The many story titles and authors named throughout chapter 1 are incredible. I am a huge supporter of teaching literacy at a very young age. It is intriguing to see the variety of ways in which literature promotes development at every age. I teach reading to elementary students, so I was very familiar with the benefits in areas of language and cognitive skills. However, I did not realize how effective literature could be to a child’s acquired beliefs and values. As far as responding to literature, I agree that critical thinking is a key ingredient to enjoying a good story. I love reading to those who “ahh” when they foresee what is about to happen next. I am a firm believer that it is the responsibility of the parents to introduce their children to the joys of reading. As a teacher, I hope to inspire many students to experience all the joys that reading can bring to them.
The first chapter of the text, Through the Eyes of a Child by Donna E. Norton, focused on the value of education for the individual and the society. I was especially interested in the discussion of bibliotherapy and the benefits of using books as therapy. I have seen this type of reading being used by our elementary school psychologist. It appears especially helpful in the classroom situation dealing with the issues of bullying, prejudice, and friendship. It provides an opportunity to discuss and process feeling and behaviors. Looking back on the time I spent teaching reading as a long-term substitute, I am seeing the stories in our language arts text took advantage of particular challenges, situations, and characters common to the first grade age. Stories that I recall touched on jealousy, seeing the best in others, and transitions. Discussions about the reading were as important as the students' abilities to read the words. The concepts that children are forming at this time are the base for building their view point and future success. Reading plays a very important role in socialization. The text touched briefly on the issue of motivation. While each story has been written with particular goals in mind, I have observed the struggle teachers have to find text that motivates each child. Some students do not seem to latch on to the traditional motivators and do not enjoy the Accelerated Reader program. How will I find text to motivate every reader? I hope that activities and readings in this class will help me prepare for this challenge. I believe that the theories presented in this chapter and my knowledge of them will help me know what is best for my students. Reviewing the basics is always a good place to start.
Just finished reading chapter one. I like how it named several book titles for each section throughout the chapter. I also found the charts very helpful in determining the type of books for each grade level as well as also determining the characteristics of each child between certain age groups. Not just when I became a parent but with my nephews and nieces I new it was important to start reading to children before they start school. This chapter also goes in depth and analysis the childrens books some adults would just see as simple childrens books with no meaning behind it. Some of those books help children relate to some of the things the characters in the books are going through. They also help with stress and how to respond to in a certain situation and of course they help with learning and vocabulary. I look forward to reading more of the upcoming chapters.
Wow! I am amazed at how many books that there are in this chapter that I wish I would have known about before now. I do not know about anyone else but this is the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I wish I had my own library. It's like one of those familiar sayings "if I would have known then what I know now, oh what I could have done differently". Being in the first chapter of the book I honestly thought that when I was finished with this book I would resell it..but now I believe I will keep it to refer back to all the information already in this chapter. As I have said before, I have four girls ranging from 17-6 years old. There were so many books listed in this chapter that I wish I would have known about so that I could have used them with my children and the children that have I have previously worked with at the school. The books that are listed included many different ages all the way up to retirement. They included many different kinds of feelings, growth, where a child should be developmentally, how to help a child in need, encourage children, as well as many other resources. I truly enjoyed reading this chapter and I am looking forward to my own growth throughout this course.
Chris,Shadra,and Gracie, I enjoyed reading your blogs tonight. All three of you sound like very intelligent people whom I looking forward to getting to know. I do feel like all four of us agree that the naming of all the books in this chapter was incredible.
Chapter one of this book has left me speechless. I have three children ages 3,4, and 8 and I never really thought about reading to them because I thougth that they would not understand what the book would be about. I have always enjoyed reading book myself but it never occured to me that I was cheating my children from becoming more educated by reading or me reading to them. This chapter has shown me all these different books that would apply to them depending on their age. That is awesome. I want my children to be able to enjoy the wonderful world of reading and to be able to have a better vocabulary that will help them excel in school. This chapter also focuses on different age levels by breaking thim into charts and I think that that is remarkable. I now understand how important it is to read to children at a very young age. I have just asked my daughter to bring me a book every week aside from the one she has to read for the Accelerated Reader program that she participates in school. I will now begin to read to my two youngest kids who have not yet begun school so that they can be better prepared when they do enter the educational part of their life. I am glad that I will have this book to research any questions that I might have in regards to the different books that are out there.
Hi RRBALLUCH. yes I love the lists of books that this book provides. I found myself writing down a lot of the titles and also recommending books to other people with children. Good luck in this class and thanks for the comment.
MariaC, You will be so glad that you read with your young children. I read chapter books to my two younger girls during Christmas break, spring break, and summer break. We have read Sarah, Plain and Tall, and the sequel to it. This summer we read The Secret Garden. I so enjoy hearing them say, "please read another chapter, Mommy." These books have been above their reading levels, but do a wonderful job of introducing new vocabulary and concepts to them. I try to begin each night by asking them what happened the day before. We are working on plot, sequencing, and recalling details, and they don't even know I am "teaching." I agree with you about the charts being a helpful tool. It is excellent reference information. I am looking forward to using our reading logs for reference, too. I have used infomation from the text as I read. It is good to look at things with new insight.
I could not agree with you more. Your blog was very interesting and I now realize that you are so right when you say that children should be taught that reading at a young is the best place to start. I hope to be a good teacher and teach kids that reading is an amazing skill that will help them throughout there lives. I have read the blogs of our fellow classmates and they all had very interesting views of chapter one and they all agree that this is a very interesting chapter. I believe that better things are to come as we continue to read the book.
