A Christmast Surprise for Gramma Essay Example for Free

A Christmast Surprise for Gramma Essay A Christmas Surprise for Grandma by Gloria J. Shuttleworth Grandma lived on Sugar Creek Mountain all alone. It was a beautiful mountain, with tall cedar trees all over the mountain top. In the middle of the mountain was a crystal clear lake. The water in the lake was the prettiest blue youve ever seen. When the water was calm, you could see the fish swimming around in the lake. I loved sitting by the lake when I was a little girl. Grandma would pack us a lunch, and we would sit at the lake for hours on end. Hour after hour, grandma would tell me stories about her life on the mountain. I remember the day that grandpa drowned in the lake. My parents had tried to talk grandma into moving into town, but she wouldnt hear of it. My parents knew not to argue with her, because they knew that grandma was set in her ways. Ive been on this mountain for so long that Ive forgotten which is the oldest, me or the mountain, grandma had said, with a twinkle in her eyes. I knew my parents worried about her being alone, because grandma was the only person who lived on Sugar Cliff Mountain. Today I was going to visit grandma, and the excitement grew inside me at the thought of spending time on the mountain once more. After all, it had been ten years since I had seen grandma. Its hard to believe that my career had kept me away for so long. As I approached the top of the mountain, I could see grandma staring out the window of her little log cabin home. Grandma greeted me at the door with a big hug. I am so happy that you could come to visit with me, said grandma. This Christmas is going to be so wonderful! I have a special surprise for you dear. Little did grandma know that I had a very special surprise for her as well. Well, we cant stand around here all day, said grandma. Theres a lot of work to get done. I have invited the people from the village to come to my Christmas party on Saturday evening. After I had freshened up a bit, we spent the day baking all sorts of cookies and candies. Grandma had a story to tell as we baked the goodies for the party. She told me about how she used to bake apple pies for grandpa. He loved apple pies, said grandma. Those were his favorite. She said that after the pies would cool off, that grandpa would send her into the living room, under the pretense that he would clean up the kitchen. Grandma knew what he was really up to, but she never let on that she knew. Grandma would go into the living room and sit in her rocking chair. She would sing some of the songs that she knew grandpa loved. About an hour later, grandma would wander back into the kitchen. Why Henry! she said kitchen, grandma retired for the evening. I made myself a cup of tea and sat down in front of the fireplace. Sitting alone in the quiet house, I pondered my childhood memories of my grandparents. They had always been such a fun loving and happy couple. Shortly after they were married, grandpa built the log cabin home for his Little ole Emmy, as he called her. Just before Christmas, almost twelve years ago, grandpa was outside gathering firewood, when grandma heard a horrible scream and a terrible noise. She ran outside to find that an area of the ice on the lake had fallen through. She yelled for grandpa over and over but no reply ever came. They searched the lake for over a week, but no trace of grandpa could be found. Finally, they called off the search. One of the men who had helped in the search said theyd probably never find grandpa now. Just then, as my thoughts were still racing around in my head, my grandmother brought me back to reality. We have to be up very early in the morning dear, so off to bed now, she said. I slowly walked to my grandmothers room, and kissed her goodnight. Morning came early at grandmas house. As I entered the kitchen I could smell the homemade biscuits and gravy cooking on the stove. Whats on our list of things to do today? I asked. The men are coming from the village this morning to put the lights on the trees, and we have lots of presents to wrap for the children, she said. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was the men from the village ready to start putting up the lights. Grandma was so excited as she stepped back to watch them. Lets wrap those presents now Laura, said grandma. As I watched grandma wrap the presents and tie the ribbons, I knew that so much more was being placed around them. With each piece of wrapping paper grandma was also wrapping them with love. After the last present was wrapped, we realized that wed been wrapping presents all day! It was now getting dark outside and grandma wanted to go outside to view the lights. As we stepped out onto the porch, we gasped. The sight that met our eyes was so beautiful to behold! The snow was glittering and the reflection of the lights on the snow was beyond words! It was breathtaking! That night I went to bed with a heart full of love for my grandmother. I knew that someday I wanted to be just like her, full of love for others. Saturday evening the village people started arriving just after dark. Grandma always waited until evening to have her Christmas party, because she loved the lights. All the guests gathered around in the front yard and began to sing Christmas carols. Oh, how grandma loved that! Ole Ben was a jolly fellow who worked at the village store, and he was chosen to help Santa hand out the presents. The children shouted with glee, as they unwrapped their gifts. Grandma said, Laura, come here dear, I have a surprise for you. As she handed me the present, I could see the love and pride in her eyes. I love it grandma, I