Children's literature & Literacy

Realistic fiction is one of the most widely taught genres of literature in the classroom. While students can certainly learn about the genre through assigned readings and discussions in the classroom, realistic fiction is an interesting genre as students can practice their critical thinking and research skills to investigate certain aspects of the literature. Stacy Dekeyser, a realistic fiction author herself, outlines the ways students can strengthen their research skills while reading realistic fiction. Since realistic fiction writers must conduct a large amount of research before writing to make their stories as realistic as possible, students can “fact check” authors by completing their own research.

Dekeyser uses her own Young Adult novel, Jump the Cracks, as an example of a realistic fiction novel that students can analyze. Students can use technology, or other library resources, to check if certain fictional events truly are feasible. For example, she claims she based the Amtrak schedule in her novel on a real train schedule. She also said she wanted to make her character’s journey as realistic as possible, so the cost of certain items and the train schedule, as well as the character’s developed personality, were all written to make the fictional events as if they could have happened. Students tasked with writing realistic fiction must also heavily research in order to make their imagined events feel real to their readers.

When engaging students with a piece of realistic fiction, teachers can get their students to develop critical thinking skills alongside their research abilities. By allowing students to choose the piece of realistic fiction they read and analyze, teachers can let students explore their own interests, while still developing these very multi-subject spanning skills. Realistic fiction is unique in its connections to all other fields, as the research that goes into writing/reading realistic fiction depends on the subject matter of the book. This genre can be connected to STEM fields and social studies, which can promote connections within the classroom.

I would use the book When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan for students in first, second, or third grade. It is vital for us to present diverse stories in our classroom beginning at a young age to promote acceptance and cultural awareness/respect in our students. This biography, presented in the form of an engaging picture book, would capture the attention of young learners and expose them to the idea that biographies can be equally engaging and informative. I would use this book to connect to history units in which segregation and the aftermath of the Civil War are being analyzed or during Black History month to expose my students to a new voice of history.

Biographies are important for teachers to expose their students to as this genre is different from the more common, fiction-based genres of literature. Biographies still tell a story, but this story is based on reality as opposed to fiction-based genres. Biographies can be categorized as a subset of history, and can be used to teach students history in a more interesting, and engaging ways. Biographies help bring history to life, and help students get first-hand glimpses back in time. These can be presented as perspectives of historical times and people, and can be used to give emotional context to “dull” history. Instead of learning facts about historical events, students can experience these events through reading biographies.

Biographies also allow teachers the opportunity to impress upon their students the importance of perspective. When analyzing people of the past, students must use their critical thinking skills to give historical context to the stories being told through biographies. For example, teachers should provide students with multiple biographies to analyze during the same time period, and allow them the opportunity to witness the power of perspective firsthand. Students can learn about writer biases and compare the different biographies to the actual historic event. Especially today, in an age where the glamorized past is beginning to lose its sparkle, figures such as Christopher Columbus can be analyzed through many different lenses.

I have always loved reading fantasy and I plan on incorporating it in my classroom alongside other important genres of literature. Throughout school, fantasy was my favorite genre to read, and still is. I learned to read through reading the Harry Potter series and the Magic Treehouse series, then moved on to the Percy Jackson and other mythological fantasy series by Rick Riordan. Then, as I entered high school, I turned to the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. I even tackled the Lord of the Rings book series after watching and loving the movies. Fantasy served as a form of escape and relaxation, and I always chose it above reading more grounded realistic fiction. Who could care about a thousand homework assignments that were due when Katniss Everdeen was overthrowing the Capitol?

I see a lot of benefit to reading fantasy, and hope to inspire students to love the genre just as much as I love do.

Fantasy as a genre is one of the most important, yet often looked down upon genre of literature. Realistic fiction and the “classics” are often genres teachers stick to in the classroom. Looking back, I cannot identify one piece of fantasy literature that we were assigned to read in schools, instead pieces of realistic fiction and intense allegorical classics were assigned. Interestingly, I was drawn most to fantasy writing growing up despite this. Fantasy is important for us, as teachers, to utilize in our classrooms as fantasy not only gives our students a way to “escape” but it teaches them the skills needed to deal with “real life.” Fantasy writers usually incorporate allegories, and even if the setting and characters are other-worldly, the themes/messages that can be taken away from fantasy writing are distinctly human. Students, with the assistance of teachers, can pull very important messages from fantasy and build connections between the “real world” and the fantasy world created by the writers.

