Category: ETL402

Literature Across the Curriculum

Assessment Task, ETL402, Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship)

Making Connections on a Quest to Find the Hidden Gem

Louise

ETL 402: Literature Across the Curriculum

ASSESSMENT 2 – Reflective Blog Post

Being immersed in a book is both thrilling and captivating. We all want a book to envelop us and experience it from within – as teacher-librarians our mission is to find these hidden gems and ensure our students are captivated too. My hope was ETL402 would reveal the secret to finding the right book for the right reader to engage children in literature across the curriculum, promote enquiry, and contextualise learning (Waugh, et al, 2016).

Defining children’s literature was the first step along this quest. I identified with Em Sze’s (2022, November 8) viewpoint of children’s books being timeless and suitable for adults. Something I look for when choosing a book to read to children. Some students perceive picture books as texts for younger readers. I argue that the audience is fluid because authors must engage adults too in order to share with children (Foyel, November 22). Bringing this into my own practice in the library, I reshelved senior picture books separately. This change encouraged some reluctant readers (generally in Stage 3) to value picture books once again, without feeling disenchanted or judged by their choice of format. Importantly, the enthusiasm and impact of teacher-librarians and the vital role they play in influencing students to read for enjoyment should never be underestimated (Gagen-Sprigs, 2020).

Making connections with text is vital and thinking beyond the written narrative is certainly one element that is not identified in most definitions of children’s literature (Foyel, November 23), though important for identifying new understandings (Buckley, November 11). I learnt that connections to text and reading for pleasure may be the key to academic success, an important part of empowering readers to develop critical literacy skills (Turner, 2014). Supported by numerous studies (Foyel, 2022, November 20), reading for pleasure has many positive implications for student academic success (National Library of New Zealand, n.d).

Examining the most influential books from my childhood, elements such as compelling characters, rich imagery and tension-building, influence the text choices I make for read-alouds (Foyel, 2022, November 26). This encouraged me to question how authentic sharing helps students to understand a complex world (Goldstone, 2001/2001). I recognised that sharing a book with a child is a ritualistic, bonding time (Gaiman, 2013) to delve into morals, and messages, or to simply enjoy (Foyel, 2022, November 20).

Although children are first influenced by adults’ selections, when they begin to self-select, children become the drivers of change (Foyel, 2022, November 20). I learnt that new trends in children’s literature are influenced by many things, including societal changes and the digital age (Foyel, 2022, December 23). Despite being inspired to have my students respond to literature using technology, by creating book trailers (Balafoutis, 2023 January 7), digital literature remains a challenge for me. I perceived a lack of emotional bonding and connection with students when engaging in these texts (Foyel, December 27), until I discovered the augmented reality book Between Worlds (Adam Savage’s Tested, 2016). I immediately bought a copy and became excited about the possibilities for teaching and learning with this emerging technology, I began to look at digital forms through a new lens (Yokota & Teale, 2014) and now wonder what the future holds for children’s literature as I continue my journey into the future.

GEM FOUND (though the quest continues)!

References

Adam Savage’s Tested. (2016, October 26). Between worlds: Augmented reality in storytelling [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/YO1E7DBuqtc

Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2020). An Investigation into the Reasons Students Read for Pleasure. School Libraries Worldwide, 26(1), 110–123.

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

Goldstone (2001/2002) Whaz up with our books? Changing picture book codes and teaching implications. Reading Teacher, 55(4), 362-370.

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Reading for pleasure: A door to success. Services to Schools. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/understanding-reading-engagement/reading-for-pleasure-a-door-to-success

Turner, C. (2014). Opening the portal: an exploration of the use of postmodern picture books to develop critical literacy and contribute to learning in the Australian Curriculum: English. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 22(1) 52-61 https://search-informit-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/10.3316/aeipt.201744

Waugh, D. Neaum, S., & Waugh, R. (2016). Childrens literature in primary schools. SAGE Publications.

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014) Picture books and the digital world. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577-585. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1262

ETL402, Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship)

eBooks vs Paper Books – Which do you prefer?

Louise

ETL 402 Module 5.2 Reflection

Think about how you process information and read. Are young people any different? Do they use technology differently than older people? Have ebooks ‘taken off’ in your school? What reasons could explain this?

 

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When the lockdowns forced our school library to close, I subscribed to some ebook providers for a free trial. During this time, borrowing self-selected texts decreased.

I believe there were a number of reasons this occurred, despite promoting these options to teachers, students and parents in various ways. This included emails to students and promoting the sites and instructional videos about how to log in and borrow books via library Google Classroom. Instructional videos were also shared with parents via our school stream app and weekly newsletter. Teachers also promoted new ways to borrow via their class Google Classroom and Class Dojo to parents. 

Some of the reasons for low borrowing statistics may have included some students not having access to technology (though school laptops were borrowed by any student who did not have one at home) or not being able to navigate the sites on their own. Being a K-6 school and children in Kindergarten to Year 3 had not had any experience at school using laptops and were also learning how to navigate their class work on a new platform. 