said, as I bent down to kiss her cheek, I will cherish it forever. Grandma had made a quilt out of some of my dresses that I had worn as a little girl. Grandma, if you could have just one special gift for Christmas, what would it be? I asked her. Without even stopping to think, she replied, I would like t o see your grandfather just one more time, so I could feed him the apple pie that the horses quit snatching when he left us. Just then grandmas face lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree! Everyone turned to see what grandma was looking at. Walking slowly toward her, with an apple pie in his hand, was grandpa! There was two slices missing from the pie that he was holding. The village people were speechless, as they thought they were seeing a ghost. Grandpa chuckled, as he yelled out, Emmy, those darn horses snatched the pie and got away with two pieces. Difference to me, but slowly my memory started to return. I remember now going out to gather firewood. There was a nice piece of wood on the lake. I thought the lake was frozen over so I stepped out on the lake to get the piece of wood. I remember hearing the lake crackle and thats the last I remember about the accident. Laura, how can I ever thank you for bringing grandpa home to me? asked grandma. Laura replied, Seeing the happiness and the love you have for each other is all the thanks I need. As Laura retired to bed that night, she couldnt help but think about the surprise that she had given to grandma for Christmas. She knew in her heart that it was the best surprise present that grandma would ever get. What a warm and wonderful feeling came over Laura as she fell asleep, thinking of her grandparents.

Narrative vs. Montage Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each film has a distinct purpose associated with it. Whether this purpose is as simple as teaching children a valuable lesson or as complex as criticizing a society’s barriers, there are explicit goals which must be discerningly conveyed. There are specific elements to filmmaking which are designed to contribute to the goals set forth when making a film. Such elements include what would be considered â€Å"aesthetics of astonishment,† or striking images, editing conflict and other techniques associated with montage filmmaking. Each of these techniques imprint a thought or logic on a film – a kind of â€Å"watermark† – that pushes the film itself towards the accomplishment of the original goals. Regardless of the need for the completion of these â€Å"higher goals†, a director’s ability to keep a viewer’s undivided attention is crucial to the success of a film. Each viewer must remain fascinated from start to finish by the plot a nd characters, or he will lose interest in the film. So, when a film relies on a strong narrative base to keep its audience captivated, there is little room for variation from the elements which depict the story best. Striking montage images or techniques, if not carefully placed, can have a tendency to take the viewer’s eye from the progression of the narrative and turn their thought to something else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quite often, montage aspects of a film are deliberately placed to invoke specific thoughts or feelings. Such techniques can be employed to even go so far as to provide an alternate connotation to an event than what the average viewer would normally formulate. Parallelism is a method designed to do just that. This technique allows directors to have his audience associate a single action or event with a secondary action or event. The Strike parallels the slaughter of a cow and the execution of factory workers to generate a deeper emotion than one would normally associate with murder. The audience does not view the execution as merely mass murder, but instead they compare the soldiers to a butcher and connect the murder itself to something heartless and revolting – a slaughter. The Strike seems to tastefully use this method to strengthen the purpose of the film itself: a criticism of murder and execution. There is, however a fine line between what is tasteful and what is not. If this techniqu... ...en were sickened by the excessive visual conflict. Needless to say, these flashes took a significant amount of attention away from the narrative itself, and one can safely assume that such an event would tend to make a film rather unpopular.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If the aesthetics of astonishment are not employed whatsoever, the film loses its purpose and becomes an empty recital of the actions of its characters. This deems the striking montage elements necessary. If these elements are overdone, then the audience can and will lose sight of the narrative element. Should this cause the audience to lose interest in the film altogether, then the film is a failure and the director loses credibility. The most important aspect of creating a film is finding a healthy medium between completing the objective of the film and presenting the narrative. Directors are responsible for depicting the necessary montage elements in a film while avoiding creating what Gunning describes as â€Å"an excess of mimesis† (FTC). One could argue that this very conflict is what distinguishes films that find this medium as â€Å"great films.† Books used to support this paper: Film Theory and Criticism Film Art

The American Health Care System is Most Expensive but not the Best in the World

