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1A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature
in the English classroom
by
Øistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell,
Sissel Solbergand
Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Contents of this paper:
Why should authentic literature be used as an integrated part of teaching English?............................3
Suggestions of relevant literature for teachers:.....................................................................................5
Suitable children’s/young adult books to be used in years 8 – 10:.........................................................6
Different activities to be used with 2 books for each year:....................................................................8
Why a variety of activities can contribute to the joy of reading:........................................................8
The Stormbreaker..............................................................................................................................9
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas........................................................................................................10
The Fire-Eaters.................................................................................................................................11
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime..................................................................................12
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Reading Schedule and Guided Questions....13
Suggested ways of using «Snow White in New York........................................................................15
Suggested ways of using «The Savage»............................................................................................17
Goldilocks and The Three Bears.......................................................................................................19
Illustrated mam................................................................................................................................20
How this plan can inspire students and teachers to use authentically literature.............................21
List of sources.......................................................................................................................................22
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Why should authentic literature be used as an integrated part of teaching English?
Dear fellow teachers
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we as teachers could supply our pupils with different kinds of literature that would make reading: “an enjoyable, intense, private activity, from which one can become totally absorbed”? (Alderson 200:28). In addition; what if they learnt something while enjoying it? Reading is something we do everyday, and we tend to agree with …..when he claims that reading always have a purpose. We read to get important and sometimes even vital information, to learn to obtain some kind of a goal, and most perhaps wonderfully of all, for the pleasure of it.
First of all, what is authentic literature?
According to several sources, among them Chris Hogg at Houghton Mifflin Company, authentic literature refers to narrative and expository texts that are written in the original, natural language of the authors. The texts we normally find in textbooks used in the classroom are often written to achieve certain aspects of learning aspects such as grammar, phonetics text binding and others. Authentic literature on the other hand, is written to present original stories as well as vast arrays of information.
Some researchers have found that when texts are simplified to make them easier to read, they often become more difficult. This is stated by Simons and Ammon in a study published in 1989. Providing the pupils with authentic literature, we also provide them with natural language and possibilities to read text that helps them improve their vocabulary in a natural way. Authentic literature are also written in a language that reflects the time the story goes on, therefore it will often be a source to idioms, slang and puns we rarely find in their textbooks at school.
Another aspect of authentic literature is the fact that when given authentic literature as the core of their reading program, their achievement is higher and they have more positive attitudes about reading and writing (Cohen, 1968; Morrow, 1992; Tunnell & Jacobs, 1989).
Then, what does the Knowledge promotion say about literature in the English classroom?
The English subject curriculum lists these aims after the 10th year:
‘the pupil shall be able to read and discuss a representative selection of literary texts from the genres poetry, short stories, novels and drama from the English-speaking world’
‘the pupil shall be able to read and understand texts of different lengths and genres’
‘the pupil shall be able to discuss the way young people live, how they socialise, their views on life and values in Great Britain, the USA, other English-speaking countries and Norway.’
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Under the headline “The objective of the subject” it also says:
‘Literature in English, from nursery rhymes to Shakespeare’s sonnets, may instil a lifelong joy of reading and providing a deeper understanding of oneself and others.’
The aspect of cultural insight is also stressed. Literature is one side of a nation’s culture, and cultural aspects are to be thought in the classroom too. Literature plays a significant role in all cultures and stories are important to all peoples. Reading authentic literature is therefore vital for the pupils to achieve insight, also, into foreign cultures. Reading authentic literature helps to expand knowledge of and insight into views and values in a foreign as well as in ones own native country, in an excellent way. Literature is about life, people and relationships. By following discussions on the value of reading, we think it is wise to focus on authentic material because it seems to have a positive effect on linking the students' cultural past to their presence, further on , to their near future and at the same they are guided into life, people and relationships of different cultures.
