By
Dr. Rose Reissman
Behold, an example of a powerful, new print book for
all ages, bestselling author, Khaled Hosseni’s (2018) Sea Prayer.
Great, he's a bestselling author and the fact that this slim work in picture book format with evocative Dan William water colors, is being marketed as for all ages, is testament to his storytelling style, a powerful one for elementary students.
Teachers can use this traditional format print book to effectively engage today’s youngsters the way teachers have successfully engaged students for ages; old school; decoding text and enjoying the message it carries.
Yes, this is traditional text to be read aloud or silently, a book whose pages can be turned. There are many traditional text books, but this work can be taught in tandem with free multimedia
items at grade and age appropriate levels to emotionally engage the students in
Hosseini’s mission in writing this work.
That mission was to maintain global citizens’ focus on the deaths of
refugees- adults and children, as they flee oppressive governments for safety
in democratic countries. That’s a challenging reality for young students to
absorb and comprehend and the addition of digital media to the text-based
experience offers them help to do so.
Great, he's a bestselling author and the fact that this slim work in picture book format with evocative Dan William water colors, is being marketed as for all ages, is testament to his storytelling style, a powerful one for elementary students.
Teachers can use this traditional format print book to effectively engage today’s youngsters the way teachers have successfully engaged students for ages; old school; decoding text and enjoying the message it carries.
Yes, this is traditional text to be read aloud or silently, a book whose pages can be turned. There are many traditional text books, but this work can be taught in tandem with free
Unlike most text with illustrations books
intended for all ages, this one is not the first iteration of this fiction
story. Rather, it’s a follow up to reach younger family audience. He
wanted to broaden his audience this way, but many families even refugee ones do
not want children to focus on this
This version is presented as a father’s prayer for his son, thinking about refugees and the ongoing Syrian war. Khaled Hosseni mentions as an afterword to his work that he was inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, the three year old Syrian refugee who was among the many children and adults who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach safety in Europe in 2015. During 2016, 4,176 others died as well trying to flee.
Multimedia “Platforming”: Strategy 1 (grades 8 to 12)
Teachers grades 8 to 12, can include as part of the reading viewing the actual photo image taken by? Alan Kurdi https://g.co./kgs/9zonRg video news coverage that lingered in many global citizens’ hearts. Looking at that image, reacting to it, what 20th century literary critic Louise Rosenblatt in Literature as Exploration (https://www.amazon.com/Literature-as-Exploration-Louise--Rosenblatt/dp/08732525671) called the transactional experience of reader receivership occurs as the reader experiences the photo slideshow and the video online.
This version is presented as a father’s prayer for his son, thinking about refugees and the ongoing Syrian war. Khaled Hosseni mentions as an afterword to his work that he was inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, the three year old Syrian refugee who was among the many children and adults who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach safety in Europe in 2015. During 2016, 4,176 others died as well trying to flee.
Multimedia “Platforming”: Strategy 1 (grades 8 to 12)
Teachers grades 8 to 12, can include as part of the reading viewing the actual photo image taken by? Alan Kurdi https://g.co./kgs/9zonRg video news coverage that lingered in many global citizens’ hearts. Looking at that image, reacting to it, what 20th century literary critic Louise Rosenblatt in Literature as Exploration (https://www.amazon.com/Literature-as-Exploration-Louise--Rosenblatt/dp/08732525671) called the transactional experience of reader receivership occurs as the reader experiences the photo slideshow and the video online.
Multimedia “Platforming”: Strategy 2 (grades 8 to 12)
Indeed, the teen reader in the classroom can also learn
how that experience inspired and affected Hosseini by watching the animated
video “Sea Prayer: a 360-degree illustrated film by award-winning novelist
Khaled Hosseini.” ( https://youtu.be/LKBNEEY-c3s
) which predates this print book.
Also of worth is the article “Khaled Hosseini:
Refugees are still dying. How do we get
over our news fatigue?” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/17/khaled-hosseini-refugees-migrants-stories
First, though, a brief discussion of the phenomenon
of News Fatigue will heighten students’ awareness and understanding of this
feeling of overwhelming loss and helplessness that a barrage of these stories
fosters in the readers. Older teen readers can argue or critique Hosseini’s
comments and expand the their
view to include other frequently occurring tragic events such as shootings or
homicides which eventually result in news fatigue and how literature can lessen
that fatigue to heighten emotional reactions.
Young readers grades 6 to 12 can watch and read
online how the writer reacts to this as a father and as a storyteller.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/01/sea-prayera-360-story-inspired-by-refugee-alan-kurdi-khalid-hosseini.
Multimedia “Platforming” Strategy 3 (grades 3 to 12)
For All
students, the many varieties of free, digital media resources available online
represent possibilities for ways the students may extend the body of content
already available online to share and celebrate Hosseini’s work. They might storyboard
the book, or use animation programs, such as scratch, to react to it or prequel
or sequel it or the 360 animation (mentioned above) or comment online on it.
They can also suggest other music that would be appropriate for the animation beyond the one used. Younger elementary students might discuss the author’s perspective and how the images, music and narration communicate the story.
They can also suggest other music that would be appropriate for the animation beyond the one used. Younger elementary students might discuss the author’s perspective and how the images, music and narration communicate the story.
Additional Strategies
Older students can look up the geographic and Syrian civil war references on maps.
Adult readers and teens can learn more about the Hosseini Foundation’s work/ www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org and learn about the work of United Nation Refugee Agency: www.unhcr.org/khled-hosseini. They can also listen to Khaled talk about “Stories Remain Our Best Teachers of Empathy” at: http://amp.timeinc.net/time/5407899/khaled-hosseini. Students in these grades might argue whether they feel stories as opposed to factual informational documents teach empathy or not.
