Children's literature & Literacy

            Stellaluna by Janell Cannon is a prime example of how incredibly expressive drawings can help readers understand plot, theme, and characters’ emotions better than if the story just has words. Stellaluna tells the story of a young fruit bat who becomes separated from her mother and in turn is raised by birds. While Stellaluna appears to be like the birds, she has a few noticeable differences. She enjoys sleeping during the day, she hates eating bugs like birds do, and she also has the “bad” habit of sleeping “upside-down.” All of this is relative of course, as her behaviors are “typical” bat behaviors. The theme of this story is to accept others’ differences as everyone has their own form of “normal.” It also teaches students not to make assumptions based off of looks. The illustrations highlight this as Stellaluna appears to be very similar to her bird family, yet she behaves very differently.

            Along with assisting students visually understand the themes, the illustrations in Stellaluna also keep students invested in the plot and characters’ emotions. The illustrations are very engaging and key students in on different aspects of the plot. In one section, Stellaluna’s night vision is explained through words, with the accompanying illustration that depicts her “flashlight” vision in a literal way for students to understand. Along with this, the illustrations portray the animals’ humanlike emotions. For example, when Stellaluna began to feel different from her bird family, she hangs from her thumbs with her head dropping and shoulders slumped. The text never says Stellaluna feels sad explicitly, rather the use of illustrations is the author’s main method of conveying emotions.

            This picturebook, while about animals, tells a very human story which is only made more impactful through the author’s reliance on illustrations. Illustrations round out the text and leave more ways for the text to be interpreted by readers. By teaching students to recognize and use illustrations to better understand text, we can help them to better expand their literacy skills.

            Teachers typically utilize picturebooks to support students’ learning of curriculum. For example, while teaching a geometry lesson, a teacher might read The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns to support students’ introduction to polygons. However, picturebooks can play an important role in the development of skills not necessarily targeted in curriculum as well. Social skills and real world phenomena can be explored through the lens of picturebooks, with certain books giving teachers the opportunities to teach moral lessons in the classroom as well. Since picturebooks leave a lot of room for inference, teachers “analyses of the ways information is [presented is] left open to examination” (Wolfenbarger & Sipe 2007).  Meaning, teachers’ own interpretation of the combination of words and illustrations can impact how they present books to their students and what they choose to emphasize. Teachers can read the same exact picturebook and present it to students in completely different ways. One might choose to teach the power of sharing through reading The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, while another may choose to connect it to the students’ science lessons through highlighting the underwater ecosystem. Picturebooks are invaluable tools in the classroom as they allow for teacher flexibility in both the presentation and real-world connections that can be drawn. Teachers should be sure to use picturebooks while teaching moral and social lessons, and not to just rely on using picturebooks to “spice up” a curriculum heavy lesson.

AMAZING GRACE by Mary Hoffman

This week, we are studying how to best read aloud for our future students. Read-alouds provide the unique opportunity for teachers to model reading skills for students to utilize at home as they read. When conducted properly, read-alouds not only engage students in reading, but teachers can use them as an opportunity to teach more advanced vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Besides choosing an engaging book, teachers must be also prepared with the skills to take their readings to the next level. Teachers who focus on “discussing major story ideas, dealing with ideas as they are encountered (in contrast to after the entire story has been read), and involving children in the discussion with opportunities to be reflective” are the most successful in developing deeper literary understanding in their students (Beck & McKeown 2001). By asking open ended questions throughout the reading, teachers can provide countless opportunities for their students to reflect and predict on different aspects of the stories. Teachers can even tailor their questions to target specific literary skills they want their students to master. For example, a teacher wishing to check for their third grade students’ competency in “Explain[ing] how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)” might ask their students what mood they think the author is trying to create through their combination of text and illustrations (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7).

