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ISBN 0- 315 -55014-7

All'ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLITE RATURE PROGRAM FOR GRADES FOURTO SIX

By

Shi rleyAnne Lane, B.A. (Ed.)

Ath e s is sub mi t te d tothesc:hool ofGr a d u a te Studies inpa rti a l fulfilmentof th e requirements

fo r th e degreeof Kaster of Educ:atio n

Dep a r t.en t of CUr ri c:ulwa and Instru c:t i o n He morial Unive rs i t y of Newfoundland

April1989

St. John's Newfoundland

ABSTRACT

The main purposeofthis stud ywa sthe developmentof an elementary school literatureprogram forgradesfou r through six. Chapter one investigatesthe need and the ra t iona l efo r the inc l us i o n of such a program in the elementary school curriculum.

Chapters two and three are reviews of literature. The na t ure ofthe elementaryschool childisre v i ewe d inchapter two. In partacurar, th i s chapter revfevs th e elementary child 's in t e ll e ctua l development, lang uage development and interests,and readinginterestsin prose and poetry. Chapter thr e e is a reviewofli t e r atu re on thenat ur e of lite r a t u re programs. It reviews the purposes, the or gani za t i on , the conte nt,the te a c h i ng approaches, and the evaluat ionmethods of lite r a t u r e programs as presentedby different writers.

Based upon the natu reof the elementary schoolchild,the nat ure of lite r atu r e , and the natureof literature programs, an elemen ta ryschool literatureprogram is designed in chapter four. This chapte rbegins witha rationaleforthe incl usion of l iterature in the elemen tary sc hool curr iculum. This rationaleis based upon the contribution oflite rat u r e toth e ec!ucation of the imaginati on . six purposesar e recommende d for the lite r atu reprogram, the mainone being to stimulate and develop childre nls imaginations. An organizationbased on genres is the approach recommended for or g a n i z i ng th e literaturecurriculum. The genresre comme nded for study arc

11

poetry, folk lit eratur e, fantasy, hist o r i c al fiction, and modern re a li s ticfic t i on. Withineachgenrespecific literary selections are recommended fo r atudy, Some instructional approachesare alsosuggested for thete a ch i ng ofli t e r a t u r e. The chapter concludeswith a sample unit for the literary selectionCharlotte's Web.

i i i

ACDOWLE DGEKEllrS

The writer wishes to tha nk Dr. Lloyd Brown, thesis supervisor, for his advice and gUidance duringthe course of this study. The writeralso extends a special th a n ks toher hus ban d for his constant supportand encourageme nt.

iv

Page ABS TRACT ••• ••• •••••••••••• ••• • •••••••• ••••• •••••••• i i ACKNOWLE DGEMENTS ••• •••••••••• •••• •••••• • • ••• • •••••• iv

CHAPTE RI

THE NATUR E OFTHE STUDY

The Problem.... .• •...•.. •.•.•... .•.•. .. . ... The Need fora Literat ureProgram.•.•. •• ... Rati onale fora Litera t ure Program.•..•. .. .. •.

Purpose of the study 12

Desig n ofthe Study

CHAPTER II

12

REVIEW OF LITERATURE RELATE D TOTHENATURE OFTHE

CHILDINTHEELEMENTARYGRADES 14

Introd uct i o n... .... 14

Intellectu a lDe vel ::>pment.. . ... . .•...•...•. . .. 14 Langua ge Devel opment and Intere sts ... ...•. 22 Langua ge Devel opmen t ... ... .... 22 Lang ua ge Interes t s ..••.••...•... ... . . 29 Re a di ngInt ere stsinPoetry andProse 44 Re adingIntere s t s inPoe try... .. 44 Re a di ngIntere s t s inPros e .. ... .. 48 Summary ... ... ...•... ... 53

Pago CHAPTERII f

REVI EWor LITERATUREON THE NATURE OF ELEM:::NTARY SCHOOL LITERATUREPROGRAMS•• • • ••• ••••••• • • •••••• ••• 56

Int rodu ction .... .. ... . . .. ...••••.•• •.••... 56 Purp o s es ••••••••• • • •••• • •. . •• ••••.••••• .• • ••• • 56 Sc o p ean dSequence•• • •• • • • ••••••••• •••• ••••••. 78 or ga ni zation ofthe Li teratur e corric u ru». 79 Conte ntof ther.reere eurecur r Icuru e.••.. 87 Tea ch i ngApp r oa che s . . . . ..•••.••.•... .. •... 1O~

Pres ent at ion and Creati v e Expe ri e nc i ng

ofLi t e r a t u r e . ... . . . ... .... .... . 10 2 RespondingtoLiteratureThrou g h

Discussio n and Qu es tions. ... 10') Evalua t ionM~ th ods.... ... ... ..•...•. .• . . . 122 Su mma r y.. .. ... .. ... .. ... ... ... . .. 12"1

CHAPTERIV

ANELEMENTARYSCHOOLLI TERATUR E:PROGRAM. .... .. 1)0 Intr od uc tio n... ... ....•.•.•. . ...••. . Il fJ Rationale... ... ....•••. •... .•...••... . I) h Purpose s ••• ••• •• .•... ... • •... ....•. ..• . . III organization•. ... •.•. .••. •• •. •• ..•• • •.

Co nt en t ••••....•. .. . • . . . .... .... •...•. ....• ..• 14 I Poetry . ... . ... . .. . . . ... . . . .. . ... .. 14"/

Folk l.i te r a t u re .•... ... . ...•...•.... l'J Fanta s y .•••• ... .•••. ..••.. ,... lH 4

His torica l Fi ct i o n. ... ... . . .... ... .. ... I'I~

Modern Rea listicfict. ion

v,

Page

Instructional Approaches ...•. •.• ..• •• •. •..•. •• 212

sampleunit.. . ... . ... ... ... ... 223

Charlotte's Web.. ... .... .. . ... . . 223

Introduction...•.... . ...•••. 224

ObjQctiVQS.. ...•.. .... .• . .... . . . ... 226

Creative Experiencing .. . .. .. . . 227

Response and Interpreta tion .•.•...• ... 229

Sug ge s t i o n s for Further Reading ... •. .. 235 Summary

BIBLI OGRAPHY

236

23.

BIBLIOGRAPHYOFCHILDREN'S BOOKS. . .... .. ... . .... 245

vii

CHAPT ERI THENATURE OFTHESTUDY

I, THEPROBLEM

At pres ent, the eleme ntar y sch ool cur riculu m in thr.

province of Newfoundla nd end La ur-a dcr do c s not provr dc "n y placefor the inclusi on ofit we l l- p1cl n nc diLtor-e t.urcpr o'1 riUlI, The la nguagear ts cur r ic ulu m guides. C9U:~1lr:niug :L.in._t11c Lar.3u age Ar ts, ~ti.inC.L!OI:_ln :it.ruo;.tion~in_k1Jlg U iHJ C.Ar tu. and~U..L.-C_u.r.r.i~\l.lum~l.Iu U ~.t1 n.9n_L"n gu ,lac Artu fo r Intermedi~Q.Ql_l'.r.~o;11C.G!. m" k(" 110 pr OV i~II {)1l I',r .1 l i teratur e program in the el e me nt.•,ry ucnoor. 'I'll.' ,·/Ilph.lll!n through outthe curricutue quidcc ill pl.,Cr.d on d....·\0l'lI v, th.·

ski lls of li ste ni n g , 5p(l.lkinq. rl:'lldin'l• .'Ild"'T l t]IJrI, It II.

pointed out in the quidu 1,Ir i d g i ny.th e.{; illJ; r;:un1\.:u1 ul:' fuLU~Vj'HHLAr:t ;;.~I Q r..llltr:r;;Ir:'JHlt~' :';': ho01 lNc:JI'.!Hl that t e achinq r-oedlnq uxrtrs II; not ("H )IIl ,h .,l1d ".,,'11 "/l l l <l shou ld be gui ded "to 1lI.'~.(' r<.·,ulln" "'1<1',1)' ;'Ill 1"'1,,,, \.,),1 ,'h,l inte g nll par t ofhin11....IJ'lfJ " If., 1:'1), Ij ' ,...

· .·v..,. "" ' .. f'·' .,"·· ..

isma de toc'Jpr o g r ,lm In liter-eture.

