Building Appreciation for Children’s Literature

Current issues and trends in children’s literature has been a regular topic in education for the last few years as the nation’s reading levels have fallen below proficient in early elementary grades.  There is funding available for schools that develop early literacy programs along with professional development for teachers and schools to help be sure that students are receiving the necessary support to promote literacy.  This large emphasis on literacy along with the rapid change in technology has in my opinion given students an abundance of literacy tools geared toward children that have never before been available to children.  Book series, graphic novels, reading card games (Pokémon, Yugio, etc.), reading video games (Minecraft, scribblenauts), reading and writing board games (Scategories), interactive technology media (PowerPoint, WordPress, YouTube), are accessible to children and even being created and marketed towards children.  Today’s technology world is filled with the opportunity for everyone to become literate now we just need to navigate our way through the change from paper to digital. 

Currently many schools are now changing their libraries to Media Centers which incorporates both paper and digital formats for information gathering.  A recent interview with a PreK-3 grade librarian in a public school elementary media center was able to give some insight on what role school libraries/media centers have on elementary students’ education.            

1. Are students allowed to pick from any book in the library?

Grades PreK-1 have grade appropriate books that are placed on cart before each grade comes in to check out book and students are able to check out only books that are on cart.  Grades 2-3 are allowed to check out any book from the library.   

2. How long are students allowed to keep books?

Students are allowed to keep books for one week and then they can check the same book out again or pick a new book. 

3. Are books logged manually or digitally?

Books are logged on the computer as each student come to desk to check out book for the week. 

4. What type of books are most popular?

The most popular books for the younger students are the books that are different or have an interesting picture on the front, or larger in size compared to the rest of the books.  Students in the older grades are really enjoying the funny series books such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dogman.      

5. Do students read in library?

Students are encouraged to read in the library after checking out their book. 

6. Do you read to students?

I read to the students in PreK-2 if time permits.  Students in third grade are usually independently reading after checking out books if time permits. 

7. Do students use computers during library time?

Students do not usually use computers during weekly designated library time unless the teacher decides to use computers for reading or ELA assignment.  Teacher will also utilize computers in media center during standardized testing periods.    

8. How often and for how long are students in library weekly?

Each class gets 45 minutes in the media center to check out books. 

9. Do students use library other than to check out books?

Students will use the library for testing or with teacher for projects.  Sometime after school clubs meet in the media center. 

10. How do you see the library setting changing with technology?

The library setting is changing with technology for example we are now called a media center.  Many still call it a library but technically it is officially a media center.  The middle school and high school probably make more use of the computer in the media centers rather than the books but I do feel that elementary students will be using computers more often to read information in the years to come.

One of my favorite childhood books that showed me that reading and writing could be fun and clever and have a meaning beyond the words.

“Where the Sidewalk Ends” is a book filled with fun poems and illustrations that are timeless and can be enjoyed by both parents and children and also offers a great way to enjoy reading together.

The poems are fun, clever and often ambiguous allowing for imaginations to wander and questions to be pondered. This poetry book is great way to keep readers engaged in daily reading by offering a wide variety of poems in both length and content allowing for meaningful reading when time may be limited. The poems are written with creative rhyming words and different rhythms and repetitions making poems fun to read aloud and also helping children improve upon their reading fluency skills.

This book of poems is great for pre-readers and grades k-4 but can be enjoyed by all ages. This book can be used as a resource by both teachers and parents to help students in grades 3^rd – 4^th meet the Michigan State Standards in ELA.  The poem book allows for students to gain a deeper knowledge in language and vocabulary as students read poems and see language and vocabulary being used in creative new ways to tell a poem and are required to use context clues and vocabulary to understand true meaning of the poem.