I found portions of Chapter 1 to be quite interesting, but other portions left me yawning. As I said in my introduction, my first degree is in psychology, and I was honestly a little surprised to see so many references to psychologists and cycles of child development in the first chapter of a book about Children's Literature. It seems like it will be much more interesting than I thought. However, I found the constant barrage of synopses of books to be overwhelming. I got to where I couldn't stand to read them. There was too much information put into a very short space, and there was no way I could concentrate on each individual entry. The references to child development such as Kohlberg's stages of moral development, Schaffer's ideas about socialization, and Erikson's stages of personality development really make the reader (as a student of education) critically analyze children's literature and apply different aspects of reading to a classroom setting (Norton, 2007, p. 35, 29, &23). In my own home, when my children are having issues with learning, my first step is to buy them a book. For example, my older son is 5, and he's quite rambunctious. He had issues in preschool with being bossy and hitting other children, so I bought him books about bullying and saying "I'm sorry". That way, he can hear a story he's interested in, and I have the opportunity to ask him questions and make him apply the underlying lesson. I've had friends who are teachers put this method to use in their classrooms, also. I have noticed that there is a book for almost every issue of childhood, but I honestly hadn't thought about them as being related to different age groups and stages of psychological/social development. I can see where this class will help to put literature to use in the classroom, especially since I plan to work with different age groups of children.
Norton, D. (2007). Through the Eyes of a Child: An introduction to children's literature. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
There are so many awesome books for kids who are too young for school to teach them different concepts and help them learn to love reading. Does your 8-year-old get the Scholastic order forms to bring home from school? Those are some of my favorite book orders to look through because they usually categorize the books by ages, and they also provide books for different developmental issues. That is where I find some of the books that I mentioned. I ordered the "I'm sorry" book for my son from there, and I've also gotten some ideas about early reading books and several others. I thought the charts in the book were also interesting since they were broken down by age levels. I bet we'll all be able to get some good ideas from them!
I have been an avid reader since I can remember and have read to my children, ages 11, 9, and 4 since birth. I have always been under the belief that the more you read, the more you expand your knowledge and beliefs and grow as an individual. This Chapter reinforced that belief as it described how important reading and literature is in the development of language, cognitive abilities, personality and social skills. This book will prove to be an invaluable resource in the future when I begin my teaching career. Even now, as a mother of three, I have notated several books we have already enjoyed as a
Wordless picture books have never been something I have read or read to my children in the past. We always look at the illustrations and discuss them in relation to the story, but we have never allowed our imaginations to tell the story from the pictures that we have seen. This new experience with my youngest son was wonderful as I listened to him tell me his version of the story. This is definitely a tool that will be wonderful to use with younger children, but I can also see how it would be a great experience to allow older children to write their own stories in a fun reading project.
This chapter also pointed the various ways children respond to literature and how their personality, social skills, language and cognitive development molds and shapes those responses. I have always enjoyed reading with my children and discussing what we learned from that story. With the different levels of development they each have, it has always created for wonderful, although sometimes heated, discussions regarding their views and opinions.
Overall, this book has already proven to be a wonderful container of resources to use for where I presently am in life and where I aspire to be in the future. I did at times find myself overwhelmed with the abundance of information presented in the text and thought that each stage of development could have used a chapter devoted to its entirety, but the charts were presented a wonderfully concise format and will be used for many years to come.
I think that the thing that really stands out to me on a daily basis with literature, and development, is how kids I work with talk and write. The kids who hate to read have problems with talking and writing. I see the kids who hate books and hate to read anything, even magazines. They are usually the same kids that don’t do well with other interactions as well. As pointed out on page 11, “Children who grow up without a variety of experiences may be 3 to 5 years behind other children…” Where do these experiences come from? A lot of them are from adventures in books. Whether those adventures are fiction or non-fiction. Those experiences can help them interact with peers, and adults.
When I was young I hated to read. I couldn’t stand to go to school because I struggled with keeping up, and I had a hard time with some of my peers. I don’t have the same memories as someone like Linda S., of having a parent read to me at night. I remember my dad sitting us down maybe once a week and reading the bible to us. Other than that, I don’t remember reading much or being read to. Even if we did read, it wasn’t something I was interested in. Finding the right books to get gets reading is really important as well. Our text will be extremely helpful with that. I really never realized how much reading could affect development before I started working in a school. I have also looked back at myself and noticed that I started to change more when I started reading more. Today I read all the time. I always have a book to read. It helps me relax and deal with stress. If I have a bad day I can get into a book and escape for a little while. I try to help kids that I work with understand that as well. I let them know that it will not only help them with learning and developing a better vocabulary, but it will help them with dealing with other issues they may face, or just help them relax. I have also had the kid that said, “Why would I want to read the book when I could watch the movie?” The book and movie we were discussing at that time was Marley and Me. I told him, “I’ve read the book and saw the movie. There is so much more in the book than the movie.” He ended up reading the book and loving it.
Going back to the first couple of pages in the chapter, the ideas of culture and developing positive attitudes toward others cultures is so important. My son is mixed racial ethnicity. His mother is African American and I am Caucasian. We try to make sure that he finds books to read that can help him with knowing both African American and American cultures, as well as many others. I have read many books on different cultures and situations as well. For me, learning about other cultures is fun. I want my son to find that same enjoyment.
It’s never too early, or too late, to learn and develop through books.
Sorry, I put a comment on here in regard to Linda S. I went to the link from blackboard under communication and was on the blog from the 2008 class. She was a part of that class. Sorry if that confuses anyone. Her dad read to her and her sister every night and she talked about how much she remembered that.
Rebekah, that is really cool to hear about your son using his imagination to tell a story just from the pictures. I never did that with my son when he was little. That would be really cool to experience.
Chris C - I agree with your comments about motivating children to read. My oldest child has always been somewhat of a "reluctant" reader and has needed quite a bit of extra prodding to get him to read. Since I have a love for reading, this was something I never understood, since as a preschooler, we would spent hours reading together. We have spent a great deal of time trying to find ways to motivate him to read more and trying to find the genre that best suits his interests. I hope that during the course of this class, as well as future classes, more time is spent on discussing that issue as I believe it plays a vital role in developing a love of reading among children and is something that teachers and many parents deal with on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing your insight with the class!
Thank you for the comment on my blog. I actually worked with a 3rd grade student last year that had never heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk or Billy Goats Gruff. Those, along with nursery rhymes are fun for even babies. Parents just don't realize how much can come from sharing a story with your own child. It makes me sad.
