Children's Literature, Infancy to Early Adolescence

Strategies

An acceptable strategy must entail some template in which the instructor knows what students should produce as an end result prior to teaching the unit³. This end result can be targeted close to the beginning of the unit or as far away as the end of the class or semester, or for any other given time period for teaching the unit. My template, as described below, will be set for a semester's time during one school year, which is divided into two semesters. This specific model has its introduction of the unit at the beginning of the semester with the conclusion of the unit at the end of the semester. With this in mind, the unit can be taught, depending on the particular goals, in any given time period as long as there is some sequential order envisioned for ascending texts and the ideas therein. The only tangible materials that students will need are a place to keep notes and their novel of choice.

Steps Leading to Student Assessments⁴

1. Explain the unit to the class. Students will understand the expectation and duration of the unit prior to beginning the actual lessons: assign two external projects. The first is for students to choose from a list of grade-appropriate books and produce a reader response specifically analyzing and explaining the literary elements within the text. The second is for students to write a story or narrative, using guidelines and writing prompts, which encompasses the Elements of Literature.
2. As time moves on, students take notes during instructional time on the Elements of Literature, touching on each element. They will read several examples of short elementary literature, using the Annotated Reading List for Students (below, under the heading of Resources) as a guide, moving from very basic to age-appropriate. While engaged in reading, as a class, identify each element of literature within the given text for that lesson. This can be done in pairs, groups, or whole class, but must be reported and commented on by students and teacher. Students should be granted a set time each day for reading and/or writing, approximately fifteen minutes towards the beginning of the class period, to work on the 'external' portion of the assignment. The next section of class time is to touch on each element as it appears in the in-class reading. The remainder of the period is used for any other pertinent lesson to be taught according to the curriculum and standards. Differentiate the instructional time and the lesson taught during that time to eliminate student apathy.
3. Students should now have some prior knowledge to use and find the elements in slightly more difficult texts, not yet approaching long chapter books.
4. This is the step in which the instructor uses some adolescent literature to find more Elements of Fiction.
5. Students transfer their acquired knowledge once more, this time using short stories at grade reading level.
6. Read a grade appropriate novel, in-class, and touch on each element as it appears in the text.
7. Student use the knowledge and notes from in-class learning to mirror this approach to the elements in an essay about the novel they selected to read at the beginning of the unit. Students do not have to be at any particular place in the novel to do this; they may need to look back or monitor their pace more closely.
8. Students use prior knowledge of literary elements to write a story, narrative, or personal expository. Prompts provided by the teacher can make this simple for struggling readers or challenging for advanced students.
9. Students may then choose to illustrate their story or provide a cover.

Step One

Step one is to introduce the unit and describe its objectives to the students so that they will understand what, exactly, is expected of them throughout the duration of the timeframe and in their finished product. This step is an explanation of what will happen over the time allotted for the unit. My unit's end product is due at the end of the semester so that students get a chance to work independently on the projects, managing their own time, and so that instruction is differentiated, as individuals will be working at their own pace. Students should, at this point, have a clear understanding of the purpose, procedures, and expectations of the unit. Students also need to know what materials they are expected to bring to class each day and how the unit will be taught to them, in keeping with the idea that they should know what will happen before it does happen. The theory is, if students are completely clear on their responsibility, they will have less stress in the anticipation of an end result to be assessed. In this step students are told about the note section of a notebook, which they will need each day for class. They will also choose a book from the grade-appropriate list and bring the book to class each day. Instructors may choose to keep all materials in the class, depending on the classroom design and space; this also depends on the nature of the student and their level of responsibility pertaining to belongings, as students have a tendency to "lose" things and often report that "somebody stole it." In addition to the "notes" section of a notebook, I find it beneficial to student organization if they have a writing section for topics in progress. This may be a suggestion or mandatory. I like to assess the notebook as part of the completion of the unit; this is left to the instructor, as it may not be relevant to others' curriculum and standards.

Step Two (See also Lesson Plan One)

This is the initial step in teaching the Elements of Literature. Now that students understand the expectation, they can begin to follow through with the process set forth. In this step the instructor must pick the most elementary of the texts to be taught (see Annotated Reading List for Students to choose from the list or discover something germane). I am inclined to use Sylvester and the Magic Pebble because it is great for plot, the first element necessary for comprehension, and it can be revisited later in the unit for other elements. In teaching plot, it is key to explain plot before reading for its identification. Students must take notes on plot, and understand how it works in the story. First the teacher must provide definitions; this can be done on the blackboard or by any other means for note-taking. Once students have an idea of the progression of a plot for any given story, it is time to read the elementary selection and recognize the story's plot as a whole class or in groups but with the intention to have a class discussion. Because a plot rises to a climax and descends toward the resolution, students are able to diagram the plot of a story providing the rising action, climax, and resolution in an easy to view format. This can be done on a mountain-like graph where students describe all three parts, as in an upside-down "U" or something similar. In fact, students may easily conceptualize the plot if it is explained as an upside-down "U". All told, the function of this step is to read an elementary text to observe examples of plot as they happen, and to realize the importance of a story's design. Students take notes, using real examples, and the process is not lengthy or elaborate. Plus, with a simple text, this only takes a small chunk of class time and produces a skill that can be transferred into the next text.

