Foot: Pinocchio and Naruto Compare Contrast

	Book 1	Book 2
Text and Dialogue	Pinocchio The Vampire Slayer	Naruto
Balloons	Square and Round. Squares are used more with details in the story or narration while round balloons are used for speech between characters.	Many different types. Square, round, odd shapes. The odd shaped ones are usually used with exclamation or excited texts. Squares are again used for narration or details, and when the character is talking to him/herself in their mind. Round is used for conversations between characters.
Captions	Captions for Pinocchio were used in the beginning of the book to give the background story before jumping into the actual plot of the novel, or used in flashbacks.	I did not really notice a lot of captions in Naruto.
Emanata	The only time I really saw emanata used in Pinocchio is when he is jumping through the air, doing some kind of motion, and when the vampires burst into flames.	Definitely used a lot of lines, squiggling lines, and other emanata to show emotion or action and magic in the book or scene.
Labels/signs	Some shop signs are in this novel, but not a lot just Geppeto’s shop, when Pinocchio goes back there later in the novel.	There are a lot of Japanese symbols and signs on the buildings and in general in Naruto.
Lettering	All conversational lettering is the same, while the noises or sounds going on around the characters is in a different font and isn’t in a balloon at all.	The font sizes and styles are different depending on the characters emotions state of being at the time.
Sound effects	There weren’t any sound effects in Pinocchio.	There are so many sound effects in this graphic novel. Bam, bang, anything that makes sound has a sound effect in this novel.

Visual Features	Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer	Naruto
Characters	The characters are not extremely detailed. The eyes are mostly just white with no pupils, and everything is in black. There wasn’t a lot of details to any of the characters	Every character has an abundant amount of detail. It is easy to see which character is which and they all have distinctive features, like looking at a photograph.
Objects	The only objects that are in this novel, are the necessary ones, buildings, trees, streets, and people. There aren’t any other scenic objects or normal every day objects in the scenes.	The objects in this novel are extremely realistic and down to the modern life every day objects are included in this graphic novel. There are definitely more objects in this novel than in Pinocchio.
Icons	The main icon in this novel is obviously Pinocchio’s nose. In order to kill the vampires he needs to lie so his nose grows and he rips it off and stabs them.	The main icon in this novel is Naruto’s headband. It starts out as goggles, because he doesn’t get the headband until he graduates, but it is a symbol of his strength and his entrance into adulthood in the culture he is from.
Scenery	Not a lot of scenery. Mostly focused on the characters and the action of the book, and less on the surroundings.	So much scenery. Villages, buildings, forests, you name it is in this novel. It makes it more realistic and less cartoonish.
Depicted Action	There is a lot of action in both of these novels. Pinocchio is killing vampires for most of the book.	Again, a lot of action. A lot of fighting, with multiple close ups on characters and their thoughts.

General Layout and Design	Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer	Naruto
Borders	Borders are pretty consistent, with little variations to them.	Borders are clearly defined and easy to follow.
Gutters	Not consistent. Sometimes there are gutters sometimes there are not.	Always there. Clearly defined so that the reader knows where the panel ends
Panels	Characters aren’t always consistently staying in one panel. They sometimes go over into another panel.	Panels vary in size. Characters always stay inside the panel unless performing action or fighting with one another.
Open Panel	Used for something important going on in the story. Something readers need to pay attention to.	Used for action, fighting scenes in particular use open panels.
Splash	There are many two page splashes in the novel. As well as one page splashes for important actions or scenes in the novel.	There is one two page splash that contains the climax of the entire book. Where everything is put on the table for the characters to understand.

Angles and Frames	Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer	Naruto
Bleed	Characters often bleed into different panels, especially Pinocchio’s nose. It seems to go across many panels when fighting the vampires.	Sometimes balloons bleed into different panels but the characters rarely do.
Close-Up	There are a lot of close-ups of characters	There are a lot of close-ups of the characters. Mostly when it is just them, or they are thinking about something.
Head Shot	Used when showing emotion on the character’s face or in conversations.	Used when showing extreme emotion on a character’s face.
Head-Shoulder shot	Used when showing emotion of characters	Used a lot throughout the novel when showing emotion
Full-Figure shot	Used when there is action and when there are multiple characters in a panel.	Throughout most the novel full-figure shots are used to show action
Longshot	Used in the novel mostly to show the surroundings of the characters	Used in the novel when characters are hiding or just to show where the character is.
Extreme Longshot	Not many used in the novel.	Used only when characters are really far away and can barely be seen, but also used to show the scene of where the action is taking place.
Reverse	Used for back and forth dialogue between characters.	Used for back and forth dialogue between characters.

