Teachers are constantly being asked to use innovative ways to teach core subjects, especially science. Teachers need to get students engaged and actively learning, at all times and that is not an easy task. The purpose of this project was to explore the use of quality children’s literature in enhancing science instruction in the third grade curriculum while implementing and helping students meet the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (ELA CCSS). I researched how using children’s literature in the science curriculum may be beneficial for students. I have created a handbook that third grade teachers can use as a resource to enhance their science curricula. This handbook breaks down the four bodies of knowledge (Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, and Nature of Science) and eleven big ideas for the third grade NGSSS. It includes titles and short descriptions of picturebooks that relate to those benchmarks. It also relates the third grade science benchmarks to the ELA CCSS through activities teachers can use to teach any given benchmark.

In the past decades, the Swedish society has gone through multiple changes as a result ofglobalization and migration. Sweden went from being a homogenous country to a nationcharacterized by ethnic diversity. This had led to many debates on how to correctly representdifferent ethnicities in literature and media. The current example study aims to analyze andcompile how ethnicity is being represented in three children's picturebooks. With scientificstudies and ongoing debates, we gain an understanding of how ethnicity has been representedin literature over time.Our findings show that noncaucasian characters lack fair representation in our chosenchildren's picturebooks. The picturebooks are: Rally och Lyra och Limpa written by MarieNorin, Pippi långstrump på kurrekurreduttön written by Astrid Lindgren and Varför bråkarsyrran? Written by Kristin Murray Brodin . These characters mostly have a minor role in thecentral theme of the story and are poorly and stereotypically portrayed. Rare protagonistportrayal of non- caucasian characters is mostly the intent of publishing houses that aim at aholistic, inclusive approach. Therefore, it is very vital that educators analyze children'spicturebooks before using them in their classrooms, so that every child regardless of ethnicitycan be seen and represented in a manner which leads to growth of their inner selves.

Teaching English as a second language is widely different depending on what teacher you ask and what methodology they use. The purpose for this study is to look deeper into the visual literacy approach of how primary school teachers choose to incorporate the use of children’s picturebooks in their own teaching practices for L2 acquisition and development. Through semi-structured interviews, the study gathered information with regard to how a visual literacy approach though the use of picturebooks is utilized in practice and in theory among primary school teachers. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the participating teachers are positive towards the use of picturebooks in the ESL classroom but differ in the way they choose to incorporate the visual literacy approach in their teaching. The results showed that the participating teachers are not using children’s picturebooks to the extent that they would like to in theory, due to reasons such as time restraints and inexperience. Finally, the results show that children’s picturebooks has positive implications for L2 development with regards to vocabulary and reading comprehension in the early years. Utilizing literature that pupils are familiar with in L1 further helps to engage in the use of their L2 for overall language development.

This thesis investigates how Greek and English 11-year-old students respond to wordless picturebooks. Through the identification of themes in their responses, the study explores the children's engagement while interpreting these books, and also demonstrates how wordless picturebooks can be addressed to and enjoyed by fluent readers. The central tenets of the thesis are described through a socio-cultural perspective of reader response theories. The approach taken places emphasis on the reader's active engagement, for each reader uses visual decoding skills and culturally-oriented knowledge in an effort to resolve the ambiguities of the pictures in a wordless story. The socio-cultural dimension is highlighted throughout this study since the entire process of reading is considered a socio-cultural event. Case studies were conducted, comprising of two groups of four 11-year-old students in England and two groups of the same size in Greece. The data collected includes the children's videoed group discussions, their drawings and their individual short semi-structured interviews. The sessions were verbatim transcribed and analysed drawing on existing frameworks for the analysis of children's discussions on picturebooks, but also incorporating new categories emerged from the data. Based on empirical evidence, this study refines and extends pre-existing research on reader response theories and wordless picturebooks. The main findings indicate that the children's engagement with wordless picturebooks is a dynamic process shaped by four factors: visual decoding, expectations, emotions, and context. The importance of expectations is particularly highlighted, as the children's narrative and cultural expectations were either reinforced or challenged by their reading of the wordless books. This study has implications for teachers, researchers and publishers. It widens the range of readership of wordless picturebooks and increases the purposes of their use, as it reveals their special nature and complexity. Last, this thesis encourages teachers to support students' technical vocabulary on images, and invites schools to integrate wordless picturebooks into their curriculum for older children.

