of affective learning and discussion and releasing dopamine as well as feelings of pride and respect for learning each time the book is mentioned or fondly taken from the mantle to view and share.
This type of literacy activity lends itself well to social learning by involving many different groups of people. We often utilize the assis-tance of older children, parents, or community members when working with younger children. Grandparents are cheerfully included when working with us in making books with children. Older children enjoy helping their younger friends. For example, in one book-making session, five fifth-grade girls did a
marvelous job in helping second
graders with their books. When the
books were completed and ready for
assembly, the older children helped
with the ironing for the final product.
We permitted younger children to
iron the cover of the completed book
to smooth it out whether it needs
ironing or not. A second grader, who we will call Ben, communicated that he wanted to use the iron on his book covers. Ben obviously wished to utilize one of his strong intelli-gences, kinesthetics. His fifth-grade friend, who we will call Olivia, agreed, so Ben pressed his book with the very warm iron. Ben had used wax crayons to write in and illustrate his book. To the great chagrin of Olivia and everyone else, the crayon drawings and illustrations melted, thereby making a mess of Ben’s book. We all promised Ben that he could make another book. In a lighter moment we were determined that Ben’s book would become a priceless addition to a high-level museum of modern art! In addition to creating powerful products of literacy and language learning, we also forged meaningful life-long relationships. Obviously, Ben was experiencing the sense of well-being explicated by researchers Hruby (2009) and Willis (2008), leading to cognitive enhancement. And, Olivia experienced the positive social interaction touted by Flippo (2014), leading to a desire to learn and help others to learn.
We have found the library an excellent learning environment for the institution of multiple-intelligence activities, such as creating our cloth-bound books. Students have created the books in association with book fairs, reading promotion rewards, the celebration of holidays, and Reading Is Fundamental giveaways. For example, one week before the Book Fair visited, students created a cloth-bound book in which they told the story of the book they hoped to purchase
from the Fair, including images of the book and
its characters. In association with reaching a reading promotion goal, students have been allowed an opportunity to visit the library at special times to create the cloth-bound books, many of which highlight characters they especially enjoyed during the promotion. Additionally, children have used
family holiday stories or events as the subject of their creation when returning from an extended break.
Finally, each semester, as the librarian holds a Reading Is Fundamental event, students create the cloth-bound treasure which speaks to the experience of receiving books as a gift. Of course, such learning opportunities precipitated both intrapersonal and interpersonal thinking, ensured students were steeped in literary response and the literary products of others, and allowed students to key into their particular talents and intelligences without judgment and evaluation. They also offered an opportunity to tie individual feeling and desire to a social, differentiated learning activity.
On the next several pages, you will find all the materials, steps, and visuals to help you facilitate this activity at your own school.
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"This type of literacy activity lends itself well to social learning by involving many different groups of people. We often utilize the assistance of older children, parents, or community members when working with younger children."