Rhetorical Techniques applied in Text, visuals, and design	Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer	Naruto
Exaggeration	Most of the action scenes where Pinocchio is killing the vampires is exaggerated.	All the actions are exaggerated in this novel. Emotions, fighting scenes, and facial expressions are all examples of exaggeration.
Empathy/identification	I don’t really think any one can identify with Pinocchio but I do think they can empathize with him. He lost his father, and doesn’t understand why. His quest for the truth would make readers empathize with his plight.	I definitely think readers can identify with the characters in this novel. They are all trying to be better than themselves and be the best, while still maintain relationships. It is also about growing up, so I think a lot of teenagers can identify with being an outcast or the smart one.
Mood/Tone	Dark, and cynical. There is not happy ending or anything really resolved. Pinocchio is out for revenge for the death of Geppeto and it is not very happy.	I would say the mood is light, and comical, but it also has a darker side to it. It has a lot of moods and tones, but it is meant to make the reader laugh and want to know more about Naruto and his journey.
Simplicity/Complexity	Very simplistic to read. There is not a lot of plot twists or hard to understand panels. Very straightforward.	A little bit complex. Because it is written and supposed to read from back to front it is difficult to see where the panels are going and the action of the book. There are multiple characters with their own stories so it is more indepth than Pinocchio
Irony/Satire	A lot of irony and satire in this novel. From the beginning when they are retelling the story of Pinocchio. It is also ironic that it was Pinocchio’s father behind the whole thing at the end.	It is ironic that Naruto is looked down upon and shunned from society when he is the most powerful student and person in the village.
Realism/Icons/Symbolism	Not very realistic at all. The scenery isn’t very realistic, how he grows his nose and essentially is a wooden puppet is not realistic, but it is entertaining.	Very realistic, like it is watching a television show or going outside. The icons and symbols are also realistic and don’t need much explaining.
Oder/Disorder	It is structured in a definite order so that it is easy to follow and read. There is no disorder in this novel.	Not a lot of order. A lot is going on, and the panels don’t always go in the right order, and it is just hard to follow.
Juxtaposition	Social outcasts, and good vs. evil	Social outcast, and good vs. evil.
Relationships	Pinocchio’s relationships are few as well. The townspeople don’t really trust him, so all he has is Cherry, the fairy, and the ghost cricket as his true friends and confidants. The only townsperson who likes Pinocchio is Carlotta who is just a friend.	There are not many characters in this novel, but the ones in it all have relationships to one another. Naruto doesn’t have a lot of close friends, the two people his age are classmates, one he has a crush on the other he dislikes, their master is the teacher, and his only other close friend is a former teacher.
Point of View	Mostly in the point of view of Pinocchio, there are times when other characters points of view are used, but it is mostly in Pinocchio’s point of view.	Seems to be from a third person point of view for most of the novel, or in many different points of view.

Foot: Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer

I know that I am going to do a post comparing and contrasting Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer with Naruto, but I was having an extremely bad day yesterday when I decided I better start reading the graphic novels so I can do my blog posting. Naruto seemed a little long, so I decided to read Pinocchio first. I have to say that I found it hilarious, and a little bit disturbing. The first pages of the graphic novel basically rehashed the entire story of Pinocchio, but I don't remember it really being that way. Most of things in there were true, but I think that some students wouldn't get the humor like I do. Remembering back to when I first saw the movie Pinocchio, this graphic novel seemed just so funny and very creative.

The ending really upset me though, but I feel like there will be more books to come, and if there are I want to be reading them.After doing some research I found that there are actually more Pinocchio the Vampire Slayer graphic novels. That made me really excited.

The sequel

As for using this in my classroom, I'm not sure that I would. What relevance does it really have? Unless I was doing a unit on fairy tales and wanted to incorporate some graphic novels, or a unit on graphic novels, I don't think I would use this book. I find it entertaining to read, but don't see the educational value of it in the classroom.

Foot: I Heart Washington D.C.

The White House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So recently, I won the trip of  lifetime to Washington D.C. for a conference on clean energy and the youth surge to be included in decision making on their respective campuses and all over the country. While I was there I got to do a lot of interesting thins and meet really interesting people. It is amazing to be in a group of 10,000 people that are around my age and discussing how we can impact the world. I have to say that many of these people that I came in contact with seem a bit extreme in their thinking, but once you meet and get to know them they have some really cool ideas.

I had the pleasure of meeting Al Gore while I was there.

That was the experience I never thought I would have. You know how you plan out what you are going to say to them when they shake your hand? Well, I said nothing I wanted to. I didn't even get to tell him my name because I just was so nervous I was going to mess up talking to him. My roommate and myself were laughing because we didn't know how to address him: Mr. Gore? Former Vice President Gore? The Honorable Gore? We had no clue, but it was really interesting to meet him, and he actually thanked ME for being there? Crazy right? My parents were so thrilled like I was but that is a whole different story.

One of the things I was thinking about while I was down there was how I would use this experience in my classroom? While visiting on of t he Smithsonian Institutions it came to me, there are so many multi-modal exhibits in the museums that I could talk about with my students. The use of old fashioned televisions, interactive speaking tools, computers to better experience the exhibit and so on. There were so many different devices used. If I was covering a Holocaust book, or one of historical value I would take my students to those corresponding museums and I think they would have a wonderful time. I love Washington D.C. and I really want to live and work there some day. "If we don't know our history, we are doomed to repeat it," I think that is how the quote goes?