I agree with you completely MirandaH. I too thought that they put way too many books in there as well. I found the chapter to be relatively boring myself. I did find the last section of the chapter easier to read where they seemed to lighten up on the books they were throwing at us. I too have a psychology background.
I liked the charts that can be used towards the different types of development in which a teacher would want to address at any given time. I did like some of books that they were telling you about. I just think maybe a different format or something in telling us about them would have been better. I read to my children regularly. I have a 10 year old and I still read to him and he loves it. My 10 month old of course loves books, she gets to where she wants to kiss all the pages, it's very cute.
Since I was little, I've always enjoyed reading. I was one of those kids who would take any extra time I had to crack open a book and read. Even now, I'm the same way. And I understand that some people actually don't like to read. This first chapter had that really great chart to help understand what books are good for what age group, which is fantastic, because I tend to not have a great grasp of that at this point. I tried reading "Bunnicula" to my first-grader, and he just didn't really get it, but I remember that being one of my favorite books, and series of books, ever. I love the fact that the chapter points out so many different books to read and use, and what age groups they are appropriate for. To me, reading has always been about enjoyment, but the idea that it can foster things such as hypothesizing and summarizing is fantastic. I guess its one of those things that you know, but you don't actually realize until someone points it out to you.
As far as moral development, I think books are a great way to foster and improve moral development for children. I'm a big fan of both Little Bear and Franklin, as well as Mercer Mayer's Little Critter, for those types of lessons for my kids. Things such as sharing, and being honest, are hard subjects for children to grasp, but if they see their favorite characters dealing with these issues, they tend to understand a little better.
I'm lucky, my kids like to read, which is something I was really hoping for, since I like to read so much. I think the reason I like to read is because my mom read me bedtime stories every night before bed, and I saw her reading all the time as well. So, I made a point to read to and in front of my kids as much as possible.
I hope that as a teacher, I can show my students that reading really can be an escape for them. I get totally lost in a good book, drove my husband crazy. I'd crack one open, and all he'd see was the top of my head over the book until I was done with it.
I have never been a big reader. If you wanted me to read it was like trying to drag a dog into their pen. As I get older, I see myself enjoy reading more. I’m not a total nut about it, but I can actually say that I do read books more often now than I ever have. Of course child books have always been fun for me to read. I never realized how important reading is till now. Teacher would always tell us how great reading is, and how educating it can be. Me, and I’m sure along with all my other classmates we believed they were full of bologna. How could reading be fun? Playing in the dirt is fun. I see now how important reading is. I hope to bring to my classroom the same importance of reading as my teachers did. Because, even though then I wasn’t all about, I’m glad I was forced into it. I would be like an alien on this world if I couldn’t read. I believe books are very crucial in a child’s development. They are a great way for one to use their imagination, if they are reading a book or even if they wanted to write one. Books can help kids deal with many things. For example, being afraid of the dark, there are multiple children books on fears and such. And in the end the character realizes it’s nothing to fret about, and that gets a child thinking the same thing. There is no reason to be scared of such silly things.
I finished Chapter One and thought it was extremely interesting to view literacy from a completely different perspective then my way. Literacy is so important and starting it at a young age is vital. Literacy is extremely helpful with establishing beliefs and possibly influencing future behavior. Chapter One was extremely detailed in the fact of ideas to help and make sure that education is valued! I have a seven year old son and he is really into reading. His big thing is “chapter books”. He is in the second grade and really likes to read. He knows when we go to Barnes & Noble that its easy to get dad to buy him books! How do you say no to that? Questions I have, are how do you motivate a child to read that does not want to read? I would guess that you try to find things they are interested in and have them read about that. I had a case study student at Washburn University and that’s what I tried, it seemed to work well. Anyone have any suggestions on what you would try if you had a child that just had ZERO interest in reading?
I am astounded at all the resources the first chapter provides. I am sharing a book with a fellow classmate and I am seriously thinking about purchasing one for myself so I can have the text as a resource. I enjoyed how the charts provided much detail regarding developmental stages by ages and the variety of books promoting growth. It illustrated how important literature is in regards to teaching. I can still remember books I read in grade school and a few were listed in the text. Story time or circle time was always my favorite part, not just because we got to take our shoes off and sit on a comfy carpet in the reading corner, but because it was exciting. I have to agree with the beginning of the chapter in regards to all the technology our society has for children now. Children no longer just have access to videogames and music at home they can take them in the car through iPods, portable DVD players, and hand held videogames. This chapter helped me put a lot into perspective regarding the importance of teaching literature to children of all ages. The chapter allowed me to visual how I would incorporate literature into a classroom in more subjects than reading alone and also provided appropriate resources for all ages. The last thing I want to comment on was the poem by Eloise Greenfield called “Story”, found In the Land of Words: New Selected Poems. My husband always asks me how I can sit on the couch for hours reading without taking a break. I always respond by stating I get lost in books and I create the illustrations in my head. He does not understand. This poem found entails the words and phrases I needed to explain to him how books come alive to me.
Geoff I can offer an example for you and a child who had Zero interest in reading, my younger brother. He seriously hated reading and my parents would have to make him sit at the kitchen table with his book out. They required him to read aloud otherwise he would pretend he was reading. This was not a struggle it was a battle for my parents and his teachers. I would like an answer to your question as well. I do have to agree that allowing the children to choose books of interest is a positive way to encourage reading. By “selling” the book to the child, I say this because my younger brother would just reject a book because it was a book. Illustrate to them how books can be fun and exciting if given a chance. An idea I can offer is a project relating to the book. Allow the child to summarize the books they read in multiple ways such as a paper, a constructed model of a setting, puppets of the characters. I think adapting the assignments tied to books is a fun way to entice children. I have seen children dislike the work associated with reading books and then is results in a dislike for reading. Can anyone else offer ideas?