No doubt, the United States has gained enough attention on the amount it spends on health care every year. Ten years ago, it was documented that America spends $4,178 per capita per year on health care (Chua 5) with the second greatest spender spending almost just half of what this country spends. Switzerland, which then held second place in health care spending, spent only $2,794 per capita per year on health care. Up to the present, 15% of this country’s GDP goes to health care while most of developed countries spend only an average of 8.6% of their GDP on health care (Chua 5). By far, the United States is the greatest health care spender among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. In spite of the whopping amount that goes to health care each year, it could be argued that Americans spend a lot on health care without providing the best possible health services to Americans. This is the position that shall be defended in this paper. To be able to show that the American Health Care System lags behind in spite of spending, it will be best to first establish certain standards.For this paper, the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) should be used. In 2001, WHO pegged the goals of world health care into three: good health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing (WHO in Bureau of Labor Education of the University of Maine 1). By good health, WHO simply refers to having desirable health for the citizens within the expected life cycle. This would mean the availability of health services that could aid the citizens live a flourishing life from birth until death.Responsiveness, on the other hand, refers to â€Å"the extent to which caregivers are responsive to the client/patient expectations with regard to non-health areas such as being treated with dignity and respect† (Bureau of Labor and Education o the University of Maine 6). Fairness in financing refers to a health care system that makes the less privilege also spend less. This means probably having payment caps or similar services that relieves the less privileged of health expenses. Given such, we could now look at how the American Health Care System measures up to such a standard.In spite of America’s big spending on health care, more than 50% of spending is still done by private entities: 35. 8% are paid for by private insurance (American Hospital Association 6). Consumers’ out-of-pocket spending on health care account for 13. 7% of the 2003 health care expenditure, while other private expenditure account for 4. 8% of the expenditure (American Hospital Association 6). In spite of the very large per capita spending of the state on health care, out-of-pocket spending and other private expenditure are still big.This probably may not be a very bad thing, but in spite of all the money going to health care, a large 15% of non-elderly adults do not have access to health care since this population is uninsured (Ch ua 1). Converted to numbers, this amounts of millions of non-elderly American adults who through some reason were unable to get either a publicly or privately funded insurance. This puts this population at risk, millions of potentially or actually productive Americans whose health is at risk because of some faulty health care system.If millions of non-elderly adults are at a health risk due to lack of access to health care, the elderly also have their own share of problems in health care. It is true that the elderly aged 65 and above have access to Medicare. This means that the seniors have access to hospital services, physician services, as well as prescription drug services (Chua 2). This sounds all good but there are geriatric needs that are not covered by Medicare. This forces the elderly to avail of premiums that would make their Medicare account more useful for geriatric needs.The premium account would make the senior citizen have access to nursing facilities; preventive care coverage; and coverage for dental, hearing, or vision care. As such, the elderly would have to spend a total of 22% of their income for the cost of health care (Chua 2). It could be noticed that the premium account covers services that should be basic for the elderly. These services may be optional for younger populations but these become real needs for people aged 65 and above.As such, it becomes a source of wonder why an insurance card that is designed for the elderly and the disabled requires an account upgrade for services like nursing facilities, dental, hearing, and vision care. The United States ranks poorly in infant mortality rate compared to other OECD countries: it ranked 26th in infant mortality rate among the industrialized countries (Bureau of Labor Education in the University of Maine 5). This speaks of a big problem somewhere in the health care system that fails to save infants in instances that ought to be curable.America also ranked 24th among the OECD countries on disability-adjusted life expectancy rate. This means that many Americans are expecting to live a part of their lives as disabled. This should not come as a surprise since millions of Americans do not have good access to health care. Given the above reasons, America spends too much but inefficiently. We may have the biggest spending rate on health care but America is far from being the best health care service provider in the world. Works Cited American Hospital Association. 2005.Overview of the US health care system. Database online. http://www. aha. org/aha/issues/CBHCS/index. html. Bureau of Labor Education of the University of Maine. 2001. â€Å"The US healthcare system: best in the world or just most expensive? † Chua, Kao-Ping. 2006. â€Å"Overview of the US Health Care System† under the AMSA Jack Routledge Fellowship. http://www. amsa. org/uhc/CaseForUHC. ppt. 2007. â€Å"Health Care in the United States. † http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Health_care_in _the_United_States.

