A classic fairy tale by a known author is modelled on a folk fairy tale as regards the structure, themes and motifs; however, it mostly differs from it in poetics which gives the fairy tale the character of the author’s narrative” (Haramija, 2012: 17). Fairy tales have been researched since the 19th century and they have been analysed according to numerous theories: folk theory, structuralism theory, literary theory, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, feminist theory, and poststructuralist theory (Blažić, 2014). In the educational curricula for Slovene in primary schools (Program osnovna šola. Slovenščina. Učni načrt. 2011), a fairy tale is one of the suggested literary genres in the first triad.
Another aspect of my theoretical interest concerned family literacy. According to L. Mandel Morrow (1995), »family literacy contains methods how parents, children and other family members use literacy at home and in their community. L. Knaflič writes that family literacy includes all the activities connected with literacy that a family engages in (2009: 7). The way family literacy influences the literacy of children has been analysed in numerous researches. International Adult Literacy Survey (1999), in which also Slovenia took part, has shown that “various activities connected to literacy (reading books, visiting libraries etc.) that family members undertake have higher importance than an abundance of reading materials” (Knaflič, 2002: 37).
In the research part of my MA thesis, I presented the project of family reading of classic fairy tales. The activities were oriented into developing reading comprehension, devising reading strategies, and developing linguistic skills. Researchers and experts use different approaches for assessing family literacy. Therefore, I checked how familiar parents are with children’s books and fairy tales using the list of titles and authors of children’s books (Marjanovič Umek, Fekonja Peklaj). I made parents enthusiastic about a guided project of family reading and telling classic fairy tales. Since teaching literature in the first triad of the primary school is based on a communicative approach, the students developed their perception skills through listening, reading and writing/re-creating classic fairy tales. With a standardized reading test by authors S. Pečjak and N. Potočnik I established the general level of students’ reading skills at the end of the first triad of the primary school. An acquired reading skill according to the educational curricula for Slovene in primary schools (Program osnovna šola. Slovenščina. Učni načrt. 2011) is defined as a skill of fast fluent reading with comprehension and it represents the central learning skill. The results of the reading test showed an individual student’s reading skills as compared to other third-graders’ reading skills. The results will enable me a more efficient planning of providing help for an individual student. At the same time, my teaching will become more efficient. Although it is not possible to generalise the results, the project of family reading of fairy tales will be applicable in other situations, as an example of good practice.
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