Deborah's reflections

My journey to becoming a K-6 TL.

Jan 21

ETL402. Assessment 2, Part B: Reflection

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

This semester, I have refined my concept of what literature is (Nicklin, D. 2020, November 15) and why it is important across all subject areas. Initially, I assumed non-fiction books would be the focus of Literature across the curriculum, however, the power of fiction to support all curriculum subjects, as well as English was established in module one.

In my own professional practice, I have successfully connected students with books (Nicklin, D. 2021, January 1) I now consider connecting students and teachers with literature for all topics to be an even more crucial aspect of my role. The first assessment: Rationale for fiction cemented my understanding that fiction is valuable for its learning potential. Well-chosen books and digital literature not only enhance classroom learning programs but are central to supporting deeper knowledge and understanding of topics as well as support outcomes in all key learning areas (Haven, 2007, p. 97). In the past, collection development for other subjects centered around non-fiction support, however, research and course readings have demonstrated to me that fiction supports learning, comprehension, artistic expression, creativity, connections and critical thinking (Barone, 2011, p. 5).

One of my favourite discussions in module 2 has reviewed picture books and their many uses in the K-12 classroom. Thread 2.2a gave us the opportunity to share interesting books and new discoveries. Sophisticated picture books for older readers can offer many layers of meaning from visual literacy to non-traditional structures and multiple layers of complexity (National Library of New Zealand, 2013). My own discovery of a quite unique picture book hidden in the shelves of the library where I work has multiple uses across grades and genres (Nicklin, Discussion forum. Thread 2.2a).

Greater experience of online learning due to home learning for six weeks in 2020, focused my attention on digital literacy. It was a challenge to locate good quality and suitable reading material. I over-relied on Storyline Online and YouTube videos of a person reading a book. My exploration of what’s available (Nicklin, D. 2021, January 1) left me disappointed that some of these platforms didn’t offer more elements than a shared classroom reading experience. Reading digitally can offer enhanced features such as sound, movement, read-aloud and dictionary links. Studying ETL402 has encouraged me to more efficiently locate enhanced fiction online with a literary and digital focus. I am more attuned to elements that constitute quality digital sources with a broader application.

Modules 5/6 and assessment two challenged me to extend literature responses with deeper reflections of text and the literary learning that can occur. I am excited to rejig my library program in 2021 integrating literacy circles, book trailers, book bento boxes, and moving towards a more transliterate approach across all grades and subjects.

With three years in a primary school library, I considered myself familiar with the collection. However, my aim in 2021 is to read more of the fiction titles that are particularly suited to curriculum areas and are popular with students (Nicklin, D. 2021, January 1). This will assist me to advocate for the fiction collection, collaborate with teachers on the value of fiction for their classroom themes, and to locate multimodal links to support the reading of a text.

In short, I can enhance and deepen the various library services to uplift the reading experiences for all in our wonderful library.

 

References

Barone, D. M. (2010).  Children’s literature in the classroom: Engaging lifelong readers. Guilford Publications. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=581948

 

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 16). Why our futures depend on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

 

Haven, K. F. (2007). Story proof: The science behind the starting power of story.  ABC-CLIO, LLC . https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=329134

 

Nicklin, D. (2020, November 21). Re 2.2a: Picture book for older readers [Forum post]. ETL402, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_49764_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_96426_1&forum_id=_218302_1&message_id=_3317113_1

 

The National Library of New Zealand. (2013). Sophisticated picture books. Services to Schools. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/childrens-and-youth-literature/sophisticated-picture-books

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Jan 8

ETL402. Module 5.1. Reflection

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

Think about ‘your’ library – as teacher librarian, librarian, teacher or public user. What evidence is there that the library supports transliteracy practices? What do you think could be done better? Make a note of your ideas and revisit these at the end of this module to inform your response to the Discussion task outlined later in Module 5.

A definition of transliteracy stated by librarianbyday is:

“Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media.”

At the school I work in, I think we are beginning to move towards this ideal, however, we have many gaps and deficiencies. We have recently updated and added many new devices and wifi capability. More students have greater access during school hours and teachers are branching out and including more ICT. Unfortunately, it isn’t a coordinated response. A technology scope and sequence has always been on the agenda but never seems to move up the to-do list.

Teacher training was uplifted during the online learning period of March and April 2020 and many are continuing to employ some of these learning strategies. Minecraft for education, Google classroom and Seesaw are well integrated. We have lego robotics equipment that is occasionally used and web 2.0 tools are not really explored greatly. I find a great problem with web 2.0 freebies is the amount of advertising that pops up. It’s an annoying distraction for me but young students have a little more difficulty sifting through what is the actual tool and what is extra. Two 3D printers whir away often in a corner of the library making bag tags for buddies to give to new kindergarten students in 2021. Teacher training and time has not been set aside to look for useful tools in the Digital Learning Selector that has been neatly set up by the Department of Education NSW. This makes it very easy to integrate ICT because they have done some of the work for us. Who doesn’t love that! 🙂

librarianbyday. (2009, October 7). Libraries and transliteracy [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/sk4Cw8vrDuM

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Jan 1

ETL402. Module 6.2: Teaching literature: theories

by debnicklin1

sasint / Pixabay

Reflect on your own and your professional colleagues’ knowledge of literature. Identify an occasion when you successfully connected a book with a child or group of students and how your knowledge of the book facilitated this process. Identify possible opportunities for a teacher-librarian to respond to this research within the library and beyond to support teacher colleagues.

