Literacy Module 2 Ogdimalanta

TEACHING LITERACY IN THE
ELEMENTARY GRADES THROUGH

LITERATURE
MODULE 2
1 OGDIMALANTA
Chapter 2
Significance of Literature in Teaching Children
Giving children access to all varieties of literature is extremely important for

their success. Educators, parents, and community members should help
students develop a love and passion for reading. Not only is reading
literature important in developing cognitive skills to be able to succeed in a
school or work setting, but it is valuable for other reasons as well. Although
there are countless values in exposing children to literature, Donna Norton
(2010) identifies the value of literature for young people in her book
Through the Eyes of a Child. Children’s literature is important because it
provides students with opportunities to respond to literature; it gives
students appreciation about their own cultural heritage as well as those of
others; it helps students develop emotional intelligence and creativity; it
nurtures growth and development of the student’s personality and social
skills; and it transmits important literature and themes from one generation
to the next.
The first value to note is that children’s literature provides students

with the opportunity to respond to literature and develop their own
opinions about the topic. This strengthens the cognitive developmental
domain as it encourages deeper thought about literature. Quality literature
does not tell the reader everything he/she needs to know; it allows for some
difference in opinion. One reader may take something completely different
away from the piece of literature than the next reader, based on the two
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personal viewpoints and experiences. Students can learn to evaluate and
analyze literature, as well as summarize and hypothesize about the topic.
Norton says that for children, “wordless picture books are excellent stimuli
for oral and written language” (2010, p. 9). Students reading wordless
books like A Ball for Daisy (Raschka, 2011), The Yellow Umbrella (Liu,
1987), or The Red Book (Lehmann, 2004) will be able to analyze the
illustrations and develop their own dialogue for the story. This strengthens
students’ cognitive functions in being able to form opinions on their own
and to express themselves through language in summarizing the plot of a
wordless book.
Second, children’s literature provides an avenue for students to learn

about their own cultural heritage and the cultures of other people. It is
crucial for children to learn these values because, “developing positive
attitudes toward our own culture and the cultures of others is necessary for
both social and personal development” (Norton, 2010, p. 3). In saying this,
however, when teaching students about the cultural heritage of others, one
should be very careful in selecting which books to recommend to young
readers. There are many stories, some folktales, which contain blatant
stereotypes and inaccuracies about certain cultural groups. This includes
books such as Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Jeffers, 1991), or The Rough-
Face Girl (Martin, 1992). Both of these stories depict Native Americans in a
misguided way and contain misinterpretations of what actually occurred in
history. For example, the Iroquois tribe in The Rough-Face Girl (Martin,
1992) historically lived in longhouses, but the illustrator depicts these
Native Americans as living in teepees. This is a clichéd view, and it can be
very damaging in perpetuating stereotypes if we as adults are not cautious
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in the books we have in our classroom and home libraries. However, there
are some children’s books that are more accurate in teaching the cultural
differences of others. A story called “Eric” from Tales from Outer Suburbia
(Tan, 2009) is a touching story about a family who takes in a foreign
exchange student and must learn about their guest and accept the
differences between their cultures. It has a positive message about
encouraging acceptance of the cultural differences between people, which
is something that we want to help nurture in our students. Another book
that helps discuss culture is Going Home (Bunting, 1996), which is the
story of a Mexican immigrant family with the children who were born in the
U.S. There is a difference in what “home” is for the parents and the
children, and when they take a trip to Mexico, the children realize how
important their parent’s culture and homeland is for them. Many books are
available that depict culture as an important piece of society that is to be
treasured and valued, and those books can have great value for students.
Third, children’s literature helps students develop emotional

intelligence. Stories have the power to promote emotional and moral
development. Children’s literature “contains numerous moments of crisis,
when characters make moral decisions and contemplate the reasons for
their decisions,” an important skill for children to see modeled (Norton,
2010, p. 34). Guji Guji (Chen, 2004), for example, is a story about a
crocodile who is adopted into a family of ducks. Ultimately he must choose
between betraying his adopted family and going back to his own “species,”
and he decides to remain true to his beliefs and not betray his family. The
Scar (Moundlic, 2007) is an effective book to read with students in order to
teach them about responding to grief, as it is about a boy whose mother
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dies. This requires a complex level of emotional intelligence, as many
young children do not understand death. The topic of death would be more
appropriate for an older grade level, but it is an important topic to discuss
with students. Another book that encourages emotional intelligence is
Selma (Bauer, 2002), which discusses what it takes for a young sheep to
be happy. It is a philosophical story within a picture book, and challenges
students to think about what happiness really is. The Big Box (Morrison,
1999) is a story about children who have their freedom taken away by
being put into a box and the deeper problems that exist with not being
given one’s freedom. Children’s literature encourages students to think
deeper about their own feelings.
Children’s literature also encourages creativity. Norton stresses “the

role that literature plays in nurturing and expanding the imagination” (2010,
p. 4). The House in the Night (Swanson, 2008) depicts the creativity that a
young girl has in her dreams at night, as she flies about the dark
neighborhood on the wings of a bird. The Amazing Pop-up Music Book
(Petty, 1999), Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (Moss, 1995), and Look Closer: Art
Masterpieces Through The Ages (Desnoettes, 2006) are imaginative and
original books that encourage students to learn about music and art, and
they are engaging in their design and interactivity. Children’s literature
promotes the development of students’ internal imaginations.
Children’s literature is of value because it fosters personality and