I t ·...oul d .'p pe.lr, thon, t.tl."t .,ny att ..l'", " ~ 1" 1 •..,<"1, 1itc r etur o inth r.r:-l"I'lr:-nt."r i·n':hr,' ,j I" I..n t"~II.. 1111!j., tI ',' "

of in11·' I 'hl.lltr. .lc h (' J'!~orlI':honlr" 11" '"-,,,"l j,l,l l ·II "",I" ,V'

a free reading periodor libraryperiod is schedul ed to allow ch ild r e n time for the sel e ction and ind epand ent reading of boo ks of inter e"s t . Also , li tera t u r e is someti mes us e d to enr i c h other curric ul um areas , such as science or social st ud i e s. Any, all, or even none of th ese app roac h e s to literature may be found in any sing le classroo m. The experiences wh i c h re s ult fr om such approaches rang e fr.om an ove r -exposu r e toone particUlar piece of good lite r atureto a lack of exposure to anygoodl i te rature at all. Even though theseapproacheshave something wo rthwh i l e to offer children, they ca nnot and shou l d not tak e the place of a planned seq ue nti al prog r a m in literature.

II. THENEED FOR A LITERATURE PROGRAM

f'or so meyears now var ious write r s have advocated the inclusio n of a well-planne d lit e r a t ure program in th e elem entaryschoo L Sloan (1977) point s outthat inorderto begin to teachlit e ra t ur e it must begi ve n"a placeof itsown in the eleme ntary cur ric ul um" (p. J). She believes thattoo muc h ti me and emph a s i s are placedon teachingskills, such as wordatta c k sk ill s and spelling skills. Ma nybeli e ve , says Sloa n, tha t theseskill smus t be mastered before children can understand thelanguageof literature. Sloan disagrees, "Fo r in lite r at u r e is to be found the art of our languageat its finest . Lite r at ur e is the la ng ua ge ar t" (p. 4). As Sloan

points out, for many chil dren scnoef is thoonl ypje ee th o y will learn about children 'sl i te ra t ure. since"(colinq" is so itlport a n t to children, saysSloan, they lIIust bo shown th"t books "can make thell lauqhor cry, shivor "ndl)IlS p " (p. 41.

Cooper (1 9 69 ),as well,be li e v e s that literatureoeeerve o ti tle in th e elementary school da)' "as II lcqJtJ llI.,te IIond import ant ar e aofstudy init s ownright" with itnrln.,1clO., 1 beinq"enjoyment, understanding . andepprecrettc n or tncbont;

in lit e r atu re " {p• 2).

BecauselitorllturC!helps todevelopttll' Imnq i nnt1011nnlt because the imaq lnatLo n i~ so impo rt an t to nn ind ividllnl .

Leben (1966) believe s that "th e artn, inc ludi rlfJIlt c· r,1tuo·.

deserve a moresol id and cen tr...1poultron inth e cu rrr..ulllm at any le v e l" (p. 747 1. lie re c omlllo nd o tllo,t n IMI...n~· (·,1.,11..1"

sequen t ial pr oq r lll1\in lite r atu r e innc o d ",1tnthoClI,·r.:,·n\...,)"

school.

in th e elemen t ary cur ricu lum.

li te r atureis notthe&illlle ...t1te.,ch l n'lr...,dl n'l. In'" '...,1111·,. ind ivid u a lized rea dtnq,or ...Itb r .Hy"rO<Ir<1l''',:

Though re,')din q lu,d ll lJplr i' <:1",,, ...,, t.o t h n'lI'I"'" ., lit('rl)tur ~pro qr ,"::l. 11t.. r.,tljr.. "n"nll l» ..'·' 11\,t...

elelllentlllry ecbcor 'J ~ Il ~r·N·n ., ror,..,·I,,1 1'''''1'' '1 t· · its~lr and r.houltJ '''P I,c'., r ,..~ n\J.;!l .m tl". '·1·.... "

acne d u 1e, ....^jth I'IlJc'q\ll"lt~ t1:-." nI l'H....'I ,,,' t ...'··r,I"'I it. {po7'J'-!

T('...chinq Ilt " r., tllr ". "c':',I"'II"" ".Ih "l ". ,... ..."" "Il,.'- I" ~: "

Literature as a specific area of the elementary school curriculum is advocated by Walker (1964):

Where literature is included in the program only when i t cor relates with sUbjects receiving major emphasis,or when a special occasionarises to which it might make a contribution, or when a pupilbrings in a book and urges the teacher to read i t to the class,childrenlosethe benefits whicharederived from a well-planned, thoughtfullyorganized body of literature experiences. (p . 460)

According to Iverson (1 97 1) a secure place is needed for children's literature in the elementary school cur r i cul um.

He believes that a literature programis aimlessunlessit has an established place in the curriculum. What results is random content for instructionand lackof cumulativebuilding of taste and jUdgment in literature.

III. RATIONALE FOR A LITERATUREPROGRAM

since it has been shown that the inclusionof a we11- planned, sequential literature program in the elementary school is favoredby many authors, one must nowcons i de r the rationale for includingliterature as part of the elementary cur r i c ul um. Why shouldchildrenbe exposed to li t e r a t ur e on a planned regular basis? Inot he r words, what does literature do forchild r e n, howdoes it contribute to their development and education?

Pertlapsoneof the strongest bases for providinga place for literature in the elemen tary school curriculum is presented by Sloan(1975) ,who emphasize s the importance of

literature indeve lopi ng the imagina t ion. She believe sthat theeducation of the imagi nation is extremely importantand shoul(!not be neglected, for:

It is after all thr ough the imag i n a tion that we participate in eve r y aspe c t of our dailylives: in conversation, in relatingtoothe r s with sympat hy and consideration, inma k ing choic e sanddecisi on s , in anal yz ing news repo r ts an d the speech es of politi c i an s, in eva l ua ting adve rtisements and entert ainmen t . (p. 6)

Through literatu re, say s Sloan, we learn that there are no limi t s to theima ginat ion, si nce an ything can happe n rn a story . "Lite r ature makes carpets flyand rabbits ta l k" (p, 7) . Aswel l, our imaginat iveperspective on re a lity can be developedthrough liter a t ureas it illus t rate s "....hat ha pp e n s tohuma n beings as the y try to come to te rms with living. Literaturegive s shape to humanex p e r i en c e" (p. 7). Also , literatur e ca nhel p us realize thepowersofour imagi na t i ons, beca us e it ca n putinto words and images , things we knew befor e but cou ld n't express. It opens up limi tl e s s pos s i bilitie s , saysSloan,for thekindof worldandthe kind oflifewe want.

Anothe r wri te r who empha si z es lite ratu r e' scontr i but i on to the deve lopne n t of th e imag i natio nis Loban (1!t66). He contends tha t "the imag i nati on is important .•. and that literatu re feeds the imagi natio n" (p. 74 6). The di stingui s hi ng trait of li t e r a t ure , he says , is the imagi nat iv e insight i t offers us. Th e goals usually identif ied as impo rtant out comes of expe ri en ces with

literature, such self-understandi ng , extensio n of experience , and a balanced perspective of life, "all depend upon imaginationand the insight it bestows" (p.746).

Leban emphasizes that as a result of a balanced and sequential literatureprogram,chi ldrenwil l be offered:

the whole of imaginative insight which finds the substance be ne a t h the shadow, th e reality behind the surface appearances of life; the power of literatu reto cla rifyexperience, to maketh e reader more intense ly aware of life, to extend that awareness. The best writers, Whether for children or adul ts, extend and enrichexperience, making it possible for the reader to reduce confusion and to find more meaning in his personal adventure with life. (p. 751)

According to Allen (1967), literature helpsto educate what he calls our "sixth sense " -- the imagination. He explainsthat as a childis experienci ng a story close tohis own feelings,he realizes that he reacts in differentways to the same situation. These persona l responses are dealt with by himself and then shared with real or imaginary friends. His imagination is quickenedby the voices he hears within himself, and "literatu rebecomes an engagement with life now and with life as it may become"(p. 734). Such an engagement, says Allen,helpsto educate the imagi nationand "prompts the child to exercise his personal creativepower over his very existence" (p. 734). His former fears andbewildermentbecome le s s and he is ableto reach out beyond the comfort of the known to the adventure of th e unknown. "He begins to trust this sense of ....ondez- ly i ng within himself, and he dare s to become not onlya dreamer buta creator too" (p. 735).