I found Chapter 1 to be very interesting. I always knew that literature was important but I guess I did not realize the massive impact it has on a child ’s development. I was fortunate enough to have a family that helped to develop my love for literature at a very young age. This chapter really emphasized the importance of both parental and teacher involvement in developing a love of literature and the earlier it is introduced the more beneficial it will be for the child. I have no children of my own but I do work with preschool age children in a therapeutic classroom, and I will definitely be using the charts and it’s suggestions to help teach skills in the classroom. I do feel that there were many books discussed in the chapter and it was a little overwhelming. I did enjoy the discussion on the different developmental stages and the importance of knowing what stage the child is at to help find books that will most be beneficial for them and their needs. I believe that this book will be a great resource for when I have a classroom of my own.
I am a week behind because just received my textbooks because they were lost but I really enjoyed chapter 1. I feel as though because I am behind I read through it fast to try to catch up. There are so many books out there and I never realized it before. I found it interesting how depending on how one's morals affects how he or she interprets the book. I like how literature is "an escape from reality" but all books are in some form of reality.
So, I am also very behind because I had just received my books. I have read everyone's comments and I feel the same way as alot of you. I really liked the first chapter of this book because it does list so many books. I guess you really do not think about the importance of being an adult really is. You sort of have the responsibilty of introducing literature to these young minds and knowing what to present is very important. I too found it interesting on how people's morals affect the way they interpret the way they perceive books. I also found the different studies they talked about interesting as well. It just shows how important books really are.
This chapter provided a lot of information on how childrens books are useful. I did find parts of it very boring and it seemed to repeat alot. I did like the examples of books in relation to ages and different problems. I am an avid reader as are my kids. I started reading to them at birth and am extremely glad. I also have found that there are answers to almost any question in books. Children can start learning at any age and this chapter shows how true this is.
Shanna S, I agree with you on that this chapter was an excellent resource. My family also encouraged me to read, I do this with my own children. They get excited by the prospect of going to the library and I can't wait to use this chapter to find some new books for them.
This chapter is ringing very true to me and the position that I am in. I work as a Para educator and work with children in Grades K-3 in special education with a program called Pathways to Reading. I very much enjoyed that the text told us about how to help the children respond to what they are reading. I spent a lot of time reading with these children and the hardest part for them sometimes is retaining what they have just read. They have to spend a lot of time on the words and they may not be paying attention to story details. The charts throughout the chapter were extremely interesting and I can see myself referencing back to them. The text is completely useful and I can agree with someone else who said it is like Psychology and Literature combined. This will be a fun and very useful course
RrBalluch - I loved the quote that you used in your post! I think most of us here can agree about something we have done in our lives. It just goes to show how stimulating a book can be to a child. Their is so much detail to a book that it is more than just a "story". It is so healthy and stimulating for children to read, it's truly amazing!
I love Chapter one because it simply proves that the importance of reading at an early age is connected with so much development. Since I was a little kid and up to this day, I enjoy reading because it takes me inside of a world that I can not enter in reality. It is an escape and it boggles my brain when people tell me they do not enjoy reading! Most of what people know involves reading something. Chapter one describes how reading stimulates developmental growth by observing, comparing, classifying, hypothesizing, organizing, summarizing, applying, and criticizing. It was very interesting to read all of the different type of books for children at different ages and the titles and illustrations that are associated with their development. I strongly agree that it is important for parents to engage feedback from their children when they read books to them. It lets them know their thoughts, likes, dislikes, and also gives a chance for their true personality to come out and shine!
As educators already, or hopeful educators in the future, I imagine most of understand the importance of literature and literacy! This chapter helps define the significance the role of literature has in our children from the time they’re born until the later years. I personally liked how this chapter introduced various books that are directed at certain areas when considering the child’s stages of development.
I think as parents and educators it’s so important to stress the importance of reading to our young children. In an “ideal” world all mothers/fathers would read to their children while still inside the womb and continue daily throughout the child’s early years, at least until they are able to read themselves. However, as we know, that’s unrealistic. We as educators must present an array of literature to our students so that they have a basic literacy understanding when they reach their adulthood.
I liked that the book gave several examples of literature to be able to use for certain developmental stages. What a wonderful resource!
I wish I had an answer, I’ve found the same problem within the district I work at! I feel it tends to be boys more so that are not interested in reading than girls.
Our children in the lower grade levels are required to read AR books and take tests. They are pushed to read and have to attain so many points by a particular deadline. The problem is the list is limited to what books are on it; therefore someone may find a book he or she is really interested in, but the book test isn’t available so they don’t read it. Don’t get me wrong, reading is definitely important, I just think it’s the fact that they are limited in their selections that I don’t feel is right.
I thought that Chapter 1 had a lot of information in it and it also gave some great resources. I agree with the chapter, that it’s important to have our children reading. This increases vocabulary, comprehension, and imagination. I do believe that reading what one likes is better than having the book picked out by someone else. I think when I was in school and was able to choose the reading material that I was interested in. I think that I would have enjoyed reading more. I started reading on a regular basis about 7 years ago, and I read what I want and when I want. My son hates to read, but he has a comprehension and a speech disability. It’s a struggle to get him to read or do anything that is school related. I try to explain to him that it’s important for him to learn how to read. I try to get him to read to my or let me read to him, and he fights with me. The chapter talks about how reading helps children’s social skills, and cognitive development.
Tamy H. I will have to agree with Chris C about the Accelerated Reader program and the students. I know that the students get to pick what they want to read, but trying to get them to have the motivation is something to think about. How do we do this? I also agree with Shadra that we need to begin reading to our kids from day one. Maybe if more people did this, our children would have a better understanding why it’s important to read on a regular basis.
The many story titles and authors named throughout chapter 1 are incredible. I am a huge supporter of teaching literacy at a very young age. It is intriguing to see the variety of ways in which literature promotes development at every age. I teach reading to elementary students, so I was very familiar with the benefits in areas of language and cognitive skills. However, I did not realize how effective literature could be to a child’s acquired beliefs and values. As far as responding to literature, I agree that critical thinking is a key ingredient to enjoying a good story. I love reading to those who “ahh” when they foresee what is about to happen next. I am a firm believer that it is the responsibility of the parents to introduce their children to the joys of reading. As a teacher, I hope to inspire many students to experience all the joys that reading can bring to them.
