For Parents

The Impact of Books We Love

By on July 11, 2012   /   For Parents  

I’ve always been interested in psychology, and definitely always had an interest in books. So when the two combine into one lovable study of how great characters impact our behavior, well, the researchers had me at hello.

The researchers were from Tiltfactor Laboratories at Dartmouth College. Two of the researchers, Geoff Kaufman and Lisa Libby, wanted to gain a better understanding of this very question. What they found in a recent study surprised them.

It’s called “experience taking,” a phenomenon where a reader identifies closely with a character and thus take on the same emotions, beliefs, thoughts, and even actions of that character.

“Experience taking can be a powerful way to change our behavior and thoughts in meaningful and beneficial ways,” said Libby.

For example, in one experiment, researchers found that readers who identified with a character who overcame great obstacles in order to vote were more likely to vote in a real election only days later. Other experiments produced similar results, proving that a great character will do more than entertain us, or even influence our opinions. A great character can change our behavior.

So for anyone interested in middle grade books, why does this matter? Because scientists also say that the ages when children are most impressionable are in the middle reader years. If an adult whose behaviors are relatively formed can be impacted, then what about a third, fourth, or fifth grader, who is still deciding who he or she will become?

If the study holds up, then a reader who identifies with Meg from A Wrinkle in Time may become more protective of others. The reader who enjoys Turtle from The Westing Gamemay become more curious. And if readers strongly identify with Harry Potter, then they may be more likely to act bravely, defend others, and behave compassionately.

But Kaufman and Libby warn the influence can go both ways. While Harry Potter is heroic, he is certainly also a rule breaker. A reader may not imitate the behavior and also break important rules, but, according to Kaufman, he “may try to understand or justify the actions [the character] is committing.”

This isn’t to say that children should only be exposed to characters who never make mistakes, never have flaws, and never fail. In fact, a character who has to overcome his weaknesses or fix her errors might help the reader anticipate the consequences of their own actions. Children may avoid certain pitfalls if they can vicariously learn from the mistakes of their favorite characters.

But this study does suggest that parents of middle school readers should know what their children are reading, because it can have an impact on who they become. And authors of middle grade books should remember that their characters might do more than entertain for an afternoon. They can change lives.

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Reading Beyond The Lists

By on June 29, 2012   /   For Parents, Op-Ed  

There might be one lurking in the pile of papers on your counter. Maybe one is hiding in the depths of your child’s backpack. Perhaps one is stuck to your refrigerator with a cutesy magnet from your last vacation. Aliens? Zombies? Unicorns? No, book lists.

Whether they are assigned, suggested, or chosen, book lists are popular ways of navigating bookstore and library shelves. Yet, part of the joy of reading is in discovery. I think we may be doing a disservice to our kids if we rely too heavily on lists, especially if we allow the lists to prevent our kids from developing their own book hunting instincts.

When I began educating my children at home, I became aware of the Charlotte Mason Method, an educational philosophy popular among home-schoolers of all creeds and faiths. Those familiar with this method will recognize the terms twaddle and living books. Mason advocates the use of narratives and biographies, what she would call living books, over dull, dry, piecemeal textbooks. The latter she calls twaddle, and that definition has grown to include what those of us in the industry refer to as mass market books. Twaddle encompasses books that are deemed to be fluff, without educational merit, or watered down.

I have seen this anti-twaddle position outside of the home-school community as well, even if the same terms are not used. I fully understand that parents desire quality reading material for their children, and that viewpoints on moral and cultural content may vary. However, I am bothered when parents solely rely on lists, many of which are stagnant and seldom include children’s literature published within the last few decades. The word twaddle carries a derisive connotation, and I cringe when it is sweepingly used to describe contemporary children’s literature.

Jeff Carney, an Associate Professor of English at Snow College in Utah, states, “If you want kids to write well (and thus to do well in school and in life) they must be able to read well. My best students are avid readers. My worst can’t stand reading. It’s really that simple. Obviously, different kids grow to love reading in different ways. The important thing is that it happens in the first place. If twaddle plays a role in there somewhere (perhaps part of a mixed diet?) I don’t see how it can matter.”

I believe that sticking too closely to recommended reading lists can be like the new recess rules popping up at elementary schools. No tag. No running. No pumping your legs on the swings. Perhaps these rules keep a child safer, but they also dampen excitement, joy, and discovery. It isn’t healthy to box in our bodies or our minds. 

Naturally, parents want to guide their children’s selections. Book lists are a great tool for that. They are also a good starting place if you are totally lost about where to begin, but there is adventure to be found beyond the lists.

This summer, encourage your children to read a variety of books in the same way you encourage them to eat a variety of foods. Realize that choosing a light read is probably no more harmful than sampling the pickle flavored snow cone from the ice cream truck. Skip into your library. Search the shelves the way you’d hunt for seashells on the beach. Pump your legs, swing high, and soar into summer reading.

