A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2003
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1049147319 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu10491473192021-08-03T05:47:51Z A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading Zbaracki, Matthew D. HUMOR humorous books CHILDREN funny humorous literature READING “Humor is the Rodney Dangerfield of literary forms: It gets no respect!” (Cart, 1995, p. 1) In an effort to explore the potential “respectability” of humor in children’s literature, this study examined how humorous children’s literature served to engage a limited sample of intermediate grade children in reading. Their teachers and three authors of humorous literature also contributed their perspectives. The study was conducted in two multiage classrooms in a suburban school adjacent to a large Midwestern city. Eleven third graders, 21 fourth graders, and nine fifth graders completed humor surveys at the beginning of the research that assisted in author selections for the study. After authors and representative books were chosen, students in the third and fourth grade class selected a book to read, and then met in discussion groups to talk about the humor found in the stories. In this group, each student read three of the five books; in the other, each student read as many books as desired and discussed their choices with the researcher one on one. Children's responses from surveys, discussion groups, and written responses were analyzed for patterns of reading engagement and preferences in humor. The data showed that at least some children were highly engaged in reading when the material was a humorous children's book. They demonstrated several characteristics of active reading, including strong intrinsic motivation, social involvement, and the use of particular reading strategies. These included some strategies reported frequently, such as visualization and aspects of critical reading, as well as the tendency toward vocalization, or imagining distinctive voices for humorous characters. Children also described attributes of humor that appealed to them, including the unexpected and the use of language for humorous effect; they placed special emphasis on "cliffhangers," the mechanism that kept them in suspense, looking for the next funny event. Finally, children expressed an awareness of the emotional appeal of humor and its function of helping them cope. Statements from the author interviews showed many similarities to children's perspectives, especially with regard to the appeal of the unexpected and the motivating power of humor. Implications for teachers center on selecting humorous books to increase motivation and to build bridges to other types of books. Teachers might use humorous materials to facilitate reading strategies such as visualization that promote engagement. A recommendation for further research is exploration of attitudes held by teachers about humorous literature. 2003-04-02 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1049147319 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1049147319 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
HUMOR humorous books CHILDREN funny humorous literature READING |
| spellingShingle |
HUMOR humorous books CHILDREN funny humorous literature READING Zbaracki, Matthew D. A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| author |
Zbaracki, Matthew D. |
| author_facet |
Zbaracki, Matthew D. |
| author_sort |
Zbaracki, Matthew D. |
| title |
A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| title_short |
A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| title_full |
A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| title_fullStr |
A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| title_full_unstemmed |
A Descriptive Study of How Humor in Literature Serves to Engage Children in Their Reading |
| title_sort |
descriptive study of how humor in literature serves to engage children in their reading |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2003 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1049147319 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT zbarackimatthewd adescriptivestudyofhowhumorinliteratureservestoengagechildrenintheirreading AT zbarackimatthewd descriptivestudyofhowhumorinliteratureservestoengagechildrenintheirreading |
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