Enjoy and Interpret Picture Books in a Child‐Centered Way

Abstract

Literature supports children's literacy growth in many ways. It helps children extend their understanding and clarify different situations in their lives, recognize and deal with feelings, and be more empathetic. Hands‐on activities based on stories support children in giving shape to their thoughts. These creative activities not only empower the children but also help teachers understand children's interpretations of literature better and build further on themes for discussions of literature. This article describes an instructional approach with a series of activities (stories, drawing, crafts and discussions) integrated with picturebooks. The activating methods can be used in classrooms to revitalize literature discussions while engaging different senses of all learners. This article gives teachers ready‐made materials for use in early childhood education.

Okul Öncesi Dönemde Kültürel Miras Eğitimine İlişkin Öğretmen Görüşleri: Denizli İli Örneği

“…Kültürel miras konusundaki eğitimde de çocukların yaş grupları da dikkate alınarak farklı etkinlikler geliştirilebilir. Özellikle her yaşta çocuğun hoşlandığı olayları hikayeleştirerek anlatmak bir yöntem olarak seçilebilir (Riihelä, 2001;Aerila ve Rönkkö, 2015). Masallar veya hikayeler geçmiş yaşanmışlıkları, inançları, duygu ve düşünceleri günümüze taşıyan sanat eserleri gibidir.…”

Emergent Readers and the Joy of Reading: A Finnish Perspective

“…The overwhelming favorite was the cardboard-box cottages, while they liked the ordinary classroom least (Figure 1). The children emphasized that being able to choose their reading place was important because a place without distractions helped them concentrate on reading (Aerila et al, 2015).…”

“…After repeated readings, their reading became more fluent. In addition, the children value the Reader's Theatre approach as a safe way to practice performing in front of others (Aerila & Rönkkö, 2015).…”

“…It is an activity that can be implemented through various art-based approaches in different modes: dramatizing, writing a story, drawing, or making a short movie. The aim is to produce a text that accords with the original text in terms of substance and style (Aerila & Rönkkö, 2015).…”

“…Because children's story endings visualise their thoughts, the lessons become more child-centred (see e.g. Aerila & Rönkkö, 2015).…”