EDUC 12

Spring 2015
Take Home Portion- Final Exam
25 points
May 11th at 3:00
Kate Brightwell
1.
Genre
Traditional
Literature

Definition
Also known as folklore.
Is the range of stories
that have been passed
down for centuries to
enlighten and entertain
young and old. They can
also serve to explain
phenomenon.
They were first orally
passed down and
eventually recorded in
books.
Fantasy/
Imaginative narratives
Science fiction
that explore alternate
realities.
It is rooted in folklore
but is shaped by
authors artistic vision
and style.
Science fiction shares
elements with fantasy
but is rooted in scientific
possibilities.
Realistic Fiction Realistic fiction has a
strong sense of
actuality. The stories
and character are
plausible and it presents
social and human
concerns in a fully
human context. Events
that happen in realistic
fiction may be farfetched but they could
ultimately happen in the
world we live in.
Historical Fiction Historical fiction is

Primary
Lon Po Po: A
Red Riding
Hood Story
from China.
BY Ed Young

Intermediate
The Lightening
Thief (Percy
Jackson and the
Olympians)
By Rick Riordan
(can also double
as fantasy)

Dragons Love
Tacos by Adam
Rubin
Illustrated by
Daniel Salmleri

The Hobbit BY
JRR Tolkien

Owl Moon by
Jane Yolan
Illustrated by
John
Schoenherr

Homeless Bird
by Gloria
Wheelan

Henrys

The Boy in the

Biography

Nonfiction/
Informational

rooted in history. The

stories and characters
may be made up but
they have a basis in
actual events, people,
or time periods.
A retelling of a persons
life or segment of life
written by another
person. Auto-biography
is written by the subject.
Nonfiction texts are
books of information
and fact. They might tell
a story but the
emphasis is on facts and
concepts.

Freedom Box by Striped Pajamas

Ellen Levine
BY John Boyne
Illustrated by
Kadir Nelson
What
Presidents are
Made Of by
Hanoch Piven
Round is A
Mooncake by
Rosanne Thong
Illustrated by
Grace Lin

A Voice of Her
Own: A Story of
Phillis Wheatley,
Slave Poet by
Kathryn Latsky
Buried Alive:
How 33 Miners
Survived 69
Days Deep
Under Chilean
Dessert
By Elaine Scott

2. Evaluating Childrens Literature

a) Books should not contain bias and should be culturally relevant.
a. Books should not promote stereotypes or bias. If young
children are repeatedly exposed to biased representations
through words and pictures, there is a danger that such
distortions will become a part of their thinking, especially if
reinforced by societal biases. New York State Association
for the Education of Young People
b. Books should depict all sides of the truth. When selecting
books for your classroom, it is important to show all
characteristics of difference to connect with the diversity of
the classroom.
c. It is important to have multicultural books in the classroom to
demonstrate the varying viewpoints that are present in
society. When selecting a book, make sure you are not just
picking it because it is familiar. Try and get outside of the
typical stories and search for the other side of the story.
b) Books should be age and reading level appropriate
a. Make sure you know your students and meet their needs. If
you read a book that is too far above students heads without
providing appropriate scaffolding, your student will not come
away from the reading or lesson with and accurate
understanding of the text.
b. Additionally, just because the text says that it should be age
appropriate, that does not mean it is appropriate for your
students skill level. Know your students and choose texts that
are appropriate for them. Also, this would be a great place to

give the student a chance to choose what he or she wants to

read. This gives them more responsibility over their learning
while ensuring that they are making level appropriate
decisions- this might need to be facilitated by guided reading
to make sure student is in fact choosing appropriate books.
c) Books should be interesting to students
a. When choosing books, try and choose books that would be
interesting to your students. They should have interesting
plots and be relevant to your students lives. Students need to
be able to connect to the books and students will not want to
read boring books.
3. The Transactional Theory of Reading is a reader response theory that was
initially

published by Louise Rosenblatt. She rejects the idea that literary

works stand alone without the concept of a relationship between the reader
and text. She states that the readers interaction and reaction to the text are
the most important part of reading. Additionally, she states that active
readers can create multiple meanings out of text. Rosenblatt also
maintained that this approach-respectful of the individuals response while
dedicated to serious communication and debate-is essential to fostering
citizens equipped for democratic life. New York University.
This is an important theory to consider when teaching reading because
it pushed past the conventional idea that the author has one meaning for
text. It emphasizes the readers reaction and thus makes the reader the most
important part of the interaction. This approach allows for prior knowledge
and past experience to be taken into account when reading text. It
recognizes the idea that every student might have a different reaction and
interpretation to the text based on his or her past experiences. This must
also be recognized in the classroom to produce a classroom that reaches
every student.

Rosenblatts theory also addressed the efferent stance and aesthetic

stance. Efferent stance refers to the idea that the goal of reading is to take
information away from a text. This information is centered on the who, what,
and where of a text. It does not typically involve readers interactions nor
does it involve their interpretations of the text. IN contrast, aesthetic stance
refers to the idea that the reader should live through the reading and include
their associations, ideas, attitudes, and feelings when responding to the text.
This stance serves to bring deeper meaning and understanding from the text
instead of rote memorization or fact recall.
Additionally, the transactional theory of reading involves three key
players- the reader, the text, and the context. In response theory, the
readers role is to bring in their past associations, ideas, attitudes, and
feelings to make connections with the text. The interpretations made by the
reader are just as important, if not more so, than the facts included in the
text. The texts role is to bring out those ideas and attitudes and serve to
communicate a large idea or theme. Context in this response theory serves
to set up the reason for choosing this text and can serve to further the
connections currently assimilating in between the text and the reader.
Teachers can help students become responsive readers by modeling
responsive reading. During read-alouds, they can model connections they are
making to the text. Teachers can also encourage students to bring in past
experiences and share those experiences with the class. Some classroom
activities that promote response reading include literature circles,

storytelling, readers theater, creative drama, debate, creative writing, and

bringing in art with literature. Teachers should be asking students what they
feel, think, or remember when they read. Additionally, a classroom that
promotes transactional reading theory would have student lead discussions
about literature with the teacher serving only as a guide. Teachers should
strive to help deepen discussion and extend student response. Some skills
that can be promoted through these discussions could be drawing
inferences, compare and contrast, critical thinking, generalizing, and
comprehension. Overall, the transactional reader response theory aims to
increase the students interactions and connections with the text to create a
deeper and more meaningful experience.