The Use Of Children S Literature In Teaching

Perhaps no factor has a greater influence on children’s literacy learning than exposure to engaging, authentic, culturally relevant texts. This concise practitioner resource and course text helps K–8 teachers make informed choices about using children's literature in their classrooms, from selecting high-quality texts to planning instruction and promoting independent reading. The authors present relevant theories (such as reader response and culturally responsive pedagogy) and show how to apply them in practice. Key topics include teaching narrative and expository texts, tapping into students' individual interests, and conducting text-based writing activities and discussions. Every chapter features case examples, reflection questions, and learning activities for teachers; appendices list exemplary children’s literature.

The Use of Children's Literature in Teaching reveals the impact of politics, professional guidelines and restrictive measurements of literacy on the emerging identities of young teachers. It places renewed emphasis on the importance of creative teaching with children's literature for the empowerment of teacher agency to enhance the learning of their students. Framing the debate alongside the issue of teacher autonomy, Simpson describes results from a two-year study, which brings together information from interviews, surveys, document analysis and digital stories from Australia, Canada, the UK and the US to assess the role of children's literature in pre-service teacher education. Through cross-cultural comparison, this research captures the different levels of connection between politics, education systems, higher education and pre-service teachers. It exposes how politics, narrow views of professionalism and program structures in teacher education may adversely affect the development of pre-service teachers. This book presents a strong case that reading and responding critically to literary texts leads to better educational outcomes than basic decoding and low-level comprehension training. As such, this book will be of great interest to researchers and scholars working in the areas of teacher education and literacy and primary education. It should also be essential reading for teacher educators and policymakers.

Machine generated contents note: Foreword, Elfrieda H. Hiebert -- 1. Introduction: Beliefs about Children's Literature -- 2. What Is Purposeful Teaching with Literature? -- 3. What Matters When Teaching with Literature in the Classroom? -- 4. What Do Books Have to Offer? -- 5. How Can We Help Students Understand the Books They Read? -- 6. How Can We Encourage Students to Read Widely? -- 7. How Can We Incorporate Expository Text Purposefully? -- 8. How Can We Use Writing and Discussing to Make Sense of Reading? -- 9. How Can We Encourage Reading Beyond the Classroom? -- 10. How Do We Put It All Together? -- Appendix A. Books to Support Student Agency -- Appendix B. Books to Talk about Visioning with Students -- Appendix C. Books by Genre -- Appendix D. Book Awards -- Appendix E. Popular Series Books -- Appendix F. Book Club Choices -- Appendix G. Children's and Teen Choice Awards -- References -- Children's Literature -- Children's Literature by Appendix -- Index -- .

Teaching Tough Topics shows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children’s literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging or sensitive, yet are significant in order to build understanding of social justice, diversity, and equity. Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Religious Intolerance, Poverty, and Physical and Mental Challenges are just some of the themes explored. The book is rooted in the belief that by using picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction, teachers can enrich learning with compassion and empathy as students make connections to texts, to others, and to the world.

This book is the result of understanding literature as a central part of children’s education. Fiction and nonfiction literary works constitute a source to open young minds and to help them understand how and why people – themselves included – live as they do, or to question through critical lenses whether they could live otherwise. By integrating philological, cultural, and pedagogical inquiries, Thinking through Children's Literature in the Classroom approaches the use of literature as a crucial factor to motivate students not only to improve their literacy skills, but also to develop their literary competence, one that prepares them to produce independent and sensible interpretations of the world. Of course, the endeavor of forming young readers and fostering their ability to think begins primarily by having well-read teachers who are enthusiastic about teaching and, secondly, by having students who are willing to learn. To encourage and sustain them through the critical turns of their own thinking processes, educators must surely display a sound pedagogic knowledge apart from deep literary expertise.

Offers a fresh perspective on how to implement childrens literature across the curriculum in ways that are both effective and purposeful. It invites multiple ways of engaging with literature that extend beyond the genre and elements approach and also addresses potential problems or issues that teachers may confront.

The jolly and exciting tale of the little boy who lost his red coat and his blue trousers and his purple shoes but who was saved from the tigers to eat 169 pancakes for his supper, has been universally loved by generations of children. First written in 1899, the story has become a childhood classic and the authorized American edition with the original drawings by the author has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Little Black Sambo is a book that speaks the common language of all nations, and has added more to the joy of little children than perhaps any other story. They love to hear it again and again; to read it to themselves; to act it out in their play.