A thought about book collecting: I have been considering what happens to children's understanding when I add layer after layer of text to a genre study/theme. I find it so engaging for readers when I use parts and pieces and snatches of texts with an exemplary novel or read-aloud. As we are suggesting titles on the American Revolution, you might also consider spending your time collecting short texts also that lead students to points of connection.
A thought about connections, synthesis, and time period genres: My purpose in having students read time period genres is to infer and synthesize around the major conflict in a particular time period. I know that connections are essential to synthesizing. You develop points of connection as you layer, text after text. It's as if you were weaving a tapestry with this piece and that piece and you are looking for where and how they connect. As connections are made and sometimes schema/knowledge about the topic is built, it's fantastic to see how their thinking begins to evolve or change. They find new ideas and perspectives. They get into the shoes the characters are wearing. Layering texts give you an opportunity to present a topic with multiple perspectives from the time period. This is the way to really tell history or herstory. I don't necessarily mean create dissention and debates about someone's good character, etc. I am speaking about understanding for example, a Tory's life and a Patriot's life or a time period conflict. Example of layering with time period genres: Before I read aloud, Kate's Trunk about Tories and Patriots, we first read a few excerpts from the nonfiction text, The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence. I started here to build time period schema. Our guiding questions were, "What was it like to be a Patriot? A Tory? What was the conflict between them? What did each sacrifice?" It's important to set a focus (determining importance) as you layer. Students were surprised at the losses of those who signed the Declaration of Independence - the Patriots. We also took excerpts from the nonfiction text, Fight for Freedom: The American Revolutionary War. We read a section on Loyalists. Then finally we read, Kate's Trunk by Ann McGovern (historical fiction.) As each layer of text was added, shifts began to occur--discussions about the "price tag" or sacrifice involved in this time period, the values, and the conflict. I realized that in a short period of time, deep, conceptual understanding had been developed far beyond from where we had started. A thought about perspectives: Perspectives don't mean, in my estimation, that there isn't a right or wrong. Even the most ancient of books, the Bible, has four gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Why are there four? I don't know why except that each has there own perspective, their own flavor. Matthew was a tax collector, Luke was a physician, and so forth. I think parents are afraid of teaching multiple perspectives because it may seem as if a standard isn't being set. I want to clarify that I do tell elementary children there is right and wrong, but there are perspectives to these issues that must be understood. If we don't understand them, we will repeat horrible, unjust behaviors of the past. A few thoughts---Janine Batzle _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
