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Teaching & Learning Strategies for Integrating Literature into the Classroom

Using ICT with Literature to Enhance Student Learning
  • Literary WebQuests [Carefully designed units of work based on using the Internet & literature to provide learning experiences that help students develop higher-order thinking skills]
  • Student Created Website [Designed to inspire young people to read]
  • ThinkQuest [Students and educators work collaboratively in teams to learn as they create web-based learning materials and teach others.]
  • Blogs [Journal-style Internet sites]
General Strategies for Engaging Students with Literature
Many of the strategies listed here & below can be adapted. Use them as models or springboards for planning learning experiences to meet the needs of your students.

 Search CMIS Resource Bank
 For more information about any of the following  resources.


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  • Book Reviews/Book Reports [Read, Analyse, Write Reviews]
    • A Message about Messages by Ursula Le Guin [An article that provides thought-provoking reading for reviewers and for teachers planning literature-based units for students.]
    • Kids Read - Share a Book [Section of English Online, NZ. Reviews in age categories]
    • Teenreads.com [USA site. Magazine format to appeal to adolescents]
    • The Horn Book [Sample reviews from current issue of acclaimed Horn Book magazine. USA]
    • Magpies [Aust. Sample reviews from current issue of Magpies: Talking About Books for Children. ]
    • The Courier Mail  [Reviews from Young Reviewer of the Year Competition 2004, in The Courier Mail newspaper QLD]
    • Misrule - Reviews [Reviews by Judith Ridge, Australian Children's Literature expert]
    • Aussiereviews.com [Aust. Reviews of books, music, films, websites written by Sally Murphy]
    • The Source  [Aust. Excellent online reference guide to children's books. Contains a database of over 15,500 books, with reviews written by Kerry White & Rayma Turton, experts in the field. Accessible by subscription].
    • Viewpoint [Information about the reviewing journal published by the Education faculty, University of Melbourne]
    • Write a Book Review With Rodman Philbrick [USA Online Workshop]
    • More Ideas Than You'll Ever Use For Book Reports [For teachers on Teachernet. Lists 300+ ways of encouraging students to make meaning from reading.]
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  • Digital Storytelling
    • Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling [Excellent teacher resource on the University of Houston site providing background information to digital storytelling, educational goals & objectives, examples, practical tips, information about software, resources, evaluation]
    • Digital Storytelling Workshop Course [Teacher reference. Article by Bernard R. Robin & Melissa E. Pierson, University of Houston outlining the digital storytelling course at the University of Houston, which is aimed at teachers.]
    • Developing Digital Short Films by Sherri Sheridan [This text provides a useful guide for those interested in digital film making. Teacher resource]
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  • Learning Ladders
    • Literature Learning Ladders [Encourage active reading through book-technology connections. This US site provides links to: collaborative and interactive projects that use literature & ICT; literary webquests; integrating web resources with award-winning books; and scaffolding to develop literature learning ladders of your own]
    • The Tale of Despereux - Literature Learning Ladder, for Newbery Medal winning novel for Middle Childhood by Kate DiCamillo. Book review.
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  • Literary WebQuests
    • Banned Books Quest  [Early to Late Adolescence. Students form into committees to research the pertinent issues on banning controversial materials in order to present a unified statement at a public hearing on the banning of particular books in a school. ]
    • Charlotte's WebQuest   [Middle Childhood. Developed by an American teacher this ' WebQuest' is an online unit rather than a webQuest. It involves students in reading & discussing this classic story, making comparisons between the fictional characters and real animals and showing this on a Venn Diagram, completing vocabulary and maths activities based on the book]
    • A Collection of Literary WebQuests  [Middle Childhood to Late Adolescence]
    • Edgar Allan Poe: Father of Horror [WebQuest. Early to Late Adolescence. Designed to allow students to investigate the life of Poe & apply their research to his works and the works of Stephen King. Students will read a variety of texts, create dramas & produce documents based on their understanding of their reading & research]
    • English and Language Arts WebQuests [Tom March's Best WebQuests site]
