英语课程作业-儿童文学研究

1.0 Introduction
The importance of education cannot be overemphasised for an individual or a nation. Early childhood education focuses on children learning and educating and is defined as year childhood education to children under 8 years old. It is affected by so many different factors. This discussion essay focuses on the place of children’s literature in early year’s education. For clarifying this topic, there are four main parts of this paper: part one will review children’s literature; part two will explain early education; part three will combine children’s literature with early education together; part four is overall conclusion. In the discussing process, case approach and theory analysis will be used as two main argument ways.

2.0 Review Children’s Literature
Early around 200 AD, the earliest written children’s literature – folk-type tales was published in India. But the history of children’s literature might be older than this, since children’s literature is used for instructing, educating and entertaining for young children (Mesut Sackes, et al, 2009). The main form of early literacy includes mythology, traditional stories, songs, poems and unique fables, such as the widely known Arabian Nights. It can be said that how long the history of human being, how long the history of children’s literature is. Even with such a long history, there is still not one definite and widely accepted definition toward children’s literature. Nancy Anderson (2006) has defined it as all special written materials for young children. For all children’s literature in the whole world, no matter which country it is or which culture it belongs, it has walked through the similar path, which can be described as: beginning with spoken form, coming to be current varied expression ways, such as written, listening, and playing. This is the result of social development. For example, under the multimedia technology’s pushing, children’s literature can be shown out with reading and vividly pictures. Social development promotes and pushes the development of children’s literature; children’s literature also drives the society’s progress. Since children are our next new generation; children’s literature educates and cultivates children.

3.0 Early Education
Early education is also named as early childhood education. In most places of the world, it is usually defined as children’s education under five years old. Under the concept of Jean Piaget, early education learning is based on play (1962). Usually it includes kindergarten and preschool education. In the mind of some people, early education also covers fetus education. In early education, parents play great role and parents are seen as the “first and best teacher” of young children. A number of researchers have verified the importance of early education for one child’s growing and developing. Different types of early education have different contribution on children’s ability and skills. Along with time growing and social development, early education has gradually gaining more and more attention from society. From Sep.27 to Sep.29, 2010, the first conference of early education has been held in Moscow (Hilda Jackman. 2011). This stands for whole world begin concerning this field. Different approaches of early education have been studied and researched. Different education approaches have different influences. This short essay focuses on the places of children’s literature in early education.#p#分页标题#e#

4.0 Children’s Literature and Early Education
Value of children literature is beyond all doubt. History of European early education has proved the great contribution and the position of children literature to early education. Perry Nodelman, this Canadian expert in the field of children’s literature has found out the great contribution of children’s literature to children’s growing under the theory of receptor's response (2008); Bruno Bettelheim believed that fairy tale made great contribution to the development of mental health for children under the theory of psychology (2010). For me, children’s literature did make great contribution to early education, especially in the aspect of literacy pedagogy, effective classroom and diversity of student populations. Following part will explain the reasoning through these three points.
4.1 Children’s Literature and Literacy Pedagogy
There is another name for children’s literature, which is new born literature. This means for human being, children’s literature is the first contact literature. It directly determines the language ability of children. It can cultivate the literary consciousness of children. It can make children feel the charming of language. For human being, childhood is the origin period. Children are out of social repression, moral restraining and rational controlling. This means all thoughts and activities of human being are spontaneous and unconscious. If introducing children’s literature into this period, undoubtedly children will have a much more perfect spiritual world. Children’s literature is the bridge for children walking into cognitive. Through reading and listening, children walk out the first step in learning (Ann Miles Gordon & Kathryn Williams Browne. 2010). For literacy pedagogy in the future, children will feel much easier, since they have strong language sense.
4.2 Children’s Literature and Effective Classroom
Children literature is still the key element in nurturing children’s humanistic sensibilities. It has strong educational value in moral, justice and beauty sense. Early childhood literature play great important role in shaping children’s personality. This means children’s literature is an important resource of early education. In most language textbook, children’s literature occupies large proportion. Early education cannot leave children’s literature. Under the cultivation of children’s literature, children will be more easily educated. This can make the early education be much more effective (Mesut Sackers, et al, 2011).
4.3 Children’s Literature and Diversity of Student Populations
In some sense, children’s literature is the word game for children. It is must component of children’s growing. Fairy tale can provide happiness to children and help children to find out their own way resolving some issues for them. This objective is reached through the implying function of children’s literature. For all young children from different nation, under the same fairy tale, they all have similar implication. This means for diversity students, children’s literature can arouse their resonance. In early education, children’s literature can make diversity students have the same topic (Deborah A. Philips & Amy E. Lowenstein, 2011). This means even for students from different background, they can learn together since the same interests toward one funny story.#p#分页标题#e#

Conclusion
Summing up all the above statement, children’s early childhood literacy plays significant role in early education field. It is not only one component of early education, but also can promote early education’s effectively realizing and achieving, since children’s literature is so funny and so attracting for small children. Interesting of them can arise their concerning and attention to the learning. This function’s realizing is achieved through playing role on literacy pedagogy, classroom education and population diversity.

5.0 References
Mesut Sackes, Kathy Cable Trundle & Lucia M. Flevares. (2009). Using Children’s Literature to Teach Standard-Based Science Concepts in Early Years. Early Childhood Educ. J. Vol.36, P415-P422
Anderson Nancy. (2006). Elementary Children's Literature. Boston: Pearson Education.
Jean Piaget. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation. Retrieved online, from: http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/peterson/Psy2302011/03Piaget.pdf
Mesut Sackers, Kathy Cable Trundle, Randy L. Bell & Ann A. O’Connell. (2011). The influence of early science experience in kindergarten on children’s immediate and later science achievement: kwtype=0&keyword=%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&searchtype=titlekeyword evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Vol.48, Issue 2. P217-P235
Ann Miles Gordon & Kathryn Williams Browne. (2010). Beginnings & Beyond: foundations in early childhood education. Cengage Learning.
Hilda Jackman. (2011). Early education curriculum: a child’s connection to the world. Cengage Learning.
Perry Nodelman. (2008). The hidden adult: defining children's literature. Retrieved online, from: http://www.google.cn/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=wKosfJZhUwQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=children+lierature+%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85:Perry+%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85:Nodelman&ots=zufiu1oWIz&sig=vGkVpGaLLkSzPSSkOoe9aPLC-2Q&redir_esc=y
Bruno Bettelheim. (2010). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. Retrieved online, from: http://www.google.cn/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=1esOc6GGtOsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=children+lierature+%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85:Bruno+Bettelheim&ots=0dZodYKmvv&sig=0dqfepR0BgwuZ5vFFF6kI6s_bvA&redir_esc=y
Deborah A. Philips & Amy E. Lowenstein. (2011). Early Care, Education, and Child’s Development. Annual Review of Psychology. Vol.62, P483-P500