Historical and Theretical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical and Theretical - Essay Example letter names, consonants and vowel sounds and later apply this knowledge to reading words, simple sentences, texts that are of their level of understanding and stories (Wilhem et al, 2001). Several concerns have been raised by this shift. For example, it has been argued that Shifting from a basal reading program that is inclusive of excerpted children’s literature to using authentic children’s literature in instruction may not necessarily reflect the underlying shift in a theoretical perspective. A teacher may use children’s literature in class but still use the former methods of teaching. It is correct to utter that a change in theoretical understandings needs to accompany this change in instructional resources. Thus, it is vital for teachers and the trainees to understand not only the reading instructional practices, but also the theories that educate on and support those practices. Lack of an extensive change in elementary teachers’ theoretical perspectives regarding the roles that context, text, and readers play during the process of reading there will be less or no alteration in the manner that children’s literature is used in th e curriculum. There is need to train teachers on the theoretical changes that are happening to avoid the simple switching of literature material and missing the whole point of the shift. It is vital for teachers to have expertise on literacy theory yet this is not a requirement for most teachers in the United States (Wilhem et al, 2001). Without an extensive understanding of literature and literary theory, teachers run a risk of reducing the role of children’s literature to that of a mere instructional device that is only used to help children learn how to decode more efficiently. In addition, literature is also used to understand the world and appreciate art. There is also the issue of Classroom teachers being exploited by politicians who have no real interest in reading matters. Therefore, there is a requirement for