1 Unit 1 Tools and Resources to Learn, Teach and Talk about Literature 1. Critical Perspectives on Learning about Literature.

2. Literary Elements in Prose and Poetry. 3. A Key Element to Take into Account in Childrens Literature: Gender 4. Talking about Literature 5. Digital Tools which can be of Help

1. Critical Perspectives on Learning about Literature. How can we help children engage in literature? And what exactly are they engaging in when we say the word literature? Ellen Winner (1982) argued that there are three essential features that mark literary text: a) the sound properties of words, b) the weaving of words into metaphors and, c) the structure of the text as a whole. (11) However, if we stop our definition of literature at the manipulation of language, we fall short of the mark. In his classic book on Literary Theory, Eagleton (1983) explained: Perhaps literature is definable not according to whether it is fictional or imaginative, but because it uses language in peculiar ways. On his theory, literature is a kind of writing which, in the words of the Russian critic Roman Jakobson, represents an organized violence committed on ordinary speech. Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech This, in effect, was the definition of the literary advanced by the Russian formalists [In their thinking], the literary work was neither a vehicle for ideas, a reflection of social reality nor the incarnation of some transcendental truth: it was a material fact, whose functioning could be analysed rather as one could examine a machine. (pp. 2-3) But E. B. White was no machinist. His fine-tuning of language was made for a purpose: to communicate, to talk of friendship, love and uplifting life. He always hoped that children would participate in his passion for words and for the world, and he had enough respect for children to know that they could take up whatever he gave them:

2 Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth. They accept, almost without a question, anything you present them with, as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, ad clearly Some writers for children deliberately avoid using words they think a child doesnt know. This emasculates the prose and, I suspect, bores the reader. Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net (p. 242) Critical to understanding this quote is the idea that White not only threw them hard words but complex ideas. What is life? What does it mean to be a true friend? What is death, and how do we move on in the face of terrible loss? Limiting Engagement. Some parents and teachers chose texts for children based on their heart-felt notions of children as innocent and in vast need of protection from the harsh realities of life. [In light of this, many books have been banned for children.] even during their lifetimes, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm both chose and were forced to tone down the violence in their texts. Indeed, a recent review of a book on the Brothers Grimm explained how the brothers were challenged again and again to revise their texts. Some with an excess of violence, were eliminated. Other tales were expurgated, Wilhelm himself did the work, but he wrote, in some exasperation, You can fool yourself into thinking that what can be removed from a book can also be removed from real life (Zarin, 2001, p. 29) One famous example can be seen in a letter Ursula Nordstrom, editor of a famous childrens book writer, wrote to a woman who tried to shield her niece: I have engaged in a dialogue with a woman who hated Carlottes Web because the spider loved drinking the flys blood. So this woman wouldnt give the book to her 8 year old niece I wrote her an impassioned letter saying that in was in the nature of spiders to drink the blood of flies, and that indeed in the book Wilbur shared her (the womans) distaste at Charlottes eating habits. But I begged her to give the little girl the book, to give the book a chance. Etc, etc. Blood all over the typewriter. Well, she wrote back and said if I were a gambling (Wolf, 12-3)

3 woman she would bet me the price of the book that the niece would hate the book. I told her that gambling was the one bad habit I did not indulge in, but please to try it anyway. Happy ending; she had the decency to write me that the niece loved the book and she took back what she had written. (pp. 323-324) (Wolf, 14-5)

Expanding Engagement There are at least four essential ideas to know about children and literature. *Children are smart. All too often, children are characterized as innocent, egocentric, and in much need of guidance and protection considerations that have much to do with the information on banning and distorting texts previously explained. Still, far more insidious than shielding children from bottles of wine and bloodthirsty spiders is protecting them from complex ideas. As Perry Nodelman (1996) eloquently explained: Children become what we believe they are; assumptions about childhood have the potential to become self-fulfilling prophecies. The more we believe that children are limited in various ways, the more we deprive them of experiences that might make them less limited. (p. 80) Highlighting the intelligence of children is essential, and if you give them a chance, children will let their engagement shine through. (Wolf 16) *Children are Unique. Theories of development that suggest that childrens learning moves through increasingly complex stages to full fruition as an adult have been applied to cognitive, moral, social and linguistic development. Yet, when you talk with and listen to children, theyll often demonstrate their flexibility outside the scope and sequence of knowledge that adults might think developmentally appropriate. As Huck, Hepter, Hickman, and Kiefer (1997) wrote, The whole idea of stages suggests a progression of development that might be far more orderly than what occurs in real life. Some feel that the theory fails to describe the intricacy and complexity of chldrens thinking and might lead teachers to focus on what children are supposedly not able to do, thus falsely lowering expectations. (p.47)

4 If we believe that story understanding, metaphor making, and genre shaping apply universally to children, we fail to recognize the power of experience in a childs life that may offset stage-model predictions. (Wolf 16-7) *Literary Engagement is Cognitive Work. People often argue that pleasure and the stirring of the imagination are the fundamental offerings of childrens literature. But pleasure is only a part of literatures potential. Instead, its essential to look at literature in terms of childrens intellectual engagement. [] Even Perry Nodelman (1996) whose book is entitled The Pleasures of Childrens Literature argued that these pleasures represent recognition, connection, and reflection. For example, he discussed the pleasure of recognizing forms and genres-of seeing similarities between works of literature as well as the pleasure of understanding-of seeing how literature not only mirrors life but comments on it and makes us consider the meaning of our own existence (p.21). We must never forget that books can do more for children than entertain them. (Wolf 18-9) *Literature Is an Available and Ready Resource. The experience of reading childrens literature with adults extends far beyond the precise moments of reading to grasping the creative and continuing possibilities of literary language, character, setting, plot, and theme for childrens own literary inventions and their relations with friends, family, and even frightening strangers. Sharing reading with children enables us to merge literature, language and thought, and to some degree, empowers us in life. (Wolf 20-1) Kinds of Literary Criticism These ways of thinking about a literary passage align with particular forms of literary criticism: Genetic criticism; which focus on the author Formal criticism; which focus on the text itself Text-to-Text criticism; with an emphasis on how one written text fits within the larger body of literature Transactional criticism; with an eye on the readers interaction with the text Sociocultural criticism; with an emphasis on cultural, political and social- historical perspectives Genetic Criticism:

5 For the genetic critic, if a poem is the product of an author and the author is the product of an age, then nothing less than a full understanding of that age the authors entire political, social, and intellectual milieu is required if we are to fully understand that authors art. (p. 11). Genetic criticism can be vastly informative, as long as it is not seen as the only way of approaching a text. Formal Criticism: In formal criticism, readers rely on close readings in order to understand how the text works I both smaller passages and larger structural chunks to create a unified whole. Indeed, formal critics would dismiss any discussion of the authors mindset as intentional fallacy because you cant really know the authors intentions. Theyd also reject any talk of the readers personal response as an affective fallacy because your emotions would blur your ability to see your way through a correct interpretation of literature. For formal critics, the meaning lies in the language of the text itself. Teachers of young children often content themselves with the textual elements of character, setting, plat, style and tone. Expert teachers know that a focus on language is key in helping children to learn how to appreciate quality writing as well as craft their own narrative pieces. Indeed, the increased interest in how to help children with their writing relies on the assumption that childrens writing will improve if they are given multiple opportunities to talk analytically about text. Writing assessment programs such as 6-Trait Writing lean heavily on literature to make their points about voice, word choice, organization and the like. As with every form of criticism, there is a downside. More often than not, most teachers work with works written by white Anglo-Saxon male writers. Teachers should invite children to open up this museum gates and engage in discussion about a variety of texts. Text to Text Criticism Text to text criticism suggests that interpretation depends on how a text fits within the larger body of literature. We can compare the potentialities of one text with other texts by the same author, sometimes with texts of the same genre, sometimes with the whole body of remembered readings, or to focus on any kind of connections in the vast array of other potential connections among written as well as media texts.

6 As teachers of literature, we may feel thoroughly akin to carefully select texts and to emphasize potential connections. We may choose a central text, an anchor text, and a number of supplemental books to expand key concepts as well as to provide instructional reading material at a students reading level. In that way, all students in any particular grade would be discussing similar concepts and themes, but they would be reading a variety of books. (Wolf 28-9). The most important problem with this approach is that a teacher may select texts solely on the superficial aspects of a topic or theme, thus avoiding the exploration of deeper possibilities. Transactional Criticism Louise Rosenblatt (1994) is generally recognized as the first voice in transactional criticism. In this stance, the reader brings individual life experience to the text that acts as a guide, and the result is what Rosenblatt calls a poem, which is not an object or an ideal entity. It happens during a coming together, a compenetration, of a reader and a text. The reader brings to the text his past experience and present personality. (Wolf 32) Rosenblatt uses the term transactional to talk about the encounter between the reader and the text. The poem comes into being in the live circuit between the reader and the text. As with the elements of an electric circuit, each component of the reading process functions by virtue of the presence of the others. A specific reader and a specific text at a specific time and place: change any of these, and there occurs a different circuit, a different event-a different poem. (p. 14) The negative aspect of this criticism comes from the exaggerated pre-eminence of the reader, which might lead you to believe that any response from a child is a god as another. Rosenblatt never meant to espouse an atmosphere of anything goes. Although she clearly argued that there could never be a single or correct text interpretation, she stressed that readers should be able to return to the text in order to substantiate and justify their conclusions. Sociocultural Criticism. This last critical stance focuses on the political and sociohistorical dimensions of response. Within this view, critics interrogate literature in terms of whose perspectives, values, and norms are voiced and whose views are silenced. Questions of power and

7 authority are key as critics push against the hidden assumptions of a text and resist the status quo. In 1972, Nancy Larrick wrote an article entitled The all-white world of children s books to dominate the dominance of a Eurocentric view. [] children in stories are portrayed all too often as safe and secure in their two-parent family households, surrounded by books and toys in their own well-appointed rooms. Boys are still three times more likely to appear in award-wining books than girls (Hurley & Chadwick 1998) as be three times more active than girls in childrens literature in general (Kortenhaus & Demarest, 1993) sociocultural critics often question the stereotypical representations of children in literature. The debate arising is one of the hottest in education today. In particular, E. D. Hirsch (1987) has sent out dire warnings of what might happen if we fail to teach the classics, arguing that such a dangerous step would deny children the common knowledge they need to be an educated citizens in contemporary society. (Wolf 37) Keep in mind, however, there are drawbacks to sociocultural criticism, and one is the overanalysis of texts for stereotypes ferreting out any faults in the portrayal of culture, class, and gender, and potentially taking a stance in the shadow of censorship. Critics who have very different views toward texts from the political left as well as the right often come perilously close to denying access based on their own critical rejection of the voices and values portrayed. Your skill as a teacher is more in demand, and the harm that might come to children who see themselves cast as stereotypes is more likely. However, if you handle these books with care, such conversations can help all students to reflect on [literature] in all its rich diversity, to prompt them to ask questions about who we are now as a society and how we arrived at our present state, and to inspire them to actions that will create and maintain social justice (Bishop, 1997, p. 19) (Wolf 38-9) 2. Literary Elements in Prose and Poetry. Writers craft characters by revealing their intentions, motivations, and emotional responses through careful choices of style, tone, and point of view. They move characters through time, space, and situation by selecting genre, setting and plot. And all of the elements work together to deliver particular themes.