J.E. Miller (19 67 ) al s o believes in the power of lite ra tureto educatethe imagination. He states that

thi s aim of educating the imagination is sovi t a l tothe total educationalprocess as to justify t.he placement of li t e r a t ur e at the heart of any defe ns i ble curriculum.. . . Eve r y chi ld has an imagination; the problem for the educator is to discover no t only the means to keep it from diminishing but also the means to no u r i s h. and developit. (p, 21)

Miller be lie vesit is li te r a t ur e which has "tll!! significant pa r t toplayin thematu ring processof theimaginat ion" (p . 27)•

Thecontri b u t ion of literaturetothe developmentof the imag ina ti on is also emphasized by R. Lewi s (1975) . He be l ieve s this is the mostvi t a l and importantjustirication forthete a c hi ngof literature. Yorke(c i ted inLewis) states that not onlyis the imagination "developed" by literature, but it is "stimu l a t e d , broadened, extended, widened, encouraged, fed, exercised, roused, sparked off. sti r r e d up"

(p, :>'73) .

According to Le wis , one value of developing the imaginationthrough the power of litera tureis that it helps us to establishareasof secu ritytha t are "imp o r t a nt both for strengt hening our hold on what we alre ad y have and for extending our control into new and strange areas of experience" (p. 174) . Our feelings become re ali z e d and defined, or as Cresswel l (cited inLewis) says, "the reader is experiencingth i ng s which perhaps he ... never had words

for and this givesmeaning fo r this feeling be c aus e thereit isin words•... i t actuallyexi sts" (p. 175 ).

Th e bel ief th a t literature is essential to cr e ati ng a desire to read and to the development of trulyli te r a t e people is held by Huck (1979) , as well as Sl o an (19 75). Huck believes ch a t theonlywaytoachievetrue l iteracyisthrough devel oping a love of goodboo ks. She says, "Ch i l d r e n will never become fully literate persons unles s th e y discover delight in boo ks . The route, then, to full litera c y is throughlite r a t ur e "(p. 26).

Sloan (19 75), emphasiz i ng the import a nc e oflite ra t ure increating a desireto read, states:

Children will be com ereadersonlyifth e i r emoti on s have beenengaged, their imaginationsstirred and stretched by whatthey find on printed pa ge s. One way - a sur e way- tomake this happenis through li t e r atur e , imaginative literature in particular, where ideally lang ua ge is used with intensity and power in a direct appeal to the feelings and the imagination. (p. 1)

Childrenne e d tobe mad e aware thatrea d i ng isworththe time andat t e nt i o n it re qui r es. Sl oanbeli e ve s lit e ra tu re can do this, since,

Li t e r a t ureappeals di r e c t l y to the emotions and the imag ination , ca rry i ng withina powerfulmotiva t ion topa r t icipa t e init s wonders and delights. It is onlythe art of li t era t u r e that ca n successfully counter the drawing powe r of television and mass media. {p, 2)

The value of literature in prov iding child r en wit h vicarious experiences is emphasized by Huck (1979). She believesthat such experiences will enrich children's li ves

and providenew perspectives trollwhich to see eneeseavesand their world. As Huck states:

Reading getsu~outof ourown timeand place, ou t of oursel ve s ; but in the endit will return us to ourselves , a littledifferent, alittle ch anged by th i sexperience . (p.702)

Huus (1 913) , aswell, poi ntsou t the value of literature inhelp ing children see themselve s andthe ir ,",o r l d ina new per s pecti ve. Aga ln , th i s is accom p lishe d through th e vicarious expe rie nces prov ided by literature. Childre nare able to meet characters from the pa st, whe t h e r real or fictional, charactersfromdifferent lands , characters ve r y muchlikethemselves,and even imag inarycharactersthey nev er cou ld haveinvented . As Huussays,

Th eymee t fanta syandrealit y on adiffe re n t plane, and throug h their ide ntif i c ation wi t hthe heroes and heroine s leave their reading wit h inne r r-ca our' c e a that assist the m in me e t i ng da ily proble ms and developingthe ir ownphilosophyofliving. (p.798) sev e r a l aut hors bel i evethattheincl us ionof lite rature is imp o r tant in the elellen t ary sc hool be caus e it he lps ch ildren to deve lop se l f -unde rstanding , as wel l understand ingot,sensi t ivi t y to,andcompa s s i on for others.

Accordingto Coope r (1969 ) literaturecont ribut esto achild's pe r s onal develop ment by helpingtodev elopse lf- u n de r s ti!lond ing and the understandingof others andbyhei g ht e ni n g sensit ivity to nature,people , and human re l a tio n shi ps.

Tiedt (1970) believes that lit era t ure teach

"understa ndings". She says, "Lite ratu r e pr ese nt sval ues: it te achesse nsitiv iti e s" (p.193 ). Ti edtbegins a list of such

10 understandi n g s to be gained from literatu rewhichshe po!nt~

out is inexhaustib leand need s to be reviewed consta nt ly:

Everybody has problems; b. Problems are to be solved:

Appearances maybe deceiving : d. People are not all "good" or all JIhad";

and

People are much the same all over th e world. (p.193)

Walker (1964) justifies the inclusion of literaturein the elementarycurriculum by referringtoit s contributionto theun d e r s t a n di ng of self and the development of self-concept which she considers to be major goals of education. She points out; that "t he school aims to give each child self- in s i g ht" (p. 459). Walker believes tha t through literature

he [a child) frequen-::.2ygains throughcomparison or contrast new understandings about himself and his environment. Thus. he can be helped to a more realisticappraisal of his own personality and, as a result,to new aspirations for himself. (p.459) Huck (1979) statesthatliteraturedevelops insightsint o human be hav ior. It developsanunderstandingof thest r engths and weaknesses of human na t ure, and it makes children aware of howothe rshave lived and developed. Huck emp hasizes"the power of literature to educate the humanheart" (p. 27) and th e importance of such education in our world today:

No one canli v elong enough to see all of lifeclear and whole but through wide reading . as well as li v i ng, we can acqui re a perceptio n of l if e and l it e r ature ;and , on this fragilegreenworld, a ti n y globe of huma nity mus t learn compassion and cooperationor cease to exist... . Most of wha t

11 children learninsc hoo 1is concernedwi thknowing; literature is con c e r ne d with feeling. Weca nno t afford toeducate the head without the heart. (p, 28)

Throughl i terature, fe e l ings can becreatedand educated ,says Huck. She state s:

Children can begin to develop a sense of their human n es s: they ca nde v e lop new insights intothe beha vior of ot hers and themselve s. Literaturecan add a new dimens ion to life and create a ne w awarene s s , a greater sens i t ivity to people and sur round i ngs , It can ed uc a te theheartas wellas the head. (p. 36)

I t is Carmich a el's (1977) belief that li te r atu re foste runders t andi ng ofsel f andothe rs. It pr o v ideschil dre n withtheoppor t un i t y to explor eandundersta nd theirownand othersI feelings -- feelings abou t such things as accomplishment , fear , friends, love,security , or de ath.

Theva lue of lite ratu r ein deve lopi ngworl dundersta nd ing is emphas iz edbyPelle r (1970). He states :

It imp lores the reader toex amine and ap p recia te the compl e xi t y of th e world ab ou t him, th e complexit y of human bei n g s ,thecomp lexi ty of human relat ions. Whilelea d ing the reade r tobroadenhis understanding of hi mself; li tera tu r e solici ts the reader's compa s sion for manki nd. In shor t, literatur e cha llenge s , begs , encou ra g e s , inc ite s, provo ke s ,and char geshu ma n be ings to be human. {p. 22)

The r e is,th e n ,a soundra t i o n a l bas isfor thein cl us io n of 1itera ture in the ele men t a ry school cur ricu l um. The variousaut horsrev i ewed suggest thatlite ra t ure cont ri b ute s toa child 'simagin ative and personal dev elopmentaswe ll as he lping hi mto becomea full y literateperson.

12 IV. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to design a literature program for the elementarygrades four to six. I t is felt that such a programwillhel p fill the existing vo id in the elementary school curriculum.

V. DESIGN OFTHESTUDY

This chapter has es tablished the need fora literature programin theelementary sch o olan d haspresenteda ri!ll t i on ale fo r the inclus ion of literature in the element ary sch o ol cur r icu lu m. Cha pt e r twoisa reviewof the literature re la ted tothenat u r eofthe elementary sch oolch ild , si ncethe chi ld forwhoma program is being developedshould beco n sidered. Thevi e ws of various authors onthedifferentasp ects of an elementary schoolliteraturepr ogramare reviewedin chapte r three .

