How can i incorperate reading into my senior project?

Question

I would like to read to children at the local Barnes & Noble but I need a good topic

Answer 1

The best place to start would be at the Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Go through their selection and pick out books that cover the same theme, then you those books as your source material. For example you could discuss animals, table manners, politeness or the difference between reality and fiction. The last topic is the most important because for a good time children believe every thing they are told or see. This is why the rating system for movies is so important. If a child sees a story about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre then they will believe that the story is real, and the Chainsaw guy is in the area, possibly hiding in someone’s closet. Remember, children have a very narrow world of home, school, church and the few other places that they visit.

If you get a nice, but purely fiction story then you can tell them how to determine the difference. It would have to be a book with a clear line between reality and fiction. Like if you read a book about talking dogs then you can tell them that in real life dogs don’t talk, but on this piece of paper, in this story they do talk. This could lead to a discussion of the difference between a lie and the truth. Fiction is a lie, but it is a white lie and one of the few acceptable lies. Children tend to see their world in black and white. Their teacher is mean to them could mean that all teachers are mean, and the all teachers are bad. A concept like crooked cops will be too complicated for young children. They either see cops as good or bad, and that can happen on racial lines. Inner city black children are more likely to see that cops are bad and not trustworthy. So you story will have to take in account the origin of the children. An issue like illegal aliens would be too complicated and politically charged to deal with, as would any topic on religion or politics. Any issue that is either hard to describe or has more than one side will be one that is probably too difficult for young children to understand.

The classics are a good place to start. Little Red Riding Hood, the Little Mermaid, some of Hans Christian Anderson and Aesops Fables are good examples. The Fables will give you a good way to teach the moral of the story. In the cases of these stories the issues are normally black and white. The villain has no redeeming nature and is similar to an animal or creature that would hurt the children. Many of them are pure fantasy; like the Little Mermaid, opening up a discussion on what’s reality and what’s fiction.

You are reading a story to the children, but you are also teaching them. The simple choice of the book that you read from will be teaching them something. Every story will have some sort of issue, moral, or concepts. You will be exposing the children to these concepts so you need to be prepared to speak and answer some questions on the topic. Children are like sponges absorbing all that they see and hear, especially when it comes from and adult or a near adult.

We assume that children are more experienced than they really are since Hollywood paints them that way. We also find the strangest ideas in a child and more importantly we no longer see things from their point of view. This can give them the ability to go right through something and pick the central issue. It can also make them confused with how things really are. The classic question of “why do we hit the ground when we fall” is a very basic one. You can launch an explanation on gravity that will be over their heads or you can say that big things have an attractive force and when they fall down the biggest thing around them is the Earth. It is so big that all other forces are very small. The next question would be “why do big thinks have this attraction?” The answer could be a launch into Newton Physics or the simple response that it is a true with all things and it is part of the nature of the universe. Man understands a lot, but we don’t know everything, we don’t know the reasons for this it just is true. We see it happening and we understand some things about it, but we don’t understand all of it. Of course you can use the answer that god planned it this way, but it is best to avoid religion since that could bring up some issues you aren’t prepared to discus; like is their a heaven, why are their differences in religions and the killer, just who is this God person.

Answer 2

How about non traditional books.
Most American children read story's with:
A plot
A happy ending
Some books from around the world, don't necessarily have a plot, or there is no such thing as a happy ending, it is just real life.
Instead of the children growing up to think the will be a princess, and have unrealistic expectations. This is actually a hot topic right now. Good luck.

Answer 3

never give up