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Focus
on Fiction: Your Online Companion to K-12 Literature
is a paper presented by Jill Midolo, CMIS Department of
Education and Training (WA) at the combined conference
of the International Association of School Librarianship
and the School Library Association, held in Dublin, Republic
of Ireland, 17-20 June 2004.
Titled From
Aesop to E-book: the Story Goes On
the conference theme centred on the power of story.
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Focus on Fiction, the Curriculum Materials Information Services
website is widely respected throughout Australia as a comprehensive
online gateway to children’s literature. It aims to help
teachers to utilise the power of stories to develop engaged
readers within Western Australia.
Our focus encompasses teachers across all learning areas and
teacher librarians in K-12 schools.
This SLA/IASL
conference theme centres on ‘the
power of story to change lives, to empower, to unite, to explore
the internal and external world, and how school libraries can
play a crucial role in developing readers’.
This workshop session will investigate the content of Focus
on Fiction and the ways it can be used to create class or
library programs that integrate the latest online technologies
into literature-based programs.
The
Eric Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication reported
in ERIC Digest
D149, December 1999 that teachers were
looking for four main types of online materials to support their
lessons:
- literature-based lesson plans
- aids to materials selection
- online publications for and by K-12
students, and
- professional development resources.
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A major revamp of the CMIS website at the
end of 1998 divided Focus on Fiction into six sections:
- Authors and Illustrators
- Children’s Book Week
- Book Awards
- In the Classroom
- Which Book?
- Keeping Informed
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Content in these sections focuses on providing
support for literature programs: books to read; background about
authors; classroom applications of online resources suitable
for literature programs; and professional development, which
covers the areas reported in the ERIC Digest.
Since 1998, a number of Australian and international reports
on children’s reading continue to shape the support service
we offer for teachers.
Five pieces of research
from this period have influenced our conviction that lifelong
reading for pleasure is critical to improving students’
reading competence and the continued enhancement of the Focus
on Fiction website.
- Young Australians
Reading: From keen to reluctant readers (2001)
Key findings included:
· 74% of all 10-18 year olds claim to like
reading to some extent
· 76% of primary and 46% of secondary students
read 'every few days'
· 64% would like to read more
· 56% of primary and 78% of secondary students
found required reading at school 'boring'
· girls are more likely to say they enjoy reading
than boys (86% vs 70%)
· fewer than 20% of the target group consider
their school or public libraries inviting or able
to meet their recreational reading needs
- Reading for Change
- Performance and Engagement Across Countries. Executive
Summary (2002)
The 2000 OECD Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) survey of 15-year-olds’ reading
literacy performance brought out some interesting
points about student reading, particularly in relation
to engagement in reading.
"These results show unequivocally that improvement
in reading literacy performance relies not just on
improving student cognitive skills but also on increasing
their engagement in reading ... not all of engaged
readers come from privileged homes, and those from
more modest backgrounds who read regularly and feel
positive about it are better readers than people with
home advantages but weaker reading engagement. This
strongly suggests that there is much that schools
can do to bring students into this virtuous circle
[of reading engagement], regardless of their home
background. Since cognitive skills and reading motivation
are mutually reinforcing in this process, rather than
being alternatives, schools need to address both simultaneously."
p. 19
The Australian
PISA Report noted that:
"Students in the Australian Capital Territory
achieved the highest Australian result on the reading
engagement index, significantly higher than the OECD
average, while students in Victoria, Queensland and
Western Australia achieved the lowest Australian results
on this index, significantly lower than the OECD average."
p. 130
- Student Learning
through Ohio School Libraries: The Ohio Research Study
(2003)
This study, undertaken by Dr. Ross
Todd and Dr. Carol Kuhlthau for the Ohio Educational
Library Media Association (OELMA), has thrown up some
interesting findings on the role of the school library
in relation to developing reading, especially for
secondary students.
In the article 13,000
Kids Can't Be Wrong, February 2004,
Ross was asked whether there were any surprises in
the study. His reply was:
"Students ranked general reading interests as
sixth [in order of importance in a school library].
This raises some interesting questions, because for
decades we've said that the school library is the
place for reading enrichment and encouragement and
for helping kids become better writers. It's clear
that libraries still do so, but it's a challenge for
school librarians to do that better. It's obvious
that school libraries help kids with general reading
interests, but kids perceive help in other areas,
such as computer technology, as more important."
More specifically, in his PowerPoint presentation,
Be still and listen
to the voices, March 2004,
Ross told participants that research tells us that
an effective school library is one that: "has
a vibrant literature / reading program for academic
achievement and personal enjoyment and enrichment".
However, he also noted that only 76.71% of students
agreed that "The school library has helped me
enjoy reading more" (Question 54 in the OELMA
Study) and 74.42% agreed that "The school library
has helped me get better at reading" (Question
53 in the OELMA Study).
These percentages are very low when compared with
the 96.84% of students who agreed that "The school
library has helped me know the different steps in
finding and using information" (Question 11 in
the OELMA Study).
- Zero to Six:
Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers
and Preschoolers (2003) This
report published online in the US by the widely respected
Kaiser Foundation found that:
"Children six and under spend an average of two
hours a day using screen media (1 hour 58 minutes),
about the same amount of time they spend playing outside
(2 hours 01 minutes), double the amount of time they
listen to music (59 minutes) and well over the amount
they spend reading or being read to (39 minutes)."
- Children's Participation
in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia (2004)
This recent Australian Bureau of
Statistics report shows that:
"Watching television or videos was the most popular
of all the selected activities and children spent
an average 22 hours over a school fortnight watching
television or videos. Reading for pleasure, and playing
electronic or computer games were also popular leisure
activities for children. Participants in these activities
spent an average of 8 hours over a school fortnight
involved in each of these activities."