8 Developing an understanding of the components of narrative will enable you and your children to communicate with a common language. The eight narrative components we are going to describe must work in sync for an author to develop a powerful story. 2.1 Genre Genre provides the frame for the story. It typecasts the tale, sending the signals to prepare the reader for what lies ahead. The rounding of character, functions of setting, predictability of plot, and explicitness of theme are often determined by genre. The boundaries among categories are, however, more porous than solid. Very general lines separate fantasy from reality. Realistic tales include those that center on personal and social problems, historical fiction, sports stories, mysteries, or tales that follow real animals in authentic situations. Although historical fiction places emphasis on the authenticity of setting, problem realism centers on character development. On the other hand, fantasy opens the door to the rich world of make-believe. Subgenres of fantasy include folk and fairy tales, fables, myths, legends, science fiction, and high fantasy. Folks and fairy tales are well known for their predictability stories painted in black and white. There is little grey in the world of the folk tale: characters are either god or evil, the setting a dark forest or a shining castle, the hero victorious and the nemesis defeated. Quite often the plot cycles around the number three. There are three brothers, three questions to be answered, and three nights to be spent. In terms of Hansel and Gretel, many of these patterns are apparent. Both the witch and the stepmother are clearly evil antagonists, while the children are forces for good. And though they are abandoned in the forest twice instead of the traditional three times, they find the witchs delicious abode on their third day in the woods. Notwithstanding, let us not forget genres are not permanent classes but families subject to change. 2.2 Theme Theme is the heart of the story an idea or comment about life that often illuminates the emotional content of the human condition. Bringing meaning to all parts of the tale, authors craft their themes .whether singular or more complex -through the orchestration of the other components.

9 Simple stories have straightforward and often didactic themes. For example, golden rules abound in the world of the fable, though this is appropriate to the genre. In fairy tales the themes are not so outspoken, but they still come through loud and clear, intelligence is more important than strength and good conquers evil. When children discuss Hansel and Gretel theyre pften struck by the clear evil of the stepmother and the witch, but the father is more perplexing. Why would he follow his wifes suggestion and abandon his children in the forest?... A seven year old child suggested that if he didnt comply, he would be kicked out and left alone in the forest as well. Children, even very young children, can interpret theme in literature with the aid of capable teachers. They see the messages in life all around them, so the themes in stories are there for the taking and the talking. Children need and deserve opportunities to explore what Faulkner calls the human heart in conflict with itself.(Wolf 54-6) 2.3 Character Characters are animate beings with emotions, motivations, and intentions. They move in the time and space of a story, interacting with friends and foes, reflecting and taking actions. In the world of childrens literature, characters may be human or not. The critical characteristic is that they are animate. Talking, thinking and feeling animals abound. Human characteristics are also given to plants and objects, like a nutcracker that comes to life under the Christmas tree. Questions that you and your children can consider are: Who are the characters? Are they flat and unchanging or round and dynamic? How do the characters move, think, and feel? Do they take primary roles, or do they stand in the background? How do they change during the course of the story? In Hansel and Gretel, for instance, even young children recognize that the stepmother and the witch are the same. Both women stare out in disgust at the children, they both share the same dark eyes, the same down-turned grimace, and the same mole. They both call the children lazybones. The more sophisticated the character, the richer the description the author rounds the character through physical as well as affective insights and details. Some characters remain unchanging, but others are dynamic- maturing through both the action of the story and personal self-reflection.

10 In the analysis of characters, your children can list and discuss features, compare and contrast characters, and follow them over time. One strategy would be for students to keep a double entry journal of character development. Students could enter teacherselected quotes concerning the main characters. On the facing page, (or in a second column), they would provide a written response to these quotes justifying how or why the quotes show particular features of character. (Wolf 56-59) 2.4. Setting Setting includes the main features of time, place and situation. These features are to be explored for the possible shifts in setting that reflect the general mod of the story and feelings of the characters. Dorothy is a far different person in Kansas than she is in Oz! Questions you and your children can explore include: Is the setting integral to the story or merely a backdrop, where the actual time and place are less important than the situation? How does the setting influence character mod or highlight the conflict? In fables, for instance, time and place are unimportant, for the boy who cried wolf could play his joke and receive his comeuppance almost anywhere, at any time. Fairy tale settings are often stereotypical Once upon a time a long time ago- but they retain their power just the same and provide beginning insights into the role of setting as symbol. The forest conjures up immediate images of trees that reach out to grab escaping heroines, with wolves and witches therein. A castle needs little explanation the word itself sparks flickering candles that shed light on stone walls and sumptuous banquets attended by fairies, kings and queens. The setting shifts in Hansel and Gretel are highly dramatic. Though the children s lives at home as well as at the witchs house are both frightening, the threat becomes more real in the woods. Even more important, there is a startling difference in the home from the beginning of the story to the end. The house at the beginning is quite grey, but when the children return, it is lighter and cleaner. (Wolf 60-1) 2.5 Plot Plot is a sequence of events that moves the narrative from beginning to end. Quite often, the plot begins with a problem for a major character to solve, shows the difficulties of the problem in the middle of the story, and ends with a resolution of that problem. Plot reveals the movement of characters through time, space and adversity. The simplest view of plot shows us that stories have beginnings, middles, and endings.

