Scaffolding brings back a memory I am not particularly proud of when I think back of my role in helping my son when he was a third grader. I wanted my son to read a book about Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who, by his own ingenuity, created an entire alphabet, so that the Cherokee language could be in written form. I was in a hurry. Back in those early days, I put a deadlines on everything. I thought that he had to do these tasks by a particular time. (I think that was a reflection of my perfectionism. I know better now!) I was in a hurry to get him started on the book and I gave it to him cold. No background knowledge, no preface, just “here, read this.” It went about as well as you’d expect. He struggled. I got frustrated. He got frustrated. I got more frustrated. The circle of frustration had begun.
The problem (besides my perfectionism and frustration)? I gave him nothing to hold on to. Sure, he could handle the words in the story, they were simple enough. The problem was the premise of the story. The concept of on oral tradition and not having a written language was something completely foreign to him. He had no frame of reference, and so the story simply did not make sense to him. Background knowledge is important. Foundation information matters.
Educational struggles many times find their root cause in a simple lack of background knowledge. Learning begins when new information is layered onto information that is already known. Before new learning can take place, there needs to be a scaffolding of sorts to support the weight of any new information.
To aid with future understanding, children need to build a solid framework of understanding about many different topics. One way to build this necessary framework is through the reading of stories from different perspectives, times, and cultures. The good news is that children are naturally curious and it is not difficult to get them to create this layer of understanding through the reading of engaging children’s literature.
Some have questioned why our program includes the reading fairy tales and folk tales. The reading of fairy tales and folk tales is not a waste of time, as they build a foundation of understanding for future learning. To understand the ideas of motifs or allegories in more complex stories that children read in upper middle school and high school, they must first have read and understand the traditional stories to which they allude.
In a similar fashion, it is important that children read mythology, so our level indigo does include a study of some of the more common Greek myths. The themes found in Greek myths are found in many novels that children will encounter in their later school years, not to mention it is helpful to know the myths when reading such stories as the Percy Jackson series! A basic understanding of the ancient myths help children recognize the stories and themes when they encounter them in other future reading. A good understanding of mythology is helpful when reading more complex narratives, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare or even understanding some of the characters that are encountered in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series.
Children need to be exposed to many topics, ideas, and perspectives. Picture books are a perfect medium to provide this background knowledge for children. Picture books provide thought- provoking topics, but present it in an accessible way. They are perfect for sparking discussions and for allowing children to experience life through a different lens of experience. That is why I love picture books and why picture books are an integral part of our program.
A strong framework of understanding builds stronger learners. Learning is weighty business and a strong framework and foundation is essential to support that higher level learning. So, dive into that pile of picture books to build deeper and richer levels of understanding for your children at home. Spark discussions about the topics covered in the book. You never know, it might spark the desire for even more learning about the subject.
Here are a few of our favorite picture books for both our primary and upper elementary learners (Along with our video read alouds of those stories. Click on the story title and you will go the story being read aloud):
Primary:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts