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| Why do people read? Is it to see if they can look at letters and make the right sounds, or to find meaning? Obviously people read to find meaning, but the question that arises is: What should be taught first, the ability to mimic what is written verbatim, or the need or desire to know what the written words mean? Through much study of current research on the teaching of literacy in the elementary classroom, I have come to the conclusion that a desire to read needs to come first, and using children's literature is the most effective strategy to create that desire. The basis for my conclusion was derived from three progressive categories contrasted between readers submersed in good literature and readers confined to basal books: student's attitudes about reading, the amount of reading experiences they are immersed in, and performance on standardized reading tests. Attitude is a major determining factor in everything anyone does. "When individuals are highly motivated and their experiences are meaningful to them, they learn more readily" (Cooper, 1982, p. 26). It's common knowledge that most people do not succeed, nor even attempt to succeed, at something they do not like doing. It is reasonable to think that the same applies for reading. If people don't enjoy it or find a need for doing it, they wont; therefore, to improve children's reading ability, their attitude towards reading must be or become a positive one. Eldredge and Butterfield (1986) facilitated a study that compared achievement of students who used basal learning methods verses those who used other methods, one of which was a literature-based method. They came to the conclusion that "'the use of children's literature to teach children to read had a positive effect upon students' achievement and attitudes towards reading – much greater than the tradition methods used"' (Tunnell, Jacobs, 1989, p. 41). Tunnell tried a literature-based program similar to that of Eldredge and Butterfield's. After seven months of this program a survey of reading attitudes was given to the twenty- eight fifth graders who participated. There were virtually no negative attitudes about reading and confidence levels rose (Tunnell et al, 1986). Attitude determines how much a reader reads. Boring books that focus on sounds rather than meaningful context depress readers and cause them animosity towards reading. Attitude is such a determining factor in learning to read that "'[when] a readability formula might rate a book as being too difficult for instruction, the interest created by the book may stimulate children to master it'" (Richek and McTague, 1988, p. 220). Positive attitudes toward reading stimulate people to want to read, and according to Allington (1980) Reading is just like anything else. It requires much practice before competency will result (Richek et al, 1988). Increasing reading experiences improves students' abilities to recognize words, and literature-based learning increases their desire to read. Many parents of children who were part of a literature-based learning experiment, called Curious George, commented on a noticeable increase in their child's reading. Some even noticed their children reading to younger siblings. Others remarked on the numerous trips to the library at their child's request (Richek et al, 1988). With good literature as the center of a reading program, students will respond "with enthusiasm for books . . . and with growth in language and literacy" (Roser, Hoffman, and Farest, 1990, p. 559). How much and how often students read are directly impacted by their attitudes towards reading, and good attitudes towards reading are fostered through immersion in good literature. The question then is: how does the positive attitudes and much practice derived from literature-based learning affect students' reading performance? According to Boehnlein (1987) "'After an average of 15 to 20 weeks, or 30 to 40 hours of [literature-based] instruction, 90% of the children whose pretest scores were in the lowest 20% of their class catch up to the average of their class or above and never need remediation again'" (Tunnell et al, 1989, p. 471). An experiment comparing the use of children's literature to teach reading to restricted English speakers verses the use of basal readers was also interesting. Each of the 225, New York kindergarteners that participated in this experiment could read what was expected of them. A few could even read two levels above the expected (Tunnell et al, 1989). In the Brownsville, CA school district, six schools participated in a literature-based program experiment. Out of those six schools, five - made marked improvement on the state mandated test of basic skills. Three of those five schools were noted with the five most improved schools in the state (Roser et al, 1990). It is no wonder "that the National Council of Teachers of English commend those states that take educational initiatives encouraging the use of literature as a primary material for literacy instruction'" (NCTE committee, 1988). Literature based instruction clearly is more effective than the lifeless basal approach. All of the research I've read supports the idea that when students are exposed to literature that they enjoy, they will want to enjoy it more and more often. This gives them more and more practice, which results in acceptable and often exceptional performance in reading. Cooper, David J. (2000). Literacy Helping Children Construct Meaning (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. NCTE committee. (1988). Resolutions of A Professional Association of Educators in English Studies, Literacy, and Language Arts. Richek, Margaret Ann, and McTague, Becky K. (1988). The “Curious George” Strategy For Students With Reading Problems. The Reading Teacher. Roser, Nacy L, Hoffman, James V, and Farest, Cynthia. (1990). Language, Literature and At-Risk Children. The Reading Teacher. Tunnell, Michael O, and Jacobs, James S. (1989). Using ‘Real’ Books: Research Findings on Literature Based Reading Instruction. The Reading Teacher. |