On returning to school I surveyed students about their use of ebooks and how they preferred to self-select books. There was an overwhelming response to reading print-based books and they preferred to read or even reread books from home rather than books online. Barshay (2019) reported that Clinton (2019) found her students also preferred to read paper-based books and felt that they learned more from the text on paper. 

In Sparks’ research (2021) it was found that children 8 years and younger comprehended print-based texts better, additionally, poor readers did not look at the eB0ok and relied on the illustrations in the eye-tracking experiment.  

Kamenetz (2018) reported that emotional bonding and the physical connection was also an important factor when reading with children, and parents and teachers have an essential role to play when sharing and modelling reading to children. Furthermore, Kamenetz (2018) noted that electronic devices for young children are not ideal when not supported by an adult and certainly must have both text and illustrations to be effective. 

I know from my own experience I have not been able to switch to ebooks and much prefer a physical paper book in my hands. I like to flick back and forth pages at times and I know that reading a paper book just before bed puts me to sleep, rather than increasing the use of technology and being exposed to the light from the screen to keep me awake further. 

 

References 

Barshay, J. (2019, August 12). Evidence increases for reading on paper instead of screens. Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/evidence-increases-for-reading-on-paper-instead-of-screens/

 

Kamenetz, A. (2018, May 24). What’s going on in your child’s brain when you read them a story? KQED: MindShift. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/51281/whats-going-on-in-your-childs-brain-when-you-read-them-a-story

Sparks, S. D. (2021, July 22). Reading on screen vs print: New analysis thickens the plot on comprehension. Education Week.

ETL402

Knowledge of Children’s Literature

Louise

 

Children’s literature is complex in nature and can be difficult to define because personal perceptions shape this definition. When considering my own knowledge of children’s literature, it is difficult to determine how far back to go. I have been immersed in literature as far back as I can remember. I have grown up with familiar authors, just as some children grew up with Harry Potter, and have always had an affinity with old favourites, such as Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, Enid Blyton, Mem Fox and C.S. Lewis. THen developed some new favourites as a teacher, parent, aunty and teacher librarian, such as Julia Donaldson, Aaron Blabey, Matt Cosgrove, Michael Pfister, Stephen Michael King, and J.K. Rowling…just to name a small few of course! Considering children’s literature is like considering my life itself. Listening to reading and sharing the written form and feeding my imagination through fiction texts to entertain, amuse and capture a sense of escapism. The lines are definitely blurred between children’s and adult literature  (Huck et. al. 1987), picture books in particular, though have children as the intended audience, adults must want to read them to children too. Who is to say what a child enjoys reading and what an adult enjoys sharing with children? Simply put, if literature provides enjoyment, then its audience is negligible.

 

So then, how is our professional knowledge about children’s literature obtained and increased?  

Here are some strategies that can be used:

  • network with other professionals
  • network with local authors and illustrators
  • connect with local libraries
  • connect with local publishers
  • read professional journals (eg, SCAN, INCITE, Connections)
  • join organisations that promote quality literature (eg. CBCA, NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge, National Simultaneous Storytime)
  • follow book awards (eg, CBCA Book of the Year Awards, YABBA)
  • use current syllabus documents
  • Engage with literature
  • Read to children
ETL402, Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship)

The value of children’s literature and who influences this

Louise
ETL402 ~ Literature Across the Curriculum: Module 1
The value of children’s literature has changed substantially over time, you only need to look back through the history of children’s literature and how the content has evolved. The 17th Century saw works for children aimed at moral and spiritual behaviour and etiquette telling stories to children who were seen as small adults (Broomhall, McEwan, & Tarbin, 2017). Storytelling has become a ritualistic sharing time for adults and children, though still may contain a moral. Books for children have emerged in today’s society, into new genres, especially with the advent of new technologies (Wolf, 2014) and new trends in the influence of animation and visual culture and the limited availability of books reflecting the diverse nature of today’s world (Short, 2018).
So who influences these changes in literature? Is it the world, the society we live in, adults who select books (parents, educators or otherwise) or the children who are reading or sharing in them? Who are the drivers of change?
As a Teacher Librarian, I have seen the exponential rise in graphic novel borrowing and requests for more by students. With this comes the careful selection of this genre to ensure suitability for primary school-aged children. This is driven by student selection, and at the same time, the increased demand from readers has ensured authors and publishers are meeting this demand. Converting many loved books into graphic novels such as the Wings of Fire series (Sutherland) and fresh takes on classics such as the Babysitter club series. Along with other popular titles such as Bad Guys (Blabey), Dog Man (Pilkey), Amulet (Kibuishi) and Sisters (Telgmeier, 2014). Many of these have themes of fantasy, adventure or current issues. This being said, I think the biggest drivers of change are the readers themselves and their interest in the visual nature of the books, as a strong visual appeal keeps readers immersed and is central to their experience and interaction with the text (Short, K, 2018), with parents, teachers and other influential adults fostering the childs love of reading for enjoyment.
References
Broomhall, S., McEwan, J., & Tarbin, S. (2017, March 30). Once upon a time: A brief history of children’s literature. The Conversation.
Short, K. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298.
Wolf, S. (2014). Children’s literature on the digital move. Reading Teacher, 67(6), 413-417. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1002/trtr.1235