Literature: the Backbone of Learning

As I review my curriculum outline and begin to piece together the classroom materials needed to breathe life into the farm preschool cooperative, I find myself relying more and more on children’s books to address the various fields of knowledge we have selected as the focus of this program. I love children’s literature and as a teacher I have found that it is often the most powerful tool I have to connect with students of all different learning styles with every imaginable interest. But books do more so much more than simply provide bonding opportunities, though if that was all they did I wouldn’t think them any less powerful or important. Stories allow children to enter all different worlds, to vicariously experience challenges and pleasures through characters they come to love. Stories give life to the lessons being addressed in the classroom while at the same time inspiring new ideas for where to to go next in the process of discovery. But mostly I love stories for the depth of creativity, innovation, and thought that they provoke. Many of my most memorable conversations and activities with students have come from sharing and discussing a beloved story together.

While my research children’s books to complement each component of the three core areas of the farm preschool curriculum (Social & Personal Responsibility, Agriculture & Sustainability, Creativity & the Arts), I find myself drifting back to the stories I read over and over again with my 4s class kids at Bella Mente. For a while, we used books as the backbone of our school curricula, selecting a new book every week or so, using the images and ideas in the story to shape our daily activities. Sometimes we teachers picked a book and other times we picked a book that the students were showing particular interest in, but each time it was a huge success. Because of that experience, I am able to put together a diverse and powerful library for K and her friends to learn about themselves, the world, and their places within it. Currently, K and I are using her favorite stories to build vocabulary, she being a bit too young still for the kind of curriculum projects I did with the 4-year-olds previously. K’s favorite right now is a book of silly, fantastical poems by Calef Brown called Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers. Though she has just turned two years old and is still learning to string together complete sentences, little K has memorized, in full, at least one of the 10-line poems in the collection, reciting it with pride in her linguistic accomplishment.

We started this book-based curriculum idea at Bella Mente with Carin Berger’s story, Forever Friends, a mixed-media illustrated story of friendship and the changing seasons from which emerged a lesson on the cardinal directions. We hadn’t intended on teaching this but the kids were so interested in the bird character flying south for the winter that we would have been foolish to neglect their enthusiasm to learn what we would likely have ended up teaching them eventually anyway. Our class was ready and eager to learn navigational skills then and there, thanks to this story, and so this was where we began our curriculum. Together we made compasses at the art table, hung direction signs in the classroom and practiced pointing to the west, east, south, and north walls of the room. The kids became bird watchers in the dramatic play area, listening to Stokes’ Field Guide bird sounds recording we borrowed from the library, and we used graph paper as the backdrop for our artwork, just like the artwork in the story. There was a little something for everyone in this book and the message of friendship helped reinforce the ever-important values of kindness and building lasting relationships.

While us teachers selected the first book, our lessons on paleontology and open-mindedness came from our class’s mutual love of Mercer Meyer’s fantasy story called How the Trollusk Got His Hat. So many kids had been requesting this book that we took their lead and built a curriculum around it, inviting kids at the art table to create their own fantasy creatures and making a batch of “tango playdough” to match the trollusk’s famed “tango soup.” The main character, Reggie was a paleontologist, so we set up an archeological dig in dramatic play and set out dino-bingo and non-fiction dinosaur books at the science table, which were a huge hit. Many conversations about how easy it is to misjudge a person because they look different resulted from the trollusk character’s frightful appearance, despite his kind and gentle nature. Though at first glance this is but a fun and silly story, we went on with it for weeks finding more and more to learn about together that we’d never have expected. The more we read this beloved tale, the more questions and ideas it inspired in both our students and teachers and soon another class was requesting the story for their curriculum when we finished. By the time we passed it along, our walls were adorned with imaginary letters to the trollusk and Reggie with hand-drawn stamps (the trollusk is a collector), pictures of dinosaurs to add to Reggie’s work, hand-created monsters and their descriptions, and all the kids wore giant paper hats that they learned to fold using an origami pattern.

