How Drawing Can Improve Reading Comprehension

Every teacher wants to help children to read deeply, to grasp the richness of characterisation, the devices the author uses to create mood and tension, the intent and purpose of the writer and the language devices employed. We also want them to be moved by the text and able to reflect and respond critically to it. I've written lots of posts about comprehension, but in this one I want to revisit a previously discussed strategy that I've used with children aged 3 to 12 years and which I continue to see as one of the most powerful comprehension strategies I have used.

‘Sketch to Stretch’ is essentially a strategy that involves asking children to sketch in response to reading, hearing or even viewing a story. It requires them to use drawing to 'stretch' or enhance the meaning as they are reading. You can do it during and after reading and there is even a place for drawing as an ‘advance organizer’ before reading, but that’s another post. It can involve varied directions including:

Sketch what just happened.
Sketch what he/she [insert character name] did, lost, saw, heard etc.
Sketch how this [insert and event] makes you feel.
Sketch a picture that shows what might happen next.
Sketch a picture of [insert character].

The sketches on the left are from my book 'Teaching Reading Comprehension', and show just some of the responses from a group of 10 year-old children I had been teaching as part of a research project. I had interrupted a reading of the graphic novel ‘The Wedding Ghost’ (1985) written by Leon Garfield and illustrated by Charles Keeping.

Garfield's book is set in the late 19th century, in a small village in Hertfordshire in England. Like all of Garfield’s books it is rich in historical detail and a depth of language and mastery of storytelling that few children’s authors have ever achieved. The book tells the story of a young couple (Gillian and Jack) who are about to be married. It follows the normal sequence of events for a wedding in the 19th century, beginning with the invitation, preparations, then the rehearsal, present opening, more preparations and eventually the wedding.

Much of the story centres on a journey taken by Jack after he opens an unusual gift addressed only to him. This is the first moment of intrigue. Jack sets off armed with an old map sent by an unknown person, and the events and discoveries that lead ultimately to the dramatic events of the wedding and the outcome.

On the occasion that sketches above were drawn I had introduced the book by sharing the title, showing the cover and then explaining a little about the author. I told the class that Leon Garfield usually wrote what is known as historical fiction, and that this is the writing of fictional stories that are inspired by real events, setting and characters.

I interrupted my oral reading after a few minutes at a point where Jack is to open the mysterious present. This is just a few from the start of the story and the guests are gathered around watching the groom to be. People are making jokes and speculating about the gift and why it might just have his name on it.

I asked my students to quickly sketch what the gift might be. As you can see from the sample of the sketches, the responses varied greatly and included a ghost, map (an uncanny prediction), book, hourglass (suggesting time), a genie’s lamp letter and so. The sketches offer an insight into the level and depth of children’s comprehension of this complex picture book up to this point. As well, they illustrate that they are trying to make sense of what’s going on, where the story might go next and the extent to which they are picking up on the themes in Garfield’s book. As well, they show something of their literary history and the background knowledge that they bring to the reading and the sketching.

Even when children drew the same object there was great diversity. For example, a number of students drew ghosts probably basing their prediction upon the book's title (there had been nothing explicit in the text to suggest this); and yet, the drawings showed a diverse range of ghosts. One student drew a genie type 'ghost' emerging from lamps, several drew 'Casper like' ghosts and others drew ghosts more human in form. Each reflected different literary histories and background knowledge. Where they were at the point of the sketch involved each in a different literary journey and experience of this book.



Summing up

'Sketch to Stretch' as its name implies, stretches children’s understanding, and their knowledge of and appreciation of literature. It is enhanced of course by discussion and skilful teaching, as sketches are shared and responded to by students as well as the teacher. It isn't really an easy strategy; in fact it is a very sophisticated multimodal strategy that requires reading, discussion, response, drawing and sometimes writing in association with it. It can also be used with film in a similar way to the way I used it with the 'Wedding Ghost'.

One of the strengths of Sketch to Stretch and in fact drawing generally, is that it offers an alternative to word-based strategies for heightening engagement. Each response whether it is written, spoken, drawn or displayed in any form, helps children to read more ‘deeply’. The sketches also help us to understand how our children are empathizing with characters, evaluating the text, what they are predicting will come next, how they are reflecting upon earlier events, how they are connecting with life situations and so on. This offers us greater insight into our children’s comprehension as they read and it helps us to enrich the mental journey children are making as they read a book.

Related Resources

Previous posts on 'Comprehension' (here)

'Pathways to Literacy', Trevor H. Cairney (1995). This is a book I wrote and which has more material on reading comprehension and 'Sketch to Stretch'. 

2013 Children's Book Council (Australia) Awards Announced

The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) announced the winners of the 2013 awards yesterday in Canberra. I reviewed the full shortlist earlier in the year (here) as well as the Notable Book List that is announced each year to acknowledge at least 100 books of note. However, the winners and honour books this year were as follows.

1. 'Older Readers' category (Young Adult Readers)

Winner

'Sea Hearts' by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)

Margo Lanagan is a multi-award winning, internationally acclaimed Australian author well known for her exciting speculative fiction. This story tells of an unremarkable young woman, Misskaella Prout who struggles to find her place in the stormy and isolated island of Rollrock. She discovers she has natural magic gifts and can use them to coax selkies (mythological creatures found in Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore) out of their sealskins. Her world is changed and is the community in which she lives. One by one the local men are captivated by the allure of the beautiful sea-wife. Will all the men fall captive to her as all the 'real' women leave the community. This is a powerful story of desire and revenge, human weakness, as well as all-consuming love and even a dash of loyalty.