In the readings, Beth Webb captured why fantasy matters so much beautifully. While working with a young boy who was abused by a relative, a psychologist developed a piece of fantasy to help the boy cope with what had happened. Since the boy had loved his uncle, who happened to be the abuser, the boy had a hard time processing that someone he had loved so much had hurt him so irrevocably. To help the child, the psychologist wrote a story about a fox cub who had a wolf uncle who he loved very much. Then, one day the wolf hurt the fox cub and the cub, while remembering the love he had for his uncle learned that wolves were dangerous and must be avoided. This story helped the boy cope with the confusing, mixed feelings he had resulting from being abused by a “loved one” and gave him the tools of how to deal with the fallout from the abuse. Students can use fantasy in this way too, to cope with the complex circumstances of life and learn how to deal with problems in their own lives.

Students can use ideas/concepts expressed in fantasy and apply these skills to real life situations. While we might not all be heroes saving the world who are betrayed last minute, we are people who will experience different types of betrayal throughout our lives. Since fantasy is typically “large scale,” we can learn to tackle life through reading about “impossible” scenarios.

There are a few characteristics that all fables possess, which are:

1. Teaches a moral lesson
2. Uses animals/inanimate objects as main characters
3. Main characters symbolize society
4. Short in length

Through reading “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” we can observe these elements of fables in action.

Teaches a Moral Lesson:

This fable teaches us that if we lie a lot, than people will not believe us even if we are telling the truth. Helps students realize that people can get certain reputations for lying, and these reputations stick.

Uses Animals as Main Character(s):

The wolf in this story serves as one of the main characters. Though, it is unique that this fable has a boy as the main character, the Wolf is just as important to the central story.

Representative of Society:

The Shepherd boy is never given a name, as he represents all liars and tricksters in society. Aesop is hoping to inspire readers to tell the truth, or else they will end up as miserably as the Shepherd.

Short in Length:

A short, succinct fable with one version only being comprised of seven sentences.

The fable I chose to examine was “The Eagle and the Fox” by Aesop. There are a few versions of this fable available, with one with a more negative outcome and one with a more positive ending. Basically, the Eagle and the Fox in this tale are good friends who decide to live near one another to help protect each other. However, one day the Eagle swoops and picks up one of the fox cubs to feed her family. In one version, the Eagle does indeed eat the Fox’s cub while the Fox is out hunting. Upon her return, the Fox is filled with rage, but has no means of seeking revenge upon the Eagle since the Eagle’s nest is in the trees. However, on one fateful day the Eagle decides to take a piece of burning, sacrificial goat meat back to her nest for her hatchlings. Unfortunately, the piece of meat was still burning, and the cinders from the piece of meat lit the Eagle’s nest on fire, killing the young birds. This version is quite graphic, and would be appropriate for older students. Another version of this same fable has the Fox bring the cinders to the tree in an attempt to scare the Eagle and get her cub back from the Eagle. This works, and both the Eagle and the Fox’s respective children survive.

No matter the outcome, teachers can use a version of this fable in their classrooms to both teach morality and cultural awareness to their students. This fable dates back to ancient Greece, as Aesop wrote during 621-565 BC. Students can learn of cultural ideas through reading this fable. Since sacrifices were common in Greece during this time as a way to pray to the gods, students can learn about ancient traditions. Also, the moral of this story, can be used to teach about ancient cultures. Since the Fox had no direct way of taking revenge on the Eagle for breaking their protection deal, as the nest was too high in the trees, Aesop suggests that the Eagle burning her own fledglings with the piece of sacrificial meat was an act of divine intervention. Since the ancient Greeks believed strongly in the idea of divine intervention, fate, and interference from the gods, students can learn about these ideas through reading “The Eagle and the Fox.”

By allowing students to read fables, teachers can give students exposure to both cultures of the past and present. By discussing fables with students, teachers can lead discussions in which students theorize what they can learn about culture in the past through reading fables. Most students are taught to look for the “moral” of the fable, since they are stories designed to “teach” moral lessons, but we, as teachers, can use fables more in the classroom to get a “first hand” view of different cultures. Questions like “What do you think is important to this culture based on the fable we just read” or “What can you tell me about the daily life of the Ancient Greeks based on what we read?” can lead students to learning that they can learn about more about people through reading fables than they might believe.

