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Determining the Appropriateness of Books for Children

Determining the Appropriateness of Books for Children. April Caldwell Capstone Research Project April 18, 2010. Research Question. My service hours were at the public library in my town. This experience led me to the question of how books were

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Determining the Appropriateness of Books for Children

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  1. Determining the Appropriateness of Books for Children April Caldwell Capstone Research Project April 18, 2010

  2. Research Question My service hours were at the public library in my town. This experience led me to the question of how books were determined to be age appropriate. What is the procedure for books to be grouped like they are? As a parent, I understand the importance of challenging a child without going so far as to discourage him or her. I also understand that children develop at different rates and what is right for the goose is not always right for the gander. As of yet, there is not a specific rating system for books. There is, however, a system that uses development stages and age for grouping. I will combine ideas from psychology, media systems, and humanities to create a rating system for books.

  3. Psychological Needs:Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development This topic requires focus on only the first five of Erikson’s stages. These five stages are further discussed in the next few slides.

  4. Stage 1 – Basic Trust vs. Mistrust • Occurs from birth to 18 months • Trust is the first task of the Ego and it is never complete • Balance of trust with mistrust depends largely on quality of maternal relationship • Successful outcome in this stage increases likelihood of success in the next. Unsuccessful outcome decreases likelihood of success in the next stage.

  5. Stage 2 – Autonomy vs. Shame & Guilt • Occurs from 18 months to 3 years • Success in new tasks and exploring the environment leads to a sense of autonomy – believing one can do things for oneself. • If denied autonomy, the child will turn against himself. Urges to manipulate and discriminate. • Shame develops with the child’s self consciousness. • Doubt develops when unsuccessful outcomes occur. • Sense of autonomy is fostered and modified as life progresses.

  6. Stage 3 – Initiative vs. Guilt • Occurs from 3 years to 7 years • Initiative adds to autonomy the quality of undertaking, planning and attacking a task for the sake of being active and on the move. • The child feels guilt over the goals contemplated and the acts initiated in exuberant enjoyment of new locomoter and mental powers. • Residual conflict over initiative may be expressed as hysterical denial which may cause paralysis and inhibition of ego or overcompensation and showing off. • A guilt-ridden child will feel unaccepted and have negative feelings about oneself and will feel that independent action is morally wrong.

  7. Stage 4 Industry (Competence) vs. Inferiority • Occurs from 7 years to Puberty (around 12 years). • Children learn to make things, use tools, and acquire the skills to be a worker and a potential provider. • To bring a productive situation to completion is an aim which gradually supercedes whims and wishes of play. • The child can find joy in success and being productive being a positive influence on others. (A leader) • The child can become a conformist and thoughtless slave whom others exploit. (A follower)

  8. Stage 5 – Identity vs. Role Confusion • Occurs from Adolescence (12 years) to 18 years. • Adolescent develops a sense of who he is and learning how complex the world is. • Developing goals, opinions, and attitudes. • Adolescent is newly concerned with how they appear to others. • If the adolescent solves the “identity crisis” successfully, he will be ready to plan for the future. • If the adolescent is unsuccessful with the “identity crisis”, then he will be confused with decision making and his role in life.

  9. Psychological Needs:Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development • Piaget classifies learners at various stages, not based on what or how much they know, but rather on the basis of how they think. • Piaget concluded that there were four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. • Piaget describes these stages by identifying specific ways in which one changes and develops while growing into adulthood. • Followers of Piaget consider it most important how a child reaches an answer. Comparing the “rightness” of an answer to other children in the same age group is considered almost non-consequential.

  10. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

  11. Determining the Readability Level & Appropriateness of Books. • Lexile Framework for Reading • Book Level Determination Guidelines

  12. The Lexile Framework for Reading • Scientific approach to reading and text measurement which places both readers and texts on a common scale. • Lexile Framework matches reader ability with text difficulty. • Includes the Lexile Measure and the Lexile Scale. • Lexile Measure – reading ability or text difficulty score followed by an “L”. • Lexile Measures are used at all school levels in all 50 states to improve achievement across the curriculum. • Lexile Scale – developmental scale for reading ranging from below 200L for beginning readers and beginner-reading text to above 1700L for advanced readers and text. • Visit www.lexile.com to determine the lexile measure of books for no charge or to learn more about this system.