Honour Books

'The Ink Bridge' by Neil Grant (Allen & Unwin)

'Friday Brown' by Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing)

2. 'Younger Readers' category (Independent Younger Readers)

Winner

'Children of the King' by Sonya Hartnett (Penguin)

This is a stunning book from a great Australian writer. Three children have been sent to live in the countryside away from war-ravaged London in WWII. Nothing unusual about this. Two children (Cecily and Jeremy) end up in a home of privilege, and an evacuee (May) from a poorer background is taken in with them. May who boldly explores the local area discovers two boys, who have strange dress and are mysterious. May and Cecily eventually confirm that there are two boys. When they find the boys the past and the present merge and transform what has been a regular tale of girls having an adventure, into one that deals with many themes, including loss of innocence, the brutality of war and its consequences.

In the midst of this Hartnett introduces and overlays the story of the Princes in the Tower drawing parallels between the story of the children with the unresolved story of the Princes. This is a superbly written and nuanced tale by a master storyteller, which is a deserving winner.

Honour books

'Pennies for Hitler' by Jackie French (Lamont Books)

'The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk' by Glenda Millard (ABC Books)

3. 'Early Childhood' category (Preschool and beginning readers)

Winner

'The Terrible Suitcase' by Emma Allen and illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Omnibus, Scholastic Press)

This delightful picture book has a story line that all children and parents will identify as true to life. Your mother buys you something, which isn’t what you wanted or expected. In this story it’s a red suitcase to take to school instead of a bright red backpack with rockets and silver zip that you just had to have! The typical child response is to be mad. There is much sulking and tantrums. But when she finally goes to school she discovers that sometimes different things can occur when you’re different. New friends, experiences and creative and imaginative fun that were as unexpected as the terrible red suitcase.

If you write a first book as Emma Allen has and have it accepted for publication, then you could only dream of being assigned an illustrator like Freya Blackwood to turn her creative genius to helping you communicate this common real life scenario with authenticity and interest. Freya has used delightful watercolour, gouache and pencil line work. Emma Allen's text is beautifully written with minimal well-chosen words that in combination with Blackwood's illustrations create a book worthy of this acknowledgement.

Honour Books

'With Nan' by Tania Cox and illustrated by Karen Blair (Windy Hollow Books)

'Too Many Elephants in This House' by Ursula Dubosarsky and illustrated by Andrew Joyner (Penguin)

4. 'Picture Books' category (Varied ages, Birth to 18 years)
Winner

'The Coat' illustrated by Ron Brooks and written by Julie Hunt (Allen & Unwin)

The Coat stood in a paddock at the end of a row of strawberries. It was buttoned up tight and stuffed full of straw and it was angry. 'What a waste of me!' it yelled. Then along came a man. 'I could do with a coat like that,' the man said. Together, swooping and swinging, they travelled to the Cafe Delitzia, and had the night of their lives.

What self-respecting coat would want to end up rotting away on an old scarecrow? When the coat beckons a passing stranger he sees that this might well be a great coat for him. They begin a great adventure together as they travel to a city where the man soon discovers that this coat can do more than keep him warm. Together they form a great team that makes people sit up and listen.

Sounds quirky of course, and it is. But it is also a wonderful mysterious metaphysical tale that pushes the boundaries of what is possible and what might be. There are many themes that play out in the story, not the least of which is the power of friendship, discovering things within yourself, and the development of self-belief. The combination of Julie Hunt’s well-crafted story and Ron Brooks’ genius as an illustrator helps to make this story work. Brooks has many devices including subtle use of colour that tracks the mood of the key characters, from simple black and white to rich colour as the exciting partnership between the man and the coat unfolds. By the end his use of colour is rich and flamboyant. This is a wonderful book.

The reviewer in Reading Time described the work this way:

'It is simply impossible to categorize this unique and harmonious work of art... This is book that exemplifies James Joyce’s criteria of unity, harmony and radiance. It defies the prophets of doom. Books are alive and flourishing – particularly picture books from Australia.'

Honour books

'Herman and Rosie' by Gus Gordon (Viking)

'Sophie Scott Goes South' by Alison Lester (Viking)

5. 'Eve Pownall Award for Information Books' category (Varied ages, Birth to 18 years)

Winner

'Tom the Outback Mailman' by Kristin Weidenbach and illustrated by Timothy Ide (Lothian)

'Tom the Outback Mailman' by Kristin Weidenbach and illustrated by Timothy Ide won the Eve Pownall prize for information books. This delightful true story of a great Australian character is based on Weidenbach's story of Tom Kruse who was the driver of the Marree-to-Birdsville mail. Once a fortnight for twenty years Tom loaded his Leyland Badger truck and drove 1,000 km across perilous territory on little more than a dusty dangerous rutted track. His job was to deliver mail and provisions to arguably the most isolated residents in the world. Tom was a great Australian character who lived in the middle decades of last century

The book is a version for younger children that Weidenbach has adapted into a delightful picture book for young readers. It offers just a small slice of the events of Tom's life. When floods cut the Birdsville Track, the station residents run out of supplies and worse still, the Birdsville Hotel runs out of beer! It takes Tom’s ingenuity to beat the floodwaters and get the mail and the beer through. Timothy Ide provides wonderfully detailed watercolour illustrations that add to what is already a compelling narrative account.

