RSS Feed for the unit Encouraging book talk in the school library

Introduction

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

As adults we sometimes struggle to justify our feelings about particular books, but children are quite clear about what they like and don't like.

It is possible to get children to discuss why they liked or did not like particular books and to encourage them to think more deeply about the books they read.

This unit offers ideas and activities to engage pupils in discussing books. It is aimed at librarians, teaching assistants and other adults working with pupils in school libraries.

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Learning outcomes

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

Once you have completed this unit you will be able to:

clarify your own ideas on literacy criticism;
explore with your pupils what makes a good book;
produce a range of writing frames to encourage pupils to write book reviews;
encourage your pupils to follow some of the award schemes for children's books and perhaps start one of your own.

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1 What makes a good book?

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

I met a dragon face to face

I met a dragon face to face
The year when I was ten,
I took a trip to outer space,
I braved a pirate's den,
I wrestled with a wicked troll,
And fought a great white shark,
I trailed a rabbit down a hole,
I hunted for a snark.
I stowed aboard a submarine,
I opened magic doors,
I travelled in a time machine,
And searched for dinosaurs,
I climbed atop a giant's head,
I found a pot of gold,
I did this all in books I read
When I was ten years old
Jack Prelutsky: ‘Good Books: Good Times’, HarperCollins 1990

Maybe it was Custard that Jack Prelutsky met, maybe not; we all have our favourite books and those we hate. How did we develop our personal taste and critical awareness?

All good books have one thing in common – they are truer than if they really happened and after you have finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you.
Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)

Here are some points you could raise in discussion with pupils to try to encourage them to think about the books they read. I am sure you will think of many more.

Did the book they just read surprise them? Why did they choose it? Did they expect to like or not like it because of the blurb or dust jacket?
Did the characters seem real? Did they feel sympathy for the characters? Do they know anyone like the character?
Did the book take them to new places? Were they real places or imaginary lands? Did they learn anything about the setting from reading the book?
Did the author know about the background or topic of the book? Were there any mistakes?
Did they want to go on reading more after the book had ended?

Above all, we need to let children know that it is all right not to like a book – even if it is critically acclaimed!

Activity 1

What do you think makes a good book?

List six key features you would look for when reviewing a book.

You could try this question out on your pupils too.

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2 Book reviews

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

The comments below all relate to the same book, Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech, and have been made by pupils at Churchill Community School, North Somerset – the ‘Churchill Chatterboxes’.

A captivating yet far-fetched book, I feel this would suit most younger readers but older readers would want something more demanding. (Margaret)
I think Ruby Holler is a very moving book, especially when Dallas can tell that Florida is in trouble. I would say that is good enough to take up some space on your bookshelf. (Alice)
Ruby Holler is a book about twin orphans who are sent to an elderly couple. This is a good book because it brings to the reader a sense of what it is like to be an orphan. (Becky)

Writing reviews and sharing opinions about what they read is a good way to get pupils talking about books and introducing them to the concept of literary criticism.

Children often find it easier to write a book review if they have a framework to write to. You can see some examples on the web.

For young children try:

Educate the Children

Older children might like to send their reviews to a website and several invite contributions. Mrs Mad's website has useful booklists and reviews, it also provides an online form for pupils to submit their reviews. Go to:

Mrs Mad's online book review [accessed 26 January 2007].

The Word Pool invites individual pupils or groups to send in their favourite five books. They can fill in an online form at:

Word Pool [accessed 26 January 2007].

There are plenty of places on the web where children can find reading suggestions that will help them to develop their own taste in reading.

The Guardian has a children's library section which is arranged in age bands; it also features new books and classics.

Guardian [accessed 26 January 2007].

The Word Pool arranges its lists by topic and type rather than age.

Word Pool [accessed 26 January 2007].

The Reading is Fundamental project has age-related lists plus suggestions for motivating children to read, books for reading aloud and seasonal ideas.

Reading is Fundamental [accessed 26 January 2007].