We had so much fun exploring story after story, while seeking out others to complement the various components of our focal piece. We acted out the adventures together, made art in the style of the illustrations, and learned about the habitats and habits of the various creatures featured in each book. But it so much more than just fun and games, serious and meaningful learning was taking place every day and the students loved that the questions and ideas that they had after each reading inspired the activities and projects we would engage in as a class. Each story spoke differently to each child, stirring up a variety of emotions, questions, and thoughts. Everyone found some way to connect both with one another through their mutual interests inspired by the story, and with their own intellectual curiosities. For me, however, it was the thoughtful discussions resulting from our reading and analysis that I loved most. We asked the kids many thought-provoking questions based on each story and time and again the depth, wisdom, and maturity in their responses blew us away.

After reading Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius, my co-teacher, Becca, and I asked our group, “how might you make the world a better place, like Miss Rumphius did when she planted lupine flowers all over town?” Responses varied from giving lots of hugs, to drawing pictures for friends and family, to planting more flowers, to sharing toys with friends. One particularly thoughtful little guy who shared my love of literature decided he wanted to “give a flower to everyone everyone I see,” but then later on as our class had moved on from circle time and sat down to lunch, he was still thinking about the story and our question. “Miss Jo, I have another idea to make the world a better place,” my little friend shared, “I want to go to all the places in the world where people don’t have enough food and share my food with them.” A few tears well up in my eyes even now as I share his beautiful idea with you. I told him, “Caid, I hope that one day you get to do exactly that,” the pride beaming in his smile matched the pride I felt for him, as his teacher. Thanks to Caid, I fell in love with this story and share it with every child I can. K and I have already read it together a handful of times and each time we find something new and fall in love with the story all over again. 

So much wisdom can be found within the pages of just about any children’s book, and as a teacher, it’s nice to take part in the lessons and allow the story to do the teaching. I love reading stories with my kiddo friends and asking their thoughts and opinions, what they love about the book, and what interests them. I love sharing my take on the story too and through our dialogue about the book we begin to know and understand one another a little better. Our conversations about stories makes us equals, co-learners, as teachers in the Reggio Approach are intended to be, and they allow us to share in the beauty and joy of the written word and the artful illustrations and photographs that accompany each story. When I read with my students and ask them to tell me how the story inspires them, to share the thoughts and feelings the story evokes, it is as though we are just two friends deep in an authentic conversation. I listen to them, they listen to me and together we develop a deeper understanding of life. All the while these kids are practicing their critical thinking skills, building their vocabulary and ability to express themselves, they are learning new things about themselves and making connections they might have otherwise missed. There is no limit to what can be learned from a story when the power of literature is harnessed in the classroom and home. Here are a few of my favorite stories, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

You Don't Have to Sit Still to Learn How to Read

While some kids love to park themselves on a couch with a book or write and rewrite their ABCs, many kids that I have worked with would never freely choose to sit down and practice their letters or look through a book because they are too busy running around. I’m sure you all know a few of these active, busy little ones; maybe you were one yourself. It’s not that these kiddos are not interested in literacy activities; it’s just that they learn differently and are more interested in things that don’t involve sitting still. Perhaps though, they are less comfortable with their fine motor skills or get their energy from being around others and so the solitary literacy activities leave them restless or bored.

This doesn’t mean they are destined to struggle with reading, or that they are even disinterested in it, as is too often assumed. It simply means that in order to set all kids up for success, we as teachers (or parents at home), need to set out activities that speak to a variety of learning styles so that at some point during the day, each kid has the chance to get involved in literacy work one way or another. The more we get to know each individual child’s preferred way of learning, the kinds of activities that they are most naturally inclined to participate in with enthusiasm, the better chance each child has at reaching his and her true potential. Too many kids get left behind in school when it comes to literacy because the status quo in education is to have all children conform to a single or a small range of activities that cater to the dominant learning style. This isn’t fair and it is not the only way.

A great way to encourage literacy development for all students is by including bits and pieces of it throughout the classroom as a whole, rather than simply creating an isolated literacy station. A designated station can work too, so long as it includes a variety of activities that speak to a variety of learning styles, this just takes a lot more space and often more work than is necessary. Integration not only increases exposure to these types of activities, it also ensures that no matter what station kids naturally lean toward, they will get in some literary work within the context of their preferred activities. I like the integration approach to literacy development especially because it encourages learning within the context of what the kids are doing so it is far more relevant and therefore allows kids to both want to read to add to their experience as well as better understand why it is important to do so.