For Maya Angelou’s “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the free bird represents pride, joy, and freedom. The bird fears nothing, and names the “sky as its own.” The free bird represents what the caged bird could be, without societal oppression. This is in stark contrast to the pity, anger, and sadness encompassed by the caged bird. Angelou continually repeats the phrase “his wings are clipped and his feet are tied, so he opens his mouth and starts to sing…sings of freedom.” Her repetition of these phrases drives the point that the caged bird can do nothing but hope for freedom. However, her point that the bird’s wings are clipped and feet are tied suggest that the bird can do nothing other than sing as its only two modes of movement are restricted by some unknown force. This force, can be compared to oppression faced by both women and minorities. Angelou, was an impactful African American female writer who used her work to comment on social injustice. This poem, inspired by Dunbar’s “Sympathy,” can be interpreted as her way of suggesting that the oppression Dunbar felt restricted by in 1899, was still being dealt with in 1983. This prejudice did not disappear, and we still need to take steps as a society to ensure no person feels as trapped as a caged bird. “Sympathy” and “I know Why a Caged Bird Sings” are both pieces sharing the heart-breaking feelings experienced by those who have societal limits and prejudices working against them. The poems, written nearly a hundred years apart, speak t society’s need for reform. Where freedom is truly freedom for all, not just a select few.

I can envision using these poems in my future classroom to help teach about social justice issues, and challenge my students to be both more empathetic to those who feel trapped by societal prejudices and more aware of the fact that the battle for true equality is still raging today. While circumstances are much better, compared to prejudices of the past, we still need to be aware that these prejudices still exist and that we all have a responsibility to help ensure that we keeping making strides forward, towards the goal that no one feels as a “caged bird” does.

1. “Sympathy” is an effective title for Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem as he is actively sympathizing with the feelings a caged bird may experience. While the caged bird is literally trapped in a cage, hoping to escape to the outside world, Dunbar sympathizes with the bird’s feelings of isolation and lack of freedom. In this poem, Dunbar outlines the tragic environment that the caged bird continually lives in and evokes the feeling of sadness, sympathy, and even empathy in the readers.
2. The cage in this poem can be said to represent the literal oppression Dunbar faced in society. While he never mentioned race, the idea of being caged and unable to enjoy the freedom “other” birds get to experience, speaks true to the experience Dunbar may have had as an emerging African American poet in the late 19th century. This poem, published in 1899, was written only 34 years after slavery was abolished in the United States. Looking back on history, we know that the effects of slavery did not just “disappear.” Even today, we are still fighting for “true” equality. The cage can be representative on the limits placed on minorities, and help readers really sympathize and empathize with those who feel trapped by the limits of society. Dunbar was an elevator operator, and perhaps due to societal limits, he felt unable to break into the writing profession. Knowing that he has a unique ability to “fly” (or write poetry in Dunbar’s case), but also knowing that the “cage” (societal limits and prejudices) prevents him from taking flight, Dunbar probably wrote this poem to express the rage and sadness he feels due to the limits of society.

Poetry can be a wonderful area of literature to immerse children in. While poetry can seem to be an intimidating genre of literature to teach students, studies have shown that the earlier children are exposed to poetry, the more benefits there are for their developing imaginative literary skills. While adults may shy away from the subject, from fear of not understanding the “true meaning” of poems, children have not yet developed the idea that there is a sole way of interpreting literature. As such, poetry is actually one of the most beneficial genres to incorporate in our classrooms as it gives students the opportunity to use all of their creativity. By teaching children to engage deeper with poetry and to recognize the common ways other poets write, teachers can give students a “tool-kit” to use while writing and critically thinking about poetry.

As one child claimed, “poetry is like directions for your imagination;” which is true, considering that students are taught common elements that can be used in poetry, but it is still in the students’ power to use the elements at their own creative discretion (Duthie & Zimet 1992). Poetry can be used to build students’ confidence in their own imaginative power and by giving general ideas for students to write about, such as social justice issues, teachers can allow students to comment on the world around them. By exposing students to a variety of forms of poetry and the different elements that commonly exist in poetry, we can allow our students to act as true poets, since true poets are inspired by other poetry AND the world around them (Linaberger 2005).