Then ,basedupo nthe revi ewsof literature on thenat u re ofthe elementary schoolchi l d andon the nature of elementary sch ool lit e ra t ur e pro grams,thedesi g nof ali te ra t ur e pro g ra m fo rthe elementary gra d e s fourto si x is presentedin chapter four. The chapter suggests a rat i o na l e for theinc l u sion of literature in the elementary schoo l curric ul um, thepur po s es for the elementary sc h oo l literature program, a method of organizing the literaturecur r i cul um ,app r opr i a t eco n t ent for the program, and some ins t ruct i o na l approaches for the

13 teaching ofliterature in the elementarygrades. Asample li tera tu re unit is also included for teach ing a specific l it erary selection. This unit inc l ude s object ives and teaChing suggestions for expe rie nci ng , interpreting , and respondi ng totheliterary se lec t i on.

14 CHAPTERII

REVI EWorLITERATURE RELATEDTOTHENATURE OF THECHILDIN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES

I. INTRODUCTION

In desig ning a liter atu re progra m, th e natureof the childforvl10m the pr og r a m isint e nde d should be considered.

Knowl e d g eof the development of the child in the el e mentary gr ades co mbi n e d ....1th knowledge of the na t ure of elementary scho ol li t e rat ur e programs sh o uld prov i de the ba si s for design ing an elementary schaol lite ra tu re pr og ram . Such knowl e d ge wil l infl u e nce the purpos e s to be decided upon , the organi z a tiona l approach to be used, the content to be selecte d , and th e teach i n g ap p roaches and activ i ties to be used in the lite r a t u r e program. This chapter will review specifi cally these aspects of the elementary child's development. : intell~::: tualdev e lopmen t . language development and int e rests . and reading inte restsin prose and poetry.

II. INTELLECTUALDEVELOPMENT

Amongth elead ing st ud i e s on theintell e ctua ldeve l opmen t of thechild aretho s eotJe anpiage t, the swissps ychol o gi st.

Accordingto the theories pz-eaerrt.ed by Plaget (1950) there are fo ur maj or stages of int e l lectua l developme nt: the sensor imoto r stage, occurring from bir thto about two years

15 ofage ; thepr eoperati onal st a g e, occurring from about eveto seve nyears of age1the conc re teopera tiona lstage ,occurring from about seven to eleven ye ars of age: and the formal operational stage , occurring from aboutelevenyea rs ofag e and up. Intelle ctual development proceeds throu g h this sequence of stageswithea c h stage more compl ex and abstrac t tha nthe previousone.

Pe r haps one of the most impor tan t si ngle ide a s to be derived from Plaget'swork isth- o:indi vid ual sle ar nbe st from self- i nitiatedactiVity. Major emphas is is placedby piaget (1970 ) onthe roleof acti vi t y in inte ll e c t ua l development. Plaget maintai ns, "Knowl e dge is der i vedtromaction" (p.38 ) . In his view, "To know an obj ect is to act upon and to transformit" (p,29).

Ginsberg and Opper (197 9), suppo rting the role of activi tyin learning , sta te that"the essenc eof knowledg eis activi ty "(p o224) . Theyr-e comme ndthat theteacherencourage thechild' s activity in all formsin order for the ch ild to gain a genuineunderstanding which is morp solid and long- la st ing. Encouraging the childtobe passive, for example, bylecturingathim, can often re s ul t in superfic ial lea r ni ng which is soon forg otte n. "Tru e unde r stand ing "say Ginsbe rg and Opper, "i nvol ve s actio n , on bot h the mo t or ic and concep t ua l lev e l s" {p , 225). In order to learn, the child needs to act on things . f'or mtll verbal in s t r u c t i on,

re encoura g ing pa s sive n e s s, is usually not effect iv e for the ch ild.

In app lying Pl aq e t ' s knowl e d ge of inte llectual develo p men tto the child'slearning , Fisher and Ter ry (1977) su gges t that inorder for thechildto develop newschemata and re f i n e others, he needs manyexperiences . The aut hors suggest that for the elemen tary child, the learning env i ron mentshouldinvolve fir s t hand obs ervation sand di rect participation incla s s r oo m activ i tie s , since his le a r ning is still based on concr ete exp eri e n ces. The classroom environmentshouldno t be a passive one,but rathe ran active one,where thechild Is encouragedto explore, experiment . convers e, and question.

sincemostof the chi ldren in grades fourto six areat theconcreteope rational stage, the in tellectual development of ach i ~datth i s stageisexami n e d indQtai ~her-e, GinsbQrg and Opper (197 9) concludethatduring theconc reteoperati ona l stage a child is"b othcapable of construc t i nghierarchica l lOlassif icatio ns andof comp rehe nd ing Lnctue tc n« {p,122). The childgains the abilityto think simUltaneo us ly interm s of a Who le andi ts part s. During th i s stage the child ha s the ability to co nce nt ra teonseveral dimensionsof a prob lem at the same ti me and to see rel ati on s hi ps bet ween e-tiese di mensions. Theaut.no r a point outtha t, as well, the chil d is able to note tr.:lnsfo rmations and similarities about situatio ns.

17 Similar ideas are notedby M.M. Lewis (1963). Duri ng the concre t e operational stage, Le...is maintai ns, a child's thinking becomes increasingly operational. He says:

I t is operational in tha t the child is, to some extent, ableto analyze andre s ynthes iz e a situation tha t confrontshim. He cango sofa r as to classify th i ngs inaccordance with specificcr i teria.he can manage somese r i al relationshi ls among things; and, whethe r classifyingor ser iallyorderingthings,he can oftentake accountof mor e than one criterion at atime. (pp. 168-169)

Lewis points out tha t the childIs reasoning is not

"necessarily confine dto what is present to his senses" (p.

169) just because his thinkin g is concrete in nature. He suggests that perhaps the most important characte:"istic of co nc r etethi n ki ng is "the ability to dealwitha newsi t u a tion whichis atr a ns f o rma t ion of a past situatio n "(po192) . The child, duringthe concrete operationalstage, has the ability togeneralizeabout and tosee similaritiesabout situations before himor those alreadyexperienced .

Biehler (1974), as well, claims that thechild is able to see transformations and simila ri ties. If he has not acquired any direct knowledge insome area , Biehler suggests, he will reason by relating it to somet hinghe haspr evi o u s ly expe rienced.

From a re v i e w of piaqet.r e research, Blair andBurton (1951) conclude, like wi s e, that during the stage ofcone re t e operations "the r e appe ars to come increasing abili t y to see ca u s a l relationshipsand to formgeneralizations " (p. 15 7) .

18 As H.M. Lewis (1963) points out, however, during the conc rete nperational stage, the child 's thinking is still concrete in natureandno t sUfficientlyfonnal enoughto deal with abstractionsand hypotheses. He states:

His thinki ng rema i n s concrete so longeeit is bound to the actual features of a situation--presentor absent -- rather than freetoexploreand deal with ne w andabstractrelation s hips or to entertain a hypothesis and reason fromit. His thinking is hardly as yet systemat ized, so that he hardly i f ever te.:":s a tr a i n of reasoning b} applying the touchstoneof generallyvalid principles. (p . 169) This indicates that duringthe concrete operational st a ge , the childis unable togeneralizeabout abstractionsor fo rm a hypothe sisabout new and abstractsituations .

Biehler (191 4),in discussingthe child duringthe stage of concreteoperations ,similarlynotes th a t the child engages in the kindofoperationwhich isI1limitedtoobje c t s actua lly present orwith which hehas had direct,concrete experience"

(p. 116). His thi nk ing is limitedto actual expe rie nc e s. Biehler draws the conclusion that the child isnot able to develop hypotheses about or generalizeabout newand ab stract possibilitiesthat he has not alreadyexperienced.