Honour books

'Lyrebird! A True Story' by Jackie Kerin and illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe (Museum of Victoria)

'Topsy-turvey World: How Australian Animals Puzzled Early Explorers' by Kirsty Murray (National Library of Australia)

Stories in a Box: A great strategy for all ages

Have you ever tried to clear out your shed or attic and found that a job that was to be a 2-3 hour exercise in shedding your life of junk, becomes a nostalgic walk through long forgotten objects and artefacts that were once part of your life. I find my mother's Box Brownie camera (the source of all my baby photos). The first camera given to me as a child. A tool to catch my Mum in awkward poses, my first two dogs in the back yard. Out of focus shots to be hidden away in other boxes. Out comes the first serious camera I bought. I remember its untimely 'death' in Amsterdam; the victim of just one drop of syrup from a wonderful Dutch Waffle. Objects that 'spoke' of my past, whispering and prodding forgotten memories.

Mem Fox tapped this sentiment in her wonderful book 'Wildfred, Gordon McDonald Partridge'. When Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge visits an old people's home next to his house he makes lots of friends. One of them is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. "He called her Miss Nancy and told her all his secrets."  When his parents tell him that Miss Nancy has "...lost her memory" he sets out to discover what a memory is. His friends at the home all give different definitions - "something that makes you cry", "..something that makes you laugh", "something as precious as gold". He goes looking for Miss Nancy's memory, and along the way he collects objects that he thinks match the definition of a memory and takes them to her in a box.  When he hands them to her she begins to remember things from her past. "She put a shell to her ear and remembered going to the beach by tram long ago..", "She touched the medal and talked sadly of the brother she had loved who had gone to war and never returned". "And the two of them smiled and smiled because Miss Nancy's memory had been found again by a small boy, who wasn't very old either".

Above: Hear Mem Fox read 'Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge'

Stories in a box

Using an object or group of objects to stimulate language is not new, but some enterprising teachers from Ainslie School have used the idea to good effect. They describe the practice in 'Practically Primary' (Vol. 15, No.1, February 2010). The concept is simple and was adapted from a strategy Daniel Meadows uses to stimulate digital storytelling. As part of an annual writing festival the teachers developed 21 different boxes with carefully chosen objects. They placed 5-6 objects in a box that had some relationship to one another. The only exception was the inclusion sometimes of a single object that was unrelated, to allow additional creativity to be used.

The objects in one box consisted of:

A set of WWII medals
Photo of an Australian soldier
Photo of a family standing around an old man
A WWII photo of a soldier in Egypt
Epaulets showing the rank of lieutenant
A small decorated hand fan from the 1940s

The boxes were used in varied ways by different groups of children but many poems, stories, books and digital stories were produced that had their 'seeds' in the items from the class story box. 


How might the Story in a Box strategy be used?

Obviously the idea has many applications at all ages. The teacher or parent would need to model the process of story creation before asking children to do it.  They might also jointly construct a story or two with children before letting them do it independently. With that proviso, here are just some of the ways I'd suggest you might use the strategy:

1. A group of 5 year-olds might explore the objects in a box and try to tell a joint story or simply take turns creating individual stories. You could allow them to supplement the box with a dress-up box if there is a need for children to become specific characters or take on roles.

2. A group of 6-12 year old children might discuss the objects and then prepare a joint monologue to be presented to others (with the objects used as artefacts or aids). Alternatively, a group story or picture book could be produced based on the objects.

3. The box of objects might simply be used to create a digital story (individually or in groups). Have a look at Daniel Meadows' 'Scissors' video to see what might be produced, as wells as my previous post on digital storytelling (here). This approach could also be used with high school children.

What is the value of this simple strategy?

There are many potential benefits of the strategy:

• It encourages creative storytelling.
• It offers a way for a group of children to create something together, allowing collaboration skills to develop, leading to joint learning, stretching each other, firing their collective imaginations.
• It offers an authentic and powerful way to generate stories in digital, print or oral form.
• This is a strategy that can encourage divergent thinking as the learner is required to generate ideas, connections and storytelling solutions.
• It works well with children of varied abilities including learners who lack fluency in language and others who are gifted speakers and writers. You can even mix children of varied abilities. 

Related Posts

All my posts on creativity (HERE)
'Digital Storytelling' (HERE)
Posts on writing (HERE)

# This is a revised version of a post I wrote in January 2011

12 Great Interactive Story Apps

It seems a long time since I have reviewed some story apps. You can look at my entire app reviews HERE. In this post I want to review 12 story apps published in recent months. As in my other app reviews, I have used a rating scale that attributes a score from 1 (Poor) to 10 (Outstanding) to indicate the extent to which the app meets the following criteria:

• The app is enjoyable to use
• Children learn new things because of the app
• The app makes it easier for children to learn
• The app interactive elements don't distract from the key learning goals
• The app is well designed, attractive and engaging
• The app represents good value for money

1. 'Dr Seuss Short Story Collection' (Oceanhouse Media)

Dr Seuss's Short Story Collection contains eight classic titles all in one electronic book app (what Oceanhouse Media calls an 'omBook'). The format for the app is consistent with most Oceanhouse story apps. The reader can choose to read it themselves, be read to or record their won version of the reading. Pages swipe easily and the narration is a lively male reading in an American accent. The text is highlighted as it is read (word-by-word) and the reader can touch illustrations which are then named.

