Scarecrow+song

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 * A brain.** The Scarecrow considered himself brainless. But he showed himself to be quite brainy, long before the supposed bestowal of a "bran-new" brain by the Wizard of Oz. For example, he was able to figure out how to defeat the hordes of crows that the Wicked Witch of the West commanded to destroy him and his four friends.

The Wizard imposter can grant their wishes for healing their defects, however. He is forced to show Dorothy's three friends that they already have the qualities they are asking for within themselves. Talking common-sense, he explains that they demonstrated these qualities in the brave and clever rescue of Dorothy. The well-meaning, witty Wizard presents each of them with a symbol of their granted wish - in fact, his presentation of gifts are the //only// demonstration of his magical wizardry. - The Wizard reminds the "brainy" Scarecrow about the universality of brains and then presents him with a rolled up parchment/diploma:

Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have! But they have one thing you haven't got - a diploma. Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitatus Committeatum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of Th. D...that's Doctor of Thinkology. [In Baum's book, the Wizard concocts a bran cereal mixture and places it into the Scarecrow's head, and declaring that he has 'bran-new brains.'] The Scarecrow demonstrates his brain power by placing his finger to his head and //incorrectly// reciting a mathematical formula - the Pythagorean Theorem: "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isoceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. (He is overjoyed.) Oh joy, rapture, I've got a brain. How can I ever thank you enough?" In all three cases, they thought they lacked something - intellect (the head), courageous strength (the hand), and a sensitive heart (the heart) - but they were only deluding themselves. [The rock band America wrote a song called //Tin Man//, which noted "But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man That he didn't, didn't already have."] Each of them decisively proved that they had those leadership qualities inside from the very start - but they hadn't looked deep enough to find them. As a token of the recognition of their qualities, they are rewarded with outward symbols: a diploma, a medal, and a testimonial. [In Baum's book, the Scarecrow is also given leadership of The Emerald City, while The Tin Woodsman leads up the Winkies, and the Lion actually becomes the King of the Forest.]

Reading with children and helping them practice specific reading components can dramatically improve their ability to read. Scientific research shows that there are five essential components of reading that children must be taught in order to learn to read. Adults can help children learn to be good readers by systematically practicing these five components:
 * [[image:http://www.classbrain.com/artread/uploads/blocks.jpg width="180" height="241"]] ||
 * 1) Recognizing and using individual sounds to create words, or **phonemic awareness**. Children need to be taught to hear sounds in words and that words are made up of the smallest parts of sound, or phonemes.
 * 2) Understanding the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds, or **phonics**. Children need to be taught the sounds individual printed letters and groups of letters make. Knowing the relationships between letters and sounds helps children to recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and "decode" new words.
 * 3) Developing the ability to read a text accurately and quickly, or **reading fluency**. Children must learn to read words rapidly and accurately in order to understand what is read. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. When fluent readers read aloud, they read effortlessly and with expression. Readers who are weak in fluency read slowly, word by word, focusing on decoding words instead of comprehending meaning.
 * 4) Learning the meaning and pronunciation of words, or **vocabulary development**. Children need to actively build and expand their knowledge of written and spoken words, what they mean and how they are used.
 * 5) Acquiring strategies to understand, remember and communicate what is read, or **reading comprehension strategies**. Children need to be taught comprehension strategies, or the steps good readers use to make sure they understand text. Students who are in control of their own reading comprehension become purposeful, active readers.

[|deb and jina]