Fishe r and Terry (1977) likewise claimthat verbaland symbolic abstractions present difficulties for the child during the concrete operational st a ge. Therefore , such a child will learn best when a var i etyof directand concrete experiencesandmaterialsare provided.

similar con c l us i o ns about the child at the stage of concrete operations are drawn by Bru ne r (196 0). He points

19 out tha t concrete opera tions are ways fo r structur ingonly immediatel ypre t> ~nt reality. At thi s stage, he says, "the childis able togi v e structuretothe thingsheenc ounte r s, but he is not yetre a dil yab l e to deal with possibilitiesnot directlybefore him or notal r e a dy experienced" (p . 37). This does not me a n that children at th e stage of concrete operations are unable to ant i c i p ate things that are not present. Itmeans, ra t he r, tha t "the ydo no t command the operations to r con j ur i ngup systematicallythetull range of al t ern a t i v e possibilitiesthat couldexist at anygiventime^ll (p, 37 ). However, Bruner believes:

While the ch ild is in th e stage of concrete operations, he is capable of grasping intuitive l y and concretelya great r:-,any of the basic ideas of mat hematics , the sciences ,thehumanities , and the social scie nces . But he can do so only in termsof concreteoperations. (p. 38)

Bruner maintainsthat the child can learn to use the basic ideas of thesesubjectsin progressivelymore complex fo rn s but he must first understand them intuitively and have a chance to tr y them out on his own. He suggests that "t he early teachingof science, mathematics, social studies, and literature should bede s i gn e d ••. with an emph a s i s upon the int uiti ve grasp of ide a s and upo n the use of these basic ideas" (p. 13). For example, the child in thl:! stage of co nc r ete operationscangrasp the idea of tragedy and the basichumanconditions represented in myth, but he cannotput the s e ideas intoform allanguage or manipulatethem as adu lts This intuit ive understanding of ideas wil l form the

20 basis for further learning later on. As Bruner states,"These first representations ca n later be made more powerful and precise the more easily by virtue of this early learning" (p. 33).

One can conclude ,then,fromthe review of literat ure on the intellectualdevelopmentof th e el e me n t a r y school child, that the ch ild learns bestin an act ive env i r on-ene , Therol e of activityseems ver yimpor t a nt in the child's intellectual development. He should be provided amp l e opportuni ty to participa te act ive ly -- bot h mentally and physically in classro o1acti vitie s. The child ou gh t to be encouragedto expl o r e,co nv e rse, and que stion. fn suchan env ironment ,the childIs basic und e r sta nd i ng of ideassho u l d bemo r eso lid and 10I)-lasting . A pass ive environment, in whic h the child receivesformal verbal instructionin the formof lecturing , is not as effectivein the child's intellectual development.

The learning '.ihi c h reeu es i~; of t e n superfich~ and soon forl)otten . Receptive, passive lea rning, whe:r ..1bythe child's mind is not active, does not result in true lasting understandi ng .

Being at the concre t e operational stage , the child in the elementarygrades has the abilityto cl a s s ify according to sp e c i f i c criteria, of t e n cons i de r i n g more than one criterion at a time. He can concentrateor,several aspects of a problem si mUl t a ne ou s l yand perceive relationshipsbetween these as pe c ts. He is capable of handling a new situation

21 which is a transformation of a past situation. During the concrete operational stage the child is capable of forming generalizations about situations which are present to him or which he has encountered already. He has the ability to recognize similarities between situations. In literature, for example, the child is capable of comparing one story to another. He can note, for instance, the similarities among the beginnings and among the ends of various folk tales.

However, during the stage of concrete operations. the child's thinking is still concrete in nature. He does not have the ability to generalizeabout situations Which he is not presently experiencing or which he has not previously experienced. He cannot deal with new and abstract relationships . For example, the child is not able to fully comprehend abstract definitions of literary concepts.

The child, during the stage of concrete cpereeIcne , is still, nevertciereas , able to understand intuitively and concretely many basic ideas of the major SUbjects. Such int u i t i v e understanding of ideas provides a foundation for deeper more precis"! learning later on. The child can, for instance, intuitively perceive the structure and pattern of a particular genre, such as the folktale.

22 III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND INTERESTS

Languag@ Development

Selectedaspects of the childIs la ng ua g e development in the elementaryschool are reviewed in this section. These aspects deal mainly with the child's kncwk edqe and control over language. They include syntax, sentence structure, complexity, flexibility, and functions of language.

A childI5 knowledge and control over language is fairly well developed by the time he begins school. This point is noted by several writers. Smith,Goodman, and Meredith (1976) remark that "it is amazing that virtually every child achieves near mastery of at least one language by the time he is five or six" {p,9).

McCarthy (1954) similarlY concludes from her review of children's language development, that "a basic mastery of spoken language is normally acquired very rapidly during the preschool years" (p. 494). Smith (1972), generalizing from studies made by Ervin and Miller, makes the same point. He reports that these studies indicate a close approximation between the child's speech at five or six years of age and adult speech in his immediate environment. W.R.Miller (1969) states that by the age of four years a child has learned most of the grammar and phonology of his language, that "he has considerable linguistic competence" (p . 42).

similarlY ,Church (1961) believes that during the school years, "the child becomes increasingly the mas tier- of language"

23 (p , 104). He learns to handlewrit ten la ngu a g e aswe ll quant itativeand schema ticsymbolizations .

Many studies relating to th e sentence structure and syntax of elementary school childrenIs language have been conducted. For example, Strickland (1962) recorded and analyzed the syntactic structure of the oral language of 575 elementary school children in grades one to e Lx, She concludes from her ana lysis tha t element ary children use patterns of linguistic structure in their oral language with gre8t flexibility. At an early age ch ildren le a r n fairly thoroughlythe basicstructuresof theirlanguage.

O'Oonnell, Griffin,and Norris (1967) also conducted a study on the syntax of kindergarten and elementary school ch L'rdr-en, The re s u l t s show thatthele ng t h of the children's res-ponses steadilyincreases throughthe grade levels. An analysis of the use of particular syntactic structures in children'slanguage was made. It was found that a variety of basic structure patterns are usez by elementary school children. Increases were shown in theus e of various types of grammatical patternsand constructions from one grade level to the next. The study indicates that the dev elopment of syntacticcontrol occurs through the grade levels.

Herrick (1955), in discussing the child 's growth in sentencest r uc t ur e , says that a child has usedalmost every forn of sentence structure by the time he is s ...x. He

24 conclud e sthat as the child progressesthroughth e elementary grades his oral and written la ngu ag e Is characterized.by:

(a) in c r e a s i ng lengthofse ntence , (b) inc r e asing numbe r ofcOJllp l ex andcoll'tpou nd

sen tenceslinddecreasing-number af silllp l e sentences. (p. 90)

Brown and Berko (196 7 ) conclude frolll a study they conducted that the gra mmatical competence of the child develops as he incre a s e s in age. The study examined the res pons e words providea by children in a wor d association te s t. It was found that the child'stendency to associate words within a par t-ot-speec hincreaseswith age. The authors suggest that this is a res ult of the ch ild ' s gradua l orga niz ation of his voc a bUla ry int o the syntactic classes call ed 1·rts-o t - s:eech, They tested thede g r ee to wt.i c h a childcouldac comp lishth i sgr ammati ca ltask byadminis t e ri n g aus ag e test. It wasfound that th e ch ild 'sab i litytomake correct gra mmat icaluse....ne .... words alsoir-.cre a s e s withage.

Brown an dBerko concludetha t:

the fot1llal cha nge in word as sociation and the abilitytoma k e correct gr ammat i c a l useof newwo r d s are two mani f est a t i o ns of the child'sdevelop i ng appreciationof English syntax. (p. 305)

Another st udy, conducted bV McGetridg8 , Evanechko, Hamuluk, and Brown (1969) , regarding the development of lang ua g e competence in ch ild ren at th e element ary sc h ool leve l, shows that ch ildren 's langu ag e ability grows consiE"~entlythrough th egrad e s. Themeasures of per f o rma nc e that were used include flue nc y, complexity, grammar, and

25

semantics. As note d by McFetridge et al., the flue nc y and co mpl e xi tyat'childrenI5langu ageexpre s s i on sincr e ase through the gradeswhile the number of qralllmaticalerrors de cre a s es.

Al~ ma l ysi s of the results froUlthe sema ntic measu re s shows that the useof si mplefactualsta tements decreas esthro ugh the gradeswh i l e the use of statements to expr ess ab s t ra c t co ncept s andrelationships increases . The authors pointout that the gr owth of semantic compete nc e does not seemto develop an consistent l y as lingu i s tic competence. As summarizedby McFet ridge et aL,, the findi ngs of the stud y sh oW:

Duri ng the chi:''s eleme ntary years growth in language competence occurs according to th e se as pe c t s:

(;,,) rh --ncy .- allmea su r e s:

(b) Compl e x it. yas me a s ur e d bySUbord i na tio n; (c) Gra mma r as measur ed bya decrease in

numc:r of errors and

(d) Semanticsas shown by a decrease in fa ctual sta t eme nts and anincrease in int e rp r e tive expressions. (p. 105 )

Leban (1963) , as\o/e l l , conductedastudy of the languagli usedbych ildren fromgradekinde rga r tenthroughtograde six.

rne childre n 'suse,development ,and cont rolof lan g ua ge we r e inves tigated bythe stUdy. 'rne study'8 findi ngs on fluenc y of La nquaqa show an increa s e thro ughthe gr ades in the amo unt of languag e chHd r en use in their size and varie ty of vocab ula ry as ....ell as in the complexity, flexibili ty , and cohe rencyof theirexpeessrcn. The findingsoneffectiveness

26 and control of !anqull.ge show thatch ild re n havethe ability to use lind vary the bas ic st ructu r a l patterns of English. All basicpa tterns of the Englis h sente ncestruc tur e could be found in thechildr en's la ngua ge. Aninc r eas e in the number and kinds of sUbord ina ting clauses shows inc r easing gUllUDa tica l compl ex ity.

