What can the affective turn mean for literacy educators who believe their work can lay the foundation for a life filled with meaningful reading pursuits, for students who "become" readers and "do" reading? Because reading occurs across and within an elaborate composite of time, space, relationships, histories, discourses, and…

This eight-month study, conducted in a first-grade classroom in the southwestern United States, analyzed young children's playful responses to literature. It focuses on framing a theory that underpins play as a form of reader response, which I term 'responsive play'. It further aims to answer the overarching research question and the sub-question:…

Play in the school setting is a highly contested issue in today's restrictive academic environment. Although many early childhood educators advocate the use of play in their classrooms and emphasize the importance of play for children's learning and development, children beyond the preschool and kindergarten years are not often afforded…

The purpose of this study was to examine how the social practices of African American families--with children in grades K-2--changed as a result of participating in a family literacy program utilizing African American children's literature. The families were exposed, through a series of workshops, to an abundance of children's literature…

Chapter books present young readers with many more challenges than do the picture books that initiate them into reading. This case study investigation explored ways in which three first graders used their literature response journals to help them negotiate their first chapter book read aloud. Findings of the three case studies revealed that the…

Children often become deeply immersed in stories. Just as often, however, they may resist reading, or reading certain types of texts. The authors present a typology of six ways in which young children resist stories. Though educators may be inclined to view such opposition as a roadblock to understanding, children's resistance may be the occasion…

Discusses the controversial work of Maurice Sendak, a popular, yet controversial children's author and illustrator. Examines the oral responses of a class of first graders to "We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy," with the purpose of demonstrating that children can act as their own agents in constructing meaning through complex…

Describes the oral, written, and visual arts responses of a group of Grade 1 children. Discusses first grade children's understandings of and responses to several Radical Change characteristics and metafictive techniques found in David Wiesner's "The Three Pigs" (2001), the 2002 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner. Explores the nature of the…

Offers guidelines for using literature in the primary classroom. Shares the experiences of first graders with the book "Owl Moon." Notes that it is important to retain the essence of the story--to demonstrate for young readers how readers connect with books. (MG)

While university researchers cannot agree on a model for teaching literature, or even what literary knowing is, the training for literature that prospective elementary teachers receive is totally that of teaching reading. Such education is unrelated to reading and responding to literature. Even when preservice elementary teachers do receive…

The Radical Change conceptual framework provides theory for understanding, appreciating, and evaluating three types of significant change in contemporary literature for children and youth: changing forms and formats, changing perspectives, and changing boundaries. A paucity of research has explored primary students' literary understandings of and…

In an effort to effect significant change in teachers' knowledge understanding, and choice of instructional strategies for guiding the study of literature as art, a study explored the teaching and learning of critical/aesthetic response to literature among elementary school children. Subjects, 25 first graders and 39 fifth graders, were evaluated…

To provide a framework for describing how children respond to picture books, first and second grade children were observed over a 10-week period. Variations in the responses of individual students, changes in their reactions over time, and the importance of considering the context of a response are discussed. (PP)

This book sheds prescriptive teaching for listening to children. It is the work of an experienced, practicing teacher with a sound interpretation of first-grade children, giving insight and examples of children and a teacher learning together. This second edition incorporates stories from the author/educator and learning from her new experiences…