Issues in the Selection of Literary Text for Children and Adolescents

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in SEE 22– Children and Adolescent

Submitted by:
Marvin S. Suril
BSEd 3 - C

Submitted to:
Mr. Reynaldo J. Ilumin
Subject Teacher

2nd Semester SY 2020 - 2021

 Educators incorporate literature not just to enhance learners’ literacy skills, language learning
experience, and critical thinking, but also to teach them about the truths in life. It gives an
opportunity to the learners to have a glimpse of the reality of the world and can also help their
cognitive and emotional development. Thus, selecting literary pieces must be a meticulous
process in order to provide relevant and meaningful literature learning experience to the learners.
Factors such as instructional or curricular, personal aesthetic, gender, race, and ethnicity
influence teachers in choosing literature for child learners (Jipson and Paley, 1991). For
adolescent learners, factors in selecting literary pieces involve various matters such as
contemporariness, ability to relate students, literary merit, choice versus requirement, teacher
preference, and the students themselves, must be taken into account (Geogeghan, 2019).
Fadiman (2017) defined children's literature as “...the body of written works and
accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people.
The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of
world literature, picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy
tales, lullabies, fables, folk songs, and other primarily orally transmitted materials.” Children’s
literature is not necessarily written by children but texts that are written for children by adult
writers. According to Norton, as cited by Crippen (2012), the significance of children’s literature
is it give students the opportunities to respond to literature; it teaches students to appreciate their
cultural heritage as well as those of others; it can contribute in developing learner’s emotional
intelligence and creativity; it nourishes the growth of their personality and social skills; it serves
as a way to pass important literature and themes from one generation to the next. Hence,
selecting literary pieces for classroom use is a crucial process to get the most out of children’s
literature.
Jipson and Paley (1991) state that literary text selection for children in classroom use
seems to be one of the easiest curricular decisions a teacher can make although it is not. At first,
the process appears as it will depend on the popularity and the recommendations of the literary
texts for a given grade level, but the matter is not that simple. Jipson and Paley conducted a study
entitled “The Selective Tradition in Teachers’ Choice of Children’s Literature: Does It Exist in
the Elementary Classroom?” and it shows that literary text’s popularity and recommendations
only do a little in selecting a book for children in classroom use. The factors that influence
teachers in choosing literary texts are the appropriateness of the text within a larger instructional
context; personal preference for the book because of the story, author, illustrations, or award-
winning status; and recognition of gender, race, and ethnicity as important elements in the book
selection process (Jipson and Paley, 1991). Books offer an endless investment in the mind and
spirit so its selection deserves thoughtful attention (Children’s Book Council, 1995).
Teachers are aware that literature can be integrated with the different subject matter and
help learners obtain concepts. One of Jipson and Paleys' (1991) respondents in their study states
that she used the story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” in teaching the life cycle of a caterpillar.
The story features the stages of a caterpillar from a worm to a cocoon and a beautiful butterfly.
The relevance of the contents of a story to the teaching objectives and subject matter influences
and affects teacher’s decisions in selecting literary texts for children. Elementary teachers select
a particular children’s book because it offers an abundant amount of more contextually
meaningful ways to teach a particular skill or improve content instruction (Jipson and Paley,
1991).
           Personal preferences of both teachers and students affect the selection of literary texts in
children’s literature (Jipson and Paleys, 1991). If a particular book is a personal favorite of a
teacher or the students, relevance and interconnection among the learning objectives must be
present while providing engaging material to the learners. Children’s Book Council (1995)
suggests picture books that have beautiful stories and illustrations drive the interest of children
because it improves their aesthetic experience when reading a book. Jipson and Paleys (1991)
state that teachers were also influenced by beautiful artworks and quality illustrations of a certain
book in selecting their literary text and according to their study, a grade-one teacher chose the
story “Over in the Meadow” because it has beautiful artworks, and a grade-two teacher selected
the story “Moses the Kitten” due to its heartwarming and delightful illustrations of Peter Barret. 
Recognizing gender, race, and ethnicity plays an integral part in selecting literary texts
for children (Jipson and Paleys, 1991). Literature can be used as an instrument to teach students
to respect gender, racial, and cultural diversity. It is important for teachers to ensure that there is
no gender imbalance among the literary pieces he or she would use in teaching. The primary
