This allowed for chil- dren's literature to be used not just for particular instructional outcomes but to help children devel- op and enhance the capacity to locate themselves in their socio-political places and spaces and to engage in social actio
After taking action in their community, the teacher can have the students reflect on how the book inspired them to do something, thus emphasizing the importance of literature.
This was often the case when the community action was taken to solve a person- al injustice
The fact that these young men felt the need to take action in their community because of a book is inspiring. Realistic fiction novels can be a good tool in connecting literature with the outside world.
ey began to scrutinize and interrupt the information through cause and effect, hypothesizing ideas and predictions, inferring or deciphering character traits or identifying the author's purpose, as well as bringing personal insight and their own experience to their literary interpretations
Realistic fiction can be used to teach students critical reading and to not blindly believe everything listed in a text.
he use of contemporary realistic fiction, in which dilemmas in society are pivotal, have the potential to "open wide" the mouths of these African American male readers. As they increase their engagement with literature,
Literature is a great way to open discussions about elements of society that may feel uncomfortable to talk about otherwise. Some examples could be racism and economic division.
When I introduced a more contemporary version of the tale,
A students ability to relate to a story greatly affects their opinion of it. If students are able to build an emotional connection to a text they become much more interested and willing to have discussions based around the text.
his suggested to me a need for more con- temporary themes in reading material for some readers.
Not all books appeal to all readers in the same way. This is why there should be a variety of genres when selecting books for the classroom.
Children could check the sources to determine if the author has included real letters, dialogue, or opinions. E
Students would probably have fun investigating to see how true these fictional biographies actually are. This could be a good lesson on credibility.
First person narrative accounts create an air of "being there" with an individual
First person is my favorite narrative voice. I think kids prefer this narrative because they feel more of a connection with the characters.
Readers should understand that such stories are not meant to replace factual material but are aimed at sparking interest in what is real
I've never heard of fictional biographies as a genre until this article, my first thought was that these may be confusing for students and they may have a hard time deciphering wether the information in the text is true or not.
Chil dren can distinguish fact from opin ion, determine whether an author has any bias, and draw inferences about historical climates, settings, or events
Fictional biographies can help students practice analyzing a text.
but it can be used to teach them the sorts of reading skills they need for content area reading
This is a good way to meet the students in the middle, by giving them some familiarity with fiction but also introducing biographies.
Great science fi ction or fantasy, however, calls the reader to think critically for him or herself about the issue at hand.
Agreed!
fantasy and science fi ction are amoral or are intended to teach children evil or anti-religious concepts. In short, these genres have gotten a bad rap.
This surprises me because I've never read a fantasy novel that contradicted religion.
In fantasy texts, the most outrageous details can carry the strongest doses of reality.
This reminds me of the fantasy book Feed by M. T. Anderson. In this book there is a feed implanted into everyone's head that allows them to chat with people and browse the internet mentally. The feed eventually alters the way people communicate and live their lives, it would be interesting for students to analyze wether these changes were beneficial or detrimental to society, and to relate that discussion to the technology we have today.
tudents can discuss more readily through literature that seems to distance the matter.
This is absolutely true! One of my favorite things about literature is how it can be interpreted in multiple ways, thus having a unique affect on each person who reads it.
many elementary teachers were taught as young people to avoid fantasy and science fi ction.
When I think back on my experience with books in school the last fantasy book I remember reading is A Wrinkle in Time in the sixth grade, after that the books in school were strictly realistic novels.
What if" questions force an analysis and evaluation from a completely different point of view.
These questions can also encourage creative thinking among students, because they are coming up with their own stories and opinions.
It is a fable about the dangers of jumping to conclusions without knowledge of all the facts.
This is an interesting twist on a classic story.
Critical thinking is the evaluation and analysis of the differing points of view for the purpose of determining which one is "more valid."
For this reason critical thinking should involve class discussions and debates, rather than just independent writing assignments.
It is a fundamental skill that is of such importance that many colleges and universities require their freshman students to complete an introductory course. The Common Core Standards also recognize the value of critical thinking, declaring it as one of the explicit skills children are to learn.