The eight separate stories are available from the apps 'home' where your bookcase displays the books in the collection. The stories of course are by Dr Seuss which makes them good value at $10.49 for eight stories. As I've said before in my reviews, I find the Oceanhouse template that is used in slightly varied forms for their children's books to be a little 'wooden' and lacking in interactive elements that engage the reader and support the magic of the Dr Seuss texts.  Having said this, children will enjoy some of the classic stories within the collection, including 'I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today', 'The Glunk that Got Thunk', 'Zax' and 'Too Many Daves'. Brilliant stuff from Dr Seuss.

My rating of this app is 7

2. 'Storybook Maker' (Merge Mobile)

This is a story app that allows children to make stories for others to enjoy. It allows children to create, share, and read storybooks on the iPad using a basic word processing app that has great and easy links to images, audio (for narration), music, hand drawn original artwork and a wide range of stickers that they can add. You can create new books with the touch of a single button. You are prompted for a title, options are given for a cover and then you are guided through the formatting of your story. As you move from page to page the previous page is automatically saved.

A variety of templates are also provided with different layouts. You can use blank pages to create your own layout or use one of the twelve pre-designed options. This is very easy app to use. If you're using an iPad you can take photos and instantly save them to your book. The use of text boxes, resizing, and layout are all very easy with pinch and stretch options using simple swipes of the screen. The app also offers the very cute use of “physics” objects that include a bouncing ball and a little dune buggy that can be dragged around the page.

The stories that children create are stored in 'My Library' that allows them to easily read, edit and share their work. Files can also be shared by email as a pdf (automatically generated) or via the web as a public document.

Interestingly, the app has no audio instructions, with all instructions written, using a combination of words, images and icons. However, even very young readers will handle the app easily. At $4.49 this app is very good value, I love it and can see many individuals and classes having great fun with it.

My rating of this app is 9

3. 'Little Critter Collection 1' and 'Little Critter Collection 2' by Mercer Myer (Oceanhouse)

There are two 'Little Critter Collections' available written by the legendary author Mercer Myer. Each has ten short stories that are suited to younger readers (aged 3-6 years).  The ten short stories in the second collection include 'Just Go to Bed', 'Just Going to the Dentist', 'Just Granpa and Me', 'What a Bad Dream' and 'Just me and My Cousin'. At $15.99 for the set they represent good value.

Like the Dr Seuss short story collection (reviewed above) the books have simple interactive elements, text highlighting and all illustrations are labelled. Touch the image and they are named for the reader, supporting basic word recognition.

The app also has the option to record your own narration which I'd prefer. You can also turn off the sound effects and interactivity if you want, which I think I'd be tempted to do for most readers who want to enjoy the story not do word recognition by tapping the pictures.

My rating of this app is 7

4. 'The Grunts: Beard of Bees' by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Axel Schefler (Nosy Crow)

This free game is a clever marketing strategy for Philip Ardagh's 'Grunts' books that are illustrated by Axel Schefler. The app itself is a lot of silly fun, with the player trying desperately to give Mr Grunt a beard made from bees. This scenario of course is one of the events from the first electronic title in the series, 'The Grunts in Trouble'. This is the outrageous story of Mr and Mrs Grunt and their son, Sunny. Of course, Sunny isn’t really their son, as they stole him off a washing line when he was a baby. The story follows their adventures in a badly homemade caravan, drawn by Clip and Clop (donkeys) and their encounter with a household of disgruntled servants from nearby Bigg House, as well as a swarm of angry bees and assorted mischief along the way.

The second title just released is 'The Grunts all at Sea' with other titles to appear soon.  In the second book Mr Grunt is a man with a mission. He has to get a Person of Great Importance (or POGI) to someone called Mrs Bayliss by the twenty-fifth. Alive and well of course. And he can't tell anyone more than that, not even his lovely wife, because there will be people trying to snatch the POGI and so the POGI must be transported in secret. It's an exciting adventure. You're right, it sounds like a lot of fun. If your children like the best (most outrageous?) of Roald Dahl's tales then they will like these stories.

The books are over 200 pages long (with illustrations) and will suit readers aged 7-11 years. I have to say that the complex interface between free app, iTunes and the Nosy Crow website is clunky and I wonder why the publisher doesn't just sell the books via iTunes.

My rating of this app is 7.5

5. 'Grendel's Great Escape' (HD) by Michelle Anaya and illustrated by Kenny DeWitt

This is an interactive story about a boy named Martin and his pet ferret Grendel.  The story takes us along with Martin and his pet on a show and tell day adventure. We can help Martin find his favourite Monster Tee, tackle the laundry monster, catch his ferret and get to school on time. The app allows the reader to join Martin in his race against time to find Grendel while avoiding the grizzly school Principal.

This simple app is filled with over 50 interactive elements and animations that are of high quality. It also has the usual read to me and read by myself options.  One thing it doesn't have (that will please parents and teachers) is any external links to other sites and products. The app is great value at just $2.99.

My rating of this app is 8

6. 'The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores' by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Oceanhouse Media)

I just love the Berenstain Bears and so do most children aged 4-7 years. In this story a crisis occurs within the Bear family because Papa Bear and the cubs seem to avoid all the normal chores around the house. Mama Bear decides that two can play at this game and so stops doing them as well. The consequences are a disaster and of course something must change. Guess who has to change?!

The illustrations and text are delightful and will engage younger readers. The story has the Berenstain charm and magic. The app is available for $3.99 US.

