Week of September 21st: Language Chart

   Today in class we learned about the useful tool of language charts. Language charts basically are a tool used to help students reach a deeper understanding of the book or books they are reading. In the words of our professor from the powerpoint we went over in class, they are "tools for guiding children's exploration of literature." They allow children to break down their books into different elements that can be compared, such as finding the theme of all the books, listing main characters, perspective, and the setting. They can also talk about "literary genres," "literary themes," or "craft of illustrator or author." Having students work in groups to create the chart allows them to see things from another point of view. Children might notice different themes in books, and by working together they can share their personal views and conclusions with the group to create a more in depth understanding for all involved.
   I learned that language charts are supposed to be large. Sometimes they can even take up an entire whiteboard such as this example that our professor showed in class. Students can add to it as they read different books. I think it's a cool idea since the children are the ones that actually write on it and contribute to it. It is a good way to get the students up and involved in their learning.

      We had to create our own language charts in class in groups based on about 3 children's books that we were assigned that all had the same author. Our author was Mo Willems. Our three books were Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Knuffle Bunny Too. They were all really cute books.

   After we read all of the books aloud, we then started thinking about what we wanted the categories of our language chart to be. We decided on characters, setting, point of view, and theme. Two of our books, the ones about the pigeon, were written in second person. They were talking to the reader the whole time. It was difficult to come up with a theme for those two, as they had very few words on the page and it was just the pigeon asking to do things, to which the reader responds with an implied no. But, we did come up with a theme for each of those together. The easiest part of our language chart to fill out was the character section. The hardest was definitely the theme section. However, I think that that section is the most beneficial to students. It is the one that allows students to look deeper into the actual meaning behind the book, instead of just surface level like the setting and characters. Here is a picture of our language chart.

   Overall, I really enjoyed learning about language charts. They are a useful tool that I had not heard of before, and I am glad that I know about them now so that I can use them in my future classroom. I think that they hold a lot of value for helping children obtain a deeper understanding of literature while involving them in the learning process.