ETL501 The Dynamic Information Environment was the subject I studied last semester and this is when I realised I didn’t know my collection as well as I thought I did. Picture books are easy because they are quick reads that can be read while accessioning them or pulling them out of the box. Longer texts or digital texts are harder to know as they require more time on my part to become familiar with more than just the blurb. My own children were the source of novel and series books as they often read what was popular at the time.

Over these holidays I am endeavoring to read at least the first couple of chapters of some of the titles in the library.

Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

His Name was Walter by Emily Rodda

Withering by Sea by Judith Rossell

The Land of Stories: The wishing spell (Book 1) by Chris Colfer

All of these books I have recommended successfully to students, however, I know little about the storylines. A recent book fair allowed me the time to engage with students in what they would like added to our collection. I began a list of the books from the fair they really wanted in the library and this was the list I used to purchase my commission. 2021 I have two goals:

  1. Purchase diverse books to reflect our school population
  2. Purchase student requests.

Books purchased earlier in the year to support the Multilit program were from a list supplied from the company. We had few of the books on the shelves but I recognised over half of the list as adult titles. This seemed odd for a program aimed at promoting reading for struggling primary aged readers. Unfortunately, the teacher ignored the alternative list I produced and went ahead and purchased the books… they ended up on the teacher book swap shelf in the staffroom!

TL promotion opportunities

  1. Staff meeting – sharing of new titles to the library.
  2. Teach staff how to search the LMS to identify titles.
  3. Suggest titles to match upcoming classroom themes.
  4. Promote and share articles that suggest daily free-choice reading will influence their English results.
  5. Promote more titles during library lessons. Students would be willing to help out.
  6. “Golden Lines” display (Fisher and Frey, 2018, p. 92) of standout sentences from student reading.
  7. Use more socio-cultural strategies in library lessons.

 

Chapter 1: Theories of teaching literature (pp. 6-9)

Beach, R., Appleman, D., Hynds, S., & Wilhelm, J. (2011). Teaching literature to adolescents. Taylor and Francis.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2018). Raise reading volume through access, choice, discussion, and book talks. Reading Teacher, 72(1), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1691

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Jan 1

Module 4.1: Literature in the digital environment

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

Reflection: Existing stories can be told in highly relevant and new ways on a whole new level with book apps.

My niece and nephew who are 3 and 6 are quite tech-savvy. They are up to a second tablet each and operate  them easily. My teenagers are considered digital natives however they never had the kind of immersion that my niece and nephew participate in daily. Despite this they love books and their parents gather many traditional books and share stories with them often. I attempted to search for some book apps, however, as Haughton (2015, January 4) states there are many that are disappointing and don’t enhance the content of the original text. Recommendations from trusted friends and TLs would be a better way to source high-quality apps rather than trawling through the large number available.

I wonder if the interactivity offers more than a shared reading session classroom can offer. Cute features such as animal sounds and movement of the illustrations are fun but do little to offer an enhanced understanding of the text. For young students, involvement in text, storyline, creative illustration and narrative does encourage a love of story and literature which can only serve them well in literature learning.

 

Haughton, C. (2015, January 4). Top 10 book and bookish apps for young children. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jan/04/top-10-book-and-bookish-apps-for-children-chris-haughton

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Dec 15

Reflection: censorship and inclusion.

by debnicklin1

lil_foot_ / Pixabay

How have your various roles based on your age,family background, societal position, religious beliefs and profession influenced your stance on censorship of children’s literature collections?

Module 3.4

I fit a white anglo saxon, middle-class background.

I was in the majority group for my suburb when we moved here, however, that is rapidly changing, and the diversity of cultural backgrounds is increasing. Despite this, I still feel like I am in the majority, so I don’t feel any sense of difference because of my culture.

The library where I work is very diverse and this has highlighted the nature of the collection as being dominantly from a white perspective. Through collection development, I have begun to build resources reflecting our diverse population however texts that offer diverse characters or authors from other countries are in the minority. Toby Rajput’s statement that we should teach critical thinking so we don’t need to remove any books from our shelves (National Louise University, 2012), is a great value. We can appreciate the work of an author, however look at the work as a particular attitude at a particular time.

This idea can help me to encourage students to critically think about the attitudes portrayed in texts and whether they are acceptable today. Awareness of a need to balance our collection is at the forefront of my mind, but it’s also crucial that we analyse the texts we have in the collection considering the values we hold today.

Censorship can be a grey area in collection development in a primary school. A robust policy regarding challenged materials is important, allowing a broad range of texts to be available. However, individuals can have very strong personal opinions that they believe should be common to all in a community. Sensitivity by library staff and the school principal comes into play whilst taking into account free choice in reading.