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter of the text, Through the Eyes of a Child by Donna E. Norton, focused on the value of education for the individual and the society. I was especially interested in the discussion of bibliotherapy and the benefits of using books as therapy. I have seen this type of reading being used by our elementary school psychologist. It appears especially helpful in the classroom situation dealing with the issues of bullying, prejudice, and friendship. It provides an opportunity to discuss and process feeling and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteLooking back on the time I spent teaching reading as a long-term substitute, I am seeing the stories in our language arts text took advantage of particular challenges, situations, and characters common to the first grade age. Stories that I recall touched on jealousy, seeing the best in others, and transitions. Discussions about the reading were as important as the students' abilities to read the words. The concepts that children are forming at this time are the base for building their view point and future success. Reading plays a very important role in socialization.
The text touched briefly on the issue of motivation. While each story has been written with particular goals in mind, I have observed the struggle teachers have to find text that motivates each child. Some students do not seem to latch on to the traditional motivators and do not enjoy the Accelerated Reader program. How will I find text to motivate every reader? I hope that activities and readings in this class will help me prepare for this challenge. I believe that the theories presented in this chapter and my knowledge of them will help me know what is best for my students. Reviewing the basics is always a good place to start.
Just finished reading chapter one. I like how it named several book titles for each section throughout the chapter. I also found the charts very helpful in determining the type of books for each grade level as well as also determining the characteristics of each child between certain age groups. Not just when I became a parent but with my nephews and nieces I new it was important to start reading to children before they start school. This chapter also goes in depth and analysis the childrens books some adults would just see as simple childrens books with no meaning behind it. Some of those books help children relate to some of the things the characters in the books are going through. They also help with stress and how to respond to in a certain situation and of course they help with learning and vocabulary. I look forward to reading more of the upcoming chapters.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am amazed at how many books that there are in this chapter that I wish I would have known about before now. I do not know about anyone else but this is the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I wish I had my own library. It's like one of those familiar sayings "if I would have known then what I know now, oh what I could have done differently". Being in the first chapter of the book I honestly thought that when I was finished with this book I would resell it..but now I believe I will keep it to refer back to all the information already in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said before, I have four girls ranging from 17-6 years old. There were so many books listed in this chapter that I wish I would have known about so that I could have used them with my children and the children that have I have previously worked with at the school.
The books that are listed included many different ages all the way up to retirement. They included many different kinds of feelings, growth, where a child should be developmentally, how to help a child in need, encourage children, as well as many other resources.
I truly enjoyed reading this chapter and I am looking forward to my own growth throughout this course.
Chris,Shadra,and Gracie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blogs tonight. All three of you sound like very intelligent people whom I looking forward to getting to know. I do feel like all four of us agree that the naming of all the books in this chapter was incredible.
Chapter one of this book has left me speechless. I have three children ages 3,4, and 8 and I never really thought about reading to them because I thougth that they would not understand what the book would be about. I have always enjoyed reading book myself but it never occured to me that I was cheating my children from becoming more educated by reading or me reading to them. This chapter has shown me all these different books that would apply to them depending on their age. That is awesome. I want my children to be able to enjoy the wonderful world of reading and to be able to have a better vocabulary that will help them excel in school. This chapter also focuses on different age levels by breaking thim into charts and I think that that is remarkable. I now understand how important it is to read to children at a very young age. I have just asked my daughter to bring me a book every week aside from the one she has to read for the Accelerated Reader program that she participates in school. I will now begin to read to my two youngest kids who have not yet begun school so that they can be better prepared when they do enter the educational part of their life. I am glad that I will have this book to research any questions that I might have in regards to the different books that are out there.
ReplyDeleteHi RRBALLUCH. yes I love the lists of books that this book provides. I found myself writing down a lot of the titles and also recommending books to other people with children. Good luck in this class and thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteMariaC,
ReplyDeleteYou will be so glad that you read with your young children. I read chapter books to my two younger girls during Christmas break, spring break, and summer break. We have read Sarah, Plain and Tall, and the sequel to it. This summer we read The Secret Garden. I so enjoy hearing them say, "please read another chapter, Mommy." These books have been above their reading levels, but do a wonderful job of introducing new vocabulary and concepts to them. I try to begin each night by asking them what happened the day before. We are working on plot, sequencing, and recalling details, and they don't even know I am "teaching." I agree with you about the charts being a helpful tool. It is excellent reference information. I am looking forward to using our reading logs for reference, too. I have used infomation from the text as I read. It is good to look at things with new insight.
Shadra
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. Your blog was very interesting and I now realize that you are so right when you say that children should be taught that reading at a young is the best place to start. I hope to be a good teacher and teach kids that reading is an amazing skill that will help them throughout there lives. I have read the blogs of our fellow classmates and they all had very interesting views of chapter one and they all agree that this is a very interesting chapter. I believe that better things are to come as we continue to read the book.
I found portions of Chapter 1 to be quite interesting, but other portions left me yawning. As I said in my introduction, my first degree is in psychology, and I was honestly a little surprised to see so many references to psychologists and cycles of child development in the first chapter of a book about Children's Literature. It seems like it will be much more interesting than I thought. However, I found the constant barrage of synopses of books to be overwhelming. I got to where I couldn't stand to read them. There was too much information put into a very short space, and there was no way I could concentrate on each individual entry.
ReplyDeleteThe references to child development such as Kohlberg's stages of moral development, Schaffer's ideas about socialization, and Erikson's stages of personality development really make the reader (as a student of education) critically analyze children's literature and apply different aspects of reading to a classroom setting (Norton, 2007, p. 35, 29, &23). In my own home, when my children are having issues with learning, my first step is to buy them a book. For example, my older son is 5, and he's quite rambunctious. He had issues in preschool with being bossy and hitting other children, so I bought him books about bullying and saying "I'm sorry". That way, he can hear a story he's interested in, and I have the opportunity to ask him questions and make him apply the underlying lesson. I've had friends who are teachers put this method to use in their classrooms, also. I have noticed that there is a book for almost every issue of childhood, but I honestly hadn't thought about them as being related to different age groups and stages of psychological/social development. I can see where this class will help to put literature to use in the classroom, especially since I plan to work with different age groups of children.
