Building Critical Thought through Children's Literature - Podcast Episode 47

Building Critical Thought through Children’s Literature – Podcast Episode 47 | Classnotes Podcast 47

Classnotes Podcast (February 2, 2009) Children’s literature can capture children’s hearts, making their encounters with reading fun and instructive. In addition to building literacy, teachers can use children’s literature to inspire both critical thought and creative thought in their students. Dr. Juanita García, an education associate at IDRA, describes how she uses children’s literature to encourage students to read deeply, analyze, question and make associations with the stories. Juanita is interviewed by Bradley Scott, Ph.D. director of the IDRA South Central Collaborative for Equity.

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Show length: 22:39

Resources

Hickory, Dickory, Dock…Critical Thinking and an Old Clock – Cultivating Thought with a Timeless Children’s Story
By Juanita C. García, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter

Sample Children’s Art from the Story “El Viejo Reloj”
Sample children’s art giving new jobs to numbers — kindergarteners

Sample children’s art giving new jobs to numbers — third graders

Sample children’s art giving new jobs to numbers — seventh and eighth graders

Sample art giving new jobs to numbers — teachers in workshop

Sample Classroom Lesson for El Viejo Reloj
by Dr. Juanita García

Los Regalos del Cuento: Accelerating Biliteracy with FLAIR
By Juanita C. García, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter

Hijas del Quinto Sol: Redefining Feminine Roles through Children’s Literature
By Juanita C. García, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter

Narratology: The Study of Story Structure
By Gordon Pradl, Eric Digest

Concept of Story
By Vironica Simmons and Annette Gebhardt

Inside the Picture, Outside the Frame: Semiotics and the Reading of Wordless Picture Books
Patricia A. Crawford and Daniel D. Hade

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Show Notes

Juanita García, Ph.D., recounts how she first learned about capturing children's hearts to make reading fun.

Juanita explains the important differences between critical thought and creative thought.

Juanita talks about engaging children of all ages, and gives an example by describing the clock story, El Viejo Reloj.

Juanita demonstrates the critical thinking skills that children learned by talking about the characters in the book.

Juanita lists ways teachers help build children's critical thinking skills and creative thought:
• Choose books that capture children's hearts.
• Understand the theme of the book and how it will relate to what kids already know.
• Think of activities to help children notice the words and illustrations in the book, and to connect those to their own world.

Juanita talks about how parents can use books to work with children's emotions.

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