Guiding Young Students' Response to Literature.
1990; Wiley; Volume: 43; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1936-2714
Autores Tópico(s)Education and Technology Integration
ResumoAs an experienced teacher, I was aware of the importance of introducing children to a wide variety of books and fostering diverse re sponses to literature. My reading program had always consisted of a more integrated ap proach than that provided by the basal series used in my district. It included abundant op portunities for sustained silent reading of stu dent-selected materials, various writing activities, as well as opportunities to listen and respond to a variety of literature. One of the cornerstones of my program was the daily reading of literature to my class, because I knew that reading aloud to children stimulated their interest and imagination, as well as their emotional development and Ian guage use (Trelease, 1982). In my program I selected stories from not only the district's and the state's recommended readings in literature, but also from my favorite and my students' fa vorite books. We read everything from Dr. Seuss (inspired by an exhibit of his books at a local museum) to classic folk and fairy tales, to the light fantasy of Winnie-the-Pooh, to re alistic and historic fiction including Dear Mr. Henshaw and Sarah, Plain and Tall. Some books we simply read and enjoyed without further response, while at other times, stu dents engaged in various creative and exciting responses to literature. Frequently, I solicited oral responses, which sometimes took the form of lively discussions about books and their characters. Readers Theatre (Cullinan, 1989; Johnson & Louis, 1987) and role play ing were also favorite ways my students re sponded, particularly when we were reading fairy tales and folk tales. The children loved performing in front of their classmates or audiotaping their scripts so they could listen to themselves. Choral speaking (Monson, 1986a) of favorite poems by large and small groups of children was also popular. After re hearsing a chosen piece, students would de light in performing for other classes. Response to literature in my class took many other forms. Students enthusiastically engaged in art activities related to books we read, activities that included wall hangings, collages, flannel board retellings (Cullinan, 1989), and dioramas. Illustrations for stu dents' own book productions (Johnson & Louis, 1987) were also a rich source of re sponses to literature. In addition, children loved to recommend books to each other in book sharing groups, and by writing reviews
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