Norton, D. (2007). Through the Eyes of a Child: An introduction to children's literature. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Maria C.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many awesome books for kids who are too young for school to teach them different concepts and help them learn to love reading. Does your 8-year-old get the Scholastic order forms to bring home from school? Those are some of my favorite book orders to look through because they usually categorize the books by ages, and they also provide books for different developmental issues. That is where I find some of the books that I mentioned. I ordered the "I'm sorry" book for my son from there, and I've also gotten some ideas about early reading books and several others. I thought the charts in the book were also interesting since they were broken down by age levels. I bet we'll all be able to get some good ideas from them!
I have been an avid reader since I can remember and have read to my children, ages 11, 9, and 4 since birth. I have always been under the belief that the more you read, the more you expand your knowledge and beliefs and grow as an individual. This Chapter reinforced that belief as it described how important reading and literature is in the development of language, cognitive abilities, personality and social skills. This book will prove to be an invaluable resource in the future when I begin my teaching career. Even now, as a mother of three, I have notated several books we have already enjoyed as a
ReplyDeleteWordless picture books have never been something I have read or read to my children in the past. We always look at the illustrations and discuss them in relation to the story, but we have never allowed our imaginations to tell the story from the pictures that we have seen. This new experience with my youngest son was wonderful as I listened to him tell me his version of the story. This is definitely a tool that will be wonderful to use with younger children, but I can also see how it would be a great experience to allow older children to write their own stories in a fun reading project.
This chapter also pointed the various ways children respond to literature and how their personality, social skills, language and cognitive development molds and shapes those responses. I have always enjoyed reading with my children and discussing what we learned from that story. With the different levels of development they each have, it has always created for wonderful, although sometimes heated, discussions regarding their views and opinions.
Overall, this book has already proven to be a wonderful container of resources to use for where I presently am in life and where I aspire to be in the future. I did at times find myself overwhelmed with the abundance of information presented in the text and thought that each stage of development could have used a chapter devoted to its entirety, but the charts were presented a wonderfully concise format and will be used for many years to come.
Jason R
ReplyDeleteI think that the thing that really stands out to me on a daily basis with literature, and development, is how kids I work with talk and write. The kids who hate to read have problems with talking and writing. I see the kids who hate books and hate to read anything, even magazines. They are usually the same kids that don’t do well with other interactions as well. As pointed out on page 11, “Children who grow up without a variety of experiences may be 3 to 5 years behind other children…” Where do these experiences come from? A lot of them are from adventures in books. Whether those adventures are fiction or non-fiction. Those experiences can help them interact with peers, and adults.
When I was young I hated to read. I couldn’t stand to go to school because I struggled with keeping up, and I had a hard time with some of my peers. I don’t have the same memories as someone like Linda S., of having a parent read to me at night. I remember my dad sitting us down maybe once a week and reading the bible to us. Other than that, I don’t remember reading much or being read to. Even if we did read, it wasn’t something I was interested in. Finding the right books to get gets reading is really important as well. Our text will be extremely helpful with that.
I really never realized how much reading could affect development before I started working in a school. I have also looked back at myself and noticed that I started to change more when I started reading more.
Today I read all the time. I always have a book to read. It helps me relax and deal with stress. If I have a bad day I can get into a book and escape for a little while. I try to help kids that I work with understand that as well. I let them know that it will not only help them with learning and developing a better vocabulary, but it will help them with dealing with other issues they may face, or just help them relax. I have also had the kid that said, “Why would I want to read the book when I could watch the movie?” The book and movie we were discussing at that time was Marley and Me. I told him, “I’ve read the book and saw the movie. There is so much more in the book than the movie.” He ended up reading the book and loving it.
Going back to the first couple of pages in the chapter, the ideas of culture and developing positive attitudes toward others cultures is so important. My son is mixed racial ethnicity. His mother is African American and I am Caucasian. We try to make sure that he finds books to read that can help him with knowing both African American and American cultures, as well as many others. I have read many books on different cultures and situations as well. For me, learning about other cultures is fun. I want my son to find that same enjoyment.
It’s never too early, or too late, to learn and develop through books.
Jason R.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I put a comment on here in regard to Linda S. I went to the link from blackboard under communication and was on the blog from the 2008 class. She was a part of that class. Sorry if that confuses anyone. Her dad read to her and her sister every night and she talked about how much she remembered that.
Rebekah, that is really cool to hear about your son using his imagination to tell a story just from the pictures. I never did that with my son when he was little. That would be really cool to experience.
Chris C - I agree with your comments about motivating children to read. My oldest child has always been somewhat of a "reluctant" reader and has needed quite a bit of extra prodding to get him to read. Since I have a love for reading, this was something I never understood, since as a preschooler, we would spent hours reading together. We have spent a great deal of time trying to find ways to motivate him to read more and trying to find the genre that best suits his interests. I hope that during the course of this class, as well as future classes, more time is spent on discussing that issue as I believe it plays a vital role in developing a love of reading among children and is something that teachers and many parents deal with on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing your insight with the class!
ReplyDeleteMaria C.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment on my blog. I actually worked with a 3rd grade student last year that had never heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk or Billy Goats Gruff. Those, along with nursery rhymes are fun for even babies. Parents just don't realize how much can come from sharing a story with your own child. It makes me sad.
I agree with you completely MirandaH. I too thought that they put way too many books in there as well. I found the chapter to be relatively boring myself. I did find the last section of the chapter easier to read where they seemed to lighten up on the books they were throwing at us. I too have a psychology background.
