Bank Street College of Education Educate Graduate Student Independent Studies 5-15-2013 "For the first time, all over again" : reading classic children's literature with contemporary children Julia Hope Martin Bank Street College of Education Follow this and additional works at: http://educate.bankstreet.edu/independent-studies Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Elementary Education Commons Recommended Citation Martin, J. H. (2013). "For the first time, all over again" : reading classic children's literature with contemporary children. New York : Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved from http://educate.bankstreet.edu/independent-studies/118 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Educate. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Independent Studies by an authorized administrator of Educate. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “For the First Time, All Over Again”: Reading Classic Children’s Literature with Contemporary Children by Julia Hope Martin Mentor: Sue Carbary Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Education Bank Street College of Education 2013 Julia Martin “For the First Time, All Over Again”: Reading Classic Children’s Literature with Contemporary Children Abstract This thesis explores a simple question: what happens when modern children are exposed to the “canon” of great children’s literature for the very first time? How will contemporary children process and engage with texts that are over fifty years old? Using qualitative research with my own classroom of second graders I set out to explore student reactions as they discovered a selected set of exemplary children’s literature.