Exposing Young Children to the Classics of Literature

As a middle school reading teacher, I think it is important for children to get exposure to the classics while they are young. By the time students reach college age, they are expected to have a general knowledge of the classics, even if they haven't read every single book. It bothers me when children coming into my class have never heard of Charles Dickens or Jack London. High school teachers are faced with a huge dilemma.

During those four short years, high school teachers have to cram in as many of the classics as they can in order to give these students their basic knowledge. With such a wide variety of classics to choose from, it's very hard to narrow it down to only a few selections. I begin exposing my middle school students to the classics during the years that I have them so they won't have to wait until high school to begin reading these classics. However, children much younger than middle school can begin reading famous classic stories such as Oliver Twist and Moby Dick.

Thanks to companies such as Great Illustrated Classics and Treasury of Illustrated Classics, we can now expose our young children to this literature way before they even reach middle school. These companies have taken many of the classics and re-written them on an elementary reading level. Now, even my eight-year old niece can enjoy reading Great Expectations. As a reading teacher and a parent, this is extremely pleasing to me.

Obviously, much of the meaning is lost and many of the details are eliminated when the classics are transferred to a lower reading level; but being able to read a wide variety of the classics at a young age can help students as they re-read these books in their original form later in life. Since they will already know the basic story line, they can now focus on reading the deeper meaning of the text instead of just the basic plot line.

They will also be more willing to read classics since they already know the story so well. Instead of having an anxiety attack over reading something new and foreign, they will be more relaxed about reading something familiar. After all, it will only be a longer and more detailed version of a familiar story. For instance, they may remember reading Great Expectations when they were in the fourth grade and might actually look forward to reading it again in the tenth grade. Also, having prior knowledge of the classics will help their reading comprehension as they encounter the tough language in the more advanced version.

Reading a wide variety of classics as children will also make up for the limited exposure they may get during their high school years when they only have time to read a limited number of classics. Unless they are avid readers, they won't read any more than are required. However, if children read several classics on a lower reading level during their elementary and middle school years, they will at least know the basic plot line of a multitude of these classics. By the time they reach college age, they will at least know what most of the classics are about.

I would encourage any parent to start collecting these adapted versions of the classics for their children. I have already started a collection of these classics for my son. When he starts reading, he will have a whole library of good books. Hopefully, by the time he reaches high school, he will have a basic knowledge of any classic that he is required to read. If we can fill our young children's minds with good reading while they are still young and eager, they will have fountain of knowledge to pull from when they reach high school and college age.