ReplyDeleteI liked the charts that can be used towards the different types of development in which a teacher would want to address at any given time. I did like some of books that they were telling you about. I just think maybe a different format or something in telling us about them would have been better. I read to my children regularly. I have a 10 year old and I still read to him and he loves it. My 10 month old of course loves books, she gets to where she wants to kiss all the pages, it's very cute.
ReplyDeleteSince I was little, I've always enjoyed reading. I was one of those kids who would take any extra time I had to crack open a book and read. Even now, I'm the same way. And I understand that some people actually don't like to read. This first chapter had that really great chart to help understand what books are good for what age group, which is fantastic, because I tend to not have a great grasp of that at this point. I tried reading "Bunnicula" to my first-grader, and he just didn't really get it, but I remember that being one of my favorite books, and series of books, ever. I love the fact that the chapter points out so many different books to read and use, and what age groups they are appropriate for. To me, reading has always been about enjoyment, but the idea that it can foster things such as hypothesizing and summarizing is fantastic. I guess its one of those things that you know, but you don't actually realize until someone points it out to you.
ReplyDeleteAs far as moral development, I think books are a great way to foster and improve moral development for children. I'm a big fan of both Little Bear and Franklin, as well as Mercer Mayer's Little Critter, for those types of lessons for my kids. Things such as sharing, and being honest, are hard subjects for children to grasp, but if they see their favorite characters dealing with these issues, they tend to understand a little better.
Jason R,
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky, my kids like to read, which is something I was really hoping for, since I like to read so much. I think the reason I like to read is because my mom read me bedtime stories every night before bed, and I saw her reading all the time as well. So, I made a point to read to and in front of my kids as much as possible.
I hope that as a teacher, I can show my students that reading really can be an escape for them. I get totally lost in a good book, drove my husband crazy. I'd crack one open, and all he'd see was the top of my head over the book until I was done with it.
Randi J
ReplyDeleteI have never been a big reader. If you wanted me to read it was like trying to drag a dog into their pen. As I get older, I see myself enjoy reading more. I’m not a total nut about it, but I can actually say that I do read books more often now than I ever have. Of course child books have always been fun for me to read.
I never realized how important reading is till now. Teacher would always tell us how great reading is, and how educating it can be. Me, and I’m sure along with all my other classmates we believed they were full of bologna. How could reading be fun? Playing in the dirt is fun. I see now how important reading is. I hope to bring to my classroom the same importance of reading as my teachers did. Because, even though then I wasn’t all about, I’m glad I was forced into it. I would be like an alien on this world if I couldn’t read.
I believe books are very crucial in a child’s development. They are a great way for one to use their imagination, if they are reading a book or even if they wanted to write one. Books can help kids deal with many things. For example, being afraid of the dark, there are multiple children books on fears and such. And in the end the character realizes it’s nothing to fret about, and that gets a child thinking the same thing. There is no reason to be scared of such silly things.
I agree Laurie, I feel I am lucky my son likes to read. He is seven years old, and I really try to make an effort to stress how important reading is.
ReplyDeleteGeoff Poston
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
I finished Chapter One and thought it was extremely interesting to view literacy from a completely different perspective then my way. Literacy is so important and starting it at a young age is vital. Literacy is extremely helpful with establishing beliefs and possibly influencing future behavior. Chapter One was extremely detailed in the fact of ideas to help and make sure that education is valued! I have a seven year old son and he is really into reading. His big thing is “chapter books”. He is in the second grade and really likes to read. He knows when we go to Barnes & Noble that its easy to get dad to buy him books! How do you say no to that? Questions I have, are how do you motivate a child to read that does not want to read? I would guess that you try to find things they are interested in and have them read about that. I had a case study student at Washburn University and that’s what I tried, it seemed to work well. Anyone have any suggestions on what you would try if you had a child that just had ZERO interest in reading?
Jade Barnes
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
I am astounded at all the resources the first chapter provides. I am sharing a book with a fellow classmate and I am seriously thinking about purchasing one for myself so I can have the text as a resource. I enjoyed how the charts provided much detail regarding developmental stages by ages and the variety of books promoting growth. It illustrated how important literature is in regards to teaching. I can still remember books I read in grade school and a few were listed in the text. Story time or circle time was always my favorite part, not just because we got to take our shoes off and sit on a comfy carpet in the reading corner, but because it was exciting. I have to agree with the beginning of the chapter in regards to all the technology our society has for children now. Children no longer just have access to videogames and music at home they can take them in the car through iPods, portable DVD players, and hand held videogames. This chapter helped me put a lot into perspective regarding the importance of teaching literature to children of all ages. The chapter allowed me to visual how I would incorporate literature into a classroom in more subjects than reading alone and also provided appropriate resources for all ages. The last thing I want to comment on was the poem by Eloise Greenfield called “Story”, found In the Land of Words: New Selected Poems. My husband always asks me how I can sit on the couch for hours reading without taking a break. I always respond by stating I get lost in books and I create the illustrations in my head. He does not understand. This poem found entails the words and phrases I needed to explain to him how books come alive to me.
Geoff
ReplyDeleteI can offer an example for you and a child who had Zero interest in reading, my younger brother. He seriously hated reading and my parents would have to make him sit at the kitchen table with his book out. They required him to read aloud otherwise he would pretend he was reading. This was not a struggle it was a battle for my parents and his teachers. I would like an answer to your question as well. I do have to agree that allowing the children to choose books of interest is a positive way to encourage reading. By “selling” the book to the child, I say this because my younger brother would just reject a book because it was a book. Illustrate to them how books can be fun and exciting if given a chance. An idea I can offer is a project relating to the book. Allow the child to summarize the books they read in multiple ways such as a paper, a constructed model of a setting, puppets of the characters. I think adapting the assignments tied to books is a fun way to entice children. I have seen children dislike the work associated with reading books and then is results in a dislike for reading. Can anyone else offer ideas?
