiction like most science fiction books are.
I think that science fiction books can open the mind to consider new ideas and possibilites. Jules Vernes books were written well before some of the ideas and things in his books were realities. They stretch your mind.
Fantasies can take you to new and magical worlds but you do have to be careful when teaching with them because they can be considered out of line for some parents who don’t want their children exposed to the magical aspects of it. Yet there are some books such as The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe series that get around the magical aspects of it but then you might have problems with people wanting the religion out of it. If you have just read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and not the other books in the series you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. I think that the other books in this series are actually better. This is one of those books that there is a fine line between modern fantasy and castle stories since part of it takes place in a setting like castle times.
One thing about this textbook that I’ve noticed is a lot of the books that they discuss have been made into movies. I suppose that the movies could get you interested in reading the book, so I do wish that the textbook would discuss more books that aren’t also movies. I know that there is nothing that can be done about it I just wanted to mention it.
Fantasy seems to be a favorite of many people. Norton mentions "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" as two fantasy stories that bring to life a fictional story through the use of languages.
Fantasy helps us to forget the world for a short period and travel to a "land far, far away"
BenjaminW said...
Jacques,
These books do offer a way to expand the curiosity and imagination of children. It is a better alternative than tv or movies. Telling the kids how the characters look or what the illustrations are inhibits the imagination. Allowing the minds to run wild helps create critical thinkers.
Benjamin, I like the idea of letting the reader to 'run wild' with developing the characters appearance because this also helps the student to use their imagination, to be able to create pictures in their heads. I work with many kids who can not imagin anything. And to only see the written word in a story is a sad waste of the multitask and diverse mind.
Chapter 7 Blog:
This chapter discusses fantasy books. Most books I have seen are fantasy books and that seems to be what children are drawn to also. Children like to reinact the characters of the book and this is the part the children are most drawn to. Children have big imaginations and like to think that these stories are actually true. Come to think of it, most children's books are fantasy in some way. To me this means that these stories couldn't happen in the real world. Although it would be neat if they could! I liked reading about the animals in the fantasy stories and how children love to see animals be able to talk, play, and even save people in stories. I know there is a lot of controversy in some fantasy stories but I think these books help develop and expand the mind of a child!
Response to benjaminw:
I think that fantasy stories are appealing to adults also. For adults, we know that these things aren't true but when we read them it takes us away to the story so we can actually escape some stress and be somewhat relaxed!
Chapter 7 had a lot of good information regarding modern fantasy – there were points that were completely new to me and those I remember from when I was young. Stories about animals are what I remember most from what I read as a kid… really enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh. At the time I never really looked at them as fantasy, just interesting books that I could not put down. I think modern fantasy books are important for younger students to read because they can be so many different things – children use their imaginations often in these types of stories, there are humorous stories that encourage children’s love of reading and modern fantasy can present new and strange ideas that children have not experienced before.
I liked how this chapter detailed so many different authors because there are so many that I am not familiar with and it’s just great information to have. I think it’s important to provide variety to students, and this will help me do that. The other part of the chapter I thought was very useful was the teaching with modern fantasy section – I gained a lot of good ideas.
Benjaminw...
You made such a good point about replacing tv and movies with books. I remember just getting lost in books when I was a kid, could read for hours and hours. I think it's a harder sell today to get kids to read but with the different elements of modern fantasy - I think these types of stories are a great place to start.
Modern fantasy is easily one of my favorite genres of literature. To be honest, I never really enjoyed it as a child, but now love to read those books. I have read Harry Potter to my son, and we waited in line at midnight to get Book 7. In this chapter, it talks about what fantasy books are comprised of, the setting, plots, themes, and characters.
I particularly enjoyed the section of the book that talks about teaching techniques with these books. I would love to do a unit on modern fantasy if I were a teacher. It wakes up the brain and makes you think!
This chapter was interesting to me as modern fantasy is not my favorite genre. I found that, in addition to the types of animals, characters and plots used in this genre, censorship was extremely intriguing. We are all aware that choosing books that we like to read during our personal time is our own choice. It is the choosing of books to be read in our classrooms that may be of concern to us. I never realized that Harry Potter was under so much scrutiny. I know that I am not among the masses when I say that it is not my favorite, but I just simply chose not to read it. I guess what this chapter got me thinking about is that as prospective teachers we need to be aware of not only what literature is available to us, but what message it might send to our students. Certainly all types of students will make up our classes. Prefacing each lesson with something regarding the author and his/her position may serve this purpose. This way exposing students to all sorts of literature would be possible.