Perpetua s Defiance Of The Young Christian Martyr

Throughout the life of the young Christian martyr, Vibia Perpetua, she was placed under strict expectations based on her gender by the Roman society. Perpetua defied the expectations placed upon her since birth by converting to Christianity, yet she still showed ambivalence towards her role as a woman in the new community. This essay will analyze Perpetua s defiance of the gender expectations of both the Roman community and Christian church and the way Perpetua defined her own role as a woman in conflicting societies. In Perpetua’s time, the Roman culture had strict views on gender and the role of a woman in society. Early Roman society families had a patriarchal structure meaning the father was the head of the family. The strongest tie within the family was that between a father and a daughter. Daughters were expected to â€Å"[forge] political and social ties† for fathers (Salisbury 6). A Roman daughter was favored the most; they received the best education overseen b y their fathers. The purpose of a strong education was â€Å"to pass on to their sons the values of Rome† as well as help her to be a good mother in the future (Salisbury 7). A woman’s purpose in the Roman culture was reproduction in order to continue lineage. In addition to strict family and social rules, Roman women joined cults with specific rituals for females to perform. A woman’s role in Roman society was â€Å"defined by cults†¦to preserve social order† (Salisbury 12). Women joined a specific cult depending on theShow MoreRelatedGender Roles Of Civic Duties And Raising Children1466 Words   |  6 Pagesof civic duties and raising children in her community because she was female. Perpetua defied the expectations placed upon her since birth by converting to Christianity and used the freedom of the Christian religion to show her independence and create her own role as a woman. This essay will analyze Perpetua s defiance of the gender expectation s of civic hood and motherhood of the Roman community, and how the Christian community allowed her to define her own identity as a woman on her own terms in

Exploring the Issue in Gun Control - 760 Words

Exploring the issues in gun control is the name of the article and it sounds obvious that the article is going to be about the issue behind mass shootings. The article is written by Dan OBrien and Betty Stanton, who are both professional writers with great amount of knowledge about the issues in gun control. Dan OBrien is a currently a Director of Safety and Environmental Health for San Antonio Water System, Certified Safety Professional, and Certified in Homeland Security. Betty Stanton is a 14-year veteran of U.S. Navy who is currently a currently a graduate student from Texas AM University pursuing in Master of Public Service and Administration degree from George Bush School of Government and Public Service. Based on the name of their article, it seems like the article is going to talk about the connection between gun uses and the shooting incidents; however, guns are not the case. The gun control is not the real issue in mass shooting. Many people believe that guns are the main reason that there are more killing and shooting, especially mass shooting, but their facts usually fail to support their argument. Gun-free zones sounds like a safe place to be at and not have to worry about any mass shootings, but it always turns out wrong. In the article, Richard Mark, the former Arizona sheriff, says that guns are already banned in schools and that is why the shootings happen in schools. There havent been any real evidence that gun laws decrease amount of mass shootingsShow MoreRelated Youth Violence Essay1223 Words   |  5 Pagesopinions of different people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most popular cause of the problem of youth violence is the media. In â€Å"The Erosion of Empathy,† Sissela Bok says, Few imagine that media violence ‘makes’ someone act out their aggressions. Many factors are at issue, though not all are present in any one case: depression, drugs, anxiety, parental neglect or abuse, access to lethal weapons and instructions about how to construct bombs. †¦ glamorized media violence contributes powerfully to blurring the line betweenRead MoreThe Importance Of Gun Control1209 Words   |  5 PagesThrough the many mass shootings that have occurred in recent years, the issue of gun control has been brought to the forefront of people’s minds. Some people believe in the power of the second amendment, and the right to personally own guns. This is the camp that I fall under. But there are those who believe in stricter gun control and view personal ownership of guns as a great risk. No matter what side you fall on the goal is the same, to make the United States of America a safe place to live. WeRead MoreJust Take Away Their Guns819 Words   |   4 PagesIn James Q. 