I found Chapter 1 to be very interesting. I always knew that literature was important but I guess I did not realize the massive impact it has on a child ’s development. I was fortunate enough to have a family that helped to develop my love for literature at a very young age. This chapter really emphasized the importance of both parental and teacher involvement in developing a love of literature and the earlier it is introduced the more beneficial it will be for the child. I have no children of my own but I do work with preschool age children in a therapeutic classroom, and I will definitely be using the charts and it’s suggestions to help teach skills in the classroom. I do feel that there were many books discussed in the chapter and it was a little overwhelming. I did enjoy the discussion on the different developmental stages and the importance of knowing what stage the child is at to help find books that will most be beneficial for them and their needs. I believe that this book will be a great resource for when I have a classroom of my own.
ReplyDeleteJade, I agree. There are several different ways to get kids interested in reading. Even though previously they may have hated it.
ReplyDeleteI am a week behind because just received my textbooks because they were lost but I really enjoyed chapter 1. I feel as though because I am behind I read through it fast to try to catch up. There are so many books out there and I never realized it before. I found it interesting how depending on how one's morals affects how he or she interprets the book. I like how literature is "an escape from reality" but all books are in some form of reality.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Tibbits
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
So, I am also very behind because I had just received my books. I have read everyone's comments and I feel the same way as alot of you. I really liked the first chapter of this book because it does list so many books. I guess you really do not think about the importance of being an adult really is. You sort of have the responsibilty of introducing literature to these young minds and knowing what to present is very important. I too found it interesting on how people's morals affect the way they interpret the way they perceive books. I also found the different studies they talked about interesting as well. It just shows how important books really are.
This chapter provided a lot of information on how childrens books are useful. I did find parts of it very boring and it seemed to repeat alot. I did like the examples of books in relation to ages and different problems. I am an avid reader as are my kids. I started reading to them at birth and am extremely glad. I also have found that there are answers to almost any question in books. Children can start learning at any age and this chapter shows how true this is.
ReplyDeleteShanna S, I agree with you on that this chapter was an excellent resource. My family also encouraged me to read, I do this with my own children. They get excited by the prospect of going to the library and I can't wait to use this chapter to find some new books for them.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter is ringing very true to me and the position that I am in. I work as a Para educator and work with children in Grades K-3 in special education with a program called Pathways to Reading. I very much enjoyed that the text told us about how to help the children respond to what they are reading. I spent a lot of time reading with these children and the hardest part for them sometimes is retaining what they have just read. They have to spend a lot of time on the words and they may not be paying attention to story details. The charts throughout the chapter were extremely interesting and I can see myself referencing back to them. The text is completely useful and I can agree with someone else who said it is like Psychology and Literature combined. This will be a fun and very useful course
ReplyDeleteShanna S.
ReplyDeleteI too agree on your comment about not knowing how much reading has an impact on children's development
RrBalluch -
ReplyDeleteI loved the quote that you used in your post! I think most of us here can agree about something we have done in our lives. It just goes to show how stimulating a book can be to a child. Their is so much detail to a book that it is more than just a "story". It is so healthy and stimulating for children to read, it's truly amazing!
I love Chapter one because it simply proves that the importance of reading at an early age is connected with so much development. Since I was a little kid and up to this day, I enjoy reading because it takes me inside of a world that I can not enter in reality. It is an escape and it boggles my brain when people tell me they do not enjoy reading! Most of what people know involves reading something. Chapter one describes how reading stimulates developmental growth by observing, comparing, classifying, hypothesizing, organizing, summarizing, applying, and criticizing. It was very interesting to read all of the different type of books for children at different ages and the titles and illustrations that are associated with their development. I strongly agree that it is important for parents to engage feedback from their children when they read books to them. It lets them know their thoughts, likes, dislikes, and also gives a chance for their true personality to come out and shine!
ReplyDeleteTerra M
ReplyDeleteAs educators already, or hopeful educators in the future, I imagine most of understand the importance of literature and literacy! This chapter helps define the significance the role of literature has in our children from the time they’re born until the later years. I personally liked how this chapter introduced various books that are directed at certain areas when considering the child’s stages of development.
I think as parents and educators it’s so important to stress the importance of reading to our young children. In an “ideal” world all mothers/fathers would read to their children while still inside the womb and continue daily throughout the child’s early years, at least until they are able to read themselves. However, as we know, that’s unrealistic. We as educators must present an array of literature to our students so that they have a basic literacy understanding when they reach their adulthood.
I liked that the book gave several examples of literature to be able to use for certain developmental stages. What a wonderful resource!
Terra M
ReplyDeleteGeoff……
I wish I had an answer, I’ve found the same problem within the district I work at! I feel it tends to be boys more so that are not interested in reading than girls.
Our children in the lower grade levels are required to read AR books and take tests. They are pushed to read and have to attain so many points by a particular deadline. The problem is the list is limited to what books are on it; therefore someone may find a book he or she is really interested in, but the book test isn’t available so they don’t read it. Don’t get me wrong, reading is definitely important, I just think it’s the fact that they are limited in their selections that I don’t feel is right.
Tamy H.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Chapter 1 had a lot of information in it and it also gave some great resources. I agree with the chapter, that it’s important to have our children reading. This increases vocabulary, comprehension, and imagination. I do believe that reading what one likes is better than having the book picked out by someone else. I think when I was in school and was able to choose the reading material that I was interested in. I think that I would have enjoyed reading more. I started reading on a regular basis about 7 years ago, and I read what I want and when I want.
My son hates to read, but he has a comprehension and a speech disability. It’s a struggle to get him to read or do anything that is school related. I try to explain to him that it’s important for him to learn how to read. I try to get him to read to my or let me read to him, and he fights with me.
The chapter talks about how reading helps children’s social skills, and cognitive development.
Tamy H.
ReplyDeleteI will have to agree with Chris C about the Accelerated Reader program and the students. I know that the students get to pick what they want to read, but trying to get them to have the motivation is something to think about. How do we do this?
I also agree with Shadra that we need to begin reading to our kids from day one. Maybe if more people did this, our children would have a better understanding why it’s important to read on a regular basis.