Bibliotheraphy and Reading Newsletter

​The official newsletter of IRA’s Bibliotheraphy and Reading Special Interest Group
Fall/Winter 2012-13
Volume 201, Issue 2​

SIG Chair & Editor of the Newsletter, Rachel Grant

Anticipating 2013


As we prepare for the 2013 Bibliotherapy and Reading Academic session, we are filled with anticipation in preparing for what we know will be a memorable conference and SIG session. This year’s session theme is “Bibliotheraphy for Self-empowerment and Critical Awareness”.


For the 2013 IRA Convention, the Bibliotheraphy and Reading Special Interest Group Academic Session will focus on literature that facilitates children and youth in developing critical perspectives of self and text to support the development of self-awareness and thinking about how to make individual, community and global change. The two foci for the academic session are: (a) combining literature and writing activities to address the ways in which critical awareness can influence the lives, schooling, and literacy of children and youth; and (b) highlighting research, theory, classroom practice and strategies that support reading and writing for meeting the unique needs of children and youth.



Members of The Board of Directors remain committed to nurturing, mentoring, and supporting the next generation of teachers, scholars, and leaders.  We hope you will add our session to your list of “must attend”. Our presenters will include:



Concordia University- Chicago, IL
Heather A. Harder



George Washington University
Geina Mhlophe, Amanda Duffy, Nkhensani Maluleke, Stephanie Edwards, Jennifer Seaman, Dwight Davis (DC Public Schools), Emily Platz (Twain Middle School, Fairfax, VA), Sandra Vanderbilt

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Georgia State University

Gertrude Tinker-Sachs

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Glover Primary School- Nassau, Bahamas
Lucy Cunningham, Rozena Bullard-Bain, Patricia Pinder, and Angela Rolle

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Loudon County Public Schools, Virginia
Hanaa Juma

University of Ottawa, Canada
Jennifer Rottmann, Cynthia Morawski

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University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire
Incho Lee

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Inside this issue:​
IRA 2013 
Recapturing IRA 2012
Message from the chair 
Voices from the field ​
La Voz
 

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Bibliotherapy SIG  2012 Academic Session Report​
Gertrude Tinker Sachs​
Georgia State University



It is my honor as a newly elected SIG Board member and the International Projects and Seminar Coordinator to write this report on our academic session of the International Reading Association in Chicago 2012.  Our presentations were under the session’s title, “Text to World Connections: Focusing on Literature to Help Children and Youth Understand Their World and Others.”  Through an examination of the use of multimodalities and multiliteracies to stimulate the imagination and increase self-awareness through reading in addressing the emotional and intellectual needs of children and youth we had two specific foci: (1), identifying literature and other resources such as media and technology with common themes to address the ways that changes around the world influences the lives, schooling and literacy of children and youth and (2), research, theory, classroom practice and strategies that support bibliotherapy for meeting the unique needs of children and youth.  Amongst our presenters were Amanda Duffy and Stephanie Edwards (George Washington University), Heather Anne Harder (Concordia University Chicago); Emily Platz (Program CoChair, Fairfax County Public Schools), Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Annmarie Jackson, Tarika Sullivan-White and Kamania Wynter-Hoyt (Georgia State University), Sandra Vanderbilt (Program CoChair, George Washington University) and Hanaa Juma (Loudoun County Public Schools).  The session was chaired by Rachel Grant (George Mason University).

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Employing the Use of Literature and/or Multimedia Resources
Amanda and Stephanie’s presentation was a report on the research they had done with a guided reading group of English Language Learners (ELLs).  Their work was based on the book "One Green Apple," by Eve Bunting, which was a realistic fiction story about a Muslim immigrant who was learning how to live in a new country with different cultures and languages. Critical literacy questions were used to examine concepts such as what the text meant to the ELLs and whose voice was heard in the story. The study of the book with the students facilitated the four stages of bibliotherapy: identification (with the character), catharsis (emotional release), insight (into making new friends) and universalization (understanding that they are not alone) (Seawright, 2009).  As part of their presentation, Amanda and Stephanie gave a useful handout with a list of books and resources for PK-12 readers.   While they utilized critical literacy questions to support students’ discussion of “One Green Apple” Heather Harder used children’s books in her research to help learners make text to world connections. The stories such as You’ve got dragons (Cave & Maland, 2003) helped learners to draw on their emotional wounds to build resilience. Heather’s research focused on the adaptation of basic reading comprehension skills such as making connections to introduce difficult conversations to support emotional healing while simultaneously building their reading skills. Making connections to self, text, and world are reading strategies already used by teachers of reading, by combining these strategies with appropriate bibliotherapy books, such as You’ve got dragons, children learn to identify and talk about their own dragons and are given approaches to deal with them. Having these discussions reassures students that since the book character survived their life crisis, they will too. This understanding builds the emotional resilience needed to face future life challenges.

