How to Teach an Introduction to Children's Literature

Children's Literature is a fascinating field of written and pictorial text. You can find information on almost any topic imaginable written in a way that children can learn and grow from it. There are many things that need to be covered in an introduction to Children's Literature course to teach others about the complexities in children's literature.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Become familiar with the many different genres. Children's literature covers nearly every subject imaginable. Just as adult literature comes in forms such as fiction, non fiction, fantasy, biographical and traditional, children's books follow the same pattern.

2. Learn how to read each genre. Most children's books are entertaining, but teach the child something specific. For example, children's poetry may teach the fundamentals of rhyme and meter, children's literature may teach morals or social behavior, while children's fantasy may extend the child's upper level thinking skills.

3. Enrich the literature with suggestions from the author. Many books have songs that can accompany the literature, reader's theater ideas or staging directions to tell the story through puppets. Know how to help the child get the most out of the text for their age appropriate level.

4. Cross the curriculum with the literature. Historical fiction and non fiction works have fantastic potential to be relevant in other subjects the child may be learning about. Know how to use literature to educate the child in other aspects of their schooling besides reading and writing as many books also discuss abstract concepts, science and even some incorporate math properties in the writing.

5. Decipher the different awards granted to children's literature. Know what the criteria are for the awards and how the books are selected. This will give you an indication of the type of book, the quality of the writing and what different values the book may have for your children or students.