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Some of the American historians believe that the use of the word militia is not meant for a specific group of people like the military, but rather it is meant for the American people as a whole. The Second Amendment, like all of the other amendments, must be read along with the constitution (The Embarrassing Second A mendment p. 1). Gun rights activists really likeRead MoreAbstract. This Paper Will Be Exploring The Debate On Open-Carry1001 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract This paper will be exploring the debate on open-carry on campuses. The paper covers opinions from people that are for open-carry and those who are against it. During the research process I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know prior to researching. Open-carry is carrying a firearm openly in public. This research paper helps shine light on the ongoing gun violence in our country, and how the public feels about this issue. Introduction In recent years more and more Americans have beenRead MoreThe Battle Of The Second Amendment853 Words   |  4 PagesAmericans love guns, we love our second amendment rights and we strongly oppose those who try and take them away. Guns provide significant help for individual protection, but we need to stop handing them out guns like there is a war. The second amendment was implemented when we were still worried about the British taking us over, that is why Americans were allowed to have a gun, in case we need to call up the militia, but those days are over. Horrendous policies and politicians looking out for themselvesRead MoreAmerica Needs Stricter Gun Control Laws Essay1161 Words   |  5 Pagesmillion non – military guns in America† (O’Brien and Stanton). Many people that own a firearm usually have more than one gun. Also, a majority of gun owners feel that owning a firearm is the best way to protect themselves at home. With the large number of guns said to b e in America, there needs to be a way to prevent the number of frequently occurring mass shootings. The solution to this issue is called gun control. Gun control needs to be implied more in our society because gun related crimes are mostlyRead MoreMexico Case Study964 Words   |  4 Pagescontinue strengthening their security cooperation. The U.S. and Mà ©xico must work on strengthening Mà ©xico’s judicial procedures, fight corruption, and reform the police forces. Because it is clear that this issue also affects the U.S., it would be beneficial for the U.S. to work on improving its gun laws and increase emphasis on prevention and treatment for drug addicts. Improving Mà ©xico’s rule of law is an important step that must be taken because the ineffectiveness of it is considered the â€Å"most problematic

Application Of Theory Guidelines - 1693 Words

Application of Theory Guidelines Yi Duan Low SUNY Upstate Medical University NURS 609 Family Psychiatric and Mental health Theory Professor: Prof. Patricia Powers Introduction The nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan, Healthy People 2020, recognizes that mental health promotion and mental health reduction is one of the most significant health objectives. Statistics have indicated that mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in United States and Canada, while suicide is the 11th leading cause of death that has killed approximately 30,000 American each year (â€Å"Mental Health and Mental Disorders†, n.d.). The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended a series of†¦show more content†¦Among the many different psychotherapy modalities that were introduced during our course of study, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and behavior therapy intrigued me the most. Each therapy entails unique concepts and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Unlike medical prescription, clinicians shall always tailor and consider combining different psychotherapy modalities based on the patien t’s need. Exposure Therapy Edna B. Foa developed Exposure Theory and argues that fear and anxiety is a conditioned response where people have learned to use avoidance to maintain their daily functioning. Foa also argues that distressing emotions gradually subside when one confronts the feared triggers (Prochaska Norcross, 2010). There are different sub-techniques branching from the concept of exposure therapy. For instance, prolonged exposure to the actual or imaginary feared stimuli until symptoms are alleviated, is commonly used with patients suffering from phobias. Similar to exposure concept, the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is another approach to desensitize disturbing memories by recalling traumatic event and cueing eyes movements at the same time. Studies have shown that exposure therapy is the treatment of choice for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition, exposure therapies have also been proven to help patients with anxiety

Action Research on Learning of Kindergarten Students free essay sample