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Emily Platz’s presentation illustrated how developmental bibliotherapy techniques can be used to engage reluctant high school readers. These techniques included librarian methods, such as reader's advisory based on students’ interest and techniques such as identification, catharsis and insight to help connect students with books that they can use to tackle personal problems in their lives (Catalano, 2008; Morawski, 1997). Emily used different series to motivate her readers.  Included in her text set were “Blueford High”, “Urban Underground” and “Surviving Southside” which were well received by her students. 

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Also reporting on her work with at risk readers was Sandra Vanderbilt.  Her presentation drew on two case study groups of high school struggling readers. These groups read texts and excerpts of texts that included rich visual imager.  The students participated in activities that included learning to visualize and practicing the strategies in order to improve reading comprehension. Beyond text comprehension the texts were purposefully chosen to relate to the students’ experiences in a way that they would be able to reflect both individually and as a group on how others’ action affect them and how their actions affect others. 

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Taking a departure from at risk readers, Hanna Juma’s presentation focused on methods and strategies for creating a peaceful, nurturing classroom environment for students immigrating to the United States from nations in which they may have experienced traumas such as dislocation, poverty, war, and hunger. Bibliotherapy was used as a tool to help students feel validated in both their identity and self-worth as they engaged in activities that would promote psychological and emotional stability.  Some of the books Juma used were "Dreams of Trespass" by Fatima Mernissi, "Of Beetles and Angels" by Mawi Asgedom and "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

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While all the aforementioned reports utilized published American texts and resources, Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Annmarie Jackson, Tarika Sullivan-White and Kamania Wynter-Hoyt reported on the development of culturally appropriate reading materials for primary aged children (grades 1-6) in Nassau, Bahamas.  Gertrude crafted culturally familiar texts such as “The Fruit Stand, The Ferry Ride to North Eleuthera” and The DillyTree” for students to read while team members crafted the comprehension questions.  The team reported on how they developed assessment measures following the analysis of the texts for readability levels.  The texts were later field-tested with students at one school and the results computed and reported to the administration and teachers.   Further work will be done to develop the comprehensibility and validity of the texts.

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All the SIG presentations at the conference were well received by the audience and there were spirited discussions at the end.  All in all a there was a strong sense of camaraderie amongst the new and returning SIG members as well as other members of the audience.  The business meeting followed the discussions and was well attended.   For more information on the report given here, please contact Gertrude Tinker Sachs (tinkersachs@yahoo.com).

References

Catalano, A. (2008, Spring). Making a place for bibliotherapy on the shelves of a curriculum materials Center: The case for helping pre-service teachers use developmental bibliotherapy in the classroom. Education Libraries: Children’ Resources, 31(1), 17-22. Retrieved from ERIC PlusText database.
Cave, K. & Maland, N. (2003). You’ve got dragons. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishing

Morawski, C. M. (1997). A role for bibliotherapy in teacher education. Reading Horizons, 37(3), 243-259.

Seawright, Gentri. (2009). Childrens' responses to storybook reading (Unpublished Undergraduate Honors Thesis). Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Considering All Options: Literacy Lessons from The Republic of Cuba

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In each newsletter, I highlight an international location of personal interest, share my perspectives that make this location special to me, and provide a few books or resources for you and your students. For this issue, I have selected the Republic of Cuba. Although just a mere 90 miles from the Florida coast, Cuba, at least since the Cuban Revolution (1959), is often portrayed as a political and ideological enemy of the US. As one who is part of the first generation of African Americans to benefit from the Brown v. Board of Education decision and as a critical thinker, I have always questioned the “official” US position towards Cuba. As a literacy educator, I am intrigued by the Cuban literacy campaign (1961) to end illiteracy. During the “Year of Education”, it is estimated that over 200,000 Cubans worked to eliminate illiteracy. In the near future, I hope that a visit to Cuba will allow me to learn more about efforts that targeted the “poorest of the poor” and increased literacy in rural areas. It is estimated that 1,000,000 Cubans were directly involved (as teachers or students) in the Literacy Campaign.

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The Literacy campaign was organized utilizing four categories of workers:

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1.“Conrado Benitez” Brigade (Conrado Benetiz Brigadistas)—100,000 young volunteers (ages 10–19) who left school to live and work along with their students in the countryside. The number of students leaving schools to volunteer was so great that an alternative education was put in place for 8 months of the 1961 school year.