Further more, metaphorical language in the authentic literature will make the language richer and more diverse than the language written for our English textbooks. The authentic texts employ more metaphorical language. The readers learn a lot more idioms and they also learn how metaphors can be interpreted differently by different readers. Consequently they see there is space for a multiply of meaning. Metaphorical language will also function as a model for the readers. Thus step by step both their spoken and written English will improve…
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Suggestions of relevant literature for teachers:
Articles (should be available for all language teachers at our school ie. the school’s ICT- platform or the library):
Melanie Williams: Ready for Readers
Amos Paran: Intensive Reading
Philiph Prowse: Extensive Reading
Elizabeth Fonseca: Read, discuss, write
Anne-Brit Fenner: Dialogic interaction with literary texts in the lower secondary classroom
Bruce Milne: The reading experience
Purificaciõn Sánches: Balancing act
Kathryn Jacobs: Gender Issues in young Adult Literature
Useful websites :
Children's Laureatewww.childrenslaureate.org.uk
Vandergrift’s Children's Literature Pagehttp://comminfo.rutgers.edu/professional-development/childlit/index.html
The Children's Literature Web Guidehttp://people.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
Reading in English - a Teacher's Guide: http://www.fremmedspraksenteret.no/index.php?ID=16201
The Use of Authentic Materials in the Teaching of Readinghttp://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/berardo/article.pdf
Materials distributed in York.
Course books and materials from lectures.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Suitable children’s/young adult books to be used in years 8 – 10:
Author Title Links to Internet8 Alexander
McCall Smith
One of the books about Precious Ramotswe
An English speaking country not that familiar to us, Botswana. Native accent reading extract on website
http://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx
8 Anne Fine Eating Things on Sticks
Eating Things on Sticks Harry is in trouble. He's burned down the family kitchen so now he has to spend a week of his summer hols with his uncle Tristram –The ferry man did warn them, 'Glerhus Dill Sotblug!' But what on earth did it MEAN?
http://www.annefine.co.uk/books/younger.php
These books are about the same family.
8 Anne Fine The More the Merrier
Christmas comes but once a year. Luckily...The Christmas holiday is, traditionally, a time when families gather together.
8 Roald Dahl Revolting rhymes
Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Cinderella, Little Red Riding hood and so on“The small girl smiles,- One eyelid flickers, She whips a pistol from her knickers” was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009 in the 7-14 age category.
8 Roald Dahl The Witches Interesting variety of puns and idioms, helps the pupils to develop a rich language
http://www.roalddahl.com/
8 Roald Dahl Mathilda
9 Roald Dahl Short stories:Tales of the Unexpected
This is a collection of 16 short stories featuring tales of horror, mystery and suspense
9 Louis Sachar
Holes http://www.louissachar.com/
9 P.C. and Kristin Cast
One or more books of the sequence “A House of Night”
Easy to read fantasy, exiting, and about vampires. At the moment a big hit
http://www.houseofnightseries.com/
9 John Boyne The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
9-year-old Bruno knows nothing about the Final Solution and the Holocaust until he meets Shmuel. He is a boy who lives on the other side of a wire fence and wears a uniform of striped pajamas.
9 Narinder Dhami
Bend it like Beckham
Her parents want her to be a nice, conventional Indian girl.They want her to settle down and study for law school. But she has
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
other plans. She wants to play football like her hero David Beckham.
9 Anne Fine Goggle Eyes Kitty Killin is not only a good story-teller, but also the World's Greatest Expert when it comes to mothers having new and unwanted boyfriends. particularly when there's a danger they might turn into new and unwanted stepfathers ...
http://www.annefine.co.uk/books/younger.php
10 Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime
Both an adult and youth edition
10 David Almond
The Fire Eaters Cross curriculum activity with History (Cold War, Cuba Incident)
http://www.hodderliterature.co.uk/default.htm
10 Jack London
Call of The Wild Links to audio files and online texts http://london.sonoma.edu/
10 Anne Fine Flour Babies http://www.annefine.co.uk/
Anthony Horowitz
Stormbraker(is also adapted into a graphic novel)
«The perfect hero.....genuine
21st century stuff» Teenage superspy: Alex Rider»Alex Rider, is a 14-year old boy who has been staying with his uncle. The story starts when his uncle, Ian Rider, dies in suspicious circumstances and it turns out that he has lied about how he has earned his living….
http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/
Anthony Horowitz
Point Blanc 21st century stuff» A young Bond
Jaqueline Wilson
Dustbin Baby April knows she was found in a dustbin fourteen years ago as a newborn baby and her life has never been easy. The pupils will recognize the feeling of being a little odd and alienated from your family. So...what if you had no family at
http://www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk/the-books/
Jaqueline Wilson
The illustrated mam
A powerful novel of two sisters and their tattoo-crazy mum who has real difficulties in coping. The pupils will recognize being embarrassed finding their parents unusual and odd So....what if your mum really was unusual and odd.
