Literature as the core of the reading curriculum: Multiple perspectives
Reimer, Kathryn Meyer
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21081
Description
Title
Literature as the core of the reading curriculum: Multiple perspectives
Author(s)
Reimer, Kathryn Meyer
Issue Date
1991
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Pearson, P. David
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Language and Literature
Education, Reading
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Language
eng
Abstract
The historical development of reading instruction and the recent growth in the quantity of children's literature have intersected in the last twenty years as a result of the contributions of those who study language acquisition, reader response, elementary school classrooms, and instructional practice. Both university researchers and public school teachers have documented the shift toward using more literature as a part of the instructional reading program. There has, however, been little documentation of how reading programs based on children's literature have been put into practice.
This study is of three teachers who used literature as the core of the reading curriculum. The classrooms were observed throughout the 1989-1990 school year. Interviews with students and teachers were triangulated with field notes and classroom documents to categorize patterns which emerged from within and across classrooms. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the data. Each classroom was analyzed for patterns of, reading instructions, the incorporation of children's literature, and student's talk about reading. Similarities and differences among the sites were also recorded, with attention to the implications of the reading instruction as perceived by the students. The study presents the teachers' perceptions, the students' perceptions, and the researcher's perceptions of reading instruction in three contexts.
While teaching reading through children's literature was common to all three teachers, it was only one of many commonalities. What appeared to be most salient was the role of teacher automony. These teachers differed in their philosophies and methods of use of literature. But in each case their high degree of autonomy allowed them the choice to use literature in their reading instruction. What was similar across all three teachers was the power to choose. Because they had choices and because they were broadly informed, each of them incorporated literature into the reading program in a distinctive way.
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