Literary pen pals: Correspondence about books between university students and elementary students
Abstract
In a semester-long, pen pal exchange between 3rd and 4th graders with college students enrolled in a Children's literature class, I wanted to engage students in critical thinking about what they read and to involve students in authentic literacy activities. Using qualitative methodology of recognizing patterns and culling themes from more than 200 letters about books, I examined the nature of the letters, categorized the kinds of questions asked, and noted the patterns of communications between the pen pal pairs in order to glean the benefits to both groups. Both elementary and college students learned about books, about themselves, and about one another. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Reference
Austin, P. (2000). Literary pen pals: correspondence about books between university students and elementary students. Reading Horizons, 40(4), 273–294.
Journal
Reading Horizons
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Children's Literature Course
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
22
Other Participant Data
- Cooperating teachers
- Students as pen pals
- Students in classrooms
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Cooperating Teacher Feedback
- reflections
- Writing Artifacts
- written responses to children's literature
Data Analysis Tools
- Document analysis
- Qualitative Content Analysis
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (preservice/inservice teacher studying their own practice)
Research Questions
How can children's literature and pen pal writing be used for "engaging students in critical thinking about what they read" and "involving students in authentic literacy activities" (p.274).
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Combination