Valuing Children

1
Valuing Childrens Literature

• Media and Literature for Children
• Saundra Peterson, Assistant Professor
• Curriculum Instruction
• North Carolina AT State University

2
Valuing Literature for Children

• Literature should be valued in our homes and
  schools for the enrichment it gives to the
  personal lives of children as well as the
  educational benefits.

3
Valuing Literature for Children

• Literature provides delight and enjoyment.
  Literature can be educational and entertaining
  and can contribute to the development of
• Personal Values
• Narrative as a way of thinking

4
Valuing Literature for Children

• Imagination (nature, people, experiences or ideas
  in new ways)
• Vicarious experiences
• Insight into human behavior
• Universality of experience
• Educational values
• Development of language

5
Literature in School

• Experiences with literature at an early age can
  benefit children. Once children enter school,
  they also benefit when literature is placed at
  the center of the curriculum.

6
Literature in School

• Reading aloud and learning to read
• The powerful influence of books on literacy and
  childrens language development continues once
  they enter school.
• Reading aloud can result in significant increases
  in their reading achievement.

7
Literature in School

• Develop a since of book language
• Hearing books read aloud is a powerful motivation
  for the child to begin to read. Children learn
  that reading provides enjoyment. In turn, they
  want to learn to read themselves.
• They also see someone important in their lives
  value books.
• Exposure to books also provides a rich input of
  literary language.

8
Literature in School

• Listening introduces children to patterns of
  language and extends vocabulary and meaning.
• It help them become successful readers. The more
  experience with literature, the greater their
  ability to grasp the meaning of the text and
  understand the way the author tells it.

9
Literature in School

• It also allows children to develop fluency and
  understanding of language
• Reading of many books is essential to the
  development of better readers.
• Reading and rereading of stories help develop
  avid readers.

10
Literature in School

• Avid readers also develop better writing skills.
  
• There is a relationship between reading and
  writing. Good writers are avid readers. Reading
  and writing develop together. Reading provides
  models for childrens writing and the kinds of
  reading children are exposed to are important.

11
Literature in the Home

• Reading aloud in the home has been shown to be
  a powerful connection to later success in
  learning to read and in developing a positive
  attitude towards reading.
• Books in the home and reading aloud are
  important factors in children learning to read.

12
Literature in School

• Promotes critical thinking and problem solving
• Comparing, summarizing and finding the main ideas
  are major components of critical thinking
• The variety of literary content and the
  availability of many books on topic s provide
  opportunities for thinking critically and making
  judgments.

13
Literature in School

• Literature across the curriculum
• The widely read person is usually the
  well-informed person. The content of literature
  educates while it entertains.
• All areas of the curriculum can be enriched
  through literature. Children can start with a
  story and research the facts or might start with
  the facts and find the true meanings in the
  stories surrounding the facts.

14
Literature in School

• Introduce literary heritage
• Childrens appreciation for literature and their
  literary heritage must be developed gradually in
  elementary school as a way to add to the
  enjoyment of literature.