CHILDRENS LITERATURE

Question 1: Should we teach children how to read literature?

a. Think about your own experiences of reading literature. Have educational
experiences increased your enjoyment of specific texts? If so, how? If not,
why not?
b. Read the following statements and see if you agree or not.
1. Children are naturally capable of taking pleasure in what they read.
2. Readers are made, not born (Chambers, 1983, p. 30).
3. Literature is more experienced than taught (Glazer, 1986, p. 51).
4. Critical analysis of literature somehow destroys pleasure in it.
5. Many people dont focus their teaching of literature on the enhancement
of pleasure because they believe that pleasure is private, too dependent
on individual tastes and feelings to be taught (Nodelman & Reimer, 2003,
p. 32).
6. Literature must be discussed. It is only by discussing with others
who have experienced a book that new meaning can be effectively
constructed (Bicknell, p. 45).
7. Children need teachers to demonstrate how to enter into and explore the
world of literature, just as children learning language need adults who
show them how the language functions in the everyday world (Peterson &
Eeds, 1990, p. 12).

Question 2: What should teachers do to help
children read literature?
a. Think about your own experiences of reading
literature. Did any of your teachers teach you how to
read literature when you were a child? If so, how?
b. Read the following statements and see if you agree or not.
Ask children to understand every word written in a text.
Ask children to derive meaning from context as they read,
Ask children to always read closely and analytically.
Allow children to feel free to read against a text.
Encourage children to see their reading of literature as a source of
questions to think about rather than answers to accept.
Ask children to parrot the responses or interpretations of other people,
particularly those with authority over them, to prove that they understood
the right things about a book they read.
Encourage children to have their own ideas about what they read.
Encourage children to exchange their viewpoints with others and
respect the differences.
Provide children with diverse experiences of literature.
Help children to read with an awareness of ideological implications, that
is, of the ways in which texts represent or misrepresent reality and work to
manipulate readers.

The Reader-Centered Approach to Literature

Definition Objectives
Teacher's
Role
Activities:
1) Reading Aloud
2) Storytelling
3) Book
Discussions
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some
few to be chewed and
digested. ~ Francis Bacon
"Readers return to books because of the way they feel about the
reading, their response to the
text." ~ Martha Combs
Definition: What is the reader-centered approach to literature?
The reader-centered approach, based on reader-response criticism,
emphasizes the individual as a reader-responder. It argues that reading a
literary text is part of a complex process that includes a collaboration
between the writer, the text, and the reader.
A text is re-created every time someone new reads it, and it becomes, in the
process, increasingly richer. The text is a stimulus that elicits
responses from us based on our past experiences, our previous reading,
our thoughts, and our feelings.
In this reader-response approach, the text acts on the reader and the reader
interacts with the text; therefore, this analytical method is often referred to
as transactional analysis.
The reader-response critical theory teaches us that there are no absolutes. It
enables us to examine the complexity of human behavior and motivation,
the difficulty in ascertaining right and wrong, and the interdependencies
involved in any social construct.
Objectives of the reader-centered approach (Purves, Rogers, &
Soter,1990):
1. To encourage individual readers to feel comfortable with their own
responses to a literary work.
2. To encourage the readers to seek out the reasons for their
responses and thereby come to understand themselves better.
3. To encourage the readers to recognize, in the responses of others,
the differences among people and to respect those differences.
4. To encourage readers to recognize, in the response of others, the
similarities among people.
The Role of the teacher:
The teacher's responsibilities in effecting a successful reading experience in
young people:
1. Bring children and books together.
2. Give them as many different types of literature as possible.
3. Encourage honest and open responses
4. Challenge them to explore those responses and learn something about
themselves
5. Provide them with the critical language that they might clearly express
their responses
6. Encourage toleration.
7. Encourage mutual understanding.
Suggested activities:
1. Reading Aloud
Effective reading aloud can be modeled by observing the following
guidelines.
1) Read stories you enjoy.
2) Choose stories that are suitable to the children's emotional and
social developmental levels. Don't be afraid if the text includes a
few challenging words.
3) Be sure the illustrations in a picture book can be seen easily by
everyone.
4) Keep the reading experience an interactive one.
5) Be sure to pronounce the words correctly. Rehearse your
reading and be sure to use the proper tone and assume
different voices if there is a dialogue.
2. Storytelling
Successful storytelling can be achieved by observing the following
guidelines.
1) Tell the stories you love and be sure your story is appropriate
for your audience.
2) Tell the story in your own words. Make the language easy to
understand.
3) Make sure your story has an attractive beginning and a strong,
definitive ending.
4) Pay attention to the rhythm and intonation. Change your tone
as the story requires.
5) Project your voice so that the people in the back can hear you.
6) Make eye contact with all sections of your audience.
7) Use gestures and body language that feel natural and support
your story.
8) Use props or visual aids to create the interestingness of your
story.
9) It is a must to practice telling your story in advance.
10) Be yourself. Develop your own storytelling style.
3. Book Discussions
Integral to most book discussions are the questions posed by the
leader, and questions can be posed to elicit varying levels of
response. There are four levels of questions:
1) factual or memory questions: to ask the readers to recall
facts from the story or poem: plot incidents, character
identifications, details of the setting, and so on.
2) interpretation questions: to ask the readers to make
inferences and draw conclusions from the facts of the story or
poem. These questions may require analysis or synthesis.
3) application questions: to ask the readers to consider the story
or poem in a larger context and to focus on further extensions of
the theme, style, imagery, symbolism, etc. Application questions
ask us to draw on our own experiences and help us to see the
relationships between literature and life. Here is where
the personal response to literature comes into play.
4) evaluation questions: to ask the readers to critically evaluate
what they have read and to articulate their reasons. This is the
beginning of the acquisition of critical taste and
judgment. Remember that with most application and
evaluation questions, there are no clear right or wrong answers,
only answers that are more convincingly supported than
others.
Writing Experiences