Pytash: Final Reflection

So this semester has been a particularly difficult one for me. It is not because the classes I'm taking are hard, or the work is difficult, but that it is finally sinking in that I have only a year left before I graduate and essentially am out on my own. Though I am grateful for this class because it firmly planted my feet on the ground and helped me stay calm and remember that I am still a student and have a lot to learn. What I really liked about this semester is that we worked with lesson plans. I wish we would have been able to do more of that because I still feel unprepared with making an actual lesson plan by myself. Working with my fellow INLA majors, and The Great Gatsby I feel like I have a better grasp on using classics in the classroom, but I do wish we would have looked at more than just one book.

Though Firestone was a great experience, and it was good to be back there working with my student the only thing I really didn't like was the fact that it took away from class time that I believe is essential for us this close to going into student teaching. I loved having all our big discussions, and our classroom dynamic was really good. I felt like all of us talked and became really close friends through this semester and learned a lot about each other and teaching. Overall, I feel the semester was a good experience. I feel a little more confident about going out into student teaching, but I am going to miss this class a lot. I looked forward to it every Tuesday, and I think that I learned a lot about my own teaching styles and what I want to incorporate into my classroom through my classmates and the lessons we went over.

Pytash: Literature Knowledge and the High School Graduate (Chapter 7)

So I've come to the end of another book, and I have mixed feelings about this chapter. While reading the section called "Assessing Student Effort" I really didn't like that Jago was saying that standardized testing is a good thing and helps the students. I don't feel this way. I have never felt this way. I think that standardized testing is just an out used by administrators and the government so they don't have to do the real work of seeing if kids are learning in the classroom. I also think that standardized testing takes away from actual teaching. Having experience with the OGT, and ACT I feel like teachers have so much pressure put on them to perform that all they think about is the OGT and getting their students to pass.

What I did like about this chapter though was Applying Literature to real life section. Jago said that, " I look for ways to engage students in lessons where they apply what they have learned from literature to more familiar circumstances." I find that interesting and I liked her example of electing a president using Julius Caesar  characters. I thought that was a good way to relate the characters to life today.

Pytash: Lesson Design for Classical Literature (Chapter 6)

"Too many new teachers are thrown into the ring with little more than a list of books and an attendance roster," (p. 95). That is the quote that stands out in my mind for this chapter. I feel like this is so true, but I also feel like lesson plans are so subjective that if we try to standardize them it will only cause confusion for veteran and new teachers alike. I feel like as a pre service teacher I need to know how to write a lesson plan and the fundamentals about it, but every teaching class I have taken, and the classroom I have observed have various different ways of writing a lesson plan. I feel like there is no standard way to write a lesson plan and that as long as I have the basic things covered it will work. Freaking out about it doesn't really help, I think that knowing that all lesson plans are different agitates the teacher inside me, but I am glad that Jago brought it to the attention of the readers before continuing on into the chapter.

Another part of the chapter that held my interest was really the step by step that she put in to making this lesson plan. It really helped me plan out a lesson in a simpler way than trying to do it all by myself. The abundance of activities that could be used also helped, because these activities can be used for other books, not just The Odyssey. The visual aids were great, and I think that making a lesson plan could be easy if I just stopped over analyzing everything.

Pytash: How Stories Work (Chapter 4)

This chapter was really interesting to me. Stories and Poems are the most popular forms of literature that are in our world today. Making up stories was popular even before there was a paper and a pencil to write everything down. Reading through this chapter really opened my eyes to some things that I have never come in contact before. For instance, the section on story structures really helped me to think as a teacher and not just a student. Freytag's Pyramid is new to me, and I didn't know what exactly it would do to help students struggling with the structure of a story, but the pyramid actually makes sense to me. And the research on cognitive science blew my mind as well.

I really thought about the one study by Pressley which "suggests that stories that conform to story grammar structure are easier for students to read and remember than stories that take alternate forms," (p 66-67). Once I got to thinking about it it is true. Stories that withstand time and are still universally read today conform to this idea and students better understand the material. But I don't think we can stay in this pattern for long. Students need to be shown there are different ways to write and read because it will broaden their horizons and give them the chance to live outside their comfort zones.

Pytash: All About Words (Chapter 2)

I absolutely love this chapter, because I think that vocabulary is such an important thing to have in a young person's life. Being an English major, I am exposed to words that even my own friends, who are college juniors like myself, don't know or have never heard of. It really irks me because it is no like I am using some foreign language that no one will be able to understand. These are words the by the time you enter college you should have some grasp on. This chapter really made me happy, because I think that most teachers either don't teach vocabulary or they do not teach it effectively.

The one part of the chapter that I enjoyed was the effective versus ineffective vocabulary instruction section. I liked that it had a list of things you should do, and things you should not do when teaching vocabulary. The top on the list of things not to do is "Have students look up lists of words in the dictionary and copy out definitions," (p. 32). I agree with this wholeheartedly because I believe that the students won't really learn the words just memorize the definitions and spew them back at the teacher when they ask. Vocabulary acquisition I think is best when the students are being active participants in reading the selection a teacher asks them to. Having students point out words they do not know, and using strategies like thinking aloud and marking the text will build the foundations the students need to acquire vocabulary they come in contact with.