Using Children’s Literature to support children in their language

development

The Australian Curriculum (Government of Western Australian, 2014) is, at the core, focused
on developing students’ language skills, to prepare them for their future as adults.
Children’s literature is a remarkable tool that teachers can use to support the growth of
students’ understanding of components of language. Boo to a goose by Meme Fox (1981) is
an example of quality children’s literature that can be used to teach syntax, phonology and
vocabulary because it is repetitive, rhythmic and appealing to young children. One of the
many reasons children’s literature is such an effective tool to support children in developing
their language abilities is that stories like these engage students and encourage an
appreciation of literature. This appreciation of literature will remain an integral part of
learning for the entirety of schooling and beyond.

Syntax involves the arrangement of words, phrases and clauses within a sentence and how
these interrelate (Emmitt, Zbarack, Komesaroff, & Pollock, 2014). According to the Western
Australian Curriculum and Standards Authority (Government of Western Australian, 2014),
students need to learn how authors’ structure texts for a particular purpose by effectively
using various arrangements of words, clauses and sentences. To help children develop their
understanding of syntax teachers can use a process called “The integrated sentence
modelling cycle” which was described by Noyce and Christie (1981). In this cycle, the
teacher reads a story in which a sentence structure is repeated several times and then the
teacher leads the class in a discussion about the structure, encouraging each student to
come up with variations of the sentence. This could be done by reading the children’s
picture book titled Boo to a goose, written by Mem Fox (1981) as it repeats the same
sentence structure throughout the book. An example of a sentence, from the book, that
contains repeated sentence structure is: “I’d dance with a pig in a shiny green wig, but I
wouldn’t say boo to a goose” (Fox, 1981, p. 3). After reading Boo to a goose (Fox, 1981) the
students create a class book using the sentence structure repeated in the book. Children
learn that sentences have rhythm and are encouraged to write their own sentences using
this rhythm. To reinforce this learning children read more books with the repeated sentence

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structure. This is one example of how children’s literature can be utilized to support
students’ understanding of syntax.

Phonology is the study of the different sounds of language and how they are made and used
(Emmitt, Zbarack, Komesaroff, & Pollock, 2014). Students need to be able to connect sounds
to words and these words to objects (Government of Western Australian, 2014). Educators
can help children to gain an understanding of phonology by reading to them and engaging
them in questions about the sounds of the words being read. Teachers could read the book
Boo to a goose (Fox, 1981) to the children, during which the teacher could ask the class
questions such as: What letter is this? What sound is the same in these two words? A great
time for the teacher to ask questions about the sounds in the words is when reading, “I’d
ride on a ‘roo to Kalamazoo but I wouldn't say ‘Boo!’ to a goose” (Fox, 1981, pp. 4-5). Here
there are 4 instances of the sound ‘oo’ which could be pointed out. At this point the teacher
could ask the students to read to book with her or him to get them to make the sounds,
which will help reinforce their learning. This activity would pair well with a similar activity
about vocabulary which will be discussed in the following paragraph.

A child’s vocabulary consists of the words that he or she understands when heard or read
(Bayetto, 2015). Understanding words is an important part of language, therefore making it
vital that teachers support children in the expansion of their vocabulary. Reading books that
contain some unknown vocabulary with children can help them to expand the volume of
their known words. This is done by teachers when they are reading books and explaining
new words as they emerge in the text. In Boo to a goose (Fox, 1981) words such as
‘Kalamazoo’, ‘pail’ and ‘bellow’ are likely to be unknown to younger readers. This provides
an opportunity for the teacher to explain these new words. Bayetto (2015) describes an
instructional approach to teach vocabulary called the ‘six-step process’. The teacher
explains the word, in this example the word ‘bellow’ could be used and the children would
then restate the term in their own language and draw a representation of the word. The
students then participate in activities to build their knowledge of the vocabulary word;
discussing, between each other, what it means and playing games that involve the use of
the new word. Children’s literature can be used to introduce new words to children which
helps them develop their language skills and expand the knowledge they have of words.

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To effectively engage with the Australian Curriculum (Government of Western Australian,
2014) teachers should employ the use of quality children’s literature. An example of which is
Boo to a goose by Mem Fox (1981); an engaging story by a quality Australian author.
Through various activities, using this book, children can develop their understanding of the
interrelationships between words, phrases and clauses, their vocabulary and their
knowledge of the sounds that are found in words and created by groups of letters. Using
children’s literature is a fun way to engage the class while teaching them important
language skills.

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References
Bayetto, A. (2015). The big 6 of reading: Vocabulary. Australian Primary Principals
Association.
Emmit, M., Zbarack, M., Komesaroff, L., & Pollock, J. (2014). Langauge and learning: An
introduction for teaching (6th ed.). London, England: Oxford University Press.
Fox, M. (1981). Boo to a goose. Sydney: Addison-Wesley.
Government of Western Australian. (2014). General capabilities overview: Literacy .
Retrieved March 2019, from School Curriculum and Standards Authority :
https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/general-capabilities-over/
literacy2/introduction
Noyce, R. M., & Christie, J. F. (1981). Using literature to develop children's grasp of syntax.
The Reading Teacher, 35(3), 298-304.