I would like to do a literature unit on The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. By first reading the traditional story of The Three Little Pigs with the class, I could then have them read this book. Not only is it an entertaining read, but it would also be a great way to teach point of view. The following link has great ideas for how to develop a lesson about point of view based on The True Story of the Three Little Pigs:

http://www.teachingheart.net/truepigs.html

From this site, I especially liked the idea of turning the book into a thematic unit by tying in math. The site suggests teaching about balance and weight by comparing the weight of straws, sticks, and bricks by using a balance scale. You could also discuss ordinal numbers such as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in reference to the pigs.

The main reason I chose this book though was because I will never forget reading this book in 4th grade because we tied the book into a lesson on the court system. All of the 4th grade teachers created an authentic looking court room in the library and played the parts of various characters in the books. They got students to volunteer as well. We had a case of the wolf versus the three little pigs in who was to blame for the houses being burned down. Each character had to tell the story from his point of view and we were allowed to ask questions to the characters to determine whose fault it was. Everyone played the part of judge and cast their vote in the end, and whoever recieved the most votes "went to jail."

I would love to do a scaled down version of what I did in 4th grade with my class because it would be a lot of fun and the students would learn quite a bit at the same time.

Over spring break I was so happy when I finally got to go home for a weekend. I hadn't been home since the semester began, so it was really nice spending time with my family. The weather was fantastic; I am from New Bern so going home to the water was all that I could ask for on such a beautiful weekend.

On a different note, I am especially overwhelmed with my general work load, as usual. It still baffles me that in order to graduate from Meredith with a licensure in K-6 you absolutely must take 18 hours a semester, beginning your freshman year, and on top of that do summer school. I have friends at other colleges who aren't finishing in 4 years--but this is because they have either taken close to the minimum of 12 hours a semester since freshman year, they have failed some of their classes, and/or they have not ever taken summer school to make up for their lack of hours in the regular semester. Unlike at Meredith, it is actually very simple for these people to graduate with a teaching degree in 4 years.

Furthermore, I'm so excited to graduate in a year! I can't wait to have the freedom of choosing a new place to live and explore and to find a job.

I hope everyone had a great spring break! Can't wait for it to get warm :)