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ERIC Number: EJ1187543
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2079-8245
EISSN: N/A
Opening up a Philosophical Space in Early Literacy with "Little Beauty" by Anthony Browne and the Movie "King Kong"
Murris, Karin; Ranchod, Vursha
Reading & Writing: Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa, v6 n1 Article 69 2015
The article begins with setting the South African educational context for a postgraduate early literacy research project in the foundation phase (ages 4-9). The research examines how philosophy with children (P4C) might be part of a solution to current problems in reading comprehension. The second author reports on her P4C action research with her own children as well as her observations of a Grade 2 classroom in a school near Johannesburg. The research shows how the picturebook "Little Beauty" by Anthony Browne opens up a philosophical space within which children are allowed to draw on their own life experiences and prior knowledge. The project reveals the depth of their thinking when making intra-textual connections between "Little Beauty" and the movie "King Kong." The facilitated philosophical space also makes it possible for the children to make complex philosophical links between the emotion anger, destructive behaviour and the ethico-political dimensions of punishment. Central to this article are the second author's critical reflections on how her literacy practices as a mother and foundation phase teacher have fundamentally changed as a result of this project. The article concludes with some implications for the teaching of early literacy in South Africa. [This paper was presented at the Conference on South African Children's and Youth Literature (5th, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa, September 20, 2012).]
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A