characters of every story should vary or a story must have both male and female protagonists to
avoid gender stereotyping from the learners. A female character can be as strong as a male
character and a male character can be as kind as a female character. It is important to select
literary pieces that would help children in learning the value of gender equality and equity.
Another discipline to look up to is children’s understanding of racial diversity where every race
must be treated equally. A story such as “Look What Brown Can Do” by T. Marie Harris teaches
children that skin color has nothing to do with a person’s potential. Books that feature the
children’s ethnicity teach them to appreciate their own culture and books that show other
ethnicities help the children to give importance to other cultures as well. Exploring different
ethnicities helps a child to grasp the concept of cultural diversity and obtain its values such as
having a different culture is fine and it does not make someone inferior or superior among others.
Koren (2008) defined young adult literature as “books written specifically for a teenage
audience.” YA literature is intended for readers of 12-19 years of age or for adults that are
interested in those kinds of book. Characters such as young protagonists or heroines that face
issues of young people, in reality, are mainly the focus of YA literature. Readers of YA literature
can relate themselves to the character and give them comfort in knowing that they are not alone
in their situation (Capon, 2015). In selecting literature for adolescent learners, Jipson and Paleys
(1991) state that contemporariness, ability to relate to students, literary merit, requirement versus
choice, teacher preference, and students themselves, are the prevailing factors that influence
teachers in choosing literary texts for adolescent learners.
An angle to look up to when selecting literary texts for adolescent learners is the learner
themselves because they are the target audience in teaching literature; being aware of the
student’s nature in studying literature contributes to successful learning. Students are more
engaged in literature learning if they find it stimulating or relatable (Geogeghan, 2019). If
students are motivated to read and interact with a text, their performance on assessments is likely
to increase (Toscano, 2012). Johnson (2018), as cited by Geogeghan (2019), states that to
develop students to become readers for life, their interests must be taken into account. The
familiarity of the content and context of a literary text in adolescent literature makes it easier for
the adolescent learners to understand the story and learn its values because they may already
have prior knowledge in the concepts or contexts of a particular literary text. Students are less
likely to question literature if they were given several options of which literary piece they are
going to read or study (Geogeghan, 2019). Involving the needs of students’ diversity raises the
choice versus requirement to be an important matter to be considered. Anderson (2016) states
that students’ skills, abilities, and passions will naturally vary, and offering choices in learning
boost their motivation to learn. Hence, providing a set of an option of literary pieces will help
learners to choose a piece which caters their interest where they will learn the most while giving
them the exact amount of difficulty suited for their level. Moreover, under Lev Vygotsky’s
theory of Zone of Proximal Development, appropriate challenges in learning lead to highly
engaged learners (Anderson, 2016).
Change is constant, and so as the personal issues among adolescent learners. Thus, the
currency of the content of a certain literary piece must also be considered because a particular
story might not work as it worked before due to cultural and societal change over time.
(Geogeghan, 2019). According to Mason (2018), as cited by Geogeghan (2019), she suggests
that literary texts for adolescent learners should be related to more contemporary issues. Dean
and Evans (2018), as cited by Geogeghan, say that time change over time, and it is not good to
hold onto books that are outdated and not working well anymore. Gibbons et al., (2006), as cited
by Toscano (2012), show findings that adolescent readers are more likely to be motivated by
young adult literature rather than the canonical texts. Geogeghan (2019) also mentioned The
National Council of Teachers of English (2012) that encourages the use of more modern,
multicultural texts. Contemporary and multicultural literature in students’ learning involves them
in addressing the concerns of a global society. Nevertheless, if a literary piece has artistic
qualities, it can still able to work for students.
Literary merit is the nature of the literature that makes it adequately significant to instruct
(Geogeghan, 2019). Definitions.net defined literary merit as the quality shared by all works of
fiction that are considered to have aesthetic value. Checking artistic quality in literary text
selection must take place, especially for advanced learners. The complexity and sophistication of
a literary piece challenge and develops learners’ literary skills. Barry Gilmore, indicated by
Burke (2018), as cited by Geogeghan (2019), states that literary merit considerations deal with;
literature’s ability to entertain a reader and be interesting to read; the use of various genre or
formula to eliminate cliche elements; judgment from the literary community to possess artistic
quality; timelessness; thematic depth; innovative style, voice, structure, characterization, plot,