Webbing and
Mapping
Response
Journals
Book
Reports
Creating
Books
Webbing and Mapping (graphic organizers):
Webbing and mapping help children develop their ability to see
patterns, identify relationships, and make categories (see examples in
Russell, p. 62).
Webbing is a visual means of demonstrating relationships between story
elements or concepts. Virtually any aspect of literature can be applied to a
web - character development, plot events, symbols, imagery, and themes.
Similar to a web, a story map charts the progress of the plot in a visual
manner. It helps children work out and organize their thinking about the story.
The power of a story map is in theprocess, not necessarily in the product.
See story map examples online: 1, 2, 3, 4 (interactive type).


Response Journals
A response journal allows the readers to freely record their feelings and
thoughts about what they read.
Sharing journals can be a rewarding experience. Students can share journal
entries with others, who can then write back to them their own responses.
Journal writing is most effective when it is habitual and when the individual
entries are long enough to explore ideas and feelings.
Book Reports
A book report is not just a summary of the plot of the book. Many exciting
projects can replace the old "book report" (see suggestions given by Russell,
p. 64). For example, students can make up a new ending, write new episodes,
rewrite the story from a different point of view, write a poem about the book,
rewrite the story as a play, etc.
Students can also be book reviewers for the class. The opinions of their peers
tend to carry far more weight with children than the opinions of adults.
Creating Books
Making their own books is a rewarding activity for children of all ages. It makes
a writing exercise more meaningful. Much of the fun also lies in illustrating the
books.
Creating books not only gives children firsthand experiences in designing books
and laying out pages, it can also result in an attractive finished product that is
fit for a gift or a keepsake.

Dramatic Responses to Literature
Oral
Interpretation
Story
Theater
Reader's
Theater
Creative
Dramatics
Role
Playing
Puppet
Theater

Dramatic Responses to Literature offer opportunities for individual
creativity and cooperative achievement.
1. Oral Interpretation:
It usually consists of a single individual presenting a poem or story (usually
memorized) in a dramatic way, with voice modulations and meaningful
gestures.
This can be a pleasant way to nurture a love of the spoken word and the
rhythms of language.
2. Story Theater:
It is a pantomime accompanied by a narrator who reads or tells the story
while others act out the plot. Pantomime, because it does not require line
memorizing, is one of the least threatening dramatic forms for children.
Story theater is a good exercise to begin in the early elementary year
because young children tend to be less inhibited.
The best tales for a story theater presentation are those with plenty of
action.
Watch a video demonstration of a story theater: The Farmer and the Beet.
3. Readers Theater:
It involves the reading of a script as opposed to acting it out, similar to a
radio drama that conveys meaning only through voices.
All the audience's attention is directed to the language, so the readers must
be expressive and read with clarity and precision.
The best reader's theater stories are those with several speaking parts,
ample dialogue, a fairly easy vocabulary but with expressive language, and
a good conflict.
Watch an animated reader's theater powerpoint presentation: Many Moons.
4. Creative Dramatics:
It is the dramatization of a story with improvised dialogue. This allows
children to perform their own versions of stories without strict adherence to
a script.
Creative dramatics can be less threatening than a more traditional play,
since no one has to memorize lines. It allows for improvisation.
Many folktales and short stories can be readily adapted to its form.
5. Role-Playing:
It is similar to creative dramatics, the actors assume specific character roles
and are expected to invent not only the dialogue but the action as they
proceed.
Typically, individuals are assigned character roles, a problem is posed,
and, through improvised dialogue and action, the role players arrive at a
solution.
Role-playing is a way to extend literature and to explore personal and
social values because it requires an examination of the issue from varying
points of view.
It is important that each assigned role is a distinct personality type who will
respond appropriately as the personality suggests.
6. Puppet Theater:
It is a combination of both dramatic and artistic responses to literature.
Puppet can be made from old socks, paper bags and boxes, construction
paper and sticks, cardboard cylinders, or vegetables. Once the puppet is
made, the dramatic part of the experience begins.
Stories with ample dialogue and action work best.
It is perfect for shy children who, behind the mask of the puppet, may find
an exhilarating outlet for their deepest feelings.

Artistic Responses to Literature
Graphic Arts Plastic Arts
Graphic Arts:
This can be done by encouraging children to draw or paint pictures or create
collages or montages about their favorite stories.
Drawings and paintings require the simplest of art supplies and minimal initial
instruction, yet they allow for a great deal of originality.
Having children draw pictures suggested by picture storybooks can be a means
of getting them to explore different artistic styles.
Encouraging children to draw picture after hearing stories read to them can
result in some of the most highly individualistic creations.
For those who have limited graphic skills, a collage or montage is a viable
alternative. It requires a certain amount of synthesis and analysis.
Plastic Arts:
The plastic arts include the three-dimensional, nonpainterly works, such as
sculpture and pottery.
One popular art form used widely in the classroom is the diorama, a three-
dimensional scene often created from a shoe box or other carton, and
decorated with cardboard cutouts, plastic figures, or other suitable objects.
By a further extension of the diorama, children can create miniature stages and
puppet figures with which to re-enact a story, thus combining an artistic and a
dramatic response to literature.