 

 

Graphics courtesy of  Open Clip Art Library.

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Summer Writing Prompts for Young Writers (and Readers!)

By on June 22, 2012   /   For Parents, For Teachers  
courtesy of Anjali Enjeti on Pinterest

 

Last year, a fantastic blog post called How to Be a Writer was making the rounds among my writerly friends. Those of us who are also parents seemed particularly interested, since the essay was as much about being a writer as it was about raising a writer. Under the question “What should you do to help your child pursue her dreams of becoming a writer?”, it included fantastic advice like:

  • First of all, let her be bored. Let her have long afternoons with absolutely nothing to do. Limit her TV-watching time and her internet-playing time and take away her cell phone.
  • Let her be lonely. Let her believe that no one in the world truly understands her.
  • Let her sit outside at night under the stars. Give her a flashlight to write by.

and then of course there was my favorite:

  • Let her fail. Let her write pages and pages of painful poetry and terrible prose. Let her write painfully bad fan fiction. Don’t freak out when she shows you stories about Bella Swan making out with Draco Malfoy. Never take her writing personally or assume it has anything to do with you, even if she only writes stories about dead mothers and orphans.

Fantastic advice, yes?

But I guess the question still remains, how do we teachers, parents, writers and readers concretely encourage our young people to love words and stories? (I mean, beyond the making sure our children feel lonely, misunderstood, in the dark, and are writing extraordinarily improbable romantic fanfic mashups!)

I’ve always believed that encouraging our children to read – read widely, and read a lot — is a sure fire way to raise writers and readers. That, and lots of fun family read-alouds (ideally with lots of fantastic voices!) But, this summer, along with spending long and delicious hours in our local library (before, after, and some days, both before and after going to the local pool) I’m going to try something new. Inspired by writer Anjali Enjeti, and her fantastic pinterest board of summer writing prompts for young people, I’m going to give my children daily summer writing prompts. (Full disclosure, Anjali recently invited me to write an essay as part of another great project in which she’s asking all sorts of writers the question, “When do you write?” She kindly agreed to publish my rant on Virginia Wolf, Star Trek, mothering, writing, intergalactic wormholes, and the time-space continuum. Brave woman, clearly.)

So, just today, we bought some notebooks for the kids – middle grade readers now both. We kept an eye out for line spacing, and ease of writing. Too often in the past, I’ve bought the kids gorgeous hard bound journals which are too hard to open and write all the way into the binding. But it was important to me that the kids feel excited, and recognize that the project was a chance for them to make their mark. A new (even inexpensive, spiral) notebook can be a sign that their mark counts.

I’m going to try to use some of Anjali’s prompts, but keep myself open to letting the kids suggest their own prompts. Although, my 7 year old daughter is already clamoring to try Anjali’s “Try writing a new ending to an old fairy tale.”

In doing some other research for prompts, I found this site of tips for summer or classroom journal writing, including great tips like: “Ask children to write their journal 20 years in the future. The journal entry date will be the same day and month as the the current date, however, the year is twenty years in the future. Kids will have to imagine and write about their future life. A nine-year-old will be writing as if he or she were 29.”

Although I’m not 100% sure what “pattern based writing” is, and if I approve of it (!), this site seemed to have some great prompts, including: “1.  My lazy days cause my parents to… 2. It gets hotter and hotter and hotter and pretty soon everyone is…”

And just to give you plenty of sites to chose from, here’s one more, which suggests prompts such as: 1. “Describe one time when you were brave.” 2. “Imagine you woke up and saw a dinosaur in your backyard. Write a story telling what you see and do.”and 3. “Write a story titled, “My journey on a pirate ship. You and your friends can star in the story.”

I imagine prompts could be readerly as well – Anjali’s suggestion to find a new ending to an old fairy tale could be used with any recently read and beloved book. Middle grade fanfic could involve new adventures with old favorite characters:  Judy Moody! Clementine! Harry Potter! Percy Jackson! Another readerly suggestion might be for a child write herself into a favorite storybook plot or setting – Narnia! Wonderland! Pioneer Times! The possibilities are endless.

The only other ‘rules’ I’ve thought about is to have my kids write every morning, when everyone is fresh. Perhaps 15 minutes after breakfast before the day really gears up. Otherwise, I’d like to keep it as low key and enjoyable as possible. I’ll probably write along with the kids too!

Have you, dear MUF readers, had experience with summer writing prompts? Do you have any favorites you use?

courtesy microsoft clip art

 

Sayantani DasGupta has her summers off from her “day job” teaching graduate school – which means lots of time with her 9 and 7yo kids during the days, many hours at the local library and swimming pool. She tries to squeeze her writing in to the long summer nights – but imagines she might actually write a bit WITH the kids this summer too!

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