What is literary learning? A simple answer would be that literary learning means learning by reading literature. However, I am learning that it is not just about being exposed to literary texts, but it is the strategies that are embedded within the learning, that encourage dialogic processes and critical and creative thinking. It is the process whereby students examine and reflect on the ideas in texts, share their ideas, and work to construct their own knowledge. Literature allows students to gain access to key content knowledge, but it’s so much more than that.
Using literature as a pathway into learning allows students unique insight into the curriculum as they connect with the content on a more personal and emotive level, gaining a sense of empathy that may not have otherwise been gained (Papen & Peach, 2021; Cornett, 2014). This allows them to connect the information to their own experiences, allowing them to more actively engage with the ideas, themes and messages and develop their own informed opinions and beliefs.
References
Cornett, C. E. (2014). Integrating the literary arts throughout the curriculum. In Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts: Arts Integration for Classroom Teachers (5th ed.). 144-193. Prentice Hall.
Papen, U., & Peach, E. (2021). Picture books and critical literacy: using multimodal interaction analysis to examine children’s engagements with a picture book about war and child refugees. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 44(1), 61-74.