My rating of this app is 8

7. 'A Shiver of Sharks' by Judy Hedlund (Little Bahalia Publishing)

This HD app is a sequel to 'A Troop is a Group of Monkeys' and was written by Judy Hedlund and illustrated by Pamela Baron. It is all about the creatures of the sea. It has good animation and lots of interactive elements. The text on each page is simple and highlights a single creature, a creative collective noun and a simple statement for each. Each has related and appropriate sound and animation. For example:

'A cast of crabs scuttles sideways at sea'
'A screech of gulls snatches picnic debris'
'A risk of lobsters cuts food with sharp claws'
'A battery of barracudas hunts a school of small fish'

The animations work as you touch the screen and the audio offers complementary sounds. For example, the page with the cast of crabs has the sound of waves washing the shore, and the barracudas make snapping noises (and open their mouths) when you touch them. The app is in high definition but most people won't see much difference in quality compared to SD apps.

I love this app and at $3.99 give it a high recommendation.

My rating of the app is 9

8. 'Meet the Insects: Water and Grass Edition' (NCSOFT)

This is the 3rd and latest app from NCSOFT in a series about insects (previous apps were 'Forest Edition' and the 'Village Edition'). It is an app that children interested in natural history will love. It presents a huge amount of knowledge about insects using varied written texts, images, videos, animations, interactive stories and a wonderful observation manual. It is a large app at over 500 MB but I wouldn't allow this to put you off.

The app is easy to use with the home screen offering a comprehensive set of options to sample multimedia, the journal, a quiz, or just explore insects. The observation journal is a fantastic aid. It offers the user a page for every day, with the options to add titles, weather conditions, photos, where it was spotted etc. It would work well for individuals, a class or even a family.

This will be a great app for classroom teachers to use as part of natural science or will be a very popular app with children who love the natural world.

The app has two quizzes that children will enjoy completing, although they are quite simple and won't test children with a good knowledge of science.

My rating of the app is 9

9. 'The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins' by Dr Seuss (Oceanhouse Media)

'The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins' is one of my favourite Dr Seuss books. It is essentially the tale of a boy who when he needs to take his hat off to honour the king - who is passing by - finds that there are 499 other hats under his first hat. Taking off the hat doesn't prove to be easy!

King Derwin demands "hats off to the King", but poor Bartholomew can't manage it. He is taken to the royal throne room and brought before the King's magicians to solve the problem.

A wonderful Dr Seuss title that children aged 4-8 will enjoy. It is priced at $5.49 US.

My rating of the app is 7.5

10. 'Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really BIG Adventure' written and illustrated by Kristina Stephenson (KIWA Media)

This wonderful story app is a delightful story about courageous Sir Charlie Stinky Socks who sets out on a BIG Adventure. With his trusty grey mare and Envelope the cat, Sir Charlie and the reader can explore the deep dark forest, hear the monstrous trees groan, terrible beasts moaning and wiggly woos that cannot wait to tickle your toes. Sir Charlie doesn't flinch when he meets the beasties, or the dragon, or the wily witch, but when he comes across the princess, he realises he's met his match! As you read the app you are part of the trials of Sir Charlie defying the drooling monsters and the fire-breathing dragon to save the day. This is an innocent tale of a boy who wants adventure and finds it to be surprising and not quite he was expecting.

The app makes excellent use of sound and numerous animation features that allow readers to touch, drag and shake the iPad. These features will keep children coming back to the app (but they aren't the main game), but hopefully the wonderful images and interesting text will keep them there.  It has other features such as the option to colour in outline versions of images and children can record themselves reading the story. One feature that I like a lot is that the option to touch the text and hear it has a word by word option (which I've criticized in the past) and the ability to hear phrases, lines and sentences with a swipe of the text. This is a great feature and encourages the use of context, meaning and syntax.

This app was winner of the Practical Pre-School Bronze medal and shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book award. It sells for $5.49 and is suitable for children aged 3-6 years.

My rating of the app is 9
 
11. 'I Love My Dad' by Anna Walker (Snappyant)

This is a lightly animated and interactive app based on the popular children's book, 'I Love My Dad' (published in 2009 by Scholastic Press). It was written by Australian author and illustrator Anna Walker. Anna works with ink, pencil and collage to create her beautiful images. It is a delightful story with great sound effects. The story is simple but beautifully written.

 The story is centred on Ollie, a gorgeous lively Zebra and Fred the dog. The central character (and narrator) of the story loves his Dad. The language use is so authentic, every word is well chosen, and the actual reader on the app has a delightful and appropriate male voice. As we read along, we go with Ollie as he plays and enjoys a fun day with his Dad. And as we do so, we can touch the characters on every page and make them move along with the narrative. We can make Ollie ride his bike, help him to swing in the tree, paint the fence, go down the slide and we can even move the playground equipment. But soon it is time for bed and Dad falls asleep reading to Ollie. This is a beautiful bedtime story that all children aged 2-5 years will love. It sells for $4.49. 

My rating of the app is 9.5

12. 'McElligot's Pool' by Dr Seuss (Oceanhouse Media)

Marco casts his fishing line into McElligot's pool and wonders what sea creatures might bight if this pool is connected (perhaps) to an underground river that starts at the pool and flows to distant places.  Might some strange and wonderful fish be on their way to his hook this very moment? He wonders, "Will I catch a fish with a pinwheel-like tail! I might catch a fish who has fins like a snail!" His over-active imagination takes him through a world of possibilities, as he considers wild creatures with unusual habits! The book has the typical Oceanhouse features. Switch off the word recognition facility of it is a distraction so that your readers can just enjoy the wonderful Seuss story. It is available for $4.99 US. Readers aged 4-10 will enjoy this book.