    • Fairytale Court/The True Story of the Three Little Pigs [MC but can be adapted easily for EC or EA. ]
    • Literary Fan Club  [Early Adolescence. Learning activities include writing in a variety of styles, using effective research strategies, selecting & using appropriate technoligies, engaging in recreational reading.]
    • The LoraxQuest: The Grickle-grass Gazette [Middle Childhood. Students involved in reading for information, connecting literature to the real world, researching environmental concerns, writing news articles, designing an adversisment, finding a picture to meet criteria, creating a newspaper page. The Lorax by Dr Seuss used as stimulus.]
    • The Realm of Fairy Tales  [Middle Childhood. Students work collaboratively to read & analyse fairytales & identify recurring themes. Develop a story map and write own fairytale.]
    • Roald Dahl Webquest [Middle Childhood. English Online site. NZ. Read a selection of titles, choose favourite, share reasons with class, create a poster, develop a storyboard & create a short video based on an episode from a Dahl story.]
    • To Kill a Mockingbird: Growing up in the 1930s  [Early to Late Adolescence. This WebQuest will take students back in time to learn what life is like as a young person growing up in the 30s.]
    • Wuthering Heights WebQuest  [Late Adolescence. Can be modified for almost any novel. Students work in groups to rewrite part of the story in a more modern setting, as a scene in a play. Involves character analysis, researching historical setting, costume design, choosing appropriate dialogue.]
    • Young Author's Webquest  [A WebQuest for literature and Art developed by university students in the US. For Middle Childhood but can be adapted for younger or older students.]
    • Background Information about WebQuests
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  • Reader's Cup
    • EdNA site for Teacher-Librarians [Contains shared documents on how to conduct a Readers Cup competition, designed to promote and recognise the importance of reading. Scroll down to No. 5 - Readers Cup Competition Documents]
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  • Reader's Theatre
    • Aaron Shepard's RT page [MC-EA. Comprehensive site, by an expert in Reader's theatre, containing: scripts; hints for scripting, staging & performing; recommended reading; & links]
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  • Simultaneous Storytime
    • National Simultaneous Storytime
      [Annual event for Early Childhood, held during National Literacy and Numeracy Week.]
      In 2008 to be held on
      Wednesday 21 May, 2008 .
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  • Storytelling
    • Australian Storytelling [Comprehensive teacher resource for all phases]
    • Story Arts Online [Practical site for teachers of all phases providing a rationale for storytelling, suggested activities, resources]
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  • Student Created Website
    • Fabulous Fiction [Site created by 2 teenage boys to inspire other young people to read]
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  • ThinkQuest
    • ThinkQuest [Student-Created Units of Work]
    • The Hole Truth [A Unit Studydeveloped by students working collaboratively, based on Louis Sachar's Book Holes ]
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  • Blogs
    • Blogs in Education [Background information including educational value of Blogs, teacher & classroom applications]

      Australian:
    • Fiction Focus Blog [Our blog complements the Fiction Focus journal. It is designed to provide news about current events, resources and research to assist teachers and teacher librarians engage teenagers with books and reading.]
    • Read Alert: A Blog about Youth Literature [State Library of Victoria site focusing on children's & YA literature contains news, reviews, opinions, booklists author information & more. Highly recommended.]
    • The Misrule Blog [Blog created by Judith Ridge, expert in children's Literature, critic, advocate and teacher.]
    • ReadPlus [Australian blog by Pat Pledger that provides lists, reviews and resources for librarians, teachers and parents about books for 5-18 year olds. Subscription]

      UK and USA:
    • ACHUKABLOG [the weblog of Michael Thorn, editor of ACHUKA UK]
    • Reading Rants! Out of the ordinary Teen Booklists!  
      [The original Reading Rants! review site is now an interactive blog, where teens can not only respond to reviews but also write their own.]
    • Intergalactic Playground [Dedictated to children's literature, especially children's science fiction]
    • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd [Example of a weblog that relates to a specific text. Reader's Guide to The Secret Life of Bees constructed by a Modern American Literature class at Hunterdon Central Regional HS in the US.]
 

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