11 In the beginning of Perraults Cinderella, a young girl faced with a lifetime of drudgery and derision. Her fairy godmother arrives in the middle of the tale to offer her some sparkling alternatives. Ultimately, Cinderella discovers the old adage if the shoe fits, wear it and lives happily ever after with her prince. Questions you and your children might explore include: How is the plot structured? How does the resolution of one event lead to the next episode? What clues does the author offer through foreshadowing? What is the use of time does it move unerringly forward or are there flashbacks, stories within stories, and dream sequences which bend or suspend time? In the classrooms, children often analyze and comment on the effectiveness of plot. They ponder what works and what doesnt. they may wonder, for instance, why Hansel uses bread instead of stones the second day. Some may reply that is because their parents took them in a different direction they love to discuss the stepmothers death at the end of the book. While the text says little, children conjure up all sorts of reasons for her demise, and often return to the associations between the stepmother and the witch. (Wolf 62-64) 2.6 Point of View Through the choices in point of view, the author decides what the reader will see and know. The view can be limited to the actions of the characters or spread to their innermost thoughts and feelings. The view can offer insight into a single character or expand to everyone involved in the story. In the objective point of view, the action speaks for itself. The innermost feelings of characters are not revealed, and readers must infer intention and motivation only from what characters say and do. Although this choice is typical of drama, it is rare in the world of childrens literature. Much more common is the first person point of view, where the I is both character and narrator. We can also find an Omniscient point of view, which allows us to hear and understand the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters. The Grimm Brothers, for instance, show us how the kids father feels upon their first return: The children walked all through the night and at daybreak reached home. They knocked at the door, and when the stepmother looked out and saw who it was, she said, You wicked children! Why did you sleep so long in the forest? We thought you were never coming home.

12 But their father was glad, for it had broken his heart to leave them behind all alone. Thus, while we can only infer the stepmothers rage and disappointment that her plan has failed, the authors allow us the feel the fathers broken heart. The connection between point of view and character is particularly strong, for the viewpoint focuses our attention, and often our sympathy and empathy, towards particular characters and away from others. Recently, childrens literature has followed less traditional trails, shifting the point of view away from the likely hero. Shifts in point of view are becoming increasingly popular in the world of the fairy tale. Questions for you and your children include. What is the chosen point of view of the book? Does the choice provide you with adequate information or would the story be better served by an alternative? (Wolf 66-8) 2.7 Style The difference between an almost right word and the right word is really a large matter tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning Mark Twain When we talk about word choice and the pairing and placement of words into prose, we are talking about style. An authors stylistic choice sets the mod of his tales, reveals character, and gives voice to their individual personalities. In simple stories, style is often more subdued. Fables lay out the scene I short, succinct sentences. Folk and fairy tales make generous use of simile hair as beautiful as beaten gold or the witch in Hansel and Gretel who is described as having a keen sense of smell, like an animal. Symbols are simple words that stand for much larger issues. Indeed, the words witch and stepmother conjure up complicated images of evil and envy, and when we mention into the woods, we already know that is where the danger lies. You and your children could ask: What are some of the stylistic choices made by the author? With a text to text approach, how do the stylistic choices in one story compare and/or contrast to other tales? From a genetic perspective, why is the authors style so recognizable? Using formal criticism, how do specific choices expand or diminish the tale? From a sociocultural perspective, does the style reflect particular ways with words?

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2.8 Tone Tone is an expression of the authors attitude toward his or her subject. Integrally linked to style, tone nor only reveals character, setting, plot, and theme, but it unveils the authors feelings abut how these literary elements should play out. Tone can be humorous, serious, affectionate, warm, cool, condescending, or even sarcastic. Simple stories often have a uniform and straightforward tone. Fables call for consistency. Folk and fairy tales are marked by an overarching tone of wonder. In Matilda, Roald Dahl (1988) provided a dramatic shift in tone as he moved from character to character innocent, intelligent Matilda, the caring Miss Honey, and the towering inferno of the headmistress Miss Trunchbull. Even the character names hint at the tone, and anyone familiar with Dahls own experiences with boarding school knows his intense dislike of the many adults placed in charge of childrens minds. Consider the differences in the names and descriptions of characters in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (Rowling 1998): Draco Malfoy in contrast with Harry Potter, Snape as opposed to Dumbledore, and lets not forget Voldemort, with its Latin root of death (Mort) lurking in his name. in Rowlings universe, the names point to the conflict between good ad evil as well as reveal her attitudes toward the characters. You and your children could ask: Why is the tone used in this particular passage or about this particular character? From a genetic perspective, what does tone reveal about the author and his/her life experiences? Is a similar tone maintained throughout the story or does it shift depending on the scene or the character? 2.9. Poetry Poetry is a much older art form, a genre known for rhythm, rhyme, structured sound patterns, figurative language, and even shapes that deliver evocative images and emotional intensity in a highly compact form. Poetry can be found on its own, or included as part of other works in prose, as in Hansel and Gretels three brief poems. When trying to define poetry, we can refer to Eleanor Farjeon explanation that poetry is not a rose, but the scent of the rose Not the sea, but the sound of the sea. (Huck, Hepler, Hickman & Kiefer, 1997, p. 390). Indeed, poetry seems to demand poetic explanations. Emily Dickinson said, if I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry (cited in Lukens, 2003). (Wolf 74-6)