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At CMIS, we have used findings from these
reports to amend and expand what we offer for teachers on our
Focus on Fiction website. We include a range of Information
and Communication Technologies (Audio, video, multimedia, Internet)
because these are formats that appeal to students and can enrich
their understanding and enjoyment of literature.
Most recently, as a result of reading Ray Doiron’s 2003
article Motivating
the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a Balanced Use of Children’s
Information Books, we are considering
establishing a major section on developing extended leisure
reading using nonfiction.
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- Authors
and Illustrators
Contains information about authors
and illustrators of children's and young adult literature
and links to those that have their own homepages.
Preference is given to Australians but notable international
authors and illustrators are continually being added.
- Children’s
Book Week
This section changes each year
to support the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s
annual Book Week and Awards. This year, the Book Week
theme is ‘Doorways’ and one of our staff
has prepared ideas and resources for the theme for
each of the WA Phases of Development. Teachers can
also access the complete CBCA Shortlist and follow
links to teaching notes, activities, author and illustrator
information, reviews, bibliographic details and book
covers.
- Book
Awards
Contains information about the
major Australian and international book awards for
children's and young adult literature. The awards
are all designed to promote an interest in reading
and to encourage quality writing, illustration and
publishing in the field. Included are both literary
awards judged by adults, and children's choice awards,
in which children vote for their favourite title.
There are also links to major literary awards for
adults, which may interest senior literature students
and teachers.
- In
the Classroom
This section is aimed at teachers
planning literature-based units for their students.
It contains suggested strategies for utilising fiction
to help students achieve learning outcomes; ideas
for motivating students to read more widely; and links
to general fiction-related resources, which are useful
starting points for curriculum planning.
- Which
Book?
Searching for a book to recommend
to an avid or reluctant reader? Compiling a list of
fiction to support curriculum themes? Wondering what
to read next? Looking for outstanding books not to
be missed? Which Book? contains reviews and bibliographic
details of books taken from the CMIS publications,
Primary Focus Fiction and Fiction Focus: New Titles
For Teenagers. Teachers, teacher librarians or other
professionals in the field of children's literature
have written the appraisals listed in these publications.
Novels, early chapter books, picture books and audio
books relevant to children and adolescents are included.
- Keeping
Informed
Here you will find reading to keep
you up-to-date with children's and young adult fiction,
current research into reading and literacy, plus information
about conferences and literature courses.
NB. The page from which
this presentation is run is in this section.
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When enriching your literature program in
this online world, look at what can you do now that is better
and/or different from what you could do pre-Internet [WWW and
email]. Some of this will relate to speed and effectiveness
rather than what you do - others will be things you could never
have done without these new tools. For example:
- contact/correspond with authors by
email and get almost instantaneous responses
- find out about books, authors, awards
… as they are published
- lesson plans from teachers throughout
the world
- children talk to others about books
in real time in widely different locations –
clubs, literature circles, book raps, blogs
- talk to other teachers and share ideas
in email lists, bulletin boards, chat rooms …
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You could Google to search for all of these things – but
a better way - is to use the resources we have already searched
out for you on the CMIS Focus on Fiction website.
Australian
Bureau of Statistics 2004
Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities,
Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, Belconnen, ACT
<www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/
abs@.nsf/0/0b14d86e14a1215eca2569d70080031c?OpenDocument>
Australian Centre
for Youth Literature 2001
Young Australians Reading: From keen to reluctant readers,
Prepared by Woolcott Research Pty Ltd for the Australian Centre
for Youth Literature and the Audience and Market Division of
the Australia Council, Australian Centre for Youth Literature,
Melbourne.
Doiron,
Ray 2003
‘Motivating the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a Balanced
Use of Children’s Information Books’, School
Libraries Worldwide, IASL vol. 9, no. 1 2003, pp. 39-49
Lu, Mei-Yu
1999
Online Resources for K-12 Teachers: Children's and Adolescent
Literature. ERIC Digest D149, Eric Clearinghouse on Reading,
English and Communication, Bloomington, Indiana
<www.ericdigests.org/2000-3/online.htm>
Mullis, I.V.S.,
Martin, M.O., Gonzalez, E.J., & Kennedy, A.M. 2003
PIRLS 2001 International Report: IEA’s Study of Reading
Literacy Achievement in Primary Schools, A report of the Progress
in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Chestnut
Hill, Massachusetts
<timss.bc.edu/pirls2001i/PIRLS2001_Pubs_IR.html>
Organisation for
Economic Co-Operation and Development 2002
Reading for Change - Performance and Engagement Across Countries,
2000 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA),
Paris, France
Full Paper
<www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/54/33690904.pdf>
Executive Summary
<www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/34/33690986.pdf>
Australian paper
<www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/35/33683381.pdf>
Rideout, Victoria
J, Vandewater, Elizabeth A, Wartella, Ellen A. 2003
Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers
and Preschoolers, Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park,
California
<www.kff.org/entmedia/3378.cfm>
Todd, Ross 2003
Student Learning through Ohio School Libraries: The Ohio
Research Study, Undertaken by Dr. Ross Todd and Dr. Carol
Kuhlthau for the Ohio Educational Library Media Association
(OELMA), available online at
<http://www.oelma.org/StudentLearning/SLFindings.asp>
Todd, Ross 2004
Be still and listen to the voices, PowerPoint presentation
at the School Library Association of Victoria conference From
Research to Practice March 2004, available online at
<www.slav.schools.net.au/downloads/08pastpapers/03researchtopractice/Todd_1_2004.ppt#1>
Whelan, Debra
Lau 2004
‘13,000 Kids Can't Be Wrong’, School Library
Journal, Issue 2, February 2004
<http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA377858>
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