This dissertation is an a/r/tographic inquiry (Irwin & Springgay, 2008) that explores postmodern picturebooks and writing theory. Postmodern picturebooks have been described as texts that blur traditional literary boundaries and text-image relationships, while employing devices like metafiction and playfulness (Goldstone, 2002; Sipe, 2008). As meaning becomes more ambiguous, readers are positioned as co-constructors of meaning (Serafini, 2005). Research has shown students enjoy reading postmodern picturebooks and constructing meaningful transactions despite the complex nature of these texts (McGuire, Belfatti, & Ghiso, 2008; Pantaleo, 2004, 2007, 2008), but few have begun to explore how these texts are written. Therefore, I used a/r/tography (Irwin & Springgay, 2008) to theorize about the relationship between these texts and what it means to write. As a method of inquiry, a/r/tography is an arts-based approach to research that is interested in how artistic practices produce meaning and a/r/tographers use art to “construct the very ‘thing’ [they] are attempting to make sense of” (Springgay, 2008, p. 159). In this study, I wrote and illustrated a postmodern picturebook and interpreted how this experience generated understandings about what it means to write. In response to the process model of writing (Flower & Hayes, 1981), the data led to representations that offer new perspectives on contemporary writing theory, in particular, the interpretive, public, and situated nature of writing (Kent, 1999). As a result, I use theories of metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980/2003; Lakoff & Turner, 1989) to critique writing process theory (Elbow, 1973, 1981; Flower & Hayes, 1981) and propose that a/r/tographic inquiry creates openings for new possibilities within the post-process movement (Kent, 1999) by demonstrating how a writer’s evolving questions (Irwin & Springgay, 2008) relate to writing pedagogy.

Children’s books have been around since the early 1500s. They reflect the traditionalvalues of the times, yet they still serve as a socializing tool transmitting values from onegeneration to the next in today’s society (Gooden and Gooden 2001). Only in the latteryears of the twentieth century has the picturebook become a serious object of academicstudy (Lewis 2001). Researchers began to take notice of the (under-) representation ofwomen in children’s books and asserted commonly that reducing sexism in children’sreading materials is crucial for developing an equitable and democratic society.Although previous research has examined the representation of gender and race inchildren’s literature extensively, there is, however, a major gap, focusing on theportrayal of New Zealand’s indigenous Polynesian people – specifically, the Maoriwoman. Little is known about the visibility of Maori women in print media (Evans1994) and even less about their depiction in children’s picturebooks. In order to addressthis gap in the literature, this paper investigates the visual and verbal representation ofMaori women in contemporary New Zealand picturebooks. Following the theories ofPeter L. Berger, Thomas Luckmann and George Herbert Mead I developed a modelillustrating the circular process of picturebook communication. Moreover those theoriesserve as a theoretical framework, constituting the subsequent content analysis. As Iexamined the characters of Maori women in different New Zealand picturebooks, Iidentified three typifications, constituting the identity of an indigenous New Zealandwoman in those narratives. The Teacher, the Entertainer and the Spiritual Maori womanreinvent and reproduce, yet delimit and constrain the identity of Maori women incontemporary picturebooks. Those books fail to intertwine and integrate the twodiffering cultures of Maori and Pakeha (New Zealander of European descent), in theirstoryline, and neglect current struggles or conflicts in the social reality of New Zealand.Based on one outstanding book, I drew the conclusion that it is through integrating thetwo differing symbolic universes of Pakeha and Maori into the storyline, that themultiple roles carried by Maori women can be acknowledged and an authentic portrayalof Maori women is achieved.

