Literature: Fiction and Nonfiction

Literature is a primary teaching tool for philanthropy in the elementary grades. Books continue to be important throughout the grade levels. Many Learning to Give lessons identify books with philanthropic themes. Either in group discussion for a “read aloud” book, or assigned reflection questions for book reports, questions about philanthropic behavior, motivation, and outcomes are asked.

In “100 Ways to Bring Character Education to Life,” from the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University, there are some valuable suggestions for using literature to teach civic values and philanthropy. One suggestion is combining history and literature by discussing motivations, actions and consequences. Teachers should also include reflection questions during literature discussions, such as:

“What did this book make you think of or feel”?

“Why do you think the author wrote this book—what did s/he want to say to the reader”?

Students should also be asked to consider the moral message of the book and whether it is in agreement with their beliefs. Empathy can be encouraged by asking students to put themselves in the place of characters, assessing the characters defining characteristics. A character's weaknesses should not be ignored. Students can consider the question of if great men and women can be considered “great” and still have character flaws.

Learning to Give has developed some questions that are helpful for emphasizing the philanthropy content of literature.

• Did the character(s) in your book sacrifice for someone else or for the good of the community? What was their motivation? What would you have done in that situation?
• What character traits did the individual(s) in the book possess that enabled them to be helpful?
• Was there a demonstration of someone volunteering their time, talent or treasure?
• How would the story have been different if that person had not given their time, talent or treasure?
• Which character(s) had the qualities of a hero? What is the difference between a hero and a celebrity? Who do you respect? How have they made a difference because of their actions?
• Who in the story was selfish? Why? What was the result of their selfishness: to the character, to another character, to the community?
• Can you identify the problem in the story? What was the solution?

Visit Learning to Give’s annotated bibliography of children’s literature, organized by grade level, to view recommend readings with philanthropic themes.