Explore the desires of each child so that they gain the desire to explore.
A literature-based curriculum "promotes the development of knowledge and understanding, processes and skills, as well as the dispositions to use and apply skills and to go on learning" (Bredekamp and Copple, 1997, 20). Through books, children can explore all aspects of the world.
-Science
-Social Studies
-History
-Geography and the Environment
-Various Art Forms
-Math concepts
-Multicultural
-Self-Analysis and Emotions
These are just a few of the topics of interest that a child can learn more about through reading.
In order to foster such interests, it is important to build upon prior knowledge and experiences.
For ever topic of interest there is an equal number of ways (genres) to present that text. Literature comes in the form of poetry,songs, fiction, non-fiction, interactive, and many other books.
It is important to find out which genre and topic adheres the needs and desires of each specific child. If we want our children to want to read, then we must provide them with desirable material!
Although some of these needs and desires are innate are come from sources outside of the classroom, educators and parents can deepen these desires by strategically reading a book with purpose.
There are five different steps that can be practiced for each stage of reading:
Before reading: look at the cover, talk about pictures and text, activate prior knowledge, personal connections, and set a purpose.
During reading: make predictions, pause and reflect, create mental images, synthesize and summarize, and conduct oral cloze.
And After reading: make personal connections, make text-to-text connections, sketch to stretch, create reenactments, and perform retellings.
So you can see that there is more than just giving a child any book to read--READING IS A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS!
I think that it is great that you have an outline for story time. It would be wonderful if the children could participate in many activities that have to do with their story. It is fun that they will get to comprehend what is going on at all points of their reading!
ReplyDeleteI like how you described things to do before, during, and after reading a story. This is a way to keep children engaged in the reading and it becomes interactive. I also like how you stressed how important it is to provide literature that children are interested in. There is so much literature out there that I feel it would be impossible for children not to find a book they would be interested in.
ReplyDeleteThe worst thing you can do in early childhood is "just read a book". There is so much more to capturing interest than that! Reading with feeling, discussing the material, including the children by making observations and asking questions is really key to creating that personal connection to text and the enjoyment that comes from a good book. Even if we pick out well-known, high quality books to read in the classroom, it can all go to waste if children don't feel that connection.
ReplyDeleteVery good post. Teachers do need the children to do more than just listen. Understanding and experiencing the content by using strategic methods is also important. For example I may want to read a poem entitled "Invitation" by Shel Silverstein. So before the story I could show them the picture of a candle stick on that page and talk about why Shel Silverstein uses that picture. Then I can dim the lights to make the room feel like it is being lit by a flame. During the recitation of the poem I might have the students close their eyes. Lastly after the poem is read I would have them open their eyes and tell me what they saw.
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