EDU 298 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Close Reading, Endpaper, Lesson Learned
20 Jun 2018
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Children’s Literature Midterm Study Guide
1. How personal stories can add meaning to our lives.
Stories fill literally every aspect of our lives
More than a book the way our minds make sense of things (our world & lives)
How we think and construct meaning from experiences
i. Views of the world: web of interconnected stories
Theories: just bigger stories
2. The value of literature in a child’s life and their school experiences
Often used to teach about other subjects
Enjoyment
i. Positive early experiences often lead to lifetime of reading for personal
enjoyment
ii. Exp: scary mysteries, becoming close to characters, humor
Personal & cultural Identity
i. Stories in communities or passed down by generations connects people to their
past
ii. Can explore aspects of identity: race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion,
language, disability, family structure, social class
Imagination & transformation
i. Give kids alternate ways to understand past or imagine future
ii. Readers can critically look at hard decisions characters make & develop own
morals/values
iii. See new perspectives & ways of living
Knowledge & insights
i. Books combine reason & emotion
ii. Info books: facts within social context using narrative, fiction/poetry: insights
into life along with information
Understanding & empathy
i. Teaches what connects us as human beings & what makes us unique
ii. Can see life through someone else’s eyes – helps develop sense of social justice
& empathy
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iii. Literature: essential in teaching about different cultures & places
iii.1. Kids relate more when it is presented like this
Literary & artistic preferences
i. Kids develop personal preferences if they read a lot creates sense of
engagement critical to becoming lifelong reader
ii. The more kids know about the world, the more they know about themselves
3. How quality literature can enhance our daily academic instruction
Reading & Writing
i. Foster language development
ii. Helps young kids learn to read & value learning
iii. Reading aloud to children: most important factor in building the knowledge that
leads to success in reading
iv. Independent reading helps kids with vocab, fluency & comprehension greatly
and exposing them to great lit: good models to follow
Literature across the Curriculum
i. You can use lit to teach other subjects (SS, history, science, health, arts, math)
ii. Helpful to use more interesting books than textbooks which still teach the info
iii. Textbooks can be paired with fiction
Appreciation and Visual Culture
i. Illustrations: appreciated for narrative value & aesthetic value
i.1. When praising them, highlighting value of art as visual culture
ii. Can discuss style, medium, color, line, shape with kids (have them create their
own)
4. Reasons why literature and reading is at risk in our society today
High levels of illiteracy, even higher levels of aliteracy (people who can read and choose
not to)
Correlation between decline in reading & increase in participation in electronic media
(exp. Internet, video games, portable digital devices)
Many students stop because reading: associated with textbooks & schoolwork
Consequences:
i. Voluntary reading: correlated with academic achievement in reading
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find more resources at oneclass.com
ii. Proficient readers: more $ rewarding jobs & opportunities for career growth
iii. Lit readers: 3x as likely attend museums, plays, concerts, make artwork, 2x as
likely to exercise volunteer & vote
5. Characteristics to consider when selecting appropriate literature for children
Vocabulary
Amount of words vs pictures
i. Important for young kids, when young- pics need to drive story, if too A
ii. If there are too many words kids won’t be interested
Topic/content/emotion
i. Will they be engaged? Will it draw their attention? If they don’t understand
might get frustrated, must teach dark subjects (holocaust), kids leave clues about
what they’re interested in
Maturity/what’s appropriate
i. Important to preview books, lots of hidden symbolism/meanings, older kids
might figure out with critical thinking
Visuals
i. Font: significant, illustrations matter most in picture books
Language Themes
i. Rhyming, repetition
Sentence structure/length
i. Depends on kids’ reading level
Length
i. Young kids have very short attention span
Interactive
Connections with course material
Current events in lives
i. Books can be therapy for those that can’t afford it, must build relationships with
families to find out about lives, never know what’s happening that might affect
learning
Time Period
i. Important for SS – could travel through time
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Children"s literature midterm study guide: how personal stories can add meaning to our lives. Stories fill literally every aspect of our lives. More than a book the way our minds make sense of things (our world & lives) How we think and construct meaning from experiences: views of the world: web of interconnected stories. Theories: just bigger stories: the value of literature in a child"s life and their school experiences. Often used to teach about other subjects. Enjoyment: positive early experiences often lead to lifetime of reading for personal enjoyment, exp: scary mysteries, becoming close to characters, humor. Personal & cultural identity: stories in communities or passed down by generations connects people to their past, can explore aspects of identity: race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, language, disability, family structure, social class. Imagination & transformation: give kids alternate ways to understand past or imagine future, readers can critically look at hard decisions characters make & develop own morals/values iii.
