Teaching Young Children Self Regulation Through Children 's Books By Patricia Cooper Essay

Children have different characteristics and different interests that attract them. A well-designed literacy environment should engage and attract children on at least two different modalities (Edwards & Willis, 2000). This is so because, as the authors note, "it is natural for young children to seek to master and use many alternative 'literacies,' or avenues of symbolic representation offered by

Self-regulation is sometimes difficult to practice, even adults lose control of their emotions or behavior. Self-regulation is useful in different types of events whether a person is trying to change their lifestyle or trying to finish a paper but learning how to practice self-control should start very early on before being faced with these types of events. By learning and using the process model of self-control a person can effectively prevent undesirable actions and manipulate and minimize the struggle of controlling a their impulse (Duckworth, Gendler, & Gross, 2016). Learning is half of the fight the other half sometimes is more important: when something like self-regulation is learned. Infants, toddlers, and young children all have many things in common this includes: brain plasticity, emotional unpredictability, and tantrums (Flook et al., 2015). It is common for young children to face a world that is teaching them new ideas, emotions, and objects. Sometimes they are able to cope with new concepts and sometimes they do not know how handle certain situations. It is important for these developing brains to also be taught the importance of self-regulation and techniques to master their own thoughts, behaviors, and emotions (Flook et al., 2015).

Richard Rodriguez, in the passage “Remedial Reading” from his autobiography “Hunger of Memory”(1982), promotes active reading as a developer of one’s mind. He justifies his position by describing his initial experiences with reading, specifically his attachment to the reading. Rodriguez’s anecdote functions as an encourager of stubborn minds trying to read and displaying its potential to change their life for the better. Rodriguez uses a very descriptive style that may be too verbose for children but compliments the verbosity with enough explanation of his purpose for his message to be known or ascertained.

With reading being the cornerstone of society it is expected that children begin learning about literature in their most formative years. With children reading younger and younger it should come as no surprise that something as loved and personal as reading should be turned into a competition among children (more personal). This unfortunate truth has followed me through the majority of my academic career turning literature into a job and annoyance. Much like many schools, my primary education required the logging of reading to ensure the students were spending some of their time enriching themselves rather than wasting it, according to the faculty. Being the competitive natured children we were, seeing who could read the most soon became the

Throughout my childhood I enjoyed reading a variety of books as a method of escaping my troubles and delving into someone else’s world for a short time. But it is my belief that being an avid reader also helped me become

Francine Prose’s commentaries on the issues of high school students who have are apathetic toward reading hold weight for several reasons. Her love of literature stems from the fact that Prose is an avid reader herself who enjoys the art and has “preserved a lively and still evolving passion for good books.” Prose’s basis for vocalizing her concerns and frustrations about the topic of mindless readers comes from her desire for her own children to have an appreciation for the therapeutic values of a good book, in addition to the lessons that they teach. Francine’s status as an avid reader, a writer and a mother all lend themselves to establish her credibility in her essay. The reader can easily comprehend the struggle of the bookworm mother who is unamused that her sons have to dredge through the same tiered literature that has been taught for ages.

This point of view is helpful to understand the approach we must adopt with children to spread the love of reading.

Children's literature has evolved immensely over time, and is now commonly used for a variety of objectives throughout education. In classrooms, it is often used as a tool with an intermixture of diverse goals and intentions. Children's literature has proven to be a highly effective method of both teaching lessons to, and connecting with children on a conscious, and subconscious level. "Close reading brings our own and others' perspectives and contexts to bear on them" (Hintz, and Tribunella 1). Learning how to read children's literature critically can open channels of learning about oneself, society, and culture, past and present. Identification of intention and point of view, along with discussion and critical thinking typically motivates people to engage in a deeper analysis. It can open the reader’s eyes to different ways of viewing consistencies, or lack thereof; with attention to aspects of plot, setting, and message; and also of character traits of the

As the child moves up in his/her grades, it will become not only the child’s responsibility but rather the parents as well to keep the child engaged in reading as much as possible by exposing them to different genres of literature. Harste (2003) mentions, “Students tick off subjects like it is a checklist: “Taken earth science; done with that” (pg 11). Thinking back to when I was in high school, I was guilty of doing this. My mission was to graduate; do no more, do no less. Only doing what was required and there not being a specific teacher around to enforce reading it was not on my mind to occasionally pick up a good book and just read.

“Placing books in the hands of children to develop an interest in reading is critical. Placing targeted, high-interest books with STEAM focus in the hands of children is brilliant.” – Patrick Pope, principal

“Children’s Reading and Children’s Thinking are the rock bottom base upon which the future of this country will rise. Or not rise. In these days of tension and confusion, writers are beginning to realize that Books for Children have a greater potential for good, or evil, than any other form of literature on earth. They realize that the new generations must grow up to be more intelligent than ours”-(Dr Seuss, 1960).

There are many varied benefits of children’s literature, and Hill (2015) addresses many of them in chapter five in the textbook. In particular what resonated with me was how Hill discusses that immersing children in literacy early, promotes a life long love of reading and furthermore supports children’s literacy development. Working in Early Childhood I have been able to witness this first hand, children that have a literacy enriched environment at home have a deeper interest in language groups, a good vocabulary and comprehension, and early reading behaviors at a younger age. (INF)

The development of self-regulation amongst children is complex and influenced by a large number of factors such as attunement, family routine, language development, and social interaction, to name just a few (Kopp, 1982). Given these factors are likely influenced by early parent-child interactions, and since it’s widely known that culture influences parental values and beliefs, one can expect to notice a large difference when comparing parental styles between two contrasting cultures, such as Japan and the United States. Furthermore, it would be expected to find a difference in the development of self-regulation between Japanese and American children.

As children interact with their environment and the people around them, their linguistic, cognitive, social, and emotional abilities develop further. Through these interactions, children construct knowledge by organizing and classifying the new knowledge based on prior learning experiences (Brown, & Lee, 2012). Vygotsky believed social interactions influence both intellectual and language development, and he identified social interactions as the key method in developing new understandings. Therefore, providing books and reading experiences which include social interactions will enhance literacy development (Traverse, & Traverse, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of possessing knowledge of child developmental theory when selecting appropriate children’s books, and explain why considering language development, social and emotional response, and cognitive ability are important. The paper will conclude with issues and insights regarding Reading Readiness and the impact of gender on book choice.

Maria Tatar is a published author, whose mastery lies in children’s literature. Tatar’s work, Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood, focuses on the impact of children’s literature on kids. According to Tatar, children don’t read analytically to find the meaning or lesson behind the words on the page, but rather they seek the “vicarious pleasure” given off as they explore the world in their books (Tatar 17). Depending on different circumstances, many children read to escape their own world. This pleasure allows them to sense the thrill and adventure in this new world that was missing from their real life. With so much energy within a child, boredom occurs much more easily than towards adults. Tatar refers a children’s book as a “therapeutic aid for the lonely child with little to do” (Tatar 17).