Cowboys and Castles: Interacting With Fractured Texas Tales

Overview

From Theory to Practice

OVERVIEW

Interacting with and responding to texts is an important foundation to build in the primary grades and is a great way to encourage the language development of English-language learners (ELLs). Invite students to explore five different ways to respond to text as they listen to two traditional fairy tales and their Wild West versions. Students engage with the text by talking back to characters in Cinderella, dramatizing events in Bubba the Cowboy Prince, inserting themselves into the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and critiquing and controlling story elements in Little Red Cowboy Hat. After comparing and contrasting Little Red Riding Hood and Little Red Cowboy Hat, students plan and create an original fractured tale.

back to top

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Sipe, L.R. (2002). Talking back and taking over: Young children's expressive engagement during storybook read-alouds. The Reading Teacher, 55(5), 476–483.

• Engagement in storybook read-alouds should not be limited to the traditional "narrative elements" (i.e., plot, setting, characters, or theme). Rather, they need to include expressive and performative engagements as well.
  
  
• The five types of expressive and performative engagements are dramatizing, talking back, critiquing/controlling, inserting, and taking over.
  
  
• These literary responses encourage children to view stories as invitations to participate or perform, making reading deeply pleasurable for them.
  
  
• Teachers can encourage these responses within the classroom, creating an atmosphere of literary engagement and enjoyment.

back to top