Dave Almond
The Savage A wild, magic and dark story about grief, bullying, revenge and reconciliation
Fiona French
Snow White in New York
About a poor rich and sweet girl and her evil stepmother in New York. Not quite Grimm's Snow White
Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist About a gentle boy born i poverty and forced to live with criminals taking part in their sordid lives
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Some Graphic Novels: short books, not too much text, strongly visual. Gives a more immediate sense of accomplishment
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Different activities to be used with 2 books for each year:
Why a variety of activities can contribute to the joy of reading:Pre-reading activities may contribute to:
Stimulate the students’ interest in the story, generate relevant vocabulary:
Examples of pre-reading activities: viewing a trailer of a film adaptation of the book (may be found on You Tube) giving small examples from the book like:
o the first lineso pictures from the book or the front covero brainstorming words related to the topic of the booko there might be a worksheet related to the book
While-reading activities may contribute to :
Facilitate the understanding of the plot, the characters and the language.Explain main ideas and motifs
Examples of while-reading activities are: Completeness of sentences in order to see if the students have understood what they
read Brief comments to each chapter Descriptions of the characters (the most active, passive, intelligent etc.) Suggest a title of selected paragraphs Are there areas in the book that have symbolic meaning? Choose synonyms for selected words Answering questions.
Post-reading activities contribute to:
Making the students reflect upon what they have read.Giving sense of achievement.
Examples of these activities are:
Discussing what was interesting in the book. Writing a summery of the text Write a review of the book Watch a movie Make a photo story of a part of the book Write a biography of one of the characters Rearrange paragraphs then to be put back into correct order.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The Stormbreaker (the novel) also adapted into a graphic novel by Anthony Horowitz
Pre - reading activities:
introducing the author Anthony Horowitz
reading a review from the new movie the Stormbreaker (Textbook 9 Key English)
working with new word related to the book or excerpt from the book
While- reading activities:
Summarize each chapter and give brief comments to them
describe the main characters
take out sentences to work on comprehension, learning new words, grammar.
Choose synonyms for selected words
Post-reading activities:
Writing a summery of the book
Give a review of the book(where the pupils write about plot- character –theme)
Discussing what was the most interesting, exciting part
There might be a post-reading worksheet
Watch the film
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamasby John Boyne
Pre-reading activities:
Talk about the Second World war and the Jews situation in your Social Science classes
Viewing a trailer of the film adaption of the book
Brainstorming words related to the topic of the book
Giving small examples from the book
While- reading activities:
Summarize and give brief comments to each chapter
Describe talk about the main characters
Take out a selected paragraphs and retell
Take out sentences and work on comprehension , words and grammar
Post-reading activities:
Discuss the book
Write a summary of the book
Write a review of the book
Write the biography of one of the characters
Watch the movie
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The Fire-Eatersby David Almond
Pre-reading activities:
Talk about the “The Cold War”, the war in Burma and the Cuba crizes in your Social Science classes
Viewing a trailer of the film adaption of the book
Brainstorming words related to the topic of the book, especially slang and dialectal phrases
Giving small examples from the book
While- reading activities:
Summarize and give brief comments to each chapter
Write about the main characters
How does the Almond use dialogues in this novel?
Discuss moral issues like war, meaning of life and how to treat other people
Post-reading activities:
Discuss the book
Write a summary of the book
Do a mini-project about Newcastle
Write the biography of one of the characters
Watch the movie
(A more extensive lesson by lesson plan is available under the tab “Teacher’s resources” at http://www.hodderliterature.co.uk/default.htm)
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime
By Mark Haddon
Pre-reading activities:
Talk about people that act different or have different kinds of diabilities. Here you could include some scenes from “Ingen grenser” a series of programms on TV available at www.nrk.no
Viewing a trailer of the film adaption of the book
While- reading activities:
Use a handed out paper with questions to each section (see the next two pages) These questions are downloaded from www.enotes.com
Why do something tha tothers have done ;)
Post-reading activities:
Write an eye witness accountMark Haddon wrote an eye witness account of something quite unexpected.“It was seven minutes after midnight. The dog was dead.”
