|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
About the original online project / Annotations information / Literature Review Project
|
||
| The following information was originally available in print format and online as part of the Calgary Roman Catholic School District Language Arts Department’s Literature Review Project (1998 to 2000). This work is no longer being updated but has been included here as a courtesy to preserve the work of over 350 reviewers and the special efforts of the members of the department. The original book lists and annotations are included in the Literature Lists pages. |
|
Literature Alive was originally developed to support the Calgary Roman Catholic School District Language Arts Department’s ongoing Literature Review Project. In the fall of 1997 a Literature Selection Committee was created to undertake the task of reviewing both new and well-loved older titles of literature for children and youth. This committee consisted of teachers, librarians, the Language Arts Team and the Library Services Consultant. Over 350 district teachers and librarians participated in the yearlong project as readers and reviewers. In September 1998 a suggested list of literature titles was published, as well as a companion document containing annotations for more recent titles. From this list, a few especially worthy titles were selected to be highlighted in online literature study projects. Seven projects were completed in the 98-99 school year. Three more projects were added in the 99-2000 school year and one more was completed for Christmas 2000. Each of these projects was approved for Canada Schoolnet Grassroots funding, which allowed the project creators to collaborate with other teachers and encourage ongoing student involvement. Note: Unfortunately this funding has been discontinued and the teachers who created the original projects have lost local support and funding as well. The following information explains the design of these projects: The Student web pages can be used to encourage students' interest in and involvement with literature. As well, students' understanding of the text will be enhanced through the opportunity to build background knowledge. At the same time students will be making relevant use of the Internet to achieve curriculum outcomes. Ideas for developing background knowledge include:
The Teacher pages provide suggestions for activities and responses that could used in the classroom for intensive study of the literature. These suggestions are based on a Retell, Relate, Reflect model. Students should have opportunities to relate what they read to their own lives and experiences and they should be encouraged to reflect upon the themes and messages that they discover as they read. Teachers are reminded to make judicious use of the suggestions listed. In order to meet the varying needs and interests of students, many more instructional ideas have been provided than would be necessary or reasonable. Developing a life-long love of reading should always be the primary purpose of any literature study. Possible extensions of the project:
For more information about this model for literature study read: Retelling, Relating, Reflecting: Beyond the 3 R's by Susan Schwartz and Maxine Bone (Irwin Publishing). back to text About the original online project / Literature Review Project / Top |
How to Use The AnnotationsMany books have universal themes and appeal. For that reason we have included them on several, if not all, of the grade recommended lists. To save space and allow for faster page loading, the annotation is provided only once - in the first grade range for which the book is recommended. Books that are recommended for more than one grade range will have links back to each list. Books that are only recommended for one grade range will have just one link back to that list. RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES K-2 RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 3-4 Intensive RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 3-4 Extensive RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 5-6 Intensive RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 5-6 Extensive RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 7-9 Intensive RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR GRADES 7-9 Extensive
About the original online project / Annotations information / Top |
The Literature Review Project**from the Foreword of the Suggested Literature Titles document** The members of the Literature selection committee feel strongly that the new version of Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District’s Suggested Literature Titles for K-9 Language Arts should be used in ways that will bring many children and many books together. The texts on the graded lists may be used in various ways: as teacher read-alouds, for guided reading in small and large groups, for literature circles, for intensive class study, as springboards to student writing, as choices for student extensive free-reading and most importantly for enjoyment.
You will note that some titles appear in two or more sections and that no book has been assigned to a particular grade-level by the selection committee. Because each school best knows its own students you may wish to meet as a staff and assign certain titles to particular grades for your school. This would also be an appropriate time to decide on the number of copies of each title to purchase. Another change is that picture books have been incorporated into the list at all divisional levels. Picture books can be strong teaching tools for discussing the writer’s craft at any grade. There will be times when children revisit a picture book that has been read to them in an earlier grade because the teacher sees a strong fit with other curricula. A novel read in grade five may be revisited in grade eight because of the potential for delving more deeply into the theme of the book. As life-long readers of self-selected materials, the literature selection committee shares a common wisdom: Children who have choices about what they read will continue to read as adults. It is for this reason that we advocate allowing time each week for free-reading. We hope that by making you aware of some highly-recommended titles for children, you will bring children together with books that may help them to:
The committee members hope that each child has an opportunity to make his or her own personal meanings before having to answer comprehension questions. The "retell, relate, and reflect" framework is an excellent format for encouraging children to respond personally to texts. The list is divided into the following grade ranges: K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9. All the titles for grades K-2 are picture books. Titles for grades 3 and 4 are beginning novels as well as picture books. The selections for grades 5-6 and 7-9 are mostly novels which the students are able to read independently. These lists also contain high quality picture books. This list is by no means exhaustive. It reflects the original reviews of more than 350 readers of current Children’s Literature from February to April 1998, as well as new reviews that have been submitted to the Language Arts Department.
About the original online project / Annotations information / Literature Review Project / Top
|
||
|
This page was last updated on November 13, 2004 |
author information and links to
author’s home pages,