Children’s Literature: A Tool to Enrich Learning in the Elementary School

Abstract

Children’s Literature (CL) has been identified as an effective tool to develop essential competencies such as creativity and critical thinking in the young learners. Although Literature has been given a prominent place in Sri Lanka, CL has been limited to reading for pleasure. This case study investigated the impact of CL in the development of creativity, critical thinking and positive attitudes in the Elementary School (ES) children in Sri Lanka. Twenty ES teachers in the state schools in Sri Lanka were interviewed to identify their views on using CL as a learning tool in the classroom. Observations and interviews were conducted on three Fourth-Grade classes to examine the exposure of the students to CL and their perception of the themes in CL. Conclusions were made by evaluating the responses of the students to the CL material used in the classroom. Key findings of the study were; although the ES students had access to story books majority of them were not interested in reading or listening to stories because they were not motivated by their parents or teachers; ES teachers were unaware of the techniques of using CL for skill development; many popular CL have unconsciously inculcated negative attitudes in the students; themes in many CL were more suitable for adults than the children; responses of the ES students to CL displayed their creativity and critical thinking ability as well as their values and attitudes; Children have an innate ability for creativity and critical thinking which can be developed with the correct guidance of the teachers and adults. Finally the data emerged from the study revealed the effectiveness of CL as a learning tool to develop skills of ES students.