It is. statedby W.R . Hi l ler (1969) th atbythetime a child is fou rye a rsol d , "t he bulkofthegramma tical syste m has be e n learne d" (p. 35). The child us e s suc h grammati c al wordsas:

modal auxiliarie s ,preposition s , conj unctio ns , and the like, inflect i o nal suffixe s such as the plural for noun s and tense for verb a, and compl e x grammati c a l ope ra t ionswhich all owfor theformation of que sti o ns,negatives, infinitives , ma nip Ulati on of indi rect obj ec t s , andth e like. (p. 35)

The elementary sc h ool child is al soaware ofthe dual funct ionof words. Asrene and Peter Opie (1959) pointout, the childisvery interested in this duality. This is shown inthech ild's enjoymentof puns and riddles . such as the follo wing one, "What hasan eye butcannotsee? (Aneedle )"

(p, 78).

Church (1961 ). simil a r ly suggests the ch i l d'sawarenes s ofdualityinhis use and enjoymentotpun s. "The pun ••• is fundamen t al tothe humor-of school ch ild ren" (p. 182), says Church. This is sho wn in the child's en joyment of such riddles as, "What hasfou r legsand flies ? Wha t is blac k and whit e andre (a ) d all over?" (p. 18 2).

27 Asch and Nerlove (19 67) investigatedthe de velopment of the childIe useand unders t andingof "double-fun ction"term s.

The authorsreferto such word s as"hard", wdeepv , "bright", and "s oft" as "double- f un ct i o n" terms bec au s e "they refe r jo i ntlY tophysical and psych olog i caldata" (p, 28 3 ). Aseh andxerLove note tha t the s e"double-function" te n~ sar ealso

"a n el e menta ry instance of metapho r i c a l think ing. whic h is ess e nt ial tothe unde r stan d ingof language" (p, 283).

The results ofthe studyby As e h and Nerl o v e show inc r ea s e in the understanding of the psychol ogica l me anings ofthese dOUble-function te rms by fourth gr aders, aged ni ne toten ye a r s . Their abilityto state the dual func tio nof eachterm alsoincrease d. Thes e chi l d r engave suc hre s pon s e s as: "Ne ither crookedpeoplenor cr o ok e d thi ngs are up r i g ht , st ra i gh t " ; "Hard things and hard peop le are al ike in that ne i the r of thembreak" (pp . 286-28 7). The understanding of psychol og i c al meani ngs of th e s e te rms was not much more advan c ed in sixth graders, age d eleven to twelve. The i r comprehen s ionof the dual func tio noftheseterm s, howeve r, was notic e ably mor e advanced, as shown by these comment s :

"Cr ooked thi ng s and cr ooked people are rounda bou t and maybe dangerous"1 "Har d thin g ~ and hard pe o p l e both unma nageable " (p. 287).

The re s u l t s of AschIs and Ne r l o ve ' s stUdyshow tha t the numberof ti me sdoub l e - fun c tio ntermswere correctlyusedto name ps ych ol ogi c a l qualities of person s increased from one

2.

gra de to thenext. An inc r e a s e was also found in the number of ti me s the rela tion betwe e nthephys i c a l and ps yc ho l og i cal meani ngswas adequatelyexplained .

Howards \~9 6 4 ) conducted a studyaf children in grades four , five, and eLr to measure nov many commo n meanings of selectedveryhig h frequencymonosyllabic, mUltiple-meaning words are uncers e o od by them. The results showed that development ispro g r e s sive from or gr a de to the next. That is,

Sixth-gra d e pupils knew more me a n ings ot these selected very hi gh frequency words th an did th e t'ifth-g r a d e pu pils, and they in turn knew more me a ning s thandiden e fc:urth -qradepupils. (p.379) Howards also found that "Idiomatic and figura tive usages tended torankvery highin terms of difficulty" (p. 380 ) .

This does not me a n, ncvevex, that th e elementary ch i l d cannot en j oy and appreciate figurative la nguage. As Huck (1979 ) points out, the child can apprecia te figurative la ng u a ge aslong as the comparisonsare withinh..LSbackground of unders ta ndi ng . Also , shebel i e v e s the childcanunderstand symbolic meani ngs. She defines li t era ry symbols as"r e c urri ng concrete objectsor eventsth at representan abst rlloct idea"

(p.12 ) . Chu rch(1961) , as well, suggeststha t the childcan grasp figures of speech.

A reviewof resec-chon thelan g ua ge devel opmentof the elementaryschool childindicatesthatthe childis competent in hisknowledgeof andcontr olover language. A va r ietyof basic patterns of syntacticst r uc tur e can be used ....ithgreat

29 flexibility by the ch ild. His dev e l o pment of syn t a ctic co ntrol inc rea s e s throuqhthe grades. Th e child's fluenc yand complexit y in the use of la ngua ge grows, as doe s his grammat ica l and sema ntic competency. Th ech ildcanuse and unde rst a nd the va riousfunctions of la ng uage. Hisawaren e ss of the dual func t i on of wor ds 1s shown 1n his use and unde rs t a ndingof riddl e s , puns , Illulti p i e -lieaningword s, and double-fun ct i on te rms. Eve n th ou g h figura t i v e la ng u a g e pre sents somediff i c Ulty, the child can learn toenjoy and appr ec i a t e it. As Brown(197 1) conclude s, from h:'srev iew of r~search in this area, the elementary schoo l child "can be taug h t muc haboutthe imagi na t iveuse of languag e " (p. 12 8 ).

Langua ge Inte re s t s

Children seemto find a cons ta nt de lig ht inways the y ca nplay....iththe words andsoundsof their language. H.H..

Lewis (19 63) say s that duri ng the ele mentary yea rs there persists "a n enjoYl!lent of verba l ut terancein and fo r itself, as a formofpl a y" (p.172). Puns , tong u e-twi s te r s , riddles , and othe r kinds ofve rbal play ha v e greatappealfor child re n.

As Lewis points out , child r e n's "pl e a s ur e in the pl a y f u l explor at i o nofthe mani pu lati o nof words" (p.174 ) ca n be seen insuc h charac t eristi c feat ur e s as puns,ri ddl e s ,and rhyme s.

As suggested by Rut he r f o r d(19 71),chil d re nof t en re c ite non sense rhymes as a formofplay or ente rtainmen t. Nonse nse

30

rhyme s are amongthose which "childrensingor reci t e main ly fordive r s i o n" (p . 100 ), cl aimsRut he r fo rd.

Iona and Pete r apie (1959) similarly maintain that childrendelightin"t a ng l e t a lk"or "utternonsense"where the orderof wor ds is changedand incongruitiesaredelii,)erately jux ta posed. The followingexamp le is notedby the opies:

One midsummer'5 night in winter The snow was raining fast, A bare-footedgirl withclogs on stood sittingon the grass. (p.24)

Children are fascinatedby the wonderfulthingswordscan do. The y are delighted by words with more th;,n one use or meaning. This isshown intheir enjoymentof puns and tongue- twisters. certain tong ue-twisters,suc h as the following one, seem tolas t forever sinc e, as the opies (1959) sugge st, "it takes childre na long time beforethe y ceaseto beama aedtha t one word can have morethanone meandnq" (p. 31):

Of all the felt I ever felt, I never felt apie c e of fel t which felt thesa me asthat felt felt, when I firstfel t the felt of thatfelt hat. (p, 31)

Tongue-twistersprovidechildre nwith a sourceofve rba l play. Children delight in theco i nc i de nc e of soundfou nd in tongue- twisters. The cpfee record this tongue-twister :

I sawEsau sawingwood, And Esau saw I saw him;

Though EsausawI sa w him sa w stillEsauwent on sawing . (p, 13 )

Puns, suchas the followingone recorded bytheOp i es, are a common element of the language of school children: "We

31 opened the window and influenza" (p.30). It is suggested by the authors that puns may serve as the basis of childrenIs riddles, as the pivot of a popular saying, and as an important part in their everyday repartee.

