Teaching Literature to Children

Please read Chapter 4 from Russell, D. L. (2009). Literature for children: a

short introduction.

Introduction
Before we start this unit, let's think about the following questions.
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.
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Readers are made, not born (Chambers, 1983, p. 30).

Literature is more experienced than taught (Glazer, 1986, p. 51).

Critical analysis of literature somehow destroys pleasure in it.

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).

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).

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

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.
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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 (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 the process, 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

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.

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:

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 threedimensional 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.