Chapter 11- Diverse Perspectives in Children's Literature

        Chapter 11 discusses a major issue that takes place throughout schools all across the United States. Diversity is something that students need to understand because their classrooms are filled with diverse children. High quality multicultural children’s literature is available now than ever before. It is important to teachers to understand how important it is to include multicultural literature in the classroom. It is also critical that teachers are able to select high quality multicultural literature for children.

        I discovered that in the 1950s diverse literature for children and young adults was almost nonexistent. In the last few decade the number of multicultural books published far surpasses that of any previous decade. It is important to keep this going. Teachers and librarians need to have excellent multicultural books to choose from, and they must share these books with children. It is critical that children see other cultures and life experiences in order to develop perspective, insight, and possibilities as they grow to become citizens of the world. It is also important that children see their own cultures and values reflected in the books they read. Children need to feel a connection with a book in order for the book to be effective. Without feeling connected there will be no meaning to the book. It is important for students to feel as though they can relate to what they are reading. One of our country’s strengths is its diversity. It is important for children and adults to learn about other cultures so that they have a better understand of the people that surround them.

        However, we are failing to educate students from diverse backgrounds in our school systems. Children who live in poverty scored lower then students at or above the poverty level. Students from single parent homes were less likely to score in the top third than those from two parent families. Students whose primary home language is English outperformed those whose home language was not English. This is where multicultural literature comes into play. Research has shown that the use of multicultural literature that accurately depicts the experiences of diverse groups may improve the literacy achievement of students of diverse backgrounds by increasing their motivation to read, the appreciation and understanding of their own language and cultural heritage, their respect for their own life experience as a topic for writing, and cross cultural understanding. In conclusion, multicultural literature helps children see themselves in the stories they are reading. It depicts how people unlike them feel, think, and live. Multicultural literature connects children to the world by exposing them to diverse viewpoints other than the mainstream. It is important that the awareness, appreciation, and understanding of people who are different from and similar to ourselves is established (Johnson, 2012).

Chapter 12- The New Literacies: The World of Online Children's Literature

       When reading chapter 12 I found it very eye opening as to how much technology is out there for students to use. What I believed to be even more astounding is how much technology can actually be beneficial. I know that I myself prefer to read actual books, rather than books online.  However, times are changing and it is a reality that a large amount of reading is taking place online.

        I found it interesting that 93% of children from the ages of 8-18 spend an average of 90 minutes a day using the computer at home, and 75% of this time is spent on social networking, instant messaging, watching videos, and playing computer games. It is important to realize that teachers can use the students’ knowledge of technology to extend children’s understanding, motivation, and engagement in literature. If technology is used properly it can extend the opportunities to acquire the skills and strategies needed to live and work in the fast changing technological world. One way students can use technology to increase an interest in literature is through digital texts. Digital texts are distinguished from other genres by the interactive structure. It is key that a child to be engaged in reading online a transacting must occur between the reader and the text. New literacies are skills, strategies, and dispositions necessary to successfully use and adapt to the rapidly changing information and communication technologies and contexts that continuously emerge in our world and influence all areas of our personal and professional lives. It is vital that students learn these skills in order to read, write, view, navigate, and communicate in the future.

        In conclusion, students of the 21^st century need to have experience with the technological tools used in the classroom. They need to be able to also be able to work collaboratively in face to face and virtual environments. It is key that students are able to find information in a variety of different places and then determine its reliability and create new knowledge from what they have read. Students of the 21^st century also need to understand and follow the legal and ethical practices as they use resources and create information. It is important to realize the endless possibilities teachers can use through technology. Projects, meeting authors, gathering information, communicating with others, and numerous other opportunities exist through technology. It is important for students to learn how to use this technology safely, and when they do so they can make joyful connections to literature (Johnson, 2012).

Chapter 13 - Reading to and With Children: Reading Aloud, Shared and Guided Reading, and Writing

        Overall, I felt as though Chapter 13 was very helpful in determining when to use a read and write aloud, shared reading and writing, and guided reading. The chapter not only explained when to use each of these methods to read with children, but it also described how to do so. Various useful suggestions were given for each of the three reading techniques as well.

What I thought was very important to remember about reading aloud was that one of the fondest memories pre-service teachers have from their elementary school years was there teachers reading to them. I believe that this alone shows how important effectively reading aloud to your students can be. Reading aloud has also made numerous children fall in love with their teacher, and she was never forgotten. When reading aloud it is important to have passion and enthusiasm for the book you are reading. Reading aloud aids in numerous things: increased motivation and positive attitude toward reading, language and literacy development in the understanding of story structure, conventions of print, vocabulary development and listening comprehension, decoding and reading comprehension, and literary understanding. It is important to remember that the effectiveness of a read aloud depends on the consideration given to the read aloud process. When writing aloud it is important to select a topic that can emerge from read alouds, storytelling, hands on experiences, shared readings, and content area instruction.

The next technique discussed in the chapter was shared reading. I believe that it is important to remember as with read alouds, it is important to use a well developed thought process throughout the shared reading. Before shared reading it is critical that an engaging book is selected that is an appropriate level for the students. During the reading you need to make sure that all students can se and hear the book. This is a great time to pose questions, stop to think aloud, and allow the children to make predictions. After the shared reading it is important to as students to provide explicit teaching of certain reading concepts, skills, or strategies. In shared writing, the teacher and students think collaboratively. For shared writing teachers collaboratively construct the text with students to help convey the meaningful text. Guided Reading was the last technique discussed in the chapter. A guided reading is a context where the teacher supports each reader's development of effective strategies for processing novel texts at increasingly challenging levels of difficulty. At this time the teacher would work with a small group of students who use similar strategies and have similar reading levels. It is important to remember that guided reading is based on dynamic grouping of students. The first and most important aspects of guided reading are initial and ongoing dynamic, meaning temporary and fluid, grouping of students.

In conclusion, reading and writing aloud, shared reading and writing, and guided readings are effective strategies teachers can use to address the various different needs each student may have so that all children can see the amazing aspects of children's literature. It is important to remember the key aspects of each strategy (Johnson, 2012). Remember to always read aloud with passion!