14 When talking about poetry we must remember some key features: *Rhythm: the beat of life, the pattern of action *Rhyme: doubling sound *Sound Patterns: alliterations, assonance, onomatopoeia *Imagery: echoes sensory experience *Figurative Language: metaphors that evoke images *Emotional Intensity: force and power * Shape: visually imitates the idea *Compactness: distillation of experience. 3. A Key Element to Take into Account in Childrens Literature: Gender The sorceress cared for her baby, seeing to her every need. Rapunzel grew to be a child of rare beauty, with pale skin and an abundance id flowing red-gold hair. When she reached the age of twelve, the sorceress led her into the forest to live in a high tower. The tower was a great column rising in the middle of the woods. Although it looked narrow on the outside, on the inside it was large, with many elegant rooms. Yet no door led into this tower, and its only window was at the very top. When the sorceress wished to enter, she stood below the window and called, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. Then Rapunzel would unpin her silky braids, wind them around a hook on the window frame, and let them tumble all the way to the ground. The sorceress would grab hold of them and hoist herself up. For years, Rapunzel lived alone in her rooms above the treetops, visited n only by the sorceress. Then one day a kings son came riding through the woods Zelinsky 1997

What ties us so strongly to this tale and to other tales of women trapped in the tallest of towers? What is the pull of the passive princess waiting patiently for rescue from her prince? And when does this image become cemented in childrens minds? Quite early, in fact. For many little girls, the braid is a symbol of the enchantment of story, the beauty of the fairy princess, and the rich luxury of the world of fantasy. Many young

15 children are happy with the stereotypes of fairy tales and the idea of the female as an object of beauty, helpless and dependent. As Lieberman (1989) explains So many of the heroines of fairy stories, including the well-known Rapunezel, are locked up in towers, locked into a magic sleep, imprisoned by giants or otherwise enslaved, and waiting to be rescued by a passing prince, that the helpless imprisoned maiden is the quintessential heroine of the fairy tale. (192) Even younger children, especially those who have been exposed to numerous fairy tales, have the prince and the princess pegged. Since fairy tales often end with a young female marrying her rescuer, stretching the nuptial rule to a new situation is eminently logical. Of course, in all this passive waiting, waiting, waiting, lets not forget the role of men riding to the rescue an equally restrictive role considering the range of life possibilities. Over the last decades, feminist scholars have worked hard to dispel the myth of girls and womens passivity, but we also need to keep a balanced view of what happens to men and boys when they are relegated to fighting dragons and rescuing and then marrying fair maidens with more curls than character. Maybe, bottom lie, shes not what he wants after all. (Wolf 170). Lets consider Stepehen Sodenheims and James Lapines musical classic Into the Woods http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsFx5835Qrg In one scene in the play, in a classic song entitled Agony, one princess laments the unbearable pain of wanting something just beyond his grasp, while a second prince agrees, for he has yet to figure out how to scale the tower to his longhaired love. But, predictably, after the princess have won their wives, they begin to look around. One now has his eye on Snow White and the other on Sleeping Beauty. When Cinderella questions her husband about his infidelity, he frankly admits, I was raised to be charming, not sincere. Is that the message we want to communicate? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFgMowOwek0&feature=related 3.1 Typical & Stereotypical Gender Patterns Traditional Fairy Tales. In the introduction to his book Dont Bet on the Prince, Jack Zipes (1989) offers a list of the expected patterns on these tales: 1. Females are poor girls or beautiful princesses who will only be rewarded if they demonstrate passivity, obedience and submissiveness. 2. Stepmothers are always evil. 3. The best woman is the housewife.

16 4. Beauty is the highest value for men. 5. Males should be aggressive and shrewd. 6. Money and property are the most desirable goals in life. 7. Magic and miracles are the means by which social problems are solved. 8. Fairy tales are implicitly racists because they often equate beauty and virtue with the colour white and ugliness and evil with the colour black. (p. 6) The evil of stepmothers is a given. The good, true mother dies, often in childbirth, leaving her child at the mercy of a stepmother who cant bear to look at her and who envies her. As Karen Rowe (1989) pointed out, For the aging stepmother, the young girls maturation signals her own waning sexual attractiveness and control. In retaliation [stepmothers] jealously torment the more beautiful virginal adolescent who captures the fathers affections and threatens the declining queen. (p. 212) Even if the stepmother is not in competition for the affection of a husband/father, she still tries to get rid of her adopted daughter, as in Rapuzel, whose mother, probably aging, perhaps tried to hide her away to avoid any possible competition Stepmothers usually come with two daughters of their own who further victimize the heroine, resulting in the magic of the number three and its Pythagorean symbols. Cinderella is a prime example. Her stepsisters are not physically ugly, but their actions are reprehensible. When talking about beauty, while this word is only given to Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, it is a defining trait of fairy tale females. Almost any heroine you can name is marked by excessive good looks. As a matter of fact, they do not have to do anything to merit to be chosen, shes chosen because she is beautiful. Notwithstanding, she does have to show her willingness to keep a clean house, as is Snowhites case, who has to sew, clean and mop up after men in exchange for their protection. And let us not forget that fairy tales consistently equate beauty with white and ugliness with black. While todays popular versions of fairy tales consistently cover up an incestuous aggression, making them more innocent, those which have not become so popular, still show fathers and husbands victimizing daughters and wives in an alarming way, as in Bluebeard. Indeed, images of male aggression against women while rife in the old tales- are generally banned or much transformed in the new versions, as in Cinderellas earlier versions, such as the Grimms Many Fur, in which the father, after his wifes