National Louis University. (2012). Stereotypes in children’s literature [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbxoNDkuHdo

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Nov 15

ETL402. Module 1.2 Reading outcomes map

by debnicklin1

From The Reading Agency. Literature review: Impact of reading for pleasure and empowerment.

The Reading Agency. (2015, June). Literature review: The impact of reading for pleasure and empowerment. BOP Consulting. https://readingagency.org.uk/news/The%20Impact%20of%20Reading%20for%20Pleasure%20and%20Empowerment.pdf

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Nov 15

ETL402. M1.1. What are the key features for a definition of children’s literature?

by debnicklin1

geralt / Pixabay

Defining children’s literature is tricky.

Could be included:

  • a reference to the language that is particular to literature for 0-18yrs.
  • the multiple formats that characterise communication today and for future students.
  • the elements that amuse, entertain, inform and attract children to literature.
  • the ability for literature to empower readers with technical skills and cognitive knowledge.
  • the enduring nature of children’s literature to hold a place in our memories as adults.
  • the increasing complexity of language that occurs from 0-18yrs.
  • to learn about their own and others cultures.

A definition that includes all of these elements would be unwieldy and complicated. In some of the readings in this module, academics describe writing a definition as difficult. I’m not sure I would ever be satisfied with my own definition either. My simple attempt is: It is literature written for and enjoyed by children.

ETL402 ETL504

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Nov 15

ETL402. Module 1. Why Read????

by debnicklin1

Haven (2007),  reviewed many studies that focus on the skills improved via reading for pleasure and they all concluded that ‘storytelling enhanced literacy’ (p. 113). TL’s and teachers don’t need such studies to know this, however, we limit or reduce the time reading for pleasure time is allocated during school.

Gainman (2013), states that simply providing books students enjoy, allowing time to read and reading to students gives students the encouragement to read. Students can then discover the value of literature. We are a literate society and the ability to read and comprehend is an expectation and requirement. Reading for pleasure supports these reasons and offers social, emotional and cultural knowledge as well as pure enjoyment.

I have a student (6 yrs old) who is only allowed to borrow non-fiction. He says it’s because his mum says he needs to ‘learn stuff.’ This ignores the emotional, cultural and pleasurable side of reading as well the ability to comprehend and enjoy a story. As a consequence, he devours fiction at school and keeps the borrowed non-fiction for home.

 

readingagency. (2013, October 22). Neil Gaiman Reading Agency lecture 2013 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yNIUWv9_ZH0

Haven, K. F. (2007). Story proof: The science behind the startling power of story. ABC-CLIO, LLC. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=329134

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Nov 15

ETL402. Module 1.1 Reflect on children’s literature

by debnicklin1

 

Book Fair Bonanza

Two weeks ago I finished a book fair from a local company (Carnival Book Fairs). Initially, it was to be a virtual fair however it was changed to a traditional fair with the books on display for purchase in the library space. Mainly because covid cases in Sydney are very low and our students have missed out on so many other things this year. My contact at the company informed me sales would be down due to parents not able to visit and the general trend to more careful spending by families.

The 6 large silver cases arrived with all the goodies and I arranged the 3 fiction cases on one side and the non-fiction on the other. First impressions of the fiction selection saw more graphic novels, more series and new authors I didn’t recognise. First impressions of the non-fiction cases showed more products which were spin offs of television shows, computer games and movies. There were a few traditional texts on topics such as netball and trucks etc. Educational titles such as Maths in Nature and Stem topics were there too.

This time it was interesting to see what students went for first without parent influence.

Overwhelmingly, items connected with computer games, movies and television programs were the hot items. Everything Minecraft, Disney Frozen/Princesses, glittery unicorns and secret diaries sold out quickly and orders needed to be placed. The fiction side was slower to move and needed closer scrutiny before decisions were made. Blurbs were promoted and read by students and the first few pages were perused. Students took wishlists home and parents had more say and more books were included in purchases made.

I noticed:

  • cultural diversity titles and characters were minimal.
  • indigenous titles were minimal.
  • gender equality titles were included in a reasonable number.
  • a good selection of visual narratives (graphic novels) were on the shelves.
  • spin-off products from computer games, movies, streamimg services and television programs were common and popular.

 

Kathy Short (2018) in her article described all of these trends listed in the dot points above in children’s literature. Collection development policies are highlighted in school libraries as being essential to challenge the market (Short, 2018), particularly in the cultural diversity and indigenous content that is lacking in the commercial production of mainstream products. The focus in our library in the past year has been to seek out and include culturally diverse and indigenous narratives. Gradually more and more titles for primary school age children are available but not generally in mainstream bookshops. I need to seek them out in specialist bookshops.

My fair was the most successful ever! I sold the highest amount our school has ever sold and earned myself 35% in commissions.

Do you have a vision for the future of children’s literature?

I hope that children’s literature is valued and essential to growing up.

Who will be the drivers of change?

Readers of all ages

Technology innovations

Government and schools to broaden access

Publishing companies

Teacher librarians of course!

 

Short, K. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/2036727382?accountid=10344&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

 

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