A variation on my puzzle activity

At Bella Mente, the preschool I left behind in Seattle when I moved, I worked with a little boy who had no interest whatsoever in learning to read or write, until one day I created a stack of boards that had our new classroom name printed on them with empty squares below for letter tiles so the kids could learn their new name since we were no longer calling them the “4s class.” This little friend loved puzzles and the act of searching for the letters and finding and placing the ones that matched the letter printed above each box was something he was deeply interested in. To him this was just another puzzle, but as he filled in the letters and “built” words, he said them out loud and smiled the biggest, sweetest, proud smile when I pointed out that he was spelling real words.

Another student in that same class was the most perfect example of a kinetic learner I have ever seen. This boy loved to move. All he wanted to do was run around and climb on things. Quiet, stationary activities were just not something he was interested in. So how do you get a kid like him to focus on pre-reading and writing? Well, you find a way for him to move while he learns. Three activities immediately come to my mind for kiddos like my incredibly active little buddy but there are so many more once you start researching (Pinterest is a great resource for this), brainstorming, and trying things out in your space with your kiddos and see what they respond to.

One idea is an alphabet scavenger hunt. I love this one because it can be done individually, which is great for those introverted kiddos who get their energy from retreating into their inner dialogue, but it can also be a social group activity. A few of my students did this and had so much fun searching all over the classroom for each letter of the alphabet. This way, kids are working on letter recognition while at the same time moving around the classroom to satisfy their bodies desire to be in motion. To also make this a writing activity, the kids can carry a detective’s notebook and scribble down each letter as they find them.  

Another great activity for more active learners involves a little yoga-like movement where the kids attempt to shape their bodies to match the different letters of the alphabet. They can also do this one individually or with friends by turning it into a game as one friend watches and tries to guess the letter the other one bends into. You can also model the shapes and have the kids try to guess what letter you are making. Not only is this a lot of fun, whenever I’ve done it has left all the kids tumbling over in glorious fits of laughter and glee, but it also promotes large motor development and is a nice way to incorporate some principles of yoga into their daily worlds.

The last activity that immediately came to mind is one I recently discovered on Pinterest and I am super excited to try it out next time I get the chance to work with a super active learner. For this activity the teacher lays colorful tape down on the floor in the shape of very large letters, in upper and/or lower case for the children to practice walking along heel to toe as they would on a balance beam or tightrope. This is a fantastic challenge for the little movers who struggle to concentrate while sitting still, their bodies too antsy to remain seated for too long. If you try this one out, let me know how it goes!  

I love that these activities do not require a literacy station of their own and can easily be incorporated into the other core classroom stations. The word tiles puzzle is a great one to add to a quiet area paired with books and pillows, a work-table, and a run to sprawl out on. The scavenger hunt is perfect for creative play (aka dramatic play or imaginary play). When the kids in my class did this they called themselves the “alphabet detectives,” but they could have just as easily been pirates on an alphabet treasure hunt. The other two activities are great in any indoor and outdoor active play station, something every classroom ought to have where kids can move around and put their crazy energy to good use.

The yoga alphabet poses make for a really effective and participatory group meeting for when the kiddos seem too restless for or disinterested in a more traditional circle time meeting. Really though, the possibilities are endless and they will make all the difference in the world for those students who might otherwise struggle when it comes to learning to read. Constant exposure, even if it’s just adding rocks with letters and/or words painted on them to a sensory tub, can help set certain kids up for success later on just by increasing their exposure to language in such seemingly random and subtle ways. The learning happens whether they realize it or not and helps prevent later stress for children, teachers, and parents alike. 

Alphabet Bean Bag Toss

Check out my Playingwith Language board and other Ed-related ones on Pinterest for more ideas on incorporating literacy development in unexpected ways in the classroom and at home. There are so many more ways to reach kids than just reading books and singing the ABC song and every kid prefers and responds to different ones. When it comes to getting kids interested in reading and writing my motto is always, the more variety the better. This might take a little more effort on my end, but the results are so worth it. There is nothing like seeing a child take those first steps toward learning to read and the more fun we as teachers and parents can make this process the more likely the kids will be to stick with it and fall in love with reading, and thus learning as a whole.