Ghoulisl:I, which the Opies describe as rhymes and phrases children say to describe "the outward material facts about death" (p, 32), is another example of children's play with language. These rhymes and phrases seem very funny to children. The following example can often be found written on their books:

When I am dead and in my grave, and all my bones are rotten, This little book ....ill tell my name,

when I am quiteforgotten. (p.32)

Riddles provide another mean,:; for children to delight in playing with words. Children are often heard asking each other riddles, such as the following ones noted by Mary and Herbert Knapp (1976): "What did the big chimney say to the little chimney? You'retoo young to smoke. Why does the rain fall in sheets? To cover the river bed" (p. 105).

Also evident in children' s playwi t h language are slang and innovation. children's language, as M.M. Lewis (1963) claims, has "a special vocabulary, rich in slang and words foreign to the adult language" (p. 171). The opies (1959) similarly suggest, "Thair love of fun ... is shown in the constant welcome given to slang and innovation" (p . 155).

Children use short, sharp words to name parts of the body.

As the Opies report, they use "'mug' ... and 'phiz' for racer

32 'conk' for nose; 'gob' for mouth" (p. 155). T~eyregularly attach endings , such as: -ceeor -pus s, to certai nwords to make new words. For example , "copycat " or "sourpuss" (p.

15 5 ). Ma r y andHerb er t Knapp (1976) notethatchildrenoften usedescriptive name s to refertosome cha r ac te r ist icabo ut another person. Forexa mpl e , a redhead 1sa"car r ot-to p" ; a per s onwho se ems intel l ige nt isa "smarty-pants" ; ape rsonwho seems stup i disa "dumbbell"or a "bird-brain" (p. 67).

Chil d re n alsohave gr ea t fun playingwi t hotherpeople ' s name s, using pun s , abridgeme nts , rhymes, and jokes. The s e exampl es , notedbytheopde s,illus tra te this pl aywi t h na me s .

"A bo ywi t h the su rnam e Woodwi ll be ca l led 'spl i nt e r'" (p.

158) . "Any Dennisis...named 'Denni stheMena ce'" (p.159). Any Dan is foll owe d by the verse: "Dan, Dan , the dir tyold ma n, Wa s hed hi s fa ce in a frying pan" (p. 159). Childr en somet i mesadd ape r s on ' s nameto arh ymeto te a se theperso n.

In the following rhymethe nameJohn nie canbe substitut ed withanother na me:

Johnnie, Johnnie is nogood . cuthim upfor fire wood.

If he is nogoodfortha t, Give hi m tothepussy cat.

Thewords an dsoundsof their lan guag e hold a great deal of fascinat ion for ch ildre n. They are fascina ted with strange , unusual wor ds. It is sta ted by Huck (1979) that

"Child r e nare int riguedwi th the sou nd of langu a g e andenj oy unusua l and ridicul ouscombi na t i o ns ofword s " (p.311). The

33 poe m, "Te a Party"byHa rryBehn (in Huc k , 1919) shows how the poe t us e s such words todeligh tand fascinatechildren:

Mister Beed leBadd lebug , DonIt bandle upinyour boodlebag Or mumbleinyour jumbleju9, Now eat your nummytiffletag OrI willne verinvi te you

To tea againwithme. Shool (p. 311)

Nonsensewords are also sometimes borr owe d orcreatedby children inor d er to complete a rhYll\e. This example is reportedby the Opies (1959):

nTherewas a man ca lle d Michael Finigan, He grew whiskers on his chiniqi n" (p. 31).

Two other aspects of language which children find intp.restingare parodyand satire which appear in manypoems created by ch ildren . Children enjoy repeating satirical rhymes. such as the following one recorded by the opies (1959 ):

Red,white, and blue, My mother is a Jew, My father is a Scotsman, Andlima Kangaroo. (p. 19 )

The Opies suggest that perhaps sat irica l rhymes delight children bec ause"i nthe cru de imagF.:sevoked ,adultsarema d e toloo k undignified" (p. 19) .

Parody, whi chthe opiesdescribeas "that most refined form of je e r i ng " (p. 87), is of t e n recited by children. popuLa r- son gs, hymns ,andcarolsrece i ve much parodyingfrom children. The Opie scl a imthat parody ingal s oallows ch il d re n to "getthei rown bac kon thegr eatones"andbringthem"do wn to street le ve l" (p,93). The parodying of nurseryrhyllles,

such as th e followingone ofMa ry 'sLamb,ma k e s childrenfeel mor e independent and grown-up:

Mar yhad a little lamb, Its fee t wer e blac kas soot, And intoMary's br ea d and ja m .

Its sooty footit put. (p. 90)

The Knapps (1 97 0 ) make the same poi n t about th e appeal of parodyi ng . Parod i e s,the ysa y , ar e "a way of ass e r ti ngone's per cept ive n ess and ind ep e nde nc e" (p. 161 ). Childrenoften parody commer c i al s, nurs eryrhyme s, carols, pat r i ot i c songs, and religiousverses , suchasthe foll o wing one:

NowI la y medowntosleep, Aba g of apples at myfe e t. I fI di ebefore I wake, YOU' l l knowit wasa stomachache.

(p.171 )

M.M. Lewis (1963) similarly points out that children usually findmuch enj oyment in parodying. Pa r od yha s qreat appeal for chil dre n since, as Lewis says, it is "one exp ression of the ir reverence which is ga in i ng strength througho utthispe riodand onwa r dsinto adolescence " (p,174).

Children at this ag e enjoy making adults lo ok absurd and undignified. It seems to be a way of as s e r ting their independence.

Ruthe rf or d (197 1), as we ll, claims that parodies are a so u rce of del i ght for children. parodying is one way of rid i cu ling , teasing , showing irreve re nce for, or mocking some on eor someth i ng.

Ot he r aspec ts of lang uage which appe al to children incl ud e rhythm, rhyme, allit eration, assonance, rep e t i t i o n ,

35 onomatopoe ia, imagery and figurative la nguag e. Si nc e children's la ngua g e is so close topo etr y. it seems natura l for children to find these poetic aspects of language so appea ling. Hopkins (1972) claims, "Child r en are natural poets" (p. 1). Whitehead (19 68 ). as wel l, maintains that

"s p ont a ne o us rhythmicexpressionsof the purest poetry" (p. 108) are often produced by Children . It is al s o noted by Chukovsky (1963) th a t the childis"a n avid creator of word rhyt hms and rhymes" (p.64). AsFrye (1963) says, the child's

"chanting spee c h has atle ast as much ve r s e in i taspr os e"

(p, 54).

Similarly ,Larric k(1 967) emph asizeshow cl o s e poe t ryis to children's own la ng u a ge, how it appeals to their imagi nat ion, theirsense of rhythm, andtheir urge tocreate. She believes that "rhythmand repetitionare the child's....ay"

(p. 106). Children's la ng uage is fresh and imag inat i ve. I t is noted by Larrick that children's language is naturally musical and imaginative ....hich are two of the es sentia l qualitiesof poetry.

Rhythm delightschildren since it is50na t ur altothem.

The y are naturally rhythmical intheirmove me nts and speech.

They hop and skip, for example, or as Huck (1979) sugge sts , respondwi thdelightto the rhyt hmi calsound of "Pa t-a -cake, pat -a-cake". She believes "poet r y satisfi e s th e child's naturalres pon se torhyt hm" [p, 309) . Sloa n (1975), aswe ll, pointsout thatchildren's natural expression is rhythmic as

36 in the language of poetry. Burrows, Monson , and St a uf f e r (1972) claimthat the rhythm of poetry appears to satisfy children' s na t u r a l desire for rhythm .

The rhythm of a poemis suitedto i ts sUbjectmatter. Huck (1979) saysthe rhythmreinforcesand createsthe poe m' s meaning. It sugg es ts the movement or mood of the poe m.

Consider the poem, "Where Go The Boats", by Robert Louis st evenson(in ArbuthnotandRoot, 1968) which sug gests ho w the spe edof the river incre ase s asit flows towardthe sea:

Darkbrown isthe ri ver , Golde nis the sand.

It fl ows alon g foreve r.

