DOCUMENT RESUME ED 247 608 CS 208 552 AUTHOR Moss, Joy F. TITLE Focus Units in Literature: A Handbook for Elementary School Teachers. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English,Urbana, Ill. y REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-1756-2 PUB DATE 84 NOTE 245p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English,1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 17562, $13.00 nonmember, $10.00 member). PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Guides (For Teachers) (052) Books (010) Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Childrens Literature; Content Area Reading;Content Area Writing; Curriculum Development; Curriculum Guides; Elementary Education; *LanguageArts; *Literature Appreciation; Models; PictureBooks; Reading Materials; Teaching Guides; *Unitsof Study ABSTRACT Intended as a guide for elementary schoolteachers to assist them in preparing and implementing specificliterature units or in de7eloping more long-term literatureprograms, this book contains 13 focus units. After defininga focus unit as an instructional sequence in which literatute isused both as a rich natural resource for developing language and thinkingskills and as the starting point for diverse reading and writingexperiences, the first chapter of the book describes the basiccomponents of a focus unit model. The second chapter identifiesthe theoretical foundations of this model, and the third chapterpresents seven categories of questions used in the focus unitsto guide comprehension and composition or narrative. The remaining 14chapters provide examples of the model as translated into classroom practice,each including a lesson plan for development,a description of its implementation, and a bibliography of texts. The units cover the following subjects:(1) animals in literature, (2) the works ofauthors Roger Duvoisin and Jay Williams, (3) the world aroundus,(4) literature around the world, (5) themes in literature, and (6)fantasy. An appendix of professional references is included. (CRH) * ********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made * * from the original document. * * *********;:************************************************************ co Focus Units in Literature 4.0 A Handbook for Elementary School Teachers U.S.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER lEmc) LJ This document has been reproduced as U. received from the person or organization cinginating rt Minor changes have been made to improve roproducticn quality Points of view or opinions stated in this docu merit do not necessarily represent ouiCial ME posi.ion or policy Joy F. Moss Harley School and University of Rochester, Rochester, New York I National Council of Teachers of English 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801 -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY fl NC TE TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." -- Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following mate- rial. "Bwyone is asleep" by Seifu-jo and "The harvest moon is so bright!" by SodO. Fffitik,Don't Tell the Scarecrow and Other Japanese Poems by Issa, Yayie, Kikaku and Other Japanese Poets. Copyright@ 1969 by Scholastic Maga- zines, Inc., a division of Scholastic, Inc. "The Night" from Whispers and Other Poems by Myra Cohn Livingston (Harcourt, Brace and Apr Id). Copyright @ 1958 by Myra Cohn Livingston. Reprinted by permission of Marian Reiner for the author. "In Bed" from River Winding: Poems by Charlotte Zolotow (Thomas Y. Crowell Co.). Text copyright@ 1970 by Charlotte Zolotow. Re- printed by permission of Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. Curtis Brown, Ltd. for "Charlie's Bedtime" by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Copyright ©1972 by Lee Bennett Hopkins. "Night Comes" from A Bunch of Poems and Verses by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers. Text copyright @ 1977 by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers. Reprinted by permission of Ticknor & Fields/Clarion Books, a Houghton Mifflin Company. Acknowledgment is also made to The Reading Teacher for permission to incorporate material from the author's articles in The Reading Teacher (March 1982 and April 1983) in the chapters on Jay Williams, folktale patterns, and friendship. NCTE Editorial Board: Candy Carter, Julie Jensen, Delores Lipscomb, Elisabeth McPherson, John Mayher, John C. Maxwell, ex officio, Paul O'Dea, ex officio Book Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design a* NCTE Stock Number 17562 ©1984 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library 11 Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Moss, Joy F. Focus units in literature. Bibliography: 8 p. 1. ChildrenBooks and reading. 2. Children's literatureStudy and teaching (Elementary.).3. Language arts (Elementary).I. Title. Z1037.A l M883 1984 372.6 84-14820 ISBN 0-8141-1756-2 Contents Introduction ix Part I: Background 1.Literature in the Classroom: Using the Focus Unit to Create a Context for Literacy 3 2. Theory into Practice 9 3.Guidelines for Questioning 16 Part Focus Units Animals in Literature 4. Toy Animals: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 33 5.Pig Tales: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 41 Authors 6. Roger Duvoisin: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 54 7. Jay Williams: A Focus Unit for Grades Four and Five 66 The World around Us 8. The Night: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 79 9. The Sea: A Focus Unit for Grades Four and Five 95 Literature around the World 10.Folktale Patterns: A Focus Unit for Grades Three and Four 107 11.Japan: A Focus Unit for Grades Five and Six 125 4 4 vi Contents Themes 12. Friendship: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 145 13. Heroes and Heroines: A Focus Unit for Grades One and Two 158 14. Survival Tales: A Focus Unit for Grades Five and Six 172 Fantastic Characters 15. Giants: A Focus Unit for Grades Two and Three 191 16, Dragons: A Focus Unit for Grades Three and Four ,. 209 Appendix: Professional References 231 Dedicated to Arthur, Kathy, Debbie, and David 6 Introduction As a teacher at young children for over a decade, I have had the good fortune to observe them in the process of learning to read and write. I discovered that many of the children who were successful in this process had been given a head start by adults who had introduced them to the pleasure and delight associated with books and reading. These children had developed the habit of exploring the world of books, a habit which played a significant role in their approach to learning and their groWth as readers. They had discovered the purpose of reading and its relevance to their own individual interests. As a result, they were intrinsically motivated to engage in the process of learning to read and to become readers. It seems to me that the success of a reading program should be mea- sured in terms of the number of students who eventually establish the habit of reading for personal enjoyment, independent learning, andcon- tinued growth. Broad exposure to and meaningful experiences with books at all stages of the process of becoming a reader help to build a back- ground from which children can develop personal preferences and special interests and the motivation to pursue these interests on their own. As the range of reading interests expands, the child discovers new possibilities for reading enjoyment and, in the process, is stimulated to read (or listen to) more books. This continued involvement with books provides the linguistic and conceptual input which is so important for reading growth. So the cycle continues... as thechild gains experience, competence, and confidence and develops the motivation necessary for the reading habit to become firmly established. This cycle can be set into motion by parents and teachers who provide a rich literary environment for thL:r children and instill in them a love for reading, a lasting treasure and pt obably one of the finest gifts we can offer our children. To this end, I designed an instructional model through which children from kindergarten through sixth grade would be given every opportunity to learn about the world of books and to derive pleasure and meaning from their reading experiences. The purpose of this book is to describe this instructional model, which I developed for and with my students and which I have used as a framework for building a literature curriculum. ix x Introduction The first chapter defines the instructional model and introduces its dis- tinpuishing features. The second chapter focuses on the theoretical foun- dations on which this model was constructed. The third chapter outlines categories of questions and suggests sample questions in each category. Subsequent chapters offer examples of the instructional model and sug- gestions for using it to assist elementary schoolchildren in the process of learning to comprehend, produce, and enjoy written language. This instructional model is translated into classroom practice through diverse literature units designed to expose children to various literary sel.tctions, to promote growth of reading, writing, and thinking skills, and to expand reading interests. Although each literature unit is planned as a separate entity, it would be related to other units which might be imple- mented in a particular classroom or grade level or as part of a total language arts curriculum for kindergarten through grade six. That is, each discrete literature unit would become an integral part of a long-term, cumulative plan for exploring literature. Each new unit would add to the children's growing literary background and store of comprehension skills and, in the process, would enhance the quality of theil.