Critical thinking is something that can continues to be worked on by people of all ages.
in order to make informed decisions
It's important to remember that the point of critical thinking is to become more informed and to determine wether a source is reliable.
ith young children can increase their word banks, widen their background of experiences, extend their listening and comprehending ability, and ex pand their capacity to relate to the environment
This is absolutely true and immediately makes me think of my little cousin who is now 6. My family and I would always be reading books to her when she was younger and now she is one of the brightest students in her class. She even does some work at a second grade level. I definitely think introducing children to books at young ages helps them developmentally.
the sample was defined so as to ap proximate the effect of a child's random selection of books from the shelve
This reminds me of when I did fieldwork in a first grade classroom where we went to the library every week. Most of the students were still struggling with learning how to read. However many of the books they picked out had lots of words and sentences which they could not read by themselves. The children chose their books based on the pictures in them. This is an example of how important pictures are in a children's book.
a child, having heard the text and seen the pictures once, should be able to retell the story from the pictures
Students learning to read can use the pictures in these books to help identify what words are on the page.
They are written for the young child's interest and apprecia tion level, not his reading ability
Picture books can help students acquire a love for reading because they are written specifically for children's interests.
important sharing aloud of the illustrations and tex
It's easy to forget that discussing the pictures in a text can be as informative as discussing the words in a text. Adults can encourage students to use inferring skills when analyzing a picture.
e decided that each child would compile his or her own selected poetry anthology
Love this idea!
uring reading time the children could sign up to tape a poem that they had practiced and felt comfortable reading. A
This is an awesome way to boost students' confidence in reading. Students will feel really good about themselves once they've been able to read a poem well enough to have it recorded.
we provided students with opportunities to illus trate poetry and listen to poetry selections on audio tape. E
This is a great idea. It's important for teachers to include different activities to promote learning because not every child benefits from writing. Some children remember/learn things better through drawing or listening.
found ourselves assessing what happened one day and using that infor mation to develop a plan for what to teach the next day.
This process is applicable to many subjects. Teachers should be constantly assessing students in order to create a curriculum that most benefits their students' needs. While planning ahead may be easier, it may not necessarily be effective, especially if students have not responded as expected to a lesson or activity.
he children taught us that poems belong in differ ent places for different people
An awesome observations! Poetry is flexible in its interpretations, it's great that these young students understood that.
he daily poems, selected by the teacher, vary in style, form, and content. E
Teachers should provide a wide variety of poems so that students can see which style or structure of poetry they like best. They can then attempt their own version of their chosen style and structure when they write their poems.
hil dren are taught to choose books based upon their interests and the readability of the tex
Allowing students to pick their own books will make them more interested and invested in the lesson.
ether." "I know what that poet means. I feel that way lots of times."
One of my favorite things about poetry is that poems are open to multiple interpretations, making them very easy to relate to.
Another alternative is partner reading (Whisler, 1976): Working as a team, two students read aloud, alternating pages, and provide support for one another
Love this strategy! Groups can be assigned by paring advanced/proficient readers with students who may be struggling. This way students can give and receive help from their peers.
Working with individual word slotters or an oversized group slotter, the teacher asks the students to construct specific words or has them exp
Working hands on with the phonics will help students remember the skill.
ing literature selection. 3. Whole: Apply the new phonic skill when reading
It is extremely important for students to have the opportunity to immediately apply a new skill they have learned. Requiring students to apply their new knowledge immediately helps them to better remember it and it also helps them feel confident that they can properly use the skill.
ght phonics get off to a better start in learn ing to read than children who are not taught phonic
If children feel incompetent in their phonics skills this will discourage them from learning how to read. Building their confidence is key!
that direct instruction in phonics is needed and contributes to better develop ment of decoding, word recognition, and com prehensio
Students must be educated and feel confident in phonics in order for them to enjoy learning how to read.
epeated readalong
Routine is an extremely powerful tool to use when teaching young children. I currently work in a day care and there is a huge difference between the pre school classrooms with daily routines and those without them. Although they may be reluctant to them at first, students need and want routine in their classrooms. It's important for reading activities to be repeated multiple times in a week for students to feel confident in their reading.
