Building character through literacy with children’s literature - ed

Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 26 ? October, 2014

Building character through literacy with children's literature

ABSTRACT

Gina M. Almerico The University Of Tampa

Character education is described as curriculum specifically developed to teach children about the quality and traits of good character. One means in which children can learn about good character is through the pages of high quality children's literature. In this study, the author defines the characteristics of an effective character development program for grades K-6 built around children's literature. Discussion focuses on how literature can be brought into the curriculum in helping to develop character traits in a meaningful, substantial manner.

Keywords: Character education, character development through literacy, literature-based character development

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Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 26 ? October, 2014

CHARACTER EDUCATION AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Character education describes curriculum developed to teach children about essential traits needed to build good character. It is a deliberate effort to develop noble character and cultivate core virtues that are worthy for the individual and society as a whole. It requires careful, calculated planning for success (Prestwich, 2004; Tyra, 2012). It deals with teaching students to develop the ability to decide how to behave in an appropriate manner in various social situations with the purpose of developing individuals who are capable of understanding moral values and who choose to do the right thing. Hoge (2002) defined character education as any overt or conscious attempt to effect the development of desirable individual traits or qualities. Although a number of definitions and interpretations of character education are found in the literature, the content of programs typically align with the core principles and values of generosity, kindness, honesty, tolerance, trust, integrity, loyalty, fairness, freedom, equality, and respect of and for diversity (Bohlin, Farmer, & Ryan, 2001; Brooks, 2001). Experts in the field of character development recommend implementing a character education curriculum in the elementary and middle school years which includes the aforementioned traits to help students become responsible, respectful, contributing members of our democratic society.

One area of the curriculum in which character education naturally resides is in the social studies. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the nation's largest professional organization of social studies educators, asserted that social studies teachers are bound by duty to teach character and civic virtue in its position paper Fostering Civic Virtue: Character Education in the Social Studies (1997). In the paper, character education was defined as instruction that teaches and nurtures civility, compromise, open-mindedness, and toleration of diversity. The council strongly encouraged teachers to pursue this area of the social studies curriculum recommending teachers integrate social and behavioral science content with humanities (including literature), to ensure the achievement of academic and civic competence in K-8 classrooms.

BENEFITS OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN SCHOOLS

The benefits of character education are multifaceted going beyond the apparent outcomes of being a good person and responsible citizen. Ryan (1999) found that instruction centered on character development helped improve students' academic achievement and communication skills thus promoting a stronger sense of independence and self-confidence. He suggested these outcomes of character education lead to the creation of trusting learning environments where students feel good about themselves and others.

Schools have an important role to play in the development of children's social and emotional growth. Educators must find ways to infuse the curriculum with character building (McElmeel, 2002). Schools with successful character education programs reported less absenteeism, fewer discipline problems, decreased referrals for misbehavior, a lower dropout rate, and higher performance scores on standardized achievement tests (Wynne & Ryan, 1997). Katilmis, Eksi, and Ozturk (2011) found character education programs had a positive effect on both character development and academic success. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. and Schellinger, K. B. (2011) reported the results of their meta-analysis of over 200 different studies regarding the efficacy of character education. They confirmed school-based efforts which promote students' social and emotional learning produced a positive impact on

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Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 26 ? October, 2014

academic learning, increasing achievement test scores by 11 to 17 percentage points. This data indicates schools with effective character education programs can enhance a child's success both in school and in life. When schools are welcoming and supportive places, students are encouraged to attend, stay on task, and improve their levels of achievement.

CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING CHARACTER EDUCATION

Character education appears to provide students and teachers with many benefits in the classroom setting and beyond; however, one challenge educator's face is procuring the necessary curriculum materials and background to teach it. Even though at least 17 states in our nation require character education to be taught and 27 receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education to teach character education (Besson-Martilotta, 2013; McElmeel, 2002; Tyra, 2012), many schools or school districts have not created a curriculum or set instruction to meet this need (Delisio, 2008). These mandates make the teaching of character a crucial and necessary component of the curriculum. In spite of state and federal legislation mandating character education, schools have limited resources, competing demands, and time constraints.

LITERACY AND CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

One way to bring character education into a crowded curriculum is to make it part of the literacy program by embedding character lessons in reading and language arts instruction through the vehicle of high quality children's literature. This tactic, when coupled with social studies content allows the teacher to cover multiple parts of the curriculum: social studies (using books to address the NCSS Strands mentioned before), literacy, and character education. Literature is a powerful teaching tool. The characters children and young people meet in the pages of a book can have a profound influence on them, almost as strong of an impact as that of real people they know and meet. The U.S. Department of Education Office of Communication and Outreach (2005) suggested reading character themed books to and with children, encouraging older children to read on their own, and discussing the books with children will help them absorb and develop the values of strong character.

As character education concepts are taught within the context of literature, students realize traits such as respect, honesty, courage, and kindness are real and interesting aspects of the world around them. Writers of trade books have much flexibility in their writing styles and can bring to the pages of their books richness of background, originality of style, and creativity (Gunning, 2012). Literature integration is an effective way to teach children about positive character traits, but Libresco and Balantic (2013) caution only if it is done by keeping character development at the center of curriculum and instruction.

Good literature with character development themes has the power to develop, shape, and reinforce dispositions essential for instilling in students important core ethical values. Creating character themed lessons that combine high quality appropriate children's literature with effective literacy instruction can be a daunting task. Teachers therefore are faced with the dilemma of finding books that will do double duty in teaching both character and literacy concepts. What follows is a discussion of how quality children's, adolescent, and young adult literature can be used to promote character education and literacy learning in the K-6 classroom.