Withtree s oneither hand. Green le av e s a- fl oat i ng,

Castles of the foam, Boa ts of minea- b o ating --

Wherewill all comehome ? On goes the river

And outpa stthe mill, Away downthevalley

Away down thehill. Away down the rive r,

A hundred mile s or more, ot he r little children

Shall bring myboetis as ho r e. (p • 110 )

Ch ild r e n enjoy cer tai n aspe c t s of sound. Rh yme, all i t e ra t ion, assonance , re pe tit i o n and onoma t o poeia all appea l to childre n. As Rut herf or d (1971) points out , it is oft enthes e asp ects -- rhyme, rhythm,al l i teration ,eascnence , and repe t i tion -- ra t he r than meaning, which prov i de the content for ma ny childre n' sown v..rs es.

"

Rhyme is quite often heard in the language of school children sinceit holds such great delightfor them. As the Op ! e s (19 5 9) suggest, "Rhyme seems to appeal to a child as something funny and remarkable in itself, there need be neither ..,i tnor re asontoeuppcreit" (p. 17). sceee deec, the op i e s say , rhyme sare "re peatedjustfor fun, for thefunof the ve r si f icat ion " (p p . 18-19). Oft e n , rhyme ssuchas the followin g ones recordedby Shaw (197 0) . are reel ted while skipping, ba ll - bounc i ng,or hand-clapping:

Eeeper, Weeper, chimbl e ysweeper Hada wife and co u l dn' t keep her.

Got anothe r, didnIt loveher, Up thechimbley he did shove her.

(p, 71)

Holy Mose s, Ki ng ofth e Jews, Bought hiswife apair of shoe s, When theshoes begantocrac k

Holy Mose s sent 'e mba c k.

(p. 94)

Simi l a rly, Grugeon (1 9 8 8)recor ds rhymes vhichchildre n sing ....hile pla ying clappi ng game s. The fo ll owing isan examp le recor d ed by Gr ug eo n:

~we nttothe Chinese Res t aura nt , To bu ya loa fofbr e ad , brea d . bread.

I saw aChinesela dy ,

And thi s iswhat she said ,sai d, sai d...

(p. 10)

The presence of rhyme inchild ren ' s language isals o emphasi zed by Hop kins (1972 ) . Chil d r e nco nsta n tlyplay ga me s inVol v in g the singing or rec i ting of rhyme s. Th eyoften compo se the ir own rhym e s whil e pl a yi ng. "Rhyme is ve ry prese n t in the chil d 's world" (p. 2) , sa y s Hopk i ns.

38 M.H. Lewis (1963) similarly points out that rhyme is evidentin children' slanguag e. Rhymes hold a great interest for children. As Lewis sugg e s ts , "Rhymes give pleasure in themselve s , they can readily be rememberedand, abo ve all, they have a certainsocial force --theycanbe r:ha nt e d in chorus" (p. 174 ).

Huck (19 79) . as well, clai ms that rhyme appeals to children. Shepoints out that nrh yme helps to cr e a t e the musical qualities of a poem, and children enj oy the

Isingingness ofwords'" (p, 310 ).

Alliterati on, whi c h is the repet ition of ini tial conson a ntsoun ds , and as sonance,whichis the repe t i tion of certain vowe l sounds , aretwo ether as pectsof soundwhich childrenfin dapp ealing . Th is ind i c at e s whycertain tong u e twisters delight children . Therepetition of the"s"sound, found inthis one repor ted by the opl.ee (1959), appeals to children: "She sells sea shellson the sea shore!' (p. 30) . Childrenen j o ycompos i ng their ownexampl e s of alli teratio n, such as the following one recor ded by Petty andBo we r (in Greene andPett y, 1975) : itA bu t ter f l ycan fly ,flap,flutter, flop, flitter,flick , float,flip-flop,andflo o p in a loop "

(p.335). Theuse ofall i t e r a t i onan d assonance in chil dren's poetry helps to create pa rticular moods. As Huck (1979) po i nts out , a moo d of mys t ery and susta ined sti lln e s s is su gge s t ed in Walter de La Ma r e 's "Silver" (in Arbut hnot &

39 Root , 1968) by th.e quiet "s it sound andtherepe t i tionof the double "0" in "ncon'' and "s heen".

The repeti tio nof wo rds, as well as sounds , has appea l for ch ildren. They del ight in saying verses, such asthe followingonewhichrepeatsthe words"s e e" and "s ea " and1s of t e nus e d withhand-c lapping.

A tiai lo rwent tosea, sea, sea Tosee whathe could se e, see, see But al l tha t he coul d see, see, see Was thebottom ofthe deep bl u e sea, sea,sea.

Repet i tionof wordsand phrases is oftenused in poetry for emphasis. Robert Pro s t , (in Arbut hnot & Root, 1968) for example, uses repetitio nof phrasesto emphasizemeaning in his poem "Stopp i ng byWood s ona Snowy Evening". Repetition of phr a ses can alsobe fo und in"The Wind" by Robert Louis Stevenson(inArbuthnot&Root, 1968).

onoma topoeiarefers to theuse of a....ord tha t makes a sound resembl ing the actionrepresented by tne wcrd . This aspectotsound del ightschildrenas well. Greeneand Pet ty (1975) suggesttha t childre nare inte restedin words, such as

"be -a'","h i s s" ,"boo m" , and"cl ang"(p.335),wh i c h themse lves makethe sounds described. Poets m.ke usc ofonomatopoeia to he lpsuggest image s and cr-euce a mood. In hispop ul ar poem,

"The Pi cketyfence ",DavidMc Cord(i n Huck, 1979 ) i.llIita tes th e sounds of hitt ing a picke t fence ",itha stick:

40 The picketyfence

The pi cketyfence Giveit a lic k it' s Thepicke t y fence Giveit alick^!tlg A cl!cketyfence Giveit a lick it' s A l icketyfe nc e Gi veit a lick Giveita lic k Giveit a lick Wi th a ricketystick pi ckety

Pickety Pickety pick . {p,310)

Ch i ldren respond to imagery -- vis ual an d aUdito ry image ry , as well as image ry of touch. taste , and smel l. As Bro wn (1 97 1) sugge s t s, "Imag e ry appe a ls to thechi ld 'ssense of wonder ; it reve al s rea l itywi thcl.~rityandpre c i sion,and it communica tesfeel ing" (p.133). Huc k(19 79) bel ieves that Lmac..ry reLe etsone of ne maj orwaystha t childrenexplore theirworld . Childre nha v ema n y sensoryexperi e ncesasth ey us e the irsensesof sight , so u nd,couch , taste , ar -tsmel l. Jacobs(1955)pointsoutthat the chil d learns abou t hiswo rld an d ext e n dshis kno wl edge thr ough t'<esesen s o r y impr essi o ns . Ja cobs sta tes, "Llke the poet, he rej oices inthe es s e ntial sensuousqua l i tiesof experienc e, whi c hareofthe essenc eof poet ry " (p. 21 2t.

Theuseofima g e ry is often evide ntin childrenIs ri dd les wh ich pro v i de desc ri ptionsof the i r solutio ns. As the optes (1 9 59) indicatQ , th e s eso lutio n s areus ua lly ima g i na t i ve ly desc ribed in te rms of some t hi n g els e. Th e Opie s believ e ,

"such imagesare , per h aps, thefitt est intr odu c t ion to poet ry

41 that a child can have" (p. 76). The following riddle, recorded by the Opies, comparesa thi lllbl e to a house wit h a hu nd r e d windows:

A Thirnble Itis a little house Ithas a hun dredwindows Yeti t won ' thold a mouse. (po77)

The use of imagery in a poem canenablethe reader or listener to see things in a new way. It can produce a particularmood or response. Many poems arerich in visual imagery and leave the reader or listener witha clear, vi v i d picture in his mind. "TheFag-Ie" by Alfred LordTen n yson (in Arbuthnot&Root, 1968) is an example of such a poem:

He claspsthe crag withcrooked hand sr close to the sun in lonelylands, Ringedwith the azureworld, he stands .

The wrinkledsea beneath him crawls 1 He watchesfromhis mountain walls, And like a thunderbolthe falls. (p. 58)

other poemsmakeuse of images of sound, touch, taste, and smell. The following poem, "Smells"by Christopher Morley (in Arbuthnot&Root, 1968) for example, is rich with images ot smell.

MyDaddysmells like tobacco and books, Mother like lavender and listerine:

Uncle John carries a whiff of cigars, Nannie smells starchyand soapy and clean.

Shandy, my dog, has a smell of his own (When he's out in the rain he smells most) ; But Katie, the cook, is more splendid than all

She smells exact lyI ike hot buttered toas t ? (p. 3)