Classical studies regarding teaching methods and classroom curricula are conducted by outside observers of particular classroom interactions. Through such studies, generalizable methods are formulated and considered appropriate for application in different classrooms across the board. Such process, though not necessarily ineffective, leaves out an important aspect of the classroom setting, the individual characteristics of teachers and students. Here, action research comes in. A method involving scrutinizing one’s own practice and children’s behavior, family background, and social influences, action research allows for the consideration of peculiar details inherent in every classroom (Borgia, E. Schuler, D., 1996). Upon gathering results of particular changes implemented in personal classroom environments, concurrence from other teaching professionals may be sought (Borgia, E. Schuler, D.). Thus, a bottom-up process of gathering information and formulating teaching methodologies is applied. Such a process would answer for quirks in the system wherein classical research methods produced data not generalizable to learning classes. As researcher, the teacher takes an active stance in finding out how current education concepts and theories actually translate in real classrooms (Ritchie, G.). The process starts with an inquiry and a plan of accounting for and measuring the relation of certain innovative practices on already known concepts. Subjective and personal accounts are then kept by the teacher-researcher and conclusions later drawn (Borgia, E. Schuler, D.). The generalizability of conclusions and theories arrived at are found out through collaborations with colleagues, presentations in seminars or articles in publications (Mohr, M.). Such change in established and most times mandated curricula may meet resistance, or worse, admonishment. However, teachers maintain the right to act in new and creative ways (Florio-Ruane, S., 2002). Kersten and Pardo introduce two methods by which teachers may implement the change they desire in the curriculum without upsetting existing political situations: finessing and hybridizing (2007). Finessing requires maneuvering around established policies, although not necessarily contradicting the same while hybridizing requires manipulation of the manner in which teaching curricula or policies are implemented so as to answer the needs of actual students (Kersten, J. Pardo, L.). Thus, in both cases a uniquely different teaching method may be observed although the original plan of the policy-makers is still in place. Such methods should not be seen as aberrations from the norm, rather they are active creations implemented to address the learning situations of actual classrooms. The teacher then becomes as much a curriculum and policy-maker as those outside objective observers. Such active stance employed by the teachers address the variety of needs that arise from diverse classrooms (Kersten, J. Pardo, L.). Action Research and Free Reading Time This paper seeks to address the question on whether or not kindergarten students learn during free reading time employing action research as a means of research. Using action research as a methodology, significant changes have been implemented by reading teachers across grades. Included in these studies have been voluntary reading studies. Classes often devote a portion of their time to free reading wherein students may read whatever book they want. This is done to supposedly increase the reading, writing and comprehension skills of the students as well as broaden their vocabulary range (Krashen, S., 2006). This free reading time has been hailed as an ingenious way of engaging students to love reading. It has also been lauded for its supposed benefits on the learning progress of students as those who practiced free reading time outshone their counterparts who only practiced traditional methods of learning literacy skills (Krashen, S.). Krashen posits that in order for free reading time to be truly effective, there should be no reports or other such requirements asked of the students after the activity and they should be given complete choice in the material to be read, as a wide variety of potentially interesting material is made available to them. However, observations made by teachers applying this free reading time model have shown that students still emerge reluctant to read (Maguiness, C. Parr, J.M., 2005). There were students who read during class time but did not pursue their reading interest outside of the classroom and there were others who were reluctant to simply participate in the activity itself. As a result several teachers at the said school decided to simultaneously improvise on the model by engaging the students in conversation regarding what they had read at the end of each activity. The students were still allowed to choose any reading material that they preferred and were in fact encouraged to bring to school any materials they had started reading outside of class or the library. The teachers conversed openly with the students and allowed them to freely and fully express themselves, perhaps allowing expressions that a teacher would normally reprimand in class. The conversations dwelled on the choice of books, their impressions on the same, their impressions on material they had not chosen, and the like. The teachers actively encouraged the students to read through these conversations and through modeling as they themselves expressed their impressions on books they had read. As the year progressed students began talking with one another about the material they were reading outside of the groups organized by their teacher. As a result, there was marked improvement in the class’s attitude towards reading and the students began reading a wider variety of books as they explored choices made by those they conversed with. There