Read-alouds can be used by teachers to informally teach students skills they need to master their grade’s Common Core standards. By reading aloud, teachers can take advantage and even create their own teachable moments through engaging their students in open-ended discussion rather than the teacher simply assessing their students’ abilities to recall information. Teachers should take care in pre-reading their chosen books to create open ended questions before even reading to their students. Just as one would create a lesson plan before a lesson, teachers must also prepare for a read-aloud. Through careful planning, teachers can predetermine ways to assess their students’ progress in mastering specific standards.

Video One:

I like how the teacher explained the idea of underlying themes in language that her students could understand. She was clear, to the point, and used the example of No, David!, a book that she knew her readers already loved, to explain how to find the underlying message of the book. I also really enjoyed how she included her students in the “great readers” category, even though they were just beginning to look at different themes in literature. This was a great way to increase her students’ confidence in their ability to find and understand themes. However, the lesson was not very interactive. This video was basically just her telling her students what the theme was without allowing her student’s to use their critical thinking skills. It is important to not always “hand” students the answer, instead by allowing students to figure out literary discoveries on their own a teacher can have them practice their own thinking skills. Maybe the teacher could give her explanation on how great readers are able to discover the “second story” or theme within literature and then offer her students the chance to brainstorm possible themes within No, David! before bringing up the theme of “love.”

Video Two:

This lesson was my favorite lesson of the bunch. She pre-taught words that students would need to know to complete her activity. She did this differently than the first teacher, as she allowed her students to brainstorm their own definitions. As a future Special Education teacher, I especially liked the different modalities she included through passing out copies of the poem for her students to follow as she read aloud. She gave them plenty of practice and allowed for her students to learn from each other during the small group conversations. This was a very effective lesson and proved that students are capable of developing their own definitions and understanding of literary concepts.

Video Three:

This teacher left a lot to be desired with the way she responded to students’ ideas. While she was supportive and polite with her students, she simply asked questions and wrote down whatever her students said without asking for elaboration of any kind. This is a major downfall because in teaching, it is important to ask questions to have students’ reflect inwardly as to why they feel a certain way. By having students justify answers and engaging in discussion, a more rich lesson can occur. More probing could be done by this teacher in the future to have her students elaborate on why they think in certain ways, rather than simply “accepting” answers. She did do a nice job on allowing students to choose which book they reread, instead of rigidly selecting books for the students to read. Giving students choice in their education is wildly important and allows for them to feel in control of what and how they are learning concepts.

Video Four:

This lesson was very long for its intended kindergarten audience. The lesson was tedious to watch, let alone experience as a four or five year old student. If I were to teach this lesson, I would have shortened the sit-down “lecture” time and offer more chances for physical movement and activity within the lesson. Her explanation and modeling were efficient, I can just foresee issues with having young students remained seated for that long.

Attached is the mini lesson in which I created an outline for how to teach third grade students to use evidence from the text to make claims regarding characters’ traits. I reused an old lesson plan template from one of my previous Special Education courses here at SCSU to create this mini-lesson. I have also attached the graphic organizer that I would use while actually teaching this lesson. The example text I used was “The Tortoise and the Hare” but this lesson would be equally effective with a different story, as long as the students were familiar with the different text.

This lesson would meet the Common Core ELA standard:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3

I was lucky to be partners with Jenn and Jessica for our mini book club. We chose two fables to read and analyze, “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.” We found that each of these readings offered multiple opportunities for connections within the student’s overall education.

First, we discussed “The Tortoise and the Hare.” I began our conversation by observing that this edition was different as it was written in first-person in contrast to past versions that were written in a more objective third-person. This added more dimension to the character of the Hare and more complexity to his motivations. Jessica agreed and added on that this point was especially interesting as it was the Hare, himself, that learns his lesson in the end.