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2. Popular Alphabetizers (Alfabetizadores populares)—Adults who volunteered to teach in cities or towns. It is documented that 13,000 factory workers held classes for their illiterate co-workers after hours. This group also includes the numerous individuals who taught friends, neighbors, or family members out of their own homes.

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3. “Fatherland or Death” Brigade (Patria o Muerte Brigadistas)—A group of 15,000 adult workers who were paid to teach in remote rural locations through an arrangement that their co-workers would fill in for them, so that the workforce of Cuba remained strong.

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4. Schoolteacher Brigades—A group of 15,000 professional teachers who oversaw the technical and organizational aspects of the campaign. As 1961 progressed, their involvement grew to the extent that most teachers participated full-time for a majority of the campaign. The fatherland or death brigade, along with the schoolteacher brigade, is sometimes simply referred to as the Worker Brigade (Brigadistas Obreros).

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As we consider the ongoing challenge to increase literacy levels, improve employment opportunities, and enhance the quality of life for children who are learning English as an additional language, children who live in poverty, and children attending urban schools, I wonder what we can learn from the Cuban strategy to increase literacy.

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Sample of engaging books about Cuba:
The poet slave: A biography of Juan Francisco Manzano (2006). Margarita Engle
The surrender tree: Poems of Cuba’s struggle for freedom (2008). Margarita Engle
Where the flame trees bloom (1994). Alma Flor Ada
Under the royal palms: A childhood in Cuba (1998). Alma Flor Ada
Martina the beautiful cockroach: A Cuban folktale (2007). Carmen Agra Deedy
90 miles to Havana (2011). Enrique Flores Galbis

 

 

Focusing on Self-Efficacy for Refugee Children
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Refugee children are considered vulnerable and depend on others, usually their parents, who decide to migrate. Refugee children often struggle to integrate their previous cultural experiences into their new life. They may doubt their ability to “make it” in their new homeland. “Self-efficacy”, which refers to one’s personal judgment about one’s ability to take control of their own life in the event of stressful events, plays an important role in psychological adaptation of refugee children. Promoting a sense of self-efficacy in refugee children helps them gain pro-active coping abilities to regain control over their lives rather than having their lives dictated by adverse circumstances.
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Many refugee children undergo unthinkable trauma and loss and may have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings about their experiences. Bibliotherapy offers opportunity for refugee students to read and discuss situations that shed light on their experiences at a safe emotional distance. Self-efficacy is an important dimension of sociocultural adjustment for students encountering a new cultural environment. According to Bandura (1993)  and  Jerusalem & Schwarzer (1992), self-efficacy or the student’s belief that they can successfully perform or complete target behaviors in academic or everyday situations enables individuals to produce the desired outcomes through their own actions. “Kare Nikoo Kardan” an ancient Persian story emphasizes the value of hard work and persistence in achieving higher goals. Using this story the teacher can focus the discussion to reveal the main character’s behavior, thoughts and feelings in an effort to show students how they too, through determination and self-empowerment, can engage in practices that help them to cope with their own problems.
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Bahram V was the 14th  Sassanid King of Persia (421–438). He is a great favorite in Persian legends, which relates many stories of his bravery and beauty; of his victories over the Romans, Turks, Indians, and Africans; and of his adventures in hunting and in love. He is known as Bahram-e Goor, because of his love for hunting, and in particular, hunting zebras (Goor). King Bahram  also liked to boast about his extraordinary ability in hunting zebras. One day, the king took his beautiful wife to one of his hunting trips. He asked her to tell him how she wishes him to hunt a zebra. She said in a way that you seam his ear to his hoof. King waited for a while, and just as a zebra was inching its ear with its hoof, he hunted the zebra with one arrow stitching the ear to the hoof. Everybody praised the king’s precise aim. However, King’s wife said “Practice makes perfect, anybody could do this if they hunted as many zebra’s as the king did”. King became very upset since she did not praise her for his extraordinary accomplishment and became very angry and told her “How dare you belittle me like that”. Later he ordered one of his generals to take her away and leave her in a desert so she could die from hunger since she does not “deserve” to be the king’s wife anymore. The general took the king’s wife away but could not stand to kill the beautiful woman and let her refuge to a village and live with the king’s shepherd. The King’s wife started working in his very own stable taking care of sheep and horses. Later, she became attached to a newborn calf. Every night, she carried the calf forty steps on her shoulder to her room on the roof and brought it back in the morning so the calf’s mother could nurse it. The calf became bigger and heavier every day, but the king’s wife did not feel the extra weight that much. One day while the king was on another one of his hunting trips; he remembered his wife and missed her very much. The King’s general noticed his depressed mood and told him to accompany him on a ride to the nearby village to relax and cheer up. When they arrived the next morning, the king observed a beautiful veiled village girl caring a big cow up the stairs to the roof on her shoulders. The king told his general “such a strong woman, I can’t hold this cow on my shoulders, let alone caring it up forty steps”!! The king asked the woman how she could carry such a big cow up the stairs on her shoulders. The veiled woman said “Practice makes perfect”. She added: “I carried this cow on my shoulders since it was a baby calf and practicing everyday gave me such extraordinary ability”. The king recognized his wife’s voice and became very joyful. He admitted that he made a mistake and his wife was right. He took his wife back to his palace and they “lived happily ever after”. Since then people refer to this story when they want to emphasize that “even very hard tasks can be easily accomplished with hard work and persistence”.
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Children who are refugees are subject to “cultural shock” and loss of their individual identity. On one hand they may feel safe in their new environment, and on the other hand they may mourn the losses of loved ones and objects and all that was familiar to them. Some might feel helpless in the face of new challenges presented to them in a new country and new cultural environment. They may feel that they cannot accomplish challenging academic tasks, a problem even when they try hard. Using stories such “Kre-Nikoo Kardan” in the classroom may help influence refugee’s children’s beliefs in their efficacy to regulate their own learning activities and to master difficult subject matters.  STOP According to Zimmerman (1995), children’s beliefs in their own efficacy to complete difficult subject matters affect their academic motivation, interest, and scholastic achievement. Bibliotherapy and using stories such as this one can help students to take a step forward in solving this problem through identification with the fictional character in the story and imagining themselves in the character’s emotional situation and make it possible for them to cope with their future problems with more self-reliance and self-confidence
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References
Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28, 117-..148.
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Jerusalem, M..  & Schwarzer, R.  (1992).Self-efficacy as a resource factor in stress appraisal process. (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action, Hemisphere Publishing, Washington, DC, pp. 195–213
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Zimmerman, B. (1995). Self-efficacy and educational development. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Self- efficacy in changing societies (pp. 202-231). New York: Cambridge University Press.