My rating of the app is 7

Fear of the 'other' - How books can help develop understanding

People have a tendency to fear the unknown, and this includes people who are different to us. I have argued in previous posts (here & here) that literature can teach us a great deal about life, including giving us greater understanding of people of other races, personalities, genders, faiths and so on.  Literature brings great pleasure but it also teaches us and can impact on us emotionally. It passes on aspects of our cultural traditions, it introduces us to other cultures and it teaches us about our world, its history, its people and what it is to be human. A piece of literature is more than just a good story. I wrote in one of my books (Pathways to Literacy, Cairney 1995, p.77-78) that literature can act as:

• A mirror to enable readers to reflect on life problems and circumstances
• A source of knowledge
• A source of ideological challenge
• A means to peer into the past, and the future
• A vehicle to other places
• A means to reflect on inner struggles
• An introduction to the realities of life and death
• A vehicle for the raising and discussion of social issues

In this post I revisit (essentially re-publish a previous older post) to look at a group of books that I would loosely term books that help children to become aware of the 'other'. The concept of 'otherness' has its roots in continental philosophy. The German philosopher Hegel was one of the first to use the concept. The notion of the 'Other' is important in defining our sense of self.  In the social sciences it is also used to help us understand the way we exclude groups within our society or across broad cultural boundaries.  The emergence of a sense of the ‘other’ is one of the ways that children first become aware of those who are different and to differentiate between that which can create fear, and that which is familiar and certain. Lithuanian-French philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas helped to popularise the term in modern times and suggested that a sense of the other comes before our need to respond by ignoring, rejecting, helping and so on.

Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale 'The Ugly Duckling' first published in 1843 is a fairytale that speaks directly to this theme.  As the young ducks grew older they could see that the last 'duck' was not like them: 'He's too big!" "You're appallingly ugly!" "I wish you were miles away". They struggle to work out how to deal with his difference, "But why should we care so long as you don't marry into our family?"  While the 'Ugly Duckling' and other stories often speak of many things, some have the wonderful quality of shifting children's focus beyond themselves, to become aware of the other, to understand their difference, and to re-shape their sense of self as they see themselves in relation to those who are 'other' than themselves.

The books that follow are just a 'light' sample of the many books available for young readers. I have mainly chosen picture books but there are many children's novels that include this theme. I may re-visit this theme for older readers later. I have also used some sub-headings to offer a sense of just some of the senses of 'difference' that are brought into focus.

1. The Aged

'Remember Me' by Margaret Wild & Dee Huxley (illustrator)

Margaret Wild's delightful book centres on the first person narrative of a grandmother who talks about her life and how frustrating it is when she forgets things. Her granddaughter is her little helper, enabling her to survive the day. While Wild's intent is to look specifically at memory loss and how it impacts on the aged, it also offers an insight into how this is read and responded to by others. In time the woman even forgets her granddaughter; but by mentally reliving her experience of the little girl (from birth to the present) she remembers her and the little girl promises that she'll be around to help her remember.  The older person with failing memory is not a problem, but someone to be loved, supported and learned from. And of course, in the process, our lives are enriched.

Other examples in this category include 'Wilfrid, Gordon McDonald Partridge' by Mem Fox & Julie Vivas (illustrator). This is probably my favourite Mem Fox book.  Another example is 'Waiting for May' by Thyrza Davey. In this wonderful story a social worker wants an old man 'Old Alec' living on a houseboat in Queensland with his dog to move to a retirement home. He 'escapes' to avoid this fate but in escaping his fate, a fierce storm and a little young boy change everything.

2. The person of different race or ethnicity

'The Burnt Stick' (1995) by Anthony Hill & Mark Sofilas (illustrator)

This novel for younger readers (8-10 years) is set in Australia prior to the 1960s.  It is the story of a young Australian aboriginal boy named John Jagamarra, who had been taken (like thousands of other Indigenous children) from his family. John was taken from his mother by the Welfare Department of the day, and sent to live with his white Father at the Pearl Bay Mission for Aboriginal Children. He grew up in this beautiful place, but he knew it was not like being home with his mother and his people.  He remembers how the 'Big Man from Welfare' had come and taken him away. His story illustrates how well intentioned government policy at the time failed to deal with the problems of Indigenous communities and failed to understand the full needs of people 'other' than themselves. While the story positions us as reader to see the tragedy of the 'Stolen Generation' through John's eyes, at the same time it offers child and adult readers the chance to consider the issues of racial difference and how we understand, live with and when necessary, reach out to people other than ourselves.

Mark Sofilas' wonderful charcoal images add a haunting and powerful additional dimension to the story. The Children's Book Council of Australia named it Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 1995.

Another more recent exploration of this theme is Matt Ottley's epic picture book 'Requiem for a Beast' (which I have reviewed HERE), that uses story (in picture book form), image and music to explore the painful experiences of the 'Stolen Generation' and in the process helps us to learn much about ourselves and how the non-Indigenous are positioned relative to Indigenous Australians. This book is a picture book for secondary aged readers, not young children.

Yet another wonderful book that offers a greater understanding of Indigenous Australians is 'Playground' (2011) that was compiled by Nadia Wheatley with illustrations and design by Ken Searle. It was short-listed for the 2011 Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Awards. This is an unusual book isn't quite a graphic novel, but then again, it isn't simply a reference book.  Drawing on the stories of 80 Indigenous Australian Elders, 20 Indigenous secondary students and with Indigenous Historian Dr Jackie Huggins as adviser and critical friend, Nadia Wheatley has created a unique collaborative work.  The book offers a wonderful insight into experiences of childhood for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 1900 to the present.