This essay examines how the picture book characters Mamma Mu and Kråkan are presented in text and illustrations. The purpose is to analyze how the interaction between the characters play out and how it can be interpreted from a critical gender perspective, and how picture books can set a scenery on how children perceive the world. The analysis is based on three entries from the book Mamma Mu bygger koja. Through a social semiotic theory approach and a multimodal method, the essay examines how the book’s various semiotic resources may reproduce gender norms. The essay discusses the differences and similarities in how Mamma Mu and Kråkan are presented. The analysis shows several differences, partly in how their facial expressions and mood are expressed, how detailed their actions are visualized, and in attitudes towards each other. The conclusion is that Mamma Mu has a calm and friendly demeanor and approach towards Kråkan. Kråkan, on the other hand, has a harsh, heated and diminishing demeanor and actions towards Mamma Mu. The author states that the way the female and male characters are portrayed in this picture book could replicate outdated and problematic gender norms and therefore should be problematized and questioned.

AbstractEn tidsepoks syn på barnet kan speglas i den barnlitteratur som ges ut och därför ser vi att en analys av samtida barnlitteratur kan öka förståelsen av hur samhället ser på barn och barndom. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur synen på barnet och barndom framställs i samtida barnlitteratur. För att konkretisera syftet har vi använt oss av följande frågeställningar: Hur framställs barnet i böckerna? Hur framställs barnet i relation till de vuxna i böckerna? Hur framställs barndom i böckerna? Studien har en barndomssociologisk ansats och metoden utgår från en kvalitativ innehållsanalys samt en ikonotextuell syn där vi har utgått från bilderbokens två berättande medium för att analysera böckernas innehåll. Analysen bygger på sex bilderböcker som varit nominerade eller vunnit Augustpriset i kategorin årets svenska barn och ungdomsbok mellan år 2017-2019. Analysen har genomförts med hjälp av närläsning och de barndomssociologiska begreppen being/becoming, den apolloniska och dionysiska synen på barnet samt plats som analytiska verktyg för att få syn på hur barnet och barndom framställs i bilderböckerna. Resultatet av analysen visar att samtliga bilderböcker skildrar barnet som kompetent och självständigt. I majoriteten av böckerna kan barnet tolkas som being. I analysen blir det även synligt att de vuxna framställs som någon som vill konstruera barnet utifrån synen på barnet som becoming. Utifrån den dionysiska och apolloniska synen på barnet kunde vi i majoriteten av böckerna tolka barnet utifrån det apolloniska synsättet. Barnet framställs som oskuldsfullt med en inneboende godhet och bilderna skildrar en känsla av ett naturligt tillstånd kopplat till naturen. Barndomen i böckerna framställs som en social konstruktion där barnet framställs som delaktig i utformandet av sitt liv och därmed sin barndom. De vuxna framställs med ett behov att skydda och kontrollera barnet vilket gör att de vuxna kan tolkas utifrån en syn på barndomen som becoming. Resultatet av analysen visar även att barndomen kan tolkas som domesticerad med kopplingar till den senmoderna tid vi lever i som kan kännetecknas som en tid av osäkerhet. Nyckelord: barndom, barndomssociologi, barnsyn, being/ becoming, bilderbok, bilderboksanalys, children's books, picture books, social aktör.

In the year of 2015, 35.000 refugee children arrived to Sweden. In Sweden education is a matter of right, every child has the right to attend school no matter if s/he is a citizen or a refugee. According to the Swedish Curriculum for Compulsory school, all teaching should be adapted to the individual student’s circumstances and needs. The aim of this degree project is to investigate how wordless picturebooks (Silent Books) could be used as a language learning tool in order to promote language acquisition among newly arrived children in Sweden. Firstly, this paper provides an overview of background knowledge, theories and concepts about wordless picturebooks and second language learning. The literature review indicates that the content of the books and the social context is important while learning a language. It also shows that picturebooks can be used in order to grow a cultural understanding among young learners with different cultural backgrounds. In the empirical study we employed semi-structured interviews with people from Sweden, Italy and England. We also carried out field research on Lampedusa, Italy, which included observations and interviews. The major conclusions of this study are that Silent Books is one tool of many, which could be used while learning a language. Silent Books is particular good since it lets the student base her/his language learning in one’s earlier knowledge and experiences as well as language level. The pictures are the starting point, and the learning process starts with what you see in the picture.

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