was also a marked improvement in the borrowing records of the students as they took books home to read. Another case of improvisation on the established curriculum was made by Sullivan who had been hearing reports from students that they were not interested in the assigned readings in class (1991). Sullivan decided to change the atmosphere by allowing students to read their choice of material and asking them to submit a personal anthology of collections of works or passages. As a result, more of the students became interested in their class session as they related what they had read to the lesson. There was also feedback from other students that their interest in reading was sparked as they made their anthologies. Yet another teacher improvised on the free reading time by choosing the reading material for her students (Braxton, B., 2006). A reading period was set for the students such that they were able to finish reading the book. After this period, creative challenges were given to the students along the lines of the adventure story that they had just read. In order to accomplish the challenge, the student needed facts gained from the reading. These activities were followed by a short five-question quiz. The tasks were not mandated and the students had the choice of attending or not, however it was observed that every day a challenge was handed out the students would be there. The teacher also checked on the borrowing records of the students and saw that most of the students, particularly those who had not been borrowing books prior the challenges, had begun borrowing books for leisure reading. Method The history of teacher research on the field of voluntary reading has laid the foundation for the methodology of answering the question on whether or not kindergarten students actually learn from such voluntary reading. The positive aspects of voluntary reading span a wide variety of lessons, reading, writing, comprehension, and vocabulary skills. What will be observed herein will be reading and comprehension skills of the students participating in the free reading period. Reading will be construed to include the inclination for voluntary reading, outside the requirements of school. Taking insight from Braxton’s ingenuity (2006), it would better suit the grade level to have students demonstrate what they have learned through play-analogous activities. The reading material will be chosen by the teacher and read aloud to the class during reading time. After the story has been read the teacher will engage the class in a discussion regarding the elements of the story, such as characters, plot, and theme, and will draw the insights made by the students. These insights will be recorded and later analyzed. The students will then proceed to the activity. The activity should be in line with the text read and would place the students in a situation similar to that faced by the character in the story. The accomplishment of the activity will be made through an action, word, or method that has been displayed in the story. The manner in which the activity is accomplished will also be recorded and later analyzed. If the students are able to answer the questions regarding the essential elements of the story then this will be regarded as a sign of basic comprehension of what has been read. When the students raise points outside the plain text of the story, such as when they relate it with their own experiences or they elaborate on the perspective of the characters, this will be taken as proof of a deeper level of comprehension. As regards the activity, the manner in which the students approach the situation and the degree to which they apply what they have just heard and learned from the story will mark the level of learning they have attained from the story. The teacher will also note through follow-up inquiries with the families of the students, or through observation in the school or classroom library borrowing system, whether or not the children have taken to reading outside of the class. All these standards are comparative in nature and so, the first observations that the teacher should make is the level of understanding of stories and the interest in reading exhibited by the students prior to a change in classroom management. Conclusion Voluntary reading has been found to be an invaluable tool in literacy and even in communication skills. As such, schools have inculcated in their curriculum varying models of a free reading period for the students. However, across the board observations have shown that such reading times are not as effective as originally hoped. Thus there is a need to analyze whether students are still learning during this period. To find out, action research is employed and the students are observed whether or not their reading and comprehension skills have improved. This is done through a procedure involving a group dialogue between the teacher and the students and an activity or challenge much like organized play. The content of the students’ contribution to the dialogue and their manner of answering the challenge will show their ability to comprehend and apply the concepts inherent in the text read. References Borgia, E. T. Schuler, D. (1996). 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