Strategies for Reading and Discussing Paired Books

Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona

An exploration of strategies for pairing and reading books alongside each other was at the heart of my teaching in a recent global literature course. Once I realized the power of reading books within the context of other books, I brainstormed pairings that could be productive to explore and made stacks of books that I sorted and resorted to find different points of connections. I was intrigued by how my understandings of a book shifted when that book was juxtaposed with different books. The significance of perspective quickly became clear—the most interesting pairings were ones where the two books offered distinctly different perspectives on a particular event, culture, theme, or issue. The two books needed to challenge each other in some way, not simply be connected by a surface-level topic.
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Text Sets as Contexts for Understanding

Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona

Several years ago, Amy Edwards and I worked with her fifth graders in literature circles around a set of novels set in China. Her students had been reading and discussing global literature for several years, and so she didn’t hesitate in beginning the school year with these novels as a way to build off interest in the Beijing Olympics. The problem was that the novels were historical fiction, many set during the time of the Cultural Revolution, and it quickly became apparent that the students were struggling because they did not have enough knowledge about that time period. More worrisome, because the novels were historical, students were forming misconceptions about modern China as a repressive country set back in time.
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Paired Books: Reading a Book in the Context of another Book

Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona

Critically reading books set in global cultures is difficult when you only have surface knowledge about those cultures. In a global literature class, we found that reading a book in the context of other books provided us with perspectives that facilitated more critical reading. One effective strategy was to read paired books that were from the same culture or had similar themes, but provided differing perspectives. These pairings often exposed problematic issues, such as the domination of western views or assumptions about race, class or gender. The books in each pair were selected to reflect opposing points of view and so we were able to read the books against and beside each other, which supported us in uncovering problematic issues. We learned how to read critically as we read globally.

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Confronting History: Using Realistic Fiction to Reflect on Historical Journeys

Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

This winter, while visiting Seoul, I felt like I a special reporter assigned to a foreign country. While I am there, Seoul amazes me with its advanced technology and great public services that I wish were available to me in the U.S. Korea is busy, young, and somewhat more modern than I remember from my last visit. I go to places where crowds of foreign tourists enthusiastically hang out. People, old and new, meet at Starbucks and other European coffee franchises. They are beloved here. All of it makes me feel like I am in a real city. Watching sophisticated Korean people subtly reminds me that my new home is Albuquerque. I grew up in Korea and married a Korean man from Seoul. Visiting Korea every other year allows me to comprehend the many rapid changes in Seoul. It is my native culture, yet it is no longer home.

Bookstores are also places that I feel and notice changes. Selections in the children’s area as well as the young adult section are growing more rich and creative. Floods of new genres and themes in children’s literature thrill me. I just want to sit down and read them all!

As I reflect on my experiences living in the U.S. I often focus on how Korea is perceived by the many Americans I meet. When I moved to the U.S. about 10 years ago, people often tried to engage me in a conversation based on their knowledge of Korea. All too often Korea is still remembered within the context of the Korean War, fought some sixty years ago. Sometimes, younger adults ask me whether I am from South Korea or North Korea. It is obvious that they don’t recognize the difference. Before my departure on this current trip, I was frustrated with most American’s limited knowledge about Korea and the Korean War. The question, “Which Korea are you from?” seems innocent enough, yet it reveals an ignorance of the politics on the Korean peninsula.
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Confronting History: Young Korean Diasporas During WWII and the Chinese Cultural Revolution

by Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM

Why, in the classroom, is immigration often presented only as a parochial issue? Seldom do U. S. students read and discuss migration as a worldwide political and economic concern. Far too often their understandings of other countries are formed from easily generalizable geographical and cultural information. This denigrates the complexity of socio-political realities and the historical experiences of other countries. For example, they often reference Africa as one large nation instead of as a continent of many countries and diverse cultures. They are primarily aware of dominant groups within countries who, for their part, are frequently dismissive of others (i.e. Koreans in Korea dismissing non-Koreans). Sophisticated inquiry required for deeper understandings of global issues is too often neglected. I want to, then, introduce two books that may challenge such superficial assumptions about other nations.
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Confronting History: Experiencing Historical Tragedy Through Stolen Voices

by Yoo Kyung Sung, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

“I didn’t know what was happening in Asia during WW II. I had no idea Korea was under Japanese occupation!” Every semester I repeatedly hear this message from my preservice teachers after reading books like When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park. I wonder, “How did they miss this in their American history courses?”

These comments, and the picturebook The Grandmother Who Loves Flowers by Yoonduck Kwon, were catalysts that led me to reflect on the childhood texts I read, as a young Korean schoolgirl, about the WWII Japanese occupation of Korea. Seeking the truth about our history was important to me, but it was also equally uncomfortable. The Grandmother Who Loved Flowers is based on the story of Dahl Yun Sim, a thirteen-year-old Korean girl, kidnapped by Japanese soldiers during WW II as she and her sister were out picking wild greens.

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Responding to Literature in the 21st Century: Challenges and Resources

by Janine Schall, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX

I hope that through reading the previous four blog posts you became more aware of available technological resources for literacy classrooms. In this last blog post for November, I will briefly discuss some challenges facing teachers who want to use 21st century technological tools in their classrooms. I end with some online and print resources for those who want to explore these issues further.

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Responding to Literature in the 21st Century: Tools to Share Current Understandings

by Janine Schall, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX

: Scarlet Letter Prezi

What happens after the book is read and the discussion is over? How do students share their current understandings of the literature? Presentations and reports have also moved into the 21st century with a number of technological tools available.
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21st Century Tools for Thinking About Literature

by Janine Schall, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX

WOW Currents readers are probably familiar with response strategies such as the graffiti board, written reflections, sketch to stretch, and save the last word for me. These engagements help children think about literature, deepen initial responses and prepare for literature discussions.

In this week’s post I will share several technological tools that can be used for similar purposes. One note: just like traditional response strategies, these technological tools can often be used for more than one purpose, so don’t let the way I organized these tools within this series of blog posts limit your use of them.
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Worlds of Words

International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature

Student Connections

Strategies for Reading and Discussing Paired Books

Text Sets as Contexts for Understanding

Paired Books: Reading a Book in the Context of another Book

Confronting History: Using Realistic Fiction to Reflect on Historical Journeys

Confronting History: Young Korean Diasporas During WWII and the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Confronting History: Experiencing Historical Tragedy Through Stolen Voices

Responding to Literature in the 21st Century: Challenges and Resources

Responding to Literature in the 21st Century: Tools to Share Current Understandings

21st Century Tools for Thinking About Literature