• Write an eye witness account of an unexpected event to publish on your school’swebsite.• Include an unbelievable or unexplained event you worked on during preparation day.• Give details of the setting – place, time, atmosphere, other participants etc.• Explain the effect of the event on yourself.
(From the written exam 2009)
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Reading Schedule and Guided Questions
Next to each reading assignment is the date by which you need to have read the chapters indicated, since that day’s discussion will involve those chapters. You’re always free to read ahead. Each reading assignment is about 22 pages long.
Chapters 2-43 Read by: __________________
Chapters 47-71 Read by: __________________
Chapters 73-103 Read by: __________________
Chapters 107-139 Read by: __________________
Chapters 149-157 Read by: __________________
Chapters 163-179 Read by: __________________
Chapters 181-197 Read by: __________________
Chapters 199-223 Read by: __________________
Chapter 227 Read by: __________________
Chapters 229-233 Read by: __________________
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Guided Reading Questions
Section 1: p. 1-34
1. Why is Christopher fascinated with illustrations, diagrams and maps? How do they help us understand him?
2. List three things Chris likes and three things he dislikes. Explain his reasons for each like/dislike listed.
3. How does Christopher’s father show him love?4. What makes Chris feel safe? What makes him feel unsafe?5. Why does Christopher find people confusing?
Section 2: p. 34-74
1. What causes Christopher to become violent? Give an example.2. Why does Christopher believe he’d make a good astronaut?3. Authors usually change the font (type or lettering) for emphasis. When and why does
Christopher change the font? 4. How does Christopher’s reasoning (p. 41& 42) differ from ours?5. Christopher lists his behavior problems on page 46. Which of the behaviors do you
consider to be “normal?” Which behaviors do you think put stress on a family and/or marriage? Explain.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Section 3: p. 75-115
1. Christopher compares his mind to a computer doing searches and to a DVD player. Explain how his mind makes sense of what he’s experiencing.
2. Christopher has difficulties with rhetorical questions. What is a rhetorical question and why would he have trouble understanding them?
3. Explain Christopher’s color preferences. How do colors help him deal with the world?4. How does Christopher discover his mother is alive? What is his reaction?5. Why does his mother say she left him with his father? Do you agree or disagree with
her actions and why?
Section 4: p. 115-144
1. Who killed Wellington and why? What does the killer’s confession reveal about his family situation and the community’s perception of the disabled?
2. Was the killer justified in stabbing the dog? Explain your answer.3. What role do pictures have in Christopher’s thinking?4. Why do new places exhaust Christopher?
Section 5: p. 144-179
1. While sitting in the train station, Christopher says, “I did a maths problem to make my head clearer.” Why might a “normal” person find this statement to be ironic?
2. Besides doing math problems, what other coping skills does Christopher employ in the train station?
3. Although Christopher excels at higher level math, we learn he doesn’t understand money and must ask the policeman for help buying the ticket. How do you account for the unevenness in his abilities?
4. Why does Christopher’s perception of the signs differ on p. 169 and 170?5. After Christopher gets off the first train in London, how is he able to figure out which
train to take next?
Section 6: p. 179-221
1. Christopher finds himself in a life or death situation while trying to retrieve Toby from the train tracks. What did you find to be the most frightening or disturbing part of this scene? Why do you think the author included this scene in the novel?
2. What constitutes a “happy dream” for Christopher? How does it compare to a “normal” person’s happy dream?
3. When Christopher’s father arrives, he and his mother argue about Christopher. Who do you feel is more at fault, his mother who left or his father who lied about his mother’s death? Explain.
4. After he arrives at his mother’s house, Christopher keeps insisting that he needs to take his A-level exams. What is his mother’s reaction to his demands? What does this tell us about her relationship with him?
