People often ask how it would be possible to teach a children's book to a classroom of adults, well here are some important questions and answers::::Aren't picture books and young adult books meant for children?
--Yes, some of them, like Curious George, are meant to be read by children or by parents to children. But these are not the ones we recommend for use in adult literacy classrooms. Other books in the children's literature market are meant to be read and enjoyed by a wide diversity of ages.
--"I like writing picture books because that medium gives me a chance to capture in a brief space what I consider life's profound experiences...I write a picture book that speaks to any person, any age," said Cynthia Rylant, award-winning author. Oth er writers have said the same.
--Well-crafted picture books have intrinsic appeal for a wide-range of readers.
--Picture books often raise issues that demand maturity and life experience. Patricia MacLachlan's short chapter books, Journey, Baby, and Sarah, Plain and Tall, for example, have been marketed for middle-grade school children. But all three can be read on several levels, and adults are able to appreciate them with greater depth and maturity born from experience.
--As picture books have progressed from simple to complex in story telling and theme, from childish to sophisticated in subject matter and art, educators of all levels are gaining new respect for them. In fact, many of the current nonfiction picture books seem to be cousins of the old-fashioned coffeetable book, a genre clearly intended for adults.
Will the use of children's literature with my adult students offend them or make them feel as though I am treating them as children?--A group at the Ohio Literacy Resource Center has been working to identify appropriate books and field testing them in a variety of adult literacy settings. It is observed that adults are not offended as long as you choose appropriate titles and present them carefully. Just as most people--of all ages--love to be read to, so too are adults pleased to be exposed to the colorful and engrossing world of literature.
What are the benefits of using children's literature during class session?
What are the benefits of using children's literature during class session?--First-rate children's literature offers the same benefits that any high quality literature or art offers.
--Because these books employ the double media of print and illustration, the possibilities for students' comprehension and enjoyment are expanded.
--Picture books are suitable for short periods of instruction, the time allotment typical of ABE or GED classes.
--Multicultural texts for a diversity of students can be used to build awareness of other perspectives.
--Even new readers will be able to find adult-appropriate picture books on their reading levels and will not be daunted by the length--which may be a great motivator.
--Children's literature is widely available in public libraries; therefore the cost to your program is practically nonexistent.
How can I use these books in the classroom? --There are dozens of ways to introduce books into the curriculum.
--Some teachers begin every class by reading a poem or a picture book aloud, simply for the enjoyment of the literature.
--Some teachers project the book onto an overhead screen so the class can read the text together.
--Picture books and short novels make wonderful writing prompts and can provoke good journal writing.
--Level One ABE teachers may want to offer wordless books, such as Anno's Journey (1992) and ask students to create their own texts. They may share the photographs from Evans' and Rylant's book Something Permanent (1994) and ask students to write a paragraph on each photo.
--Picture book and young adult biographies often offer good writing models. Teachers may ask students to inverview each other, write short biographies of their classmates, and share them with the class.
--During class time or for homework, students can read books that make abstract concepts come to life. A reading of Hamanaka's The Journey, for example, will enrich a study of World War II. The study of Ohio history will be deepened by reading the short novel The Borning Room (Fleischman, 1991) or by the picture book Aurora Means Dawn (Sanders, 1989).
--Interdisciplinary thematic units can be broadened by use of children's literature. Somerset Maughm's classic story "Appointment in Samarra," for example, has been stunningly illustrated in the picture book Appointment and would well serve adults studying the theme of death. Certain tales, such as Through the Mickle Woods (Gregory, 1992), do the same.
--ESL teachers will find children's literature a rich resource for oral presentations, cultural presentations, vocabulary expansion, or class discussion on journeys and immigration.
--Classes that use a problem-posing model will find lively fictional examples for their work, for example, in Levine's Pearl Moscowitz' Last Stand.
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