Interview with a Classroom Teacher

I decided to interview a second grade teacher at my school for mini research #6.  Here are her answers:

Q: What role does literature play in the classroom curriculum? 

A: A major role, especially with the literacy program within the primary grades.  I spend approx. 30 minutes reading aloud to the children, 15-20 minutes per reading group, and then independent reading after work is completed or to build stamina reading.  Reading and literature is also stressed at home in the primary grades, from having parents read aloud to build fluency, reading for 20-30 minutes at night independently as homework or to a siblings or parent.

Q: What kinds of books are chosen?  Why and how?  

A: I tend to choose the read aloud books, either based on a theme, season, class interest, holiday, or historical figure in history that might be remembered on certain calendar days.  Typically reading group books are based on DRA level, and choices are given as well as teacher chosen books (kind of a must read and choice read situation).  I also keep library books in regular rotation as well as class library books current and with in the interests of the students. 

Chapter read aloud are chosen by me, and then series are followed if the children are interested in the series.  I also try to expose the students to different genres...fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, and fantasy have been in rotation this year.

Q: Who decides on what books are used in the classroom? 

A:  I typically do, but the students will vote to continue a series or vote on a new read aloud book.  Reading group books, again, chosen by teacher based on DRA level, and choices of a must read and choice read are given for reading group work.

Q: What is your theoretical perspective on using children's literature in the curriculum? 

A: I believe that using literature in teaching the curriculum is crucial.  It opens up the imagination, it helps to gain understanding of content areas in the sciences.  It is vital for English as second language learners, to build comprehension using pictures and to build fluency as they learn English.  It also allows for determining the perspective of the reader and giving the grade level or above level students opportunities to look at literature in a variety of ways such as from the perspective of certain characters, the moral of the story, etc...

Counter Narrative Text

Right now I am thinking of doing my counter narrative text as almost a complete opposite of the traditional Cinderella story. I want to make my main character a powerful business woman.  I want her to be single, living in a nice house, dressing nicely, and just being successful in general.  Instead of a prince, I would like to develop a male character who needs to be rescued by the woman.  I am still working out the specifics on the story.  I like this idea because more and more women are becoming successful and young girls need to see that its okay to be in a powerful position.  Also, I think boys need to see that role reversals are okay and we don't always need to be following traditional gender roles.  

Banned Books

I found the list of banned books on the American Library Association website to be most intriguing.  I have read several of the books on the banned books list, some at school and some outside of school.  Many of the books that have been banned have been among my favorites.  I was going to bring three books with me to class last Wednesday.  The first being The Golden Compass. I read this book for the first time in 2004 as it was part of the curriculum during my study abroad program at Oxford University in England.  The course I was taking was on children's literature and we spent a good amount of time on this particular book.  When I read it the first time I was actually surprised that it was a children's book.  I thought that it had a lot of intense scenes that would scare young children.  While I normally do not like fantasy books, I found this book sucked me in and I could not put it down.  Last year, when this book came out as a movie, there was a lot of controversy in my classroom over this book.  Several of my students were reading it, however many were very against the book due to its apparently attack on Catholicism.  I had children telling other children that they shouldn't be reading that book because it is bad.  We had a discussion about how everyone has a right to choose what they are reading.  

The second book I was going to bring is the young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  I can see where some people would be upset by this book but I think it speaks to young adults in the society that we live in today.  I have read this book several times, and the first time I finished it in one day.  The main character, Charlie, writes letters about what is happening in his life.  He goes through states of depression, stemming from sexual abuse when he was younger.  This book deals with suicide (Charlie's best friend commits suicide before he starts high school), homosexuality, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, friendships, abuse, sexuality, and family relationships.  It also goes through feelings that all teens experience; loss, sadness, happiness, confusion, and being alone.  

The third book I was going to bring, which I have seen on a few banned lists, but not many, is Number the Stars. The reason I wanted to bring this book is because it could be used in another curriculum area other than language arts, but also because I was challenged for using this book in my classroom.  A parent was upset and thought that I was supporting the Nazi movement by sharing this book with my class.  He wanted the book to be burned.  I had to go through several meeting with my administration about this and I found it very upsetting as I find this book to be absolutely amazing.  