5. How has Christopher changed by the end of the book?
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Suggested ways of using «Snow White in New York» Written by: Fiona French Illustrated by: FionaFrench
Modern days twist to an old fairy tale. «Pulsating with the rhythm and vibrancy of the Jazz Age, this dazzling picture book is set in New York City in the 1920s. The story may be familiar, but the cast of characters will surprise you. Snow White is a beautiful jazz baby, protected by seven hot jazzmen. Instead of a wicked stepmother, her arch-enemy is the Queen of the Underworld. And her Prince Charming is a crack reporter from the New York Mirror. The breezy and clever text complements the style and color of the art deco illustrations, making this a picture book of astonishing originality.2 (Amazone.com)
Let the pupils:
tell the fairy tale of «Snow White» the way they remember it look at a pictures in this book, and guess who is the heroin, where
does she live, what happens to her and who is the stepmother, her helpers and prince charming to her
reflect upon the colours in the picture; what emotions, atmosphere,features do they bring forward
brainstorm words/expressions related to the topic/topics of the novel. Eg: stepmother, «Queen of the underworld», «The bell of New York», Jazz music, newspaper reporter, broken heart, «mad with rage», «dead by poison»
repeate the elements, features in a typical fairytale (genre)
Pre-reading activites;
that hopefully will stimulate the pupils' interest in the book, awake their knowledge of the topics and bring up their own associations and reflections concerning these.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Let the pupils:
match difficult and interesting words to both definition, qualities and how to use them in context. Make a word-bath/collage to hang on the wall, (words and illustrations)
choose synonyms some words and use them to re rewrite the text Does the meaning change?
discuss what happens if you remove or replace all the adjectives in a part of the text.
choose and describe one character (passive, active,intelligent,powerful, weak etc.)
swap two of the characters' roles. What happens to the story? What if the rich girl was evil and the stepmother a goodhearted lady
“Snow White” Let the pupils:
study different versions of the fairytale Snow White: compare different illustration, e.g., the stepmother being punished.
Make a time line of the changes over time: illustrations, fashion, way of living etc. Make a wall collage
Discuss topics concerning: gender roles, obsession with appearance, success with the opposite sex, the belief in eternal youth, selfishness and egoism, evil versus goodness, just punishment
Make a wallpaper visualizing the discussion.
While- reading activities:
that hopefully will make it easier for the pupils to understand the series of events in the story, understand the characteres, vocabulary, language and the particular way that the story is told in this novel
While- reading activities:
that hopefully will make it easier for the pupils to understand the series of events in the story, understand the characteres, vocabulary, language and the particular way that the story is told in this novel
Post-reading activities:
that hopefully will lead to additional learning experiences, more creative responses
if using the topic for discussion and related tasks
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Suggested ways of using «The Savage» Written by: David Almond Illustrated by: Dave Mackean
An extraordinary graphic within a novel
«Dave Almond's books are strange unsettling wild things-unfettered by normal constraints of childhood literature
The Guardian
«Mc Kean's work has all the qualities of a real universe-sprawling yet contained, chaotic yet organized mysterious yet discernable, comedic yet serious»
Magazine
A graphic book; A short book, with not too much text. It is strongly visual and gives an immediate sense of accomplishment. Works well both with low ability, middle ability and high ability pupils
Let the students:
look at a pictures related to the book, describe what they see and discuss what they think is going to happen in the novel.
reflect upon the colours in the picture; what emotions, atmosphere do yet bring forward.
listen to some facts about the author, e.g.; he lost his father and sister when he was very young. How might that have affected his writing?
brainstorm words/expressions related to the topic/topics of the novel. Eg: savage, death, grief, «get on in life», loneliness, family relation, «the imaginary kid came to live in the real world», « being tormented by a local bully
Pre-reading activites;
that hopefully will stimulate the pupils' interest in the book, awake their knowledge of the topics and bring up their own associations and reflections concerning these.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Let the pupils:
match difficult and interesting words to both definition, qualitiesand how to use them in context.
make a word-bath/collage to hang on the wall, (words and illustrations)
write down their thoughts from each chapter and use a drawing from the book to illustrate their reflections. Put it up on a wall-collage.