Our conversation veered more towards discussing the animals and their implications for our future students’ learning as opposed to discussing the well-known message of the fable, “Slow and steady wins the race.” For our future students, this fable will introduce them to various animals and symbology associated with each animal. Jess commented that this fable would be valuable in the classroom as it teaches children about real life animals as it explains that hares are energetic in March due to the start of the hare’s breeding season. She also mentioned that students can learn about tortoise hibernation patterns in the winter. I thought this point was especially pertinent as students can make connections between what they are learning about in their Life Science lessons to what they are learning in their literature. Jenn made another observation that students can also learn about animals’ habits as the student learns that tortoises, “look like [cabbages]” and “[are] slow.”

Basic animal symbology can also be presented to students reading this fable. I thought that the hare being presented as rash, fast, and cocky was in line with other presentations of hares in literature. The fox was presented as clever and cunning, which also follows norms within literature. Jenn added that, “rats and badgers are sneaky, cunning, and generally kind of mean.” These stereotypical traits were present in this fable as these creatures were the irritable gamblers in the race.

From this discussion, we began to talk about the second fable we chose, “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.” The message of this fable would provide the teacher with the opportunity to teach life skills while building their literacy skills. I found this fable to present the idea that while we might perceive someone else’s choices in life to be “wrong,” if the choices are not hurting anyone, we should respect and acknowledge that while we may not want to make the same choices in life, their choices are still valid. I can foresee using this fable in my future classroom to enforce the concept of the need to respect others’ differences in life, especially since celebrating diversity in the classroom is incredibly important in this age. While the Town Mouse was used to champagne and gorgonzola, he still appreciated the Country Mouse’s crumbs of cheddar and spring water. The Country Mouse, on the other hand, respected the lavish and dangerous lifestyle of the Town Mouse, but knew that peaceful, country-living was the life for him.

On the other hand, Jess picked up on symbology within the fable that she believed to be representative of the distinctions between “Rich and Poor.” Both Jess and Jenn saw the theme as being “the grass is not always greener on the other side,” with the different mouses representing rich and poor people in today’s society. Both had benefits and drawbacks to their lifestyles, yet both were happy.

Overall, our group had great discussions revolving around these two fables and we determined that each fable has its place within children’s literature.

After completing this week’s readings, it became clear that much needs to be done to ensure equal representation of different cultures within school curriculum. While Alfred Tatum argued that perhaps, “[an] all-male or alternative school” with “programs designed specifically for African American males” would help catch young, male African American students close the achievement gap in learning, I feel that as teachers we have the responsibility to respectfully acknowledge the culture of our students and make sure they are equally represented within the classroom curriculum (Tatum 2006). Without proper representation, or “enabling” as Tatum calls it, our students will not be excited or invested in literature. When our students are not interested, they do not read for the fun of it, rather they read because they are told they must.

By incorporating more culturally diverse literature from nursery school to high school, students can plant themselves within the literature. To get children interested, teachers and curriculum leaders must dedicate time to choosing books that celebrate the wonderful intricacies of each culture. With more diversity present within today’s school classroom, more needs to be done to celebrate culture within public school’s literacy curriculum.

From the readings, one can deduce that much of the teaching of literature in schools is based on scaffolding. By beginning with simpler concepts in the earlier grades and then building each year by introducing more complex elements, students can build upon their own learning to develop their understanding of literature.  

For example, the standard I tracked from K-5 in the Common Core standards of Literature was the first standard listed under Key Concepts and Ideas. Under this section, it states that students will be able to “Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text” by the end of K-5.

While this may seem to be unnecessarily tedious, the Common Core outlines what students must be able to do at the end of each grade to obtain that first standard. By tracking the expectations from K-5, an educator can observe the necessity of the student being able to retain old information and to then build upon it with new concepts. In Kindergarten to meet the first standard, students must be able to, “ask and answer questions about key details in a text” with prompting and support from the educator. Meanwhile, in fourth grade to hit the same standard, students must be able to, “refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.” With each year’s standard becoming more complicated, it is imperative that students scaffold their understanding so they can master the necessary skills to meet the final phase of each standard.