Overall, it seems that many of the books on the banned book lists are ones that speak to their readers and are on topics that can be touchy.  Many of these books seem to be the ones that people can relate to the most and find the most interesting to read.  

Changes for Julie

Changes for Julie, written by Megan McDonald, is part of the American Girl series. I choose this book to go along with the other book, Madam President I selected that represented a sociopolitical issue of my choice.  This book also focuses on a girl running for class president although in this book it focuses on both Julie running for president and her deaf friend, Joy who is running as Julie's vice president.  The book dealt with many issues, such as girls running against boys in elections, popularity, and children with disabilities.  In the book Joy is made fun of for being deaf and Julie almost drops her as her vice president.  This would be a good discussion in a classroom to examine why or why not this would be a good or bad choice.  Julie doubts herself throughout the book, and wasn't always a strong female character.  While I think children could relate with Julie, I would have liked to see her be much more confident.  

Julie's main issue that she wants to change with the school is detention.  She thinks that it would be better for the children to do something related to what they did wrong, rather than sitting in a room writing sentences.  She tries out this technique with some of the girls who were making fun of Joy by having them learn sign language instead of going to detention.  The girls end up understanding Joy a little bit more and feeling bad for making fun of her.  

Overall, I think this was a good book and would appeal more to girls than boys.  I would like to find more books that deal with issues like this that would appeal to both sexes and on a variety of reading levels. 

Online Research to find Children's Literature Web Sites

This search was a bit more difficult that I imagined it would be. While trying to search I came up with many sites that were no longer accessible and very few had discussions regarding critical literacy. Here are the four websites that I found.

 

1. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li400.htm

 

This website discusses how important it is for literacy to meet the needs to our diverse student population.  It discusses storytelling as a way of including student’s cultures within the classroom.  Much of what we have learned about making connections between a student’s culture and the classroom are discussed here as well. A link is also available with a list of criteria for evaluating multicultural materials (http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li4lk26.htm). Vivian is also quoted on this page; “Leland, Harste, Ociepka, Lewison, and Vasquez (1999) consider multicultural literature as part of a "new kind of 'critical literacy curriculum' which focuses on building students' awareness of how systems of meaning and power affect people and the lives they lead" (p. 70).

2. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/635

 

This website examines two approaches to children’s literacy: bibliotherapy and critical literacy. Examples of critical literacy are included along with approaches for building critical literacy in the classroom.

 

3. http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/curriculum.html

 

This website allows for you to search for children’s books in certain curriculum areas.  You can also search for books by grade level.  Activities and further resources are also included when you click on some of the curriculum areas, such as slavery and Native Americans.

 

4. http://eclipse.rutgers.edu/goose/

 

This website examines the nursery rhyme Mother Goose.  Social and political uses are discussed along with discussions that a teacher can have with younger and older students about this nursery rhyme.  There is also information about the rhymes and research that could be done about this nursery rhyme.

 

 

Research in a Local Library

I choose to go to Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library in Falls Church, Virginia.  This library is near Tysons Corner Mall and right off of I-66.  The first thing I noticed about this library was the diverse population that were using the facilities.  There were also several children looking up material for classes and getting books to read for pleasure.  The staff were centrally located and asked several times if I needed any help finding anything.  I didn't need to ask for help though, since there were so many options available.

I found many more books that represented varies cultures at this library than I did at my local Barnes and Noble.  It was like night and day.  The children's section was immediately to the left once you entered the library.   The section didn't look too large, but had many books in its small area.  This made it a bit difficult to navigate the area since there were a lot of people browsing and not a lot of space to move in.  There were various sections within the children's section of the library.   There was the fall display up front, where I found one book that had a main character that was not Caucasian.  The following sections were part of the children's section of the library; video/DVD,  books on tape/CD,  non-fiction, fiction, religious, books in Spanish,  graphic novels,  pictures books, magazines,  early readers, new books, teen fiction,  and the larger series (Magic Tree House, Babysitters Club) were separated from the books that were organized alphabetically by author.  

The following books were ones that represented diverse cultures.  While I found many, these were the ones that I was unfamiliar with and could see myself using in my classroom.  I did not see any cultural stereotypes in these books.