Older students can look up the geographic and Syrian civil war references on maps.
Adult readers and teens can learn more about the Hosseini Foundation’s work/ www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org and learn about the work of United Nation Refugee Agency: www.unhcr.org/khled-hosseini. They can also listen to Khaled talk about “Stories Remain Our Best Teachers of Empathy” at: http://amp.timeinc.net/time/5407899/khaled-hosseini. Students in these grades might argue whether they feel stories as opposed to factual informational documents teach empathy or not.
All of these sites and formats also allow direct
reader response in blogs or comments plus the potential of authentic feedback
if appropriate for the particular school protocol.
Multimedia “Platforming” Strategy – Strategy 4 -
(A range of comparative print to digital text prompts which can be asked on various grade levels.)
(A range of comparative print to digital text prompts which can be asked on various grade levels.)
But what about the actual page turning print book
Hosseini published in 2018? How does it
compare and contrast with these photographic, video, commentary and animated
story responses to the incident that Hosseini wrote about?
Here are some examples of guiding questions for discussions. Did Hosseini really need to also develop a print book for all ages? In what ways are the book illustrator’s, Dan William’s artistic watercolor responses different than the animator’s? How do the illustrations in the book complement the text? Is this slim not numbered work really suitable for young children or for families to read together or only for teens and adults? Is the story only about the Syrian refugees or might it be a story about any family of refugees fleeing to safety?
Here are some examples of guiding questions for discussions. Did Hosseini really need to also develop a print book for all ages? In what ways are the book illustrator’s, Dan William’s artistic watercolor responses different than the animator’s? How do the illustrations in the book complement the text? Is this slim not numbered work really suitable for young children or for families to read together or only for teens and adults? Is the story only about the Syrian refugees or might it be a story about any family of refugees fleeing to safety?
All of these
questions have no single answer and multimedia responses such videos, music,
animations, hand illustrated or crafted art or spoken words or music can be
given by readers of various ages.
But wait, these discussions and all these ways for the
reader to respond are they actually focused on “reading” since only the single
print Sea Prayer published by Riverhead Books, in 2018 can be considered a book
in the traditional sense. As defined by the Common Core Strand 10 standard of
reading, Reading happens across a range of texts, including digital ones.
So, as author Khalid Hosseini has so brilliantly
shown the public and educators and readers of all ages, 21st century
reading is alive using in addition to the print text multimedia platforms
accessible to all. Readers of all ages
can still read print texts and perhaps also explore online platforms
Even better, every style of reader, including those with musical, intrapersonal. visual , auditory, print, and media mix preferences can
be part of the live stream of story as there are available now so many easily
accessible digital resources to support their expression
Even better, every style of reader, including those with musical, intrapersonal. visual , auditory, print, and
Mark Twain reacted after the media falsely reported
his death, giving us that great quote “The reports of my death are greatly
exaggerated.” One need only look up from
reading, the pollsters’ laments about the dying out of “reading” to see
a world alive with children and teens reading print books like Sea Prayer and complimenting
their print reading experience with videos, digital news, and digital music ,
reacting by developing their own digital products in response Rather than
diminish reading, allowing the reader to go across print and digital formats to
experience the story, enhances and amplifies the reader’s engagement
Bana Alebed’s tweets to Stand with Aleppo prefigured her Dear World book as did Malala’s broadcasts about Pakistani education. Their calls for social justice were then followed by print works and further media products… Offering today’s content consumer a richer and more meaningful literacy experience.
Bana Alebed’s tweets to Stand with Aleppo prefigured her Dear World book as did Malala’s broadcasts about Pakistani education. Their calls for social justice were then followed by print works and further media products… Offering today’s content consumer a richer and more meaningful literacy experience.
Want to engage a new generation of print readers and
writers? Just school them in multimedia
platforming and find an already differentiated reader menu of options that will
bring increasing numbers of reluctant print readers to the circle of enthused,
active readers. .
Dr. Rose Reissman is the founder of the Writing Institute, now replicated in 200 schools including PS 205 in The Bronx, New York City. She is a featured author in New York State Union Teachers Educators Voice 2016 and was filmed discussing ESL student leadership literary strategies developed at Ditmas IS 62, a Brooklyn public intermediate school. roshchaya@gmail.com
Also by Dr. Rose Reissman
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The ad said “Download the eBook NOW!” - Struggling with important insights about Teaching and Learning Literacy in the Digital Age
https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-ad-said-download-ebook-now.html
The ad said “Download the eBook NOW!” - Struggling with important insights about Teaching and Learning Literacy in the Digital Age
https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-ad-said-download-ebook-now.html
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
From Mandated STEM to Joyful STEAM –
Inspiring Projects Can Transform Instructional Culture
https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/08/from-mandated-stem-to-joyful-steam.html
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Using the Writing of Child Leaders to
Inspire Today's Youth https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/06/using-writing-of-child-leaders-to.html
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Reading with Music at Full Blast: Using music references and digital media to draw students into reading YA books
https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/05/reading-with-music-at-full-blast.html
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Dear World: How Twitter Brought a Syrian Girl’s Pleas for Peace to the World https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/04/dear-world-how-twitter-brought-syrian.html
Reading with Music at Full Blast: Using music references and digital media to draw students into reading YA books
https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/05/reading-with-music-at-full-blast.html
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Dear World: How Twitter Brought a Syrian Girl’s Pleas for Peace to the World https://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2018/04/dear-world-how-twitter-brought-syrian.html