I apologize for that last post. I am sorry Sarah. I put your blog in a word doc. so that I could read it and respond and then copied it back here by mistake. Please forgive me :(
Here was my real response...
Response to Sarah S,
I totally agree that this chapter had tons of good information AND ideas that were completely new to me as well. I am finding that is true with this text as a whole, definitely a keeper! I also enjoyed Paddington and Winnie as a youngster and never realized they were modern fantasy either. Another one of my favorites is Corduroy.
Modern fantasy was a great chapter. I love these books. The Rings Trilogy, Harry Potter, etc are great pieces of literature. I like the way the book said you had to suspend reality. Developing fantasy worlds and fantasy characters is quite challenging and more goes into it than I imagined. Creating language issues that relate to characters and other issues to help develop the characters, settings, and plot are essential.
To Jennifer,
In regards to the censorship of the Harry Potter books, I had heard about it but never understood it. Now that I've read a little more about it, I still don't understand it. There is magic in most fantasy books, I don't see a real reason to censor these. This is especially silly because the characters are "good" and trying to save the world.
Benjamin W, Great Post! I like your blog! Great Instruction1
Marcus Taylor
10/12/08
9:48 pm
I must say that I'm a big fantasy reader. I read a lot of Star Wars books. As a child, one of my favorite books was "The Borrowers". In fact, I'm doing my author study on Mary Norton.
I think fantasy books are the most important form of fiction. Fantasy books are the books that are going to get kids interested in reading. Fantasy books draw you in and keep you in suspense until the end. On page 272, Chet Romo says that "fantasy writing helps children expand their curiosity, become observers of life, learn to be sensitive to rules and variations within the rules, and open their minds to new possibilities".
A great thing about this text book is that at the end of the chapters, there are ideas for activities to do with certain genres. Fantasy can be read as a class or independently, so the activity would depend on which method I'd use.
I see that there are a lot of lovers of fantasy in our class which is wonderful! I'm part of the minority that has never really taken to fantasy, which probably has a lot to do with my need to feel in control personality. I have witnessed the pleasure that fantasy literature brings to children first hand. My son absolutely loves Star Wars and reads books based on the story all of the time. I patiently listen to the stories he reads wishing it was an Arthur book or one that appeals more to me.
What keeps being reinforced throughout our text is the need to provide our children with a variety of books. I think this is one of the biggest lessons I will walk away with and keep in mind when I set up my classroom. Fantasy books help our children be more creative and escape to imaginary places and play far greater roles than I ever imagined.
I agree with you Stephanie.
I am enjoying how our text offers ideas at the end of each chapter on how to apply the information we have learned and give us ideas to use in our classrooms.
I do have to say that while I have never personally been a huge reader of fiction, I do see the importance of it in our lives, especially our children’s. I see there have been a few comments on Harry Potter. To me the Harry Potter books say a lot. There has been some censorship and fuss about the books, but overall I think the books have truly impacted our society. Adults and children alike have found the love of reading thanks to the stories, which is what is most important.
Modern Fantasy.... not one of my favorite readings. In the middle school that I work in, I see a lot of our students reading these types of books. They really seem to enjoy them or it could be they are a lot of AR (Accerlerated Reader) points. I have never understood the fun in reading about wizzards or witches. I guess maybe it's because I'm more of a realistic book reader.
I have also noticed that there are a lot of games that are modern fantasy. My husband plays these types of games. I'm not in favor of them, but it seems to be interesting for young people to play them. They can keep you guessing on what is going to happen next or how to break the spell.
My question is: How do you know if the Modern Fantasy book is the correct book to read to a class so you don't stir up any trouble with the parents? Parents do have different views of these types of books.
Ben~
You are correct, modern fantasy books do open a lot of doors for lessons or activities. I think you have to be careful though on how you apply these books to your classroom because of how parents may react to them.
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