Just coming up for air after handing in Assignment 1b and thought I'd post a few things I've learned so far in this unit with regards to children's literature and child development.
* Rosenblatt's theory of reader response is an excellent guide to how a child will respond to a book. There are two types of responses to a text-
1) efferent responses in which readers are reading for information, looking for answers within the literature, drawing conclusions and generating opinions from what they have read and
2) aesthetic responses which are more emotionally based and ask the reader to communicate how they felt or what they experienced as they were reading a text.
* Erikson's 8 stages of development can help with book selection: (only looking at the first 5 stages)
1) Trust vs mistrust (birth- 1and1/2yrs.) - books about parents bonding with children
2) Autonomy vs shame (1 and 1/2 - 3yrs) - books about independence
3) Initiative vs guilt (3-5yrs) - books about mastering skills, demonstrating responsibility and sense of purpose, children and increasing initiative
4) Industry vs inferiority (5-12 yrs) - books about developing new relationships beyond the family, positive peer relationships, adventure and intrigue, world around them
5) Identity vs identity confusion (Adolescence) - books about coming of age, searching for own identity etc.
* Piaget's 4 stages of cognitive development:
1) Sensory motor
2) Pre-operational (2-7 yrs) - look for stories about relationships, constructive play, asking questions, following rules, make-believe
3) Concrete - operational (7-11 yrs) - stories about problem solving, combining ideas to solve problems, mentally retracing steps, how appearances can be deceiving
4) Formal - operational (11 - ) - books with themes about abstract and logical thinking