17 death, lies eyes upon his daughter. However, it is important to point out that the blame really falls on the mother, whose deathbed wish is that he only remarry when he finds a woman equal to her beauty and with her identical golden hair who else but his daughter could fit the bill? (Wolf 174). Still, the most popular versions deny a hint of such deeds. In the Disney version, for example, the fathers innocence is undeniable and he even dies, thus making him unviable to Cinderella in her hour of need. Regarding men, their stereotypical strength, valour and wit is really sheer dumb luck. If we consider the Grimm Brothers original 150 tales, there are only two dragon slayers and only one giant killing. The images we have today of daring in the very face of a dragons fire are more often modern media creations. While the prince does battle with a dragon in Disneys Sleeping Beauty, there is nothing of the like in the Grimm Brothers tale. Not knowing where you are going pays off time and again in the classic tales. The prince in Snow White, for instance, is so dazzled by her beauty that he bargains with the dwarves for her as she lies in her glass coffin stilled by the stepmothers poisoned apple. But as he and his servants cart the coffin to his castle, they stumble and the piece of apple is dislodged. Snow White wakes and the two immediately fall in love and wed. 20th Century Childrens Literature When we approach most childrens literature written in the first half of the century, we observe that males always outnumber females regardless of whether the characters depicted were humans, machines, or fantasy characters. In addition, males were most likely to be portrayed as positive, active and competent, while females were likely to be portrayed as negative, passive and incompetent. These patterns occurred in both longer works of fiction as well as in picture books. (Wolf 177) Studies conducted in the nineties still showed that, even though more females were portrayed between the 40s and the 80s, their characters were still seen as minor ones. As Kortenhaus and Demarest (1993) show: While it is encouraging to note that the instrumental role of females in childrens literature has increased twofold between the 1969s and the 1980s, even this progress seems inconsequential when taken in the context of overall male activity. In the last two decades, boys were still shown engaging in active outdoor play three times as often as girls and solved conflicts five to eight times as often. Girls, it would seem, are still busy creating problems that require

18 masculine solutions. These characterizations provide children with a strong message as to gender appropriateness of active and passive roles. (p. 230) When Peggy Albers (1996) studied issues of representation in works published between 1984 and 1995, she still found women represented less frequently and under a less important lens than men. The combination of uneven numbers, unequal roles, and unwritten literature has served as a wake up call to some of todays authors and illustrators. Mem Fox is a wellknown example. Sitting in a childrens literature lecture in the early 70sm she was astonished to hear the state of affairs and determined that she would work for a change in her own writing. http://www.memfox.net/welcome.html Modern fiction stories are also shifting away from stereotypical gender patterns, though more attention has been paid to girls than boys (Nodelman, 2002). While the list of stories pushing on these edges could go on and on, here Ill discuss just a few of the most well known. When thinking about picture books, Mem Foxs work comes to mind. In Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge we have the story of a boy well in tune with his sensitive side who seeks to restore the missing memory of an elderly woman friend. Turning to longer pieces of fiction, Katherine Patersons (1977) Bridge to Terabithia, a Newbery winner, is also the story of a boy-girl friendship, but the gender issues are everywhere. When Jess first meets Leslie, he cant tell if shes a girl or a boy, because her cut-offs and tank-top dont look like the apparel most girls wear. And then she has the temerity not only to enter into the boys4 th (9-10 yr) and 5th (10-11yr) grade races, but to win. When Leslie admits that she doesnt have a TV and the kids at school take it as another opportunity to tease her, Jess begins to feel sorry for her. After all, he knows what it is like to be an outsider, for he loves art and music, and his family picks on him for such interests. Jessie and Leslie build a friendship in Terabithia, a mythical forest land, where they are the king and the queen. Leslie, however, is killed on the rope swinging to Terabithia, and Jess must face a new destiny. Through denial, rage and finally tears he learns to value the gift of friendship, and he passes it on to his sister May Belle when he builds a bridge to Terabithia in what Paterson (1986) calls an act of grace (p. 44) When talking about gender in class, you could begin by asking your students to write down, or mention, what the typical activities of males and females are. Most likely, they would see statements such as Girls are told what to do or Boys always save the girl as logical. You could then start working on discussing the logic behind

19 them so that, on a later stage, you can start working with non gendered bias fictional works. 4. Talking about Literature Cultural and cognitive psychologists consider language to be key. As Vigotsky (1986) suggested: thought does not express itself in words; but rather realizes itself in them (p. 251). Michael Cole (1996) called language the tool of tools and used a quote from Luria to explain this view: In the absence of words, human beings would have to deal only with those things which they could perceive and manipulate directly. With the help pf language, they can deal with things that they have not perceived even indirectly and with things which were part of the experience of earlier generations. Thus, the word adds another dimension to the world of humans Animals have only one world, the world of objects ad situations. Humans have a double world. (p. 120) This double vision is particularly vital when dealing with literature; an author can communicate his/her pint of view of one place and one time and be perceived by somebody else at a completely different time and space. Talking about literature with children is vital. Not only they have more opportunities to explore interpretative possibilities, but also they feel that their opinions matter, that their connections count. Talking about literature is a time for experimenting with ideas, exploring concepts, making observations and drawing conclusions. That is why teachers need to create the appropriate atmosphere from the very beginning; we have to give them the chance of reading aloud, of independent reading and of literature discussion. (Wolf 94-6) 4.1 Reading Aloud One of the major components of reading aloud us the chance it offers for the unexpected. As Bruner (2002) explained, we humans are very easily distracted and adapt to the ordinary state of things around us to the point of going on automatic pilot before long. We go flat in response to monotony. But a century of brilliant neurophysiology has made it plain that human attention is also specialized to keep us vigilant about departures from the routine. An unexpected signal alerts us as nothing else does. (30) And that is why reading aloud is so vital for us. Telling stories becomes