social development. Children are very impressionable during the
formative years, and children’s literature can help them develop into caring,
intelligent, and friendly people. Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget
says that when students move from the pre-operational to the operational
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stage of cognitive development, they become less egocentric. Whereas
students in preschool and kindergarten may be entirely focused on
themselves, as students grow older they begin to take into account the
feelings and viewpoints of others. Being able to understand other people’s
viewpoints and to not be selfish are important skills that adults must nurture
in children, as Norton says that “acceptable relationships require an
understanding of the feelings and viewpoints of others” (2010, p. 27).
Children’s literature can foster social development by encouraging students
to accept other people and their differences. Books like And Tango Makes
Three (Parnell & Richardson, 2005), Molly’s Family (Garden, 2004),
Heather Has Two Mommies (Newman & Souza, 1989) and Daddy’s
Roommate (Wilhoite, 2000) present situations that might encourage
students to become more open-minded to different types of families and
understand that love is the most important thing in a family. Children’s
literature can also encourage students to develop relationships with people,
encouraging social contact. An atypical friendship is depicted in Loop the
Loop (Dugan, 1992), where a young child and an elderly person become
good friends and share the common joy of playing with yo-yo’s. In A Couple
of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Frazee, 2008), the boys learn to think of
the needs of others when they build a diorama for the grandpa who is
fascinated with penguins. Literature encourages students to be considerate
and friendly people, and these traits may be consistent with developing
students into quality citizens.
Finally, children’s literature is of value because it is a timeless

tradition, one in which “books are the major means of transmitting
our literary heritage from one generation to the next” (Norton, 2010, p.
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3). Classic stories like Dr. Seuss’ And to Think That I Heard it on Mulberry
Street (Geisel, 1989) and The Cat in the Hat (Geisel, 1957) are important
books to read to children because of their literary heritage. For a younger
audience, children could build their cognitive and language skills through
exposure to Mother Goose rhymes. One example of a good collection of
these classic rhymes is Hey Diddle Diddle and Other Mother Goose
Rhymes (dePaola, 1998). Children in older grades can learn to appreciate
the classic plays and messages of William Shakespeare in picture books
that aim to make the plays more accessible. Many versions of
Shakespeare’s works are available in abridged and picture book formats,
including Romeo and Juliet (Coville, 1999) and The Tempest (Mayer, 2005).
Children are only young for a short time, and so we must give them access
to a basic literary heritage of timeless books. Quality children’s literature
has the great power to captivate audiences for many generations.
Children’s literature is extremely valuable in both the school setting and at

home. Teachers and parents should both be able to differentiate between
quality and mediocre literature, in order to give students access to the best
books to encourage these important values of literature and considering
developmental domains. Children’s literature is valuable in providing an
opportunity to respond to literature, as well as cultural knowledge,
emotional intelligence and creativity, social and personality development,
and literature history to students across generations. Exposing children to
quality literature can contribute to the creation of responsible, successful,
and caring individuals.
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References and Supplementary Materials
Books
English Curriculum Guide, K to 12 Curriculum. Department of Education.
Kreber, Carolin (2006) Developing the Scholarship of Teaching Through

Transformative Learning. Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,
vol. 6(1), 88-109.
Lesley University (n.d.) Empowering Students: The 5E Model Explained.

https://lesley.edu/article/empowering -students-the-5e-model-explained
Bercacio. R(2016) PER3C Learning model. Unpublished report on

Innovative Modules in selected Courses in Teacher Education, BU, Legaspi
City
Bonces, Rodriguez(2012) Content and Language Integrated Learning

(CLIL): Considerations in the Colombian Context. Gist Education and
Learning Research Journal 6, 177-189.
Carter, Ronald A. % Michael N. Long (1991) Teaching Literature. Harlow:

Longman Pub. Northern College learning Excellence & Innovation
Department (n.d) Writing a lesson plan.
Online Supplementary Reading Materials
Phenomenon-based learning. https://www.

Phenomenonaleducation.info/phenomenon-based-learning.html
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Literary Devices. https://literarydevices.net/
Introduction to Literature: Forms, Divisions and Subdivisions.

http://www.academia.edu/Introduction_to_Literature_Forms_Divisions_and
_subdivision
Assessment
Name: Course, Year and Section
ESSAY: Answer the following questions briefly and concisely.
1. What are the significance of literacy among children?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.
8 OGDIMALANTA

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TEACHING LITERACY IN THE

ELEMENTARY GRADES THROUGH

Significance of Literature in Teaching Children

Giving children access to all varieties of literature is extremely important for

The first value to note is that children’s literature provides students

Second, children’s literature provides an avenue for students to learn

Third, children’s literature helps students develop emotional

Children’s literature also encourages creativity. Norton stresses “the

Children’s literature is of value because it fosters personality and

Finally, children’s literature is of value because it is a timeless

Children’s literature is extremely valuable in both the school setting and at

English Curriculum Guide, K to 12 Curriculum. Department of Education.

Kreber, Carolin (2006) Developing the Scholarship of Teaching Through

Lesley University (n.d.) Empowering Students: The 5E Model Explained.

Bercacio. R(2016) PER3C Learning model. Unpublished report on

Bonces, Rodriguez(2012) Content and Language Integrated Learning

Carter, Ronald A. % Michael N. Long (1991) Teaching Literature. Harlow:

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

Phenomenon-based learning. https://www.

Introduction to Literature: Forms, Divisions and Subdivisions.

Name: Course, Year and Section

ESSAY: Answer the following questions briefly and concisely.

1. What are the significance of literacy among children?

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