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (
This standard requires students to know what an illustration is and how they are different from the words in a text. The skill required of students is making connections between the illustrations they see and the story that is being told. A good book for this standard would be No David! The story in this book is mostly told through pictures while the words on the page say things like "No, David!"
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe
This standard requires students to know how to read and to know the role of the author of a text. The skill required is students having to find a meaning in the text that is not worded on the pages. This standard requires students to think deeply about the text in order to find the author's purpose in writing it. A good text to use for this standard would be Green Eggs and Ham. Students would have to think about how the green eggs and ham could relate to their own lives. The main point of this story is fairly easy to understand, it is that you should try food before you say you don't like it, something many elementary students may be able to relate to.
With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in
This standard requires students to know and remember what happens in two different texts. The skill is that students must compare the two texts and talk about them together rather than individually. Two books that would be good for this standard are Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Though these books are different it is fairly easy to see their similarities. While Brown Bear, Brown Bear, focuses on colors and animals, Polar Bear, Polar Bear focuses on sounds and animals.
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a
This standard requires students to have knowledge of the details of a text in order to answer the "where, when, why, what, and how" questions. The skill that is required is that students must think deeply about the text in order to answer questions that are not written in the book. A good book for this would be The Cat in The Hat by Dr. Suess. There are a lot of things going on in this book, and the answer to these questions would be easier to find for young readers. For example, if the question is "why did the cat in the hat show up?" students can see that the kids in the story were complaining about boredom right before he showed up, and thus conclude that the cat and the hat showed up to entertain the kids.
ntify the main topic and retell key details of a te
In order for students to accomplish this standard they must know what happened in the story and remember specific details. The skill this standard requires is to think about the text as a whole in order to figure out it's main topic. A good book for this would be "brown bear brown bear." Students would have to figure out what is reoccurring in the novel in order to find it's topic. The repeated topics are colors and animals.
nother way I use these portfolios is to decide on the direct instruction I'll provide in conferences and in group minilessons. A
It's important to note that assessments should not be used solely for establishing how well a student is doing. These assessments allow you to see what students need extra help in and they are greatly beneficial in constructing the next lesson to fit those needs.
bout one fifth of the class shares a piece each day. T
Love that this teacher is making sure students are given equal opportunities to share. If students are not given the chance to share their work it can negatively affect their confidence and their interest in class.
10-minute illustra tion time before the real writing period begins. I
I am a strong believer in giving students the time to process their thoughts before having them work on a task. Giving these first graders time to draw and think will help them form a stronger, more thought out sentence.
rawing people engaged in action and showing details in the environment helps children elaborate in their writing.
I observed in a first grade classroom where the teacher did similar activities. First the students would draw a picture and then they would work on translating that picture into a sentence. This can also be taken a step further by having students make a book in which they draw pictures and write sentences to tell a story.
hich may last up to 15 minutes.
A short mini lesson is necessary to keep these first graders attention!
dents a choice of books that they wanted to read.
This is necessary in sparking students' interest in their reading groups. Even as a college student it is so much more enjoyable to read a book you're actually interested in than a shakespearean type book that is forced on you by the teacher. Allowing students to choose a book will also make them feel more in control of their learning.
o raise students' awareness about how often they spoke and to equalize turns amongst group members. W
This is a great way to make sure all students are included without shutting other students' voices out. Many times students can be looked over if they don't volunteer answer. On the other hand, students who repeatedly participate are often offended when they aren't chosen. This activity avoids both of those scenarios.
e used their blank grid (found in the appendix) and filled it out with the following cate gories: favorite television show, favorite music group/singer, if you were stuck on an island what would you bring with you, and favorite thing to do on the weekend. (
Love this mini lesson! It allows kids to discover what they have in common with each other and it's also an activity that will get students excited about the following lesson or discussion.
students who talk about what they read are more likely to engage in reading"
Taking moments to discuss what is happening in the book allows students to analyze the text more deeply and make connections to their own world.
van used this op portunity to bully Dale about his shoes
I have observed in a sixth grade classroom and these scenarios happen often. I observed kids talking about fighting each other and it can be hard to tell wether they're joking or serious. Either way these scenarios have to be avoided at all cost.