With stunning photographs and illustrations, it takes us into the daily life of Indigenous children (past and present) who are connected with their land from birth. The stories and drawings help the reader to understand Indigenous life in all its facets - learning, playing, understanding and respecting the earth, the first days of life, relationships in families, what 'home' was, languages, daily food gathering and hunting, the place of song, dance, art and ceremony.  With the arrival of European people there have been adaptations, but Indigenous children remain embedded in their culture. Daily life is different, but Indigenous children are still learning from country and community. This book would be a good introduction for readers who want to know more about Indigenous people not simply read their stories.

I have written more about Indigenous literature here.

From the difficult, to the simpler rendering of this theme, Dr Seuss has also written a number of examples that touch on 'otherness'.  'The Sneetches' is an obvious one that tells of two types of creatures (Sneetches) one with a Star on their bellies and the other without. Needless to say one felt superior and the other inferior. One day a man arrives with the perfect solution, a machine that can add a star to the belly. But without the stars how could the 'superior' group differentiate itself? The man had the solution, his machine could take the stars off (!) the Sneetches who were the original 'Star Belly' kind.

But perhaps an example even closer to the theme is 'What was I scared of?' a funny story about a small creature who while walking at night is confronted by a pair of pale green pants that are out walking by themselves. He is terrified when on each walk he sees them. But of course it turns out that the pants were just as scared of him and finally all is resolved:

And, now we meet quite often,

Those empty pants and I,

And we never shake or tremble.

We both smile

And, we say

"Hi!"

3. The person in different social circumstances

'Way Home' by Libby Hathorn & Gregory Rogers(illustrator)

This is the story of Shane, a young street kid (which isn't revealed until the end of the story), who finds a lost kitten. The story takes us through the city streets to Shane’s ‘house’; which the kitten will share with him. The illustrations by Gregory Rogers portray Sydney at night. They show the constant shift (which is part of Shane's life) from busy streets ablaze with lights to dark and sometimes threatening back alleyways. There are hazards and dangers for Shane and the tiny kitten at every turn. The story offers an insight into the life of the homeless and is a poignant story of two survivors. Suitable for 7-10 years olds.

4. Understanding the 'other' gender 

There have been many books that look at differences of gender. A recent author who has focused on this theme is Aaron Blabey. His first book 'Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley' is about friendship and relationships. Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley are the best of friends, but they are different in almost every way. Pearl likes solving mysteries and moves rather fast in the world; Charlie likes taking baths and watching his garden grow. So how can Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley be such good friends? Because that which is in the 'other' can complement that which is in him or her.  The book won the Children's Book Council Award for Picture Book of the year in 2009.

Blabey continues tangentially with a variation on theme in his second and third books 'Sunday Chutney' and 'Stanley Paste'.  In these, his first person narratives are more focused on how the child copes with their difference rather than us coping with the other. The rather unusual girl Sunday Chutney is always moving from school to school due to her Dad's jobs, coping with difference and awkwardness all the time. 

In 'Stanley Paste' we learn of the very small boy (Stanley Paste), who hates his size, until one day a new girl arrives at school who is very tall. Like Stanley, she hates the way she is. They become good friends and see different things in each other than many of the other kids at school who have made their lives miserable.

Summing Up

Each of the books above does much more than just present the theme that I have pointed to. However, the concept of 'otherness' is an important one in life and each book offers children the opportunity to consider who they are and how do they situate themselves relative to the 'other'; This is just one example of how literature does more than simply present enjoyable narrative accounts.

Other posts

All previous 'Key Themes' posts HERE

'So Many Sounds' - Why do Kids Love Sounds?

Claire Chadwick has just publisher her first book titled 'So Many Sounds' (Rydell Books, 2013). Trevor Salter has been illustrated it. This post is part of a blog tour that features Claire and her book. From birth children are interested in sound. Indeed, there is evidence that suggests that they first listen to sound from the womb. Anyone who has children, or has spent time with children, will understand the power of sound to gain children's interest.

My 6th grandchild taught me not that long ago just how much I used sound to communicate with young children. One day while exploring the back yard together with my granddaughter Lydia - who at the time was just 15 month old - I suddenly realised that she was mimicking the sounds I made almost instinctively as we spent time together. As I lifted her up, tickled her belly, washed her hands, swung her around, or bounced her up and down, I would use a type of sound accompaniment to parallel our action. 'Squelch, shlopp, woosh...' as I washed her hands for lunch. 'Jkooo' as I tickled her belly. 'Whoosh' as I swung her through the air and 'Per-lop' as I placed her in the high chair. As we wandered around the yard, I noticed that Lydia was copying every one of my sounds. Her attention had not only been gained by my use of sounds, she had turned the 'game' back on me to get my attention.

In her first children's book Claire Chadwick has taken this natural love of sounds and tried to do what many other authors have tried to do before her. Authors like Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and Pamela Allen have all made good use of sound, rhyme and the rhythm of language to good effect. Claire has used sound in association with a simple story structure to keep a basic narrative idea moving forward. Each day a little girl - the central character in this simple narrative - has a new experience associated with rich sounds, but always there is a promise that on Saturday something even more special will happen.

On Sunday we had a barbeque at 

Uncle Mike's house.

Sizzle-Sizzle

hissed the sausages

as they fried on the grill.

Swish-Swoosh

flapped the cotton tablecloth

as it fluttered in the air.