 

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Blogs as Bibliotherapy: Transforming the Diary to Meet the 21st Century​
Lindsey Mulcahy

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As we move farther into the 21st century, the world of technology permeates more and more aspects of our lives.   We are confronted with a world that is increasingly technologically rich.  Today’s adolescents, sometimes referred to as “millennials” or “digital natives,” have grown up in a world where information is ever-present and readily available, multi-tasking is a way of life and requests for information can be satisfied instantaneously (Marks, 2009).   This desire and demand for information and technology has not only transformed adolescents’ forms of interpersonal interaction and dialogue, but has also reached and changed the way they reflect independently.
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With the recent changes towards technological dependence, even the most basic and personal modes of expression are transforming.  The traditional diary now too has an electronic form: the blog.  Short for “web log,” blogs provide users with a space to write and share ideas, thoughts and feelings on any subject of their interest.  Not only can teens and tweens write about their academic, family, social or emotional concerns on their blogs, but they can also read the thoughts of fellow bloggers who are experiencing and expressing common sentiments.   Similarly, if blog authors allow others to respond to their content, they can review comments from their readers or subscribers.  Although bloggers should carefully consider their level of comfort with allowing blog visitors to comment, Pamela Paul (2012) from the New York Times asserts that the overwhelming majority of comments posted in response to these online diary entries are positive, sympathetic and supportive.  This share-and-response system, accessed and utilized through reading and writing online, provides adolescent with a technological outlet for expressing feelings and experiences that are typical of the adolescent plight of growing up and discovering oneself.
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The combination of the writing and reading components of blogging yield increased social and emotional benefits, as well as academic benefits.  Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak (2011), psychology professors at the University of Haifa, Israel, conducted a study in which they found “online therapy has emerged as a feasible treatment procedure.”    Regarding academic impacts, the gains are twofold.  First, adolescent bloggers write “posts” that detail personal experiences they would like to share on any number of topics: family, friendships, relationships, academics, bullying, etc.  This act of writing serves not only as a therapeutic form of reflection, but also exercises and strengthens students’ writing abilities.  Next, for those bloggers who open their sites to comments, fellow bloggers can reply, sympathize or offer advice to the post author.   In this step of blogging – reading and reflecting on readers’ comments –  blog owners are not only building their reading skills, but are also often receiving affirmations and encouragement that promote self-confidence.  In addition to literacy and self-esteem gains, through their blogs, teens and tweens support their reflecting and critical thinking capacities.  The act of writing their concerns and feelings causes adolescents to reflect on their feelings, as well as carefully consider the components of each life event.  They learn what caused them to experience certain feelings and hopefully, are left with a clearer or modified understanding of who they are because of those experiences.
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While blogging offers teens various incentives, internet safety is always a critical concern.  If cognizant of their own digital safety and the implications of posting their innermost thoughts to such a large, unknown audience, teen and tween bloggers can carefully and appropriately take advantage of this digital therapeutic tool.  There are a number of guidelines that all bloggers, especially younger and more novice bloggers, should consider before utilizing internet sites as their personal diaries.  Virginia Beach City Public Schools (2010) offers the following guidelines for tween and teen bloggers:


• Be as anonymous as possible. Avoid postings that could enable a stranger to locate you. That includes your last name, the name of your school, sports teams, the town you live in, and where you hang out.
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• Protect your info. Check to see if your service has a "friends" list that allows you to control who can visit your profile or blog. If so, allow only people you know and trust. If you don't use privacy features, anyone can see your info, including people with bad intentions.
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• Avoid in-person meetings. Don't get together with someone you "meet" in a profile or blog unless you are certain of their actual identity.
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• Photos: Think before posting. What's uploaded to the Net can be downloaded by anyone and passed around or posted online pretty much forever. Avoid posting photos that allow people to identify you.
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• Check comments regularly. If you allow them on your profile or blog, check them often. Don't respond to mean or embarrassing comments. Delete them and, if possible, block offensive people from commenting further.
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• Be honest about your age. Membership rules are there to protect people. If you are too young to sign up, do not attempt to lie about your age. Talk with your parents about alternative sites that may be appropriate for you.

 

La Voz: Gaining a Voice through Literature​
Hanna Juma

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Introduction: La Voz is a new column that will appear regularly in the SIG newsletter. In an effort to help our members and readership see the value of bibliotheraphy, we wish to share with you the “voices” of students as they respond to text intended to support the emotional and psycho-social development of children and youth.

As an English Language Learner teacher in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area, my student population spans a vast array of nationalities, languages, cultures, and backgrounds. My students hail from nations such as Ghana, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, and Vietnam among several others. Each nation is vastly different in practices, beliefs, food, cultures, and language yet each blends together to create a beautiful, diverse tapestry that envelops all students within my classroom. One of the most effective manners of reaching my students and creating a peaceful classroom environment has proven to be using multicultural texts in which my students can experience characters that look like them and that share similar experiences and stories. Through this connection, many of my students, who often otherwise find themselves “voiceless” in the midst of un-relatable literature, are able to gain a stable sense of self and reclaim their voice as multicultural individuals with a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share with the world. This is the purpose of “La Voz”- to provide a space for these student voices to take written form and to be shared with those outside the four walls of the ESL classroom.

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In response to the novel “Of Beetles and Angels”…..

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“I really loved getting to read about the character Mawi because I am so much like him. Just like Mawi, I am from Africa and I lived there for most of my life. Mawi had to walk across the country searching for his father and I had to do this too when I was looking for my own father after my family was separated. There was also a war going on in Mawi’s country in Africa and when I was growing up we had a lot of war also going on in my country- we could not even play outside because the bad men would sometimes come and take my friends. I am happy that Mawi was able to move to America and am also happy that I could move here too- Mawi inspires me to learn more English so that I can be successful one day and be whatever I want to be in America….”

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Boy, 5th grade, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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In response to the novel “Esperanza Rising”….

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“Esperanza said that her Papi’s eyes ‘danced with love for the land’ of Mexico. This reminded me of how much I love my land of Puerto Rico- my favorite memory from growing up there is when my Tio took me and my sister for rides through Old San Juan on his motorcycle. I just remember feeling so happy- I think that this is how happy Papi and Esperanza must have felt. No matter where I live when I am older, I will always remember how happy I was in that memory and how much I love my land of Puerto Rico….”

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Girl, 4th grade, Puerto Rico

About Our Special Interest Group (SIG)

Purpose

The purpose of this special interest group is to provide current information about the various aspects of bibliotherapy and to provide an open forum on the various strategies and techniques for using this approach. The Newsletter is designed to keep members abreast of trends, literature, and successful approaches in bibliotherapy.

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Selected Bibliotherapy themes include:

• Understanding Self
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Coping with Divorce
• Understanding Sexuality
• Coping with Death
• Moving to a New School or Neighborhood