and description; social, political, or ideological impact; and accessibility for various cultures or
time periods. Works that have literary merit can teach students and explore more complex areas
that literature can offer, like political issues, ideologies, philosophies of life, movements from
time periods, and humanities.
Teacher preference not just influences literary text selection for children but also for
adolescent learners. The underlying reason behind this matter is that teachers are particularly
fond of using a certain piece in teaching because they attain mastery of the material or they have
been teaching the piece for years which makes it more comfortable for them to teach it
(Geogeghan, 2019). When a teacher is knowledgeable of the selected literary piece, the learning
experience for the learners would be much great because the teacher knows and crafted the best
way on how he or she should deliver the lessons pertaining to the literary piece of his or her
choice. As Geogeghan (2019) quoted Jim Burke, “nothing sells reading more than a passionate
teacher, an engaged practitioner who walks the talk when it comes to reading”, which means that
it is crucial for teachers to enjoy teaching literature because the teacher’s attitude reflects how his
or her students will perceive the process of studying literature which is either fun or boring.
Choosing artistic writings in teaching literature to children and adolescent learners does
not just rely upon teacher preferences the learners are considered in literary text selection; prior
to a learner-centered approach that focuses on addressing the needs and demands of the learners
to make sure that the learners receive appropriate difficulty while engaging them in literature
learning. Children tend to be more visual. Children’s books that have illustrations would be the
best option for them to visualize what is a particular story all about. Child learners can learn
cultural, traditional, and historical awareness through the use of both local and foreign children’s
literature and appreciate their cultural heritage as well as others. The most effective way of
engaging adolescent learners in literature learning is through considering their interests and level
to understand, interpret, and analyze literature. Adolescent learners’ intrinsic motivation is
significant as it helps in facilitating appropriate and achievable learning goals toward learners.
There must be an equilibrium among complexity, sophistication, and learnability in selecting the
literary text for adolescent learners to create a sense of enjoyment for learners to be more
engaged in literature learning.
Literary text selection is not easy as it seems; it is a tricky process that has matters to
consider to determine if a particular literary piece will effectively work on the target learners.
Literary text selection for children and adolescent literature both deal with learner-centeredness
but naturally differ in terms of literary text’s complexities and sophistication due to the huge gap
of learners’ levels. The standards of choosing literary texts for adolescent learners primarily deal
with their learners’ interests, literary text’s artistic quality, and the teacher’s literary preferences.
For child learners, literary texts are chosen because they possess the qualities of being easy for
children to understand, features artistic illustrations, display ethnicity, and demonstrates morals
through inanimate or animal characters. Standards and considerations aim to determine if a
literary text deserves to be taught, and are worth reading; its relevance and reliability will rely on
the needs of the learners.
References:
Anderson, M. (2016). Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn. ASCD.Org.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/116015/chapters/The-Key-Benefits-of-Choice.aspx
Capon, S. (2015). The Importance of Young Adult Literature. Badger Learning
https://www.badgerlearning.co.uk/blog/the-importance-of-young-adult-literature
Children’s Book Council. (1995). Choosing a Child’s Book. Reading Rockets
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/choosing-childs-book
Crippen, M. (2012). The Value of Children’s Literature. Oneota Reading Journal,
https://www.luther.edu/oneota-reading-journal/archive/2012/the-value-of-childrens-literature/
#:~:text=Children’s%20literature%20is%20important%20because,and%20development%20of
%20the%20student’s
Fadiman, C. (2017, August 2). Children's literature. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/art/childrens-literature
Geoghegan, M. (2019), "The Factors that Influence the Selection of Literature in a High School
English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum" (2019). Honors Theses. 46.
https://digitalcommons.assumption.edu/honorstheses/46
Jipson, J., & Paley, N. (1991). The Selective Tradition in Teachers' Choice of Children's
Literature: Does It Exist in the Elementary Classroom? English Education, 23(3), 148-159.
Retrieved March 25, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40172759
Koren, J. (2008), What is Young Adult Literature, Slideshare.net
https://www.slideshare.net/joh5700/what-is-young-adult-literature-presentation
LITERARY MERIT.  (n.d.). Definitions.net. Retrieved March 26, 2021,
from https://www.definitions.net/definition/LITERARY+MERIT
Toscano, K., (2012). "Using Young Adult Literature to Increase Student Success and Teach
Multiculturalism". Education Masters. Paper 231. https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1232&context=education_ETD_masters