20 crucial to or social interactions, since we can always change part of the story, provide a new turn of events, and focus on the unexpected. Here you have some ideas. Reading aloud should take 20 minutes to a half hour everyday. You might open the day with a short passage and then read for a longer period later in the day. This should be done at all levels; fourteen year olds enjoy hearing and discussing stories as much as 5 year olds. Without a read-aloud, students might be limited to texts they can decode on their own, and if they have troubles with decoding they are given simplified texts that have little connection to fine literature. Levelled books are perfect for learning to read, but offer less opportunity for reading to learn because what a child cant decode has little to do with what a child can talk about. More often than not, children who read levelled books complain of being bored and tired. Create a Community Atmosphere. Try to create a community atmosphere, a place where children would want to live, where they are heard and respected. Designate a place in the classroom where your children and young adolescents will gather to listen while you share a picture or a chapter book. The close proximity of the book is particularly important sharing picture books for while you are reading the words, they are reading the illustrations. Arranging some furniture and decoration, like lighting a candle or sitting on a rug or in a hand-me-down sofa, also helps to create this sense of community. Read with Panache. Getting and keeping childrens attention as well as helping them hear the serious in contrast to the hilarious is easier if you read with panache, emphasizing your intonation, accent and vocal characterization. Remember we have to avoid let them go flat, on automatic pilot, for monotony can kill a story. When you read, take their breath away, teach them to be moved. Take your first lesson from the words of the story and how they move you. You can also learn from famous actors, such as Jim Dade reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (Rowling, 1998) or Maryl Streep reading Beatrix Potters (1903) The Tailor of Gloucester Encourage Literary Engagement. Even a fine vocal interpretation of a story can go wrong if your children do not have the chance to talk. The read-aloud should be a place for dialogue, not for monologue. Rather than constantly appear as the experts, teachers should show surprise in the workings of the story. For example you could ask: *Wait a minute. Im confused. What do you think is going on? *When I was growing up my brother was a pest, but leaving him on the forest? I dont think I could. Could you?

21 *The idea of Trolls make me nervous. Do you think they are real? * etc. When you persist in demonstrating the unexpected, you will make room for your children to try on and test your ideas without apprehension about right and wrong answers. By emphasizing the uncertainty of your literary interpretations, you will provide more space for your children to take risks in articulating their own options. Comment on Craft. The read-aloud is the perfect place for discussing how authors craft language for particular effects. In truth, this is just one of many ways to encourage literary uptake, but this form is most closely linked to formal criticism and its hopeful connection to childrens own writing. As you name and explore stylistic devices, you encourage your children to pay attention to the qualities of sound, metaphor and structure in story. (Wolf 100-102) Mem Fox, a well known author and illustrator, also shares her tips on how to read aloud. http://www.memfox.net/reading-magic-and-do-it-like-this# 4.2 Independent Reading. From Self-Talk to Sharing As essential as reading aloud, children need some time for daily independent reading. If they are going to become life-long readers, they must see reading as desirable and they need to build the necessary stamina to pursue it. Only if we can manage to live inside a story long enough to get hooked, we can become life-long readers. If our children can only sustain reading for ten or fifteen minutes, how can they keep a story alive? We have to provide stretches of time for children and young adolescents to build their textual staying power. (Wolf 105) The time to read would mean little of children are not intrigued with what they are reading, and this often means they are able to choose what they want to read as well as where they want to do it. Some may prefer reading a mystery novel while occupying a corner, others may choose to read a fantasy one close to a buddy, reading the same text in quiet pairs, and this option typically occurs in primary classrooms. (Wolf 106). When making them some suggestions, we have to remember they do not have to be learning something all of the time. Here you have some examples. *To a 6 year-old who wanted to learn more big words: Martins BIG words (Rappaport, 2001). It is about Martin Luther King as a little boy. *To an 8 year-old who likes Roald Dahl, try the Lemony Snicket series. Snicket s writing has that same quality of the ridiculous.

22 *To an 11 year-old who likes fantasy but is also thinking about his growing up. Try some realistic fiction, like in Saldaas The Jumping Tree (2001) *To a 14 year-old who likes Harry Potter. Try Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials. The first book in the trilogy is The Golden Compass. The New York Times Bok Review called his series Harry Potter for grown-ups. One of the hardest tasks may be to discern your own choices. There are many fine places to look at: The Horn Book Magazine for instance, (a premier childrens literature journal) offers review articles online: www.hbook.com/indez.shtml You can also find many other reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal on www.barnesandnoble.com You can also visit the Childrens Literature Comprehensive Database (CLDC) at http://cldc.odyssi.com In addition you can go online with the Cooperative Childrens Book Center (CCBC) at http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc to read about their book of the week. 4.3 Reflective Record Keeping The one to last step in both read aloud and independent reading would be a Reflective Record Keeping. After their reading time, children can explain his/her reactions to the story. It is important to note the date and the title of the story read/heard so that students can have their own folder of reading preferences; in doing so, they will experience how their literary taste is changing more fully. 4.4 Literature discussions Our last step will be Literature discussions. In literature discussion we stop and dwell in the texts for longer periods, and we talk in more extended ways, expressing our comments and queries as well as listening and responding to others ideas. Their design is relatively straightforward; children and adolescents meet in small groups (usually four to six members) once or twice a week to discuss a text they all have read. It is critical that children meet in heterogeneous groups in terms of gender, ethnicity, personality and, most importantly, ability. With older children reading longer books, they agree upon how many chapters they will read in advance of the discussion, and they typically come prepared with written comments and questions that they want to offer the group for consideration.

