Children's Literature across the Curriculum: An Ontario Survey

Abstract

In this article, I have presented findings from survey data to describe elementary teachers' and teacher-librarians' use of various genres of children' s literature and their use of children's literature in specific curriculum areas. Data analysis revealed that teachers and teacherlibrarians most frequently used the genres of non-fiction, realistic fiction, and fantasy in their teaching. They used children's literature in language and social studies to a greater extent than in other curricular areas. In general, teachers' and teacher-librarians' use of Canadian literature was limited. I have concluded the article with a discussion of the importance of national literature in Canadian classrooms.

Les corpus littéraires utilisés par les enseignants du premier cycle du primaire au Québec : résultats d’une enquête nationale

“…Les oeuvres de littérature de jeunesse apparaissent donc toutes désignées pour une utilisation en classe avec les élèves, en particulier si l'on considère, avec Ahr (2005), la littérature comme un réel objet d'enseignement et non seulement comme un instrument pour l'apprentissage du français. Plusieurs enseignants les intègrent d'ailleurs à leurs pratiques (Dupin de Saint-André et Montésinos-Gelet, 2015;Lépine, 2017), même si plusieurs chercheurs canadiens (Pantaleo, 2002a(Pantaleo, et 2002b, français (Butlen et al, 2008;Tauveron, 2002) et états-uniens (Akins et al, 2018;Burgess et al, 2011;Cunningham et al, 2004) indiquent que le champ de la littérature de jeunesse est encore peu connu des enseignants.…”

Bridges to Global Citizenship: Ecologically Sustainable Futures Utilising Children's Literature in Teacher Education

“…Much of the research identifying the benefits of utilising children's literature in primary classrooms concludes that it can be used to entertain, elicit a wealth of emotions, stretch the imagination and develop compassion in children (Pantaleo, 2002). The reading of children's literature and the use of visual literacy as a teaching strategy (Anstey & Bull, 2000; Callow, 2008, 2011) is a common feature of primary classrooms.…”

“No text is innocent”: Canadian children’s books in the classroom

“…Very little research exists on the use of Canadian children's literature in elementary schools. One Ontario survey of 1,027 elementary school teachers (Pantaleo, 2002) found that respondents accessed mainly American literature. Although they could name a number of Canadian authors and/or illustrators, Pantaleo concluded that the respondents' knowledge and use of Canadian children's literature was limited, as was their knowledge of book selection tools and resources.…”