She began to request copies of books featuring girls in Afghanistan.
I think reading books about cultures/places that the United States is in conflict with is especially important. Children need to learn how to relate to others from across the globe in order for them to be successful in their future careers and lives.
They must see authors and illustrators who look like them on book jackets.
Providing children with examples of people in different careers that look like them or that come from the same place as them will encourage them to follow any career path or dream they desire.
white children have many more opportunities to make connections and become proficient readers
A major part of literature is relating to a story and character. This can often help students build a love of reading. Leaving out books that deal with different cultures can result in a long term disinterest in reading and school for students of color.
there are only 18 by authors of color, and few books reflect the lives of children of color and the poor.
This reminds me of a Ted Talk I watched called "A Single Story" which was presented by Chimamanda Ngozi. Ngozi explains that presenting a "single story"to students where the characters are white and wealthy is a disservice to all students. It is harmful to students of color and less wealth because they don't have any stories to relate to, and it is also harmful to students who are white and wealthy, because they are not being exposed to different cultures and ways of life.
all children are assigned one of two genders at birth and begin to internalize cultural assumptions
Crazy that even before a child is born they are assigned gender norms. For a boy everything is blue with cars, and for a girl everything must be pink with princesses. For some children those colors and interests are accurate, but not for all, and they certainly shouldn't be forced to like a certain color or toy.
even in elementary school.
The earlier students are properly educated on gender and race, the better!
children begin to internalize dominant beliefs about gender as early as preschool
I work in a day care/pre school and I have witnessed gender roles be forced onto young kids. Once I witnessed one of the boy pre schoolers put on a princess dress up outfit during school, and when his father came to pick him up he was angry and told him never to put the dress on again. I definitely agree that queer work in schools is necessary because otherwise many students will remain ill informed and ignorant like their parents.
al expectations
Queer work in schools not only helps children struggling with gender identity, it also teaches students to break down gender roles and stereotypes.
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
A good book to use for this standard would be The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess. The Cat in the Hat is a unique and quirky character, students would have fun describing him.
Describe
Fourth graders must be able to retell the details of a character, setting, or event in their own words using what they remember from the text.
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama,
Fourth graders must be able to remember the character, setting and events in the story as well as specific details
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song
A good book to use would be Green eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess because there are a lot of rhyming words in it that create a pleasant rhythm throughout the text.
supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song
Second graders must be able to think about why specific words are chosen and what they add to the text.
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines)
Second graders must be able to recognize patterns like rhyme and repeated lines and alliteration.
explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
A good text to use for this standard would be The Lorax by Dr. Suess. One question to ask would be why did the town change so much? The question fits this standard because the characters in the text cut all the trees down, which was a major resource for the town.
explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
A third grader must be able to identify how the characters' actions affect the plot.
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings)
Third graders must know who the characters are in the story and what unique characteristics they each have.
eferring explicitly to the text
A good book to use for this would be The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. A teacher can ask students what they think the message of this book was, and ask them to use examples in the book. This book has many examples of the main character taking advantage of the tree.
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
Third graders must be able to reference specific moments and details in the text.
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text
Third graders must understand what happened in the text and remember specific examples.
demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
A good story to use for this standard would be green eggs and ham, because the central message (that you should try things before saying you don't like them) is fairly easy to understand.
Retell
First graders must be able to retell the story in their own words.
Retell stories, including key details
First graders must understand and remember what happened in the story.
A good text to use for this would be "No, David!" By David Shannon. A good question to ask students would be "Why does David keep getting in trouble?" This requires students to think about what happened in the story, including Davids character and the settings that he enters.
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
Second graders must be able to think of a reason why events in the story happened, using their knowledge of characters, setting and plot
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
Second graders must know the characters, settings and events in the story.