make «a jumble-up-sentence puzzle» from part of the text, for their peers to put it together in the right order.
choose and describe one character (passive, active, intelligent, powerful, weak etc.)
make a quiz to distribute to their peers
“The Savage” Let the pupils make:
summaries of sections of the book, using Quadramamas (three dimensional reports) http//:www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/folderbkrpts071599.htm
make a PhotoStory of sections of the text tell a story from one of the other characters point of view, and add
it to the wall collage write a new beginning or end and add it to the wall collage
Post-reading activities:
that hopefully will lead to additional learning experiences, more creative responses, if using the topic for discussion and related tasks
While- reading activities:
that hopefully will make it easier for the pupils to understand the series of events in the story, understand the characters, vocabulary, language and the particular way that the story is told in this novel
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Goldilocks and The Three Bears 8th grade
By Roald Dahl Why?
Pre –reading activities What do you know about the author ?What is a fairytale?What do you already know about this fairytale?Genre:What is a genre?What genre is this?Vocabulary:Make a word-bank on some of the expressions.
Author is well known.
Fairytale is a cross-curricular theme in 8th grade
Genre:
Is focused on in written texts in other subject, too.
While - reading activities Focus on Language:AdjectivesPreposition Idiomatic Regular/irregular verbsPart of the poem could be chosen for phonetic exerciseCharacterize Goldilocks and the three Bears.Role-play :Divide the poem into sections3 pupils read their parts while some pupils are acting the story.
Grammatical subjects we normally focus on in 8th grade.
Practicing the vocabulary and phonetic
Oral activity
Reading fluency
Post- reading activities Discuss the theme in this poemCompare it to our society todayConjugate the irregular verbsWrite a summary of the poemWrite the next scene of the poem.
Written activity
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
Illustrated mam10th grade
By Jaqueline Wilson Why?
Pre –reading activities
The author :What do you know about her?The front cover /the title of the book: What is your prediction about this book?Vocabulary:Brainstorm some words related to the front cover and title.Inspiration Read one page from the book (the teacher)What do you think happens next?How would you have reacted in this situation?
To ease their eagerness and motivation for reading this book.
While - reading activities Working sheet:a) Complete the sentences:Write parts of sentences from one page and have them complete them.b) Suggest synonyms for some words.c) Choose one page:Suggest a title for each paragraph on this page.Working sheet:In pairs:Draw a picture of each character.Make a character study of the mother and two daughters. (like a mind-map)
To understand the plot
Focus on vocabulary:
Put the character study on the wall while reading the rest of the book.
Fill in new information
Post- reading activities Discuss:What was interesting/new in the story?The main characters.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
The setting and how it affects the charactersWhat is the theme in the story?Make a written summary of the book
Oral and written activity
How this plan can inspire students and teachers to use authentically literatureWe know that the culture for reading –in English or Norwegian – does not play a natural or an important part in a teenager’s life. In their lives most of the reading is done by the use of electronic Medias. These Medias don’t give them the opportunity to relax into their reading. How do we motivate our pupils? How closely involved are we in making their reading experience an outstandingly successful experience? What do we do to develop and improve their culture for reading?
In Bruce Milne’s article “The reading experience “he quotes Brumfit “There are two necessary requirements for the establishment of enthusiastic reading habits for students. The first is access to appropriate books …… the second is enthusiasm and commitment to reading by teachers.”
In conclusion, by making this “plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom,” we are in this process of giving our students access to appropriate books. We think that by constantly focusing on the value of reading and by showing our great enthusiasm in this work, we will little by little achieve that reading authentic literature is integrated as a part of teaching English.
4A plan for reading children’s and young adult literature in the English classroom.
byØistein Brennodden, Aase Eide Friell, Sissel Solberg and Britt Bakke Thorvaldsen
List of sources
Houghton Mifflin Company (2010) http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/au_lit0.html
http://www.hodderliterature.co.uk/default.htm (12.04.2010)
http://eksempeloppgaver.udir.no/default.aspx (15.04.2010)
http://www.enotes.com/documents/curious-incident-dog-night-time-questions-reading-47193?reg_thanks=1