23 The main problem for teachers is to find a balance between leading and following, trying hard not to tip over into too much control or too little guidance. Even when they sit on the periphery of the group or move along several peer-led groups, they are present stopping to offer a suggestion, asking a group to summarize their accomplishments, watching to see whos talking and whos listening, and making notes (both mental and written) about participation as well as the quality of childrens contributions. As part of their leadership, teachers should highlight criticism (genetic, text-to-text, formal) and work with a blend of them. You can reveal insights about the books author, analyze the narrative components, highlight themes in similar and/or dissimilar books, make comparisons among textual actions and character traits with events and people you know, and emphasize the socio-political dimensions of stories. And you can ask your children to do the same. You should allow sufficient time to meet and allow the group to gel. In addition, students must learn how to monitor their own discussion. (Wolf 115-7) An easy way to start would be starting with transactional criticism, making a personal connection from your or the authors childhood experiences, and then move into formal criticism, asking for a formal analysis of any one character in the story. You should have a stronger balance at the beginning and then let your children gradually gain responsibility. In order to achieve this, you have to teach them how to mark pages with Post-its and abbreviated comments to help translate their self-talk into group conversation. You should also encourage your students to bring their sketches, their dramatic interpretations, and even their interpretative dances and musical accompaniments to the table. Extend the conversation to the Community. Teachers will easily see the benefits of engaging parents, relatives, guardians and friends in their childrens reading experiences. One of the best ways to do it is using the book bags. Typically a book bag is a plastic zip lock bag with a paperback trade book, a pencil, and a set of Post-it notes. As the children share the book with their parents they write down or draw their responses to the story. Depending on the household, adults me not speak English, so bilingual texts and picture books have proven to be extremely helpful. No matter the technique, the idea is to get families talking about texts. Main source for this Unit: Interpreting Literature with Children. Wolf, Shelby A. New York: Routledge. 2004

24 5. Digital Tools which can be of Help Websites to help you choose your readings: -The Horn Book Magazine www.hbook.com/indez.shtml -Reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal on www.barnesandnoble.com -The Childrens Literature Comprehensive Database (CLDC) http://cldc.odyssi.com -The Cooperative Childrens Book Center (CCBC) http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc -The Childrens Literature Web Guide http://people.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/lists.html Tips on How to Read Aloud by Author and Illustrator Mem Fox: -Foxs official website http://www.memfox.net/welcome.html -Foxs tips to Read Aloud http://www.memfox.net/reading-magic-and-do-it-like-this# -Mem Fox Reads Aloud: http://www.memfox.net/mem-reads-aloud# Short stories in audio by www.albalearning.com -Parallel Texts (English, Spanish, French) http://albalearning.com/audiolibros/textosparalelos.html Short stories in video by the British Council: -Little Red Riding Hood http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/es/short-stories/little-red-riding-hood -Goldilocks and the three bears http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/es/short-stories/goldilocks-and-the-three-bears Publishing House Collections: - The Bear Essentials http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/berenstainbears/news.html#essentials Some Authors websites -ENotes. A website to obtain information on authors, for instance Katherine Paterson http://www.enotes.com/authors/katherine-paterson -Eric Carles official website http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html -Jann Bretts oficial website http://www.janbrett.com/index.html -Molly Bangs official website http://www.mollybang.com/main.html

25 -Jerry Palottas oficial website http://www.jerrypallotta.com/ -Robert Munchs oficial website http://robertmunsch.com/ -Robert Louis Stevensons Foundation http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/ -J. R. R. Tolkien books http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/booksbytolkien/hobbit/description.htm -Roald Dahls official website. www.roalddahl.com -J. K. Rowlings official website http://www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/ http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/ Websites with Books and Authors in general -Project Gutenberg. over 33,000 free e-books in this huge online library http://www.gutenberg.org/ -Awesome Library. Literary Works and materials for students http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/English/Literature/Middle_High_School_Li terature.html Banned Websites. Using any of these websites will automatically result in a 0- zerograde for the assignment. http://www.bookrags.com/notes/hob/ http://www.wilkipedia.com http://www.wilkipedia.es **Assignments for Units 1 & 2 Individual Activity Unit One, non PIMM (15% of the final grade): Part 1. Read some 15 tales by the Brothers Grimm. Grimms Fairy Tales, Penguin Popular Classics, 3,50 Euros in Casa del Libro. Part 2. Analyze the gender issues mentioned in this unit in all those 15 tales providing quotes to support your analysis. Part 3. Read Aloud 1 of them as if you were in your own classroom. Make sure you provide the appropriate environment, voice intonation, etc. as explained in this unit.

26 PIMM. Individual Activity Unit One. (15% of the final grade): Select your choice of readings from the digital resources provided and then prepare a Monitored 4-Week Reading Plan including all steps (Read aloud, Independent reading, reflective record keeping and literature discussions). You will have to present a portfolio which will include: -Your readings choice, -your scheduled plan, -pictures of different moments if at all possible, and, most importantly, -All your students Reflections, -All your notes throughout the process and -A sample of their sketches, dramatic interpretations, and even their interpretative dances and musical accompaniments. ++Individual Activity Units One & Two (15% of the final grade): Read first and then analyze all 8 key literary elements in prose from a Literary Text from Unit 2. You should Not include any synopsis. You should write in Times New Roman 12, 1,5 space. If you Copy and Paste from any printed or digital source, you will receive an automatic 0 grade for this assignment.