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Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 26 ? October, 2014

DEFINING THE "CHARACTER" IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

The intent of the full study, presented, in part, here, is integrating the teaching of character with research-based literacy instruction through children's literature. The first order of business is operationalizing what is meant by character and what traits should be the focus of instruction. So what is character? After examining character traits from the research literature as well as successful character development programs, a panel of 20 educators who possessed expertise in character education ranked character traits and recommended the following character traits essential to include in a literacy-based character development curriculum: (1) caring, compassion, kindness, and empathy, (2) citizenship, (3) courage, (4) fairness, (5) honesty and trustworthiness, (6) integrity, (7) leadership, (8) perseverance in establishing and attaining goals, (9) respect, (10) responsibility, and (11) team work and cooperation. These character traits are universally recognized by people from all walks of life and transcend religious and cultural beliefs. They are meant to be valued by diverse individuals who come from different backgrounds who may hold different beliefs.

A literacy-based program, built around these eleven traits, will offer educators a unique curriculum unlike any available to date. The distinguishing factor which sets this program apart from others available, both commercially and in the research, is that embedded in the study of character development are research-based literacy instructional strategies used with high quality, and in many cases, award winning trade books. Educators will be provided with the resources needed to teach and reinforce literacy skills such as vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, phonemic awareness, phonics and other word recognition skills, while teaching and reinforcing positive character traits.

BOOKS WITH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THEMES TIED TO LITERACY

In selecting the books for curricular inclusion the goal was to find good stories which were currently in print or widely available in library collections that exemplify the character traits identified for the program. The books selected, presented in sets, focus on each of the traits. For each trait there are a minimum of 15 books with a range of reading levels which are explicitly stated. Under each category, the books are summarized to provide the reader with an overview of the content. Each book is accompanied by lessons which provide explicit instruction in research-based reading skills such as fluency, reading comprehension, word recognition, and vocabulary development. The lessons include classroom activities that require the students to use critical thinking skills to express their ideas and perspectives by relating personal experiences to story themes. The trade books shared connect well to the social studies and literacy and provide engaging, authentic examples of individuals who work, live, play, survive, and thrive in large part due to the values they possess.

BOOK SELECTION CRITERIA

Every year, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), publishes their Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People list in their official journal Social Education. The books included in the list are selected by a review committee appointed by NCSS in conjunction with the Children's Book Council (CBC). The books are appropriate for children in grades K-12 and emphasize human relations, diversity, and sensitivity to a broad range of topics related to the

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Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 26 ? October, 2014

social studies. The books are of high literary quality, have a pleasing format, and include, where appropriate, illustrations that complement and align to the text. The books are categorized for the most part according to the ten thematic strands of the NCSS. Of the ten strands, four relate in some fashion to character development concepts. Strand I Culture, Strand III People, Places and Environments, Strand IV Individual Development and Identity, and Strand V Individuals, Groups, and Institutions, contain books with themes related to character development. The books annotated in these lists were examined to ascertain which contain content suitable for inclusion in a character development program.

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Communication and Outreach, (2005) published an extensive annotated list of books that support character development. The titles are separated into three groups by age. Beginning books are appropriate for ages 1-6, intermediate books are best for ages 6-9, and advanced books work well with children 9 and older. Other useful and credible professional sources for finding appropriate trade books include literary and book reviews, and awards granted from professional organizations. Examples of these types of resources include the New York Times, Kirkus Review, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (awarded annually to an author for a meritorious children or young adults book published in the previous year that focuses on historical fiction), and the Coretta Scott King Award (given annually by the American Library Association to exceptional African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that exhibit an appreciation of universal human values and African American culture).

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) annually identifies the cream of the crop in children's books with their Notable Children's Books list. Notable books are defined as those which contain content that is worthy of note or notice, distinguished, outstanding, and important (Association for Library Service to Children, 2014). The books selected are from genres such as, fiction, information, poetry, and picture books for all age levels (birth through age 14). They are of the finest quality and exhibit venturesome creativity that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways. Each year, books automatically added to the Notable Children's Books list include those which have been granted the following major awards in children's literature: Newbery, Caldecott, Pura Belpr? (presented to Latino/Latina authors and illustrators whose work best portrays and celebrates the Latino culture), Robert F. Sibert (awarded to outstanding information books), Theodore Seuss Geisel (given to the most distinguished American book for beginning readers), and Batchelder (given to the publisher of the most outstanding book of the year that is a translation) Award and Honor books. The books are categorized by age and grade range as follows: Younger Readers appropriate for children in grades preschool through second grade (ages 3-7); Middle Readers suitable for grades 3-5, ages 8-10; Older Readers appropriate for grades 6-8, ages 11-14; All Ages these books appeal to and interest children in all of the above age ranges.

After all resources were examined and a list of books was selected, a team of highly qualified educators read the selected books and categorized traits attributed to each. It is important to establish a selection criterion when identifying books to use in this character development program. The books must possess character themes and also lend themselves to teaching literacy skills appropriate in K-6 classrooms (this is quite a large order). The books included in this character development program were selected through a qualitative content analysis. There are resources available that have identified and categorized trade books suitable for teaching character traits to K-6 aged children both by trait and in some cases, age or grade level (Besson-Martilotta, 2013; Bryant, 2008; Hester, 2001; Kilpatrick, Wolfe, & Wolfe, 1994;

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