Activity 2

Click on "view document" below and look at an example of a book review writing frame.

View document

For examples of children's book reviews visit this website and choose by children's age, author or title

Now produce a writing frame or pro forma of your own to prompt pupils in your school to write book reviews. You might want to write different frames for different groups of pupils.

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3 Book awards

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

Members of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals will be familiar with the Carnegie medal, which is awarded for an outstanding children's book each year.

The BookTrusted website lists 35 different awards for children's books and, although the majority are judged by publishers and critics, some involve children in the selection process.

You might like to investigate how you can get your own pupils involved in selecting books for awards.

Although the Carnegie Medal winner is selected by a panel of librarians, children from all over the UK shadow the process and make recommendations.

Look at the Carnegie website for further information about the awards.

The Blue Peter Book Awards are run by the BBC programme in collaboration with the public library project Reading Relay. The awards include judges’ awards and voters’ awards.

Blue Peter Book Awards

The Nestlé Smarties Book Prize invites entries from publishers. Category winners are chosen by judges, but the final winner is selected by children.

The Children's Book Award, from the Federation of Children's Book Clubs, is chosen by nominations from children throughout the UK.

Some local library services have established their own awards and these are totally chosen by children. See awards from Angus, Lancashire, Stockton, Stockport, South Lanarkshire and Sheffield.

Find details and directions to further information on book awards from the BookTrusted site [accessed 26 January 2007].

Activity 3

Plan to get your own pupils involved in choosing books they think should get an award.

You might like to shadow the Carnegie Medal, or get involved with Reading Relay and Blue Peter.

The criteria for the selection of the Carnegie Medal provide a useful checklist for those wanting to think about why a book is good.

Click on "view document" below to see these criteria.

View document

You could establish your own school's award. Any author would be glad to hear that their book had been chosen by a group of children – even if there was no huge monetary prize!

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4 Reading clubs

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

Reading opens minds. Through books, a reader enters different worlds, sees other points of view, experiences new emotions and situations. A reading club is a great chance to read different books, to find books you might never have considered yourself. To share your views with others is much more fun than looking away inside your head.
Nicola Morgan

There is plenty of support to help you run a reading club in your own school.

ContinYou has gained funding and support from newspapers, publishers and business to help set up reading clubs across the UK. For further information go to:

Reading Club [accessed 26 January 2007] or e-mail bookig@continyou.org.uk

Orange have an educational initiative called Chatterbooks, working with public libraries to run children's reading groups. Some of your pupils may belong and you might be able to link with the project.

Chatterbooks [accessed 26 January 2007]

Your pupils could join a Blue Peter Book Club and talk about the books they like on this website.

Blue Peter Book Club

Best of all, you could start your own reading club and get pupils talking and engaged with book-related activities.

Activity 4

Investigate the possibility of starting a book or reading club in your own school.

Prepare an e-mail or memo to invite colleagues to discuss the possibility and to enlist support.

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Next steps

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

After completing this unit you may wish to study another OpenLearn Study Unit or find out more about this topic. Here are some suggestions:

If you wish to study formally at The Open University, you may wish to explore the courses we offer in this curriculum area:

Education

Or find out about studying and developing your skills with The Open University:

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References

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

Nicola Morgan at ContinYou, [accessed 26 January 2007].

Jack Prelutsky, ‘I Met a Dragon Face to Face’ in Good Books, Good Times! By Lee Bennett Hopkins and Harvey Stevenson, HarperCollins.

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Acknowledgements

The Open University — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:45 GMT

Author

This unit was originally prepared for TeachandLearn.net by Jenny Brown, who is a chartered librarian and has worked as a school librarian in London for 15 years. She was one of the first to obtain the RSA Diploma in Technology for Teachers. Jenny has always had a keen interest in independent learning and higher-order thinking skills, and has championed the key role that librarians can play in developing these. While working for BECTa she managed a number of UK and Europe wide projects in schools and was closely involved in the development and delivery of the NOF training programme for school librarians.

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Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:

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