1. What Kings of Seeds Are These? Written by Heidi Bee Roemer

This book was found in the fall display at the front of the children's section.  It was the only book that had a character who was not Caucasian or an animal.  The main character is a Hispanic girl who is learning about seeds and that they produce plants.  The main characters friends are also diverse, one boy is Asian, and another boy is Caucasian.  The watercolor paintings are beautiful and the rhyming within the book will make it enjoyable for children to read.  

2. You're Not My Real Mother!  Written by Molly Friedrich 

When reading about the author I found it interesting that she came up with this book because her own adopted daughter uttered these words to her.  I have a few students in my class who are adopted and sometimes ask me questions about this.  In this book the mother is Caucasian and the daughter is Asian.  The daughter does not understand why she looks different than her mother.  The book goes through how it doesn't matter if you do not look the same as long as you are supportive and love each other.  I found this book in the picture book section.  

3. Northeast Indians Written by Craig A. Doherty and Katherine M. Doherty

I liked this book because it was one of the few that I found in the non-fiction section on Indians.  The book had pictures from the past and present along with lots of rich information.  A timeline was included along with further reading suggestions and historic sites and museums that the children could visit.  This is part of a series that included many other interesting cultures such as the Plateau Indians and the Arctic People. This book was found in the new books section.

4. Planting the Trees of Kenya,  The Story of Wangari Maathai  Written by Claire A. Nivola

This book has beautiful illustrations and a wonderful story.  I have always been interested in Kenya so I was drawn to this book right away.  The book is about Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner.  It tells the story of how she grew up in Kenya, came to the United States for college, and then returned to Kenya to see that the environment and people had changed. The people were malnourished, the rivers had dried up, and the trees had died.  The story goes on to explain how Wangari Maathai made a difference by teaching people to care for their land, and in turn care for themselves.  I loved how this African woman made such a difference and she was such a powerful figure.  I think she is a great role model for African American girls. This book was found in the new books section.

5.  Extraordinary Black Americans, From Colonial to Contemporary Times Written by Susan Altman (1989)

This book was fantastic because it showed African Americans from as early as the 1500's who played an important role in society.  The book discusses Estevanico, a black explorer in the 1500's,  Lucy Terry Price, Poet (1733-1821), Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, Frontier Trader and Fur-Trapper (1745-1818), a large section on Martin Luther King, Jr., Toni Morrison, Novelist and Editor, Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr., Pilot and Astronaut, and ending with Jesse Jackson, Minister and Civil Rights Leader.  I liked how it also represented both male and female African Americans.  This book was found in the non-fiction section.  

6. Black Scientists Written by Lisa Yount 

This book focuses on scientists who were African American.  Again,  I liked this book because it shows successful African Americans.  The book includes information about Daniel Hale Williams, George Washington Carver, Earnest Everett Just, Percy Lavon Julian, Charles Richard Drew, James Cooke Wright, Bertram O. Fraser-Reid, and John P. Moon.  This book was found in the non-fiction section.  It was right by the Extraordinary Black Americans, From Colonial to Contemporary Times. 

7. I Am Muslim Written by Jessica Chalfonte

This book explains the fundamentals of Islam through a Muslim child living in the United States.  The pictures were great since they illustrated each of the sections and the people were wearing clothing that represented the culture.  The book discusses Islam, Allah, Muhammad, Islamic Law, Ramadan, among many other topics.  I was happy to see a book focusing on Islam since I teach it in my class and I have students who are Muslim.  

8. Judaism Written by Michael Keene

I found this book in the non-fiction section as well.  This book included pictures that would be helpful for a child learning about this culture.  I liked how the book discussed both the history of Judaism along with a section about being Jewish today.  This is a culture that I teach in my classroom and find that students have a lot of questions about.  This would be a great resource book.  

These books were easy to locate once I spent about 20 minutes figuring out the layout of this section of the library.  There were many books available about diverse cultures.  I think I was able to find one that represented every culture in my classroom.  I liked how there was a variety of easy and more advanced books on most of the cultures.  The area I found the most success in finding these was the non-fiction section.  I also found the non-fiction section a bit easier to navigate since it seemed to be organized a bit better than the other sections.  The library did only have bilingual books in Spanish.  However, there were only 63 available books written in Spanish.  I did not see any books in any other language in the children's section.  I think it would be beneficial for the library to have books in other languages as well, since this area has so many children who come here from other countries.  Overall, I was impressed with Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library.