Sizzz-Sizzz

snored Granpa's nose

as he dozed under the gum tree.

Sunday was sensational.

So many sounds singing in my ears.

"Yes, but wait till you hear what happens

on Saturday," said Uncle Mike.

When Saturday comes the little girl is NOT disappointed. Congratulations to Claire on this first book that will delight children and 0-5 years. If you visit her website you will also find a number of free activities that relate to the book.

If you'd like a free electronic version of the book I have two copies to give away thanks to Claire.

How to excite boys about school and learning?

In a recent article in 'The Atlantic' Jessica Lahey called on schools to 'stop penalizing boys for not being able to sit still at school'. The article was motivated by her observations of boys as a secondary teacher and her reading of the findings of research on boys published by the International Boys’ Schools Coalition’s 'Teaching Boys: A global study of effective practices'. Her teaching of secondary school boys suggested that while some struggled at school, others thrived. What is the ingredient that leads to inconsistency? Is it simply within the boys, or are there factors external to the boys that are at work?

As a young boy I experienced first hand what it means to move from being a talented and successful boy in the primary school years, to being a struggling students who was often in trouble as a teenager. At secondary school I slipped from A classes to B classes and then found myself struggling with a number of subjects. However, my achievements varied across subject. While in some classes I was rebellious and disengaged, in others I was motivated and successful. This is not an uncommon experience for boys. Some teachers, subjects and even lessons work for boys, while others don't. Why? Is the answer in the curriculum? The content? The child? Or something else?

The research work by Dr Michael Reichert and Dr Richard Hawley set out to find answers to questions such as these, and concluded that the problem wasn't just within the boys. They interviewed teachers and students and observed effective lessons in eighteen participating schools from North America, UK, South Africa and Australasia. They found that the most effective lessons for boys included a number of common elements:

• They required students to be active learners (physical activities were a key)
• The teacher embedded desired learning outcomes in the form of a game or fun activities
• The lessons required individuals or groups of students to build, design, or create something that was judged competitively by classmates
• They required students to present the outcome of their work to other students
• They asked students to assume a role, declare and defend a position, or speak persuasively about something
• The lessons held student attention by surprising them with some kind of novelty element
• Lessons addressed something deep and personal in the boys’ lives; they engaged at a deeper personal level.

Getting a sense of scale!

Reichart and Hawley concluded that the learning problem wasn't due to the limitations of the boys, but rather the failure of lessons to actively engage them. What they found when they observed effective lessons in the eighteen participating schools from North America, UK, South Africa and Australasia, was that relatively simple changes in classroom pedagogy made a difference for boys.

The common features in successful lessons for boys were active learning, movement, teamwork, competition, consequential performance, risk taking, and surprise.  They concluded that successful lessons required teachers to engage and energize boys. They also found that boys were deeply relational and that the establishment of a positive relationship between teachers and boys is critical.

This last point is important. Over many years I have often asked students to name a great teacher and then to say why. The reasons given vary, and are typically idiosyncratic. But within each of the responses, invariably the student indicates that the teacher 'took an interest in them', 'understood them', 'saw some potential in them', 'got them interested in learning' and generally excited and engaged them. The general thrust of this work and its findings is that rather than simply blaming boys for their under performance, we need to seek different approaches in our classrooms to help to engage them as learners.

The excitement of chemistry

In my own life I can think of three teachers who made a difference to my life - Mr Campbell (Grade 4), Mr Blaze (Grade 7) and Mr Hoddle (Grade 11). My memories of them are rich but the methods they used to engage me were very simple (and in one case unconventional). All had a deep commitment to their teaching and empathy for their students. They wanted me to learn and saw potential within me that other teachers weren't able to see. Mr Campbell when confronted with a new aquarium in his classroom turned to me one day and said, "I'd like you to find out all that you can about tropic fish". He gave me a book and sent me off to find out about them and how to care for them. Several weeks later he asked me to present a mini-lesson to the class on tropical fish.  I was now the school expert on tropical fish!

My grade 6 maths teacher Mr Blaze (he was also my home room teacher, and cricket coach) overheard a student ridiculing me one day in class because I was overweight. He turned to the boy and said "I'll tell you what Meli, I bet TC will beat you in the cross-country race this week". He proceeded to set a wager, with the winner to receive $10 from his pocket. Now I had no intention prior to this of going in that race. But I did, and ended up $10 richer.

Mr Hoddle simply showed me that geography could be exciting by sharing his love of the subject and something of his life with a small group of senior students. He made it interesting by setting tasks that made us explore, solve problems and work collaboratively with others. And all the while he was interested in our lives and us.

The power of experience

None of these teachers used startling methods, and Mr Blaze used one that was positively dodgy, but all showed an ability to understand me and to try to reach and engage me. They also sought to understand me relationally, treating me with respect, believing in me and somehow, helping me to believe in myself. That's the art of good teaching for boys (and girls as well).

Boys and girls are different and as such at times require us to seek different approaches and forms of engagement. It is easy to dismiss boys who act out in classrooms as simply a pain in the neck for the teacher, but the acting out usually has some source and foundation. Just what is it, and how do we respond? The work of Michael Reichert and Richard Hawley offer us some clues and ways forward.

Jessica Lahey concludes her excellent article with these wise words:

"Educators should strive to teach all children, both girls and boys by acknowledging, rather than dismissing, their particular and distinctive educational needs."

My Previous Posts on Boys

I have written a number of posts on education for boys HERE