Step Three

Now that students understand plot and can see its function in the story, it is time to move to another element, and a text selection which may be slightly more complicated. At this point, it is acceptable, and even desirable, to move slowly. Cat in the Hat may be the next appropriate read. Again, this is elementary but perfect to teach plot for a second time and to add theme or another element. This way one element is reinforced while another is introduced; prior knowledge is applied and a new skill is born. This is also the time to assess the next move in the unit. Should students go straight into something more complicated (not yet grade-appropriate) or move more slowly into the repeat of another elementary selection? This is a question that can only be answered on a class-to-class basis. Unhurried progression is the foundation of the unit. One should not just assume understanding; it does not take too much time to review another elementary text, and a selection should be ready. Any step can be repeated until the students are ready to move forward into the more complicated readings.

Step Four (See Lesson Plan Two)

It is time to move into a slightly more complex text. This is not to say that the students are ready to read an advanced selection and find the elements. At this point, they may only understand a few of the important components of a story; but they are now ready to move toward adolescent literature (if the unit is geared toward high school students). Together as a class, it is time to read something as short as James and the Giant Peach, which is not too difficult, but certainly is not too elementary either.

Again, teacher chooses the focus, determining which elements to study for this step, and thus defines the elements for student-notes prior to reading. The class, as a whole, reads the selection to identify the new elements and provide examples within the new text. This can be done as a whole-class read or in reading groups or by any other means to read the story and study the elements. It is important that the elements be defined prior to the reading and that the students understand what they are searching for. Again, the end result is in place for an expectation and requirement rather than an abstract concept, which may be intangible. At the end of this step, students should be familiar with a few new elements of a story, and able to transfer their knowledge in the next step. It is important to assess, as a class, whether or not to move to the next level or repeat this step. The secret lies in accessing prior knowledge, repetition of the skill, and transfer of new skill-sets; therefore, duplicating the same step is good, not bad.

Step Five (See Lesson Plan Three)

It is now time to read age-appropriate short stories as a whole class. Students should be moving along through their own selection while the group reads various short stories at grade level, prior to getting into the whole-class grade-level novel. Many short stories can be found in the classroom textbook (if available). This guarantees an age-appropriate reading selection and can provide supplemental questions and activities. Again, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, because adequate materials are provided in any standard curriculum.

Step Six

After reading a few—at least two—short stories at the grade-appropriate level for the students, it is time to read a novel together. Each day, or several days per week, students must be working independently on their own reading and reader response to their own selections. On these days, a period of time will also be dedicated to whole-class reading, as it has been in the past. This time it will be toward the completion of a novel, chosen by the teacher. I may choose to read Speak with ninth graders or The Great Gatsby with eleventh graders. The selection does not matter a great deal, as long as it is approved for the grade level. Progress through the novel should take several forms: teacher should read to students, students can read in groups to each other, or students can read independently. This can be done by giving students the choice or dictating it day by day. As each element appears in the novel, students should comment, discuss, take notes, and answer questions accordingly. They will not be writing a reader's response or analysis of this whole-group read, but will use their learned skills and knowledge when writing about their own selection.

Step Seven

This step in not necessarily the seventh step within the sequence that appears in this unit. This step—the writing of a response—should be in progress throughout the unit's time frame. Students are writing a response to the novel they chose at the beginning of the semester. They write in an allotted period of time per day, while reading or after reading their selected novel. It is at this time (the seventh step) that no more in-class, teacher-led, readings will take place. Students should now have the tools and skills to complete their reading and analysis. I like to give students a loose outline for their composition, wherein the first paragraph is a simple synopsis or summary of their book (maybe a bit about the author), and the second paragraph (and each subsequent paragraph) is an analysis of one Element of Literature found in the text. Therefore, all body paragraphs will be an examination of individual elements. In these paragraphs students will discuss the element, explain how it is used by the author, and give examples of the element from the text. The final paragraph or conclusion is the student's evaluation of the book. This can be an opinion about the text or author, it may be a recommendation for another reader, or something interesting about the author's other novels; this kind of response is certainly not an exact science, and students should be allowed some creative leeway to reach their conclusion. It is in the body paragraphs that students unveil their new awareness and inspection of literary elements. I require at least five paragraphs for this reader response, and thus three elements are to be discussed, but students are not limited to three thereafter.

Step Eight

Again, some of these steps take place simultaneously, and students will be working at different paces; this is not only okay, it is exactly the point of differentiated instructional strategies. Now that students have produced an analysis of the elements, they should then use their knowledge of the elements in the construction of fiction to write an original story. I like to provide some suggestions and guidelines. I provide students with topic choices for their original story, but, again, they are not limited to these topics as long as they have their proposal approved by the instructor. Some of the choices are to write a narrative about their life or a portion of their life, write an original story in the first person, or retell a story from a new perspective (with a new theme or from another character's viewpoint). All of my suggestions force the student to use the first person I so that they can express a point of view as a character within the story. This text-to-self reflection is part of the state standard and is easily assessed when students write stories using first person.

Step Nine

This step is altogether optional and may be assigned as optional for students. I do not give "extra credit," but this lends itself to an extra credit type assignment. I incorporate this for several reasons, one being that my vocational students are very creative by nature and often enjoy such efforts as drawing or constructing something. I propose, then, that students have an option to illustrate their original stories, written in Step Eight. In this assignment, students may choose to make a cover or complement their prose with illustrations, as in some of the selections read along the way. This is an exercise in the Elements of Literature because students must now depict the scenes, plot and characterization through pictures. As I say, this can be optional or mandatory, but should be explained to students prior to the allotted timeframe. This also can be a great way to differentiate instruction for the advanced student who is finished before the others; in this case, they have further work to do while others are catching up or following a normal pace.