  13. Age Determination Guidelines for Books • Number of Pages/Parts • Size of words and fonts • Level of Realism and Detail • Sensory Elements • Relevant Play/Behavior

  14. * One of the most influential characteristics for these toys.

  15. Creating A Rating System for Books The current system used to determine age level appropriateness falls short. It tries to take into account the developmental level of the child, however it doesn’t really acknowledge the type of content contained in the book. The rating system needs to give some clue to parents as to what is in the book. The next few pages discusses rating systems used for media content like movies and video games. In the end, I will propose a possible rating system that can be placed on books that goes beyond age and considers content.

  16. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating System • G – General Audience – All Ages Admitted • Nothing in theme, language, nudity and sex, violence, etc would be offensive to parents whose younger children view the film. • PG – Parental Guidance Suggested – Some Material May Not Be Suitable for Children • Suggests parents check into the film before allowing children to view. • PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13 • Film leaps beyond the boundaries of the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language or other contents but doesn’t quite fit within the restricted R category.

  17. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating System • R – Restricted – Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Guardian • Definitely contains adult material. Film may include hard language, tough violence, nudity within sensual scenes, drug abuse or other elements, or a combination of the above mentioned. • NC-17 – No One 17 and Under Admitted • Patently adult. Children 17 and under should not view.

  18. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Rating System • EC – Early Childhood • Content may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate. • E – Everyone • Content may be suitable for ages 6 and older. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. • E10+ - Everyone 10+ • Content may be suitable for ages 10 and older. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.

  19. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Rating System • T – Teen • Content may be suitable for ages 13 and older. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood and/or infrequent use of strong language. • M – Mature • Content may be suitable for ages 17 and older. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language. • AO – Adults Only • Content should only be played by ages 18 and older. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity • RP – Rating Pending • Game has been submitted to ESRB and is awaiting final rating.

  20. I Propose…. • The current system should still be utilized but it needs to be more precise regarding content. • If the current book system is somehow combined with the media rating systems, parents will have a better idea of the book themes and content. • Parents still have a responsibility to be aware of what their children are reading. Having a rating system is no excuse for being lazy. • Parents are the ones who know their child’s ability best and therefore are the ultimate system for deciding the appropriateness of their child’s reading material.

  21. Book Rating System • AA – All ages – content is appropriate for any age and does not contain any offensive or inappropriate material. • PS – Pre-School – content is appropriate for ages 3 and older. Large print with simple phonetic structure. • LES – Lower Elementary School – Content is appropriate for ages 5 to 8. Large print with short sentences. Themes include good magic, heroes, myths, legends, and fairy tales. There may be infrequent use of mild violence.

  22. Book Rating System • PT– Pre-Teen – content is appropriate for ages 8 to 12. Small chapter books containing some pictures and around 50 pages. Standard or normal size font. May contain mild violence. It is suggested parents check into this book before allowing the child to read it. • LT – Lower Teens– Content is appropriate for ages 13 to 15. Larger chapter books with 150+ pages. Standard font size. May contain violence, sensuality, mild to moderate language. Parents should check into this book before allowing the child to read it.

  23. Book Rating System • UT – Upper Teens – Content is appropriate for ages 15 to 17. Standard font size. May contain strong, suggestive themes, heavy violence, sensual scenes, use of strong language, and crude humor. • AO – Adults Only – Content is appropriate for ages 18 and up only. May contain frequent use of strong language, strong suggestive themes, extremely crude humor, graphic sexual content and intense violence.

  24. Ending Thoughts…. • Children develop at different rates. • Children have different interests and tastes. Just because one likes a book doesn’t mean all will like a book. • Knowing the stages of development can help to determine the cognitive level a child is at. • The Lexile Framework for Reading is a great resource for determining comprehension level needed. • Good reviews from reputable journals or sources can be wonderful resources for determining content appropriateness of a book. • Other parents, teachers, or librarians are also great resources for finding appropriate reading material for a child.

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