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Foundations in Literature for Children

Course Description

As the first course in the childrens literature sequence, this course is designed to serve as a general introduction to how to read and write about childrens literature, including mythologies, fairy tales, picture books, poetry, and historical, multicultural, and current prose in terms of aesthetics and ideology.

Spring 2014 MWF 8:00-8:50 STV 221 B Instructor: Elizabeth Williams Email: ewilliams@ilstu.edu Office: 214 A Office Hours: Monday 9-11 and By Appointment

There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. ~ Phillip Pullman

A N OTE TO E DUCATION M AJORS :

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course you should be able to: 20. Define what constitutes childrens literature for learners in kindergarten through the eighth grade. 19. Identify the conventions at work in major genres in childrens literature. 18. Trace historical developments in childrens literature from mythology and fairy-tales to canonical, historical literature and subsequently to noncanonical, multicultural, diverse, contemporary childrens literature, including poetry and prose. 17. Understand the spectrum of diversity available in childrens literature including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special education, gifted, English language learners, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion and physical ability. 16. Define basic literary terms. 15. Identify aesthetic criteria for evaluating and selecting texts in terms of childrens reading needs. 14. Critically read literary forms for children. 13. Analyze ideologies expressed directly in childrens literature. 12. Identify implied stereotypes and implicit ideologies, including those race, gender, social class, religion, ability, embodiment, orientation, and ethnicity. 11. Understand your personal perspectives and biases and their effects on your reading. 10. Understand that the reading process involves the construction of meaning through the interactions of the readers background knowledge and experiences, the information in the text, and the purpose of the reading situation. 9. Know and model standard conventions of purposeful writing and written communications. craft a literary thesis. 8. Support a literary argument with textual evidence. 7. Draw logical conclusions. 6. Define the literary terms of childrens literature in writing. 5. Evaluate in writing both theme and ideology. 4. Evaluate genre in writing. 3. Discern differences between analysis, evaluation, synthesis and summary as critical writing skills. 2. Complete basic research on childrens authors and childrens books. 1. Have fun with childrens literature!
Grading Scale 900 1000 points 800 899 points 700 799 points 600 699 points 0 599 points C D F 70-79% 60-69% 0-59%

A B

90-100% 80-89%

Students majoring in education comprise the majority of those taking the course, and I encourage future teachers to consider how the knowledge gained from this course may be used in the classroom. I emphasize that English 170 is not a teaching methods course; however, the skills you will develop, as well as the literature and background information with which you will become familiar, will provide a solid foundation for further exploration of childrens literature in schools, libraries, and at home. Additionally, this course is aligned with Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, the Association for Childhood Education, International and Realizing the Democratic Ideal.

Required:
Bang Barrie Brown Dahl Picture This: How Pictures Work Peter Pan The Great American Dust Bowl James and the Giant Peach Out of the Dust The Green Glass Sea Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things Becoming Naomi Leon The Invention of Hugo Cabret Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Optional:
*Please Note: These texts are not optional to read; however, they are optional to purchase. All of these books will be on reserve at the library, but students may prefer to purchase them.
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein The Little House The Storyteller's Candle The Boy Who Loved Math Ben's Trumpet Black Elk's Vision Miss Moore Thought Otherwise Where the Wild Things Are Coretta Scott

Books

Hesse Klages

Berne Burton Gonzalez Heiligman Isadora Nelson Pinborough

Look MunozRyan Selznick

Sendak Shange

Sheinkin

White

Charlotte's Web

Life at college can get very complicated. Students sometimes feel overwhelmed, lost, experience anxiety or depression, struggle with relationship difficulties or diminished self-esteem. However, many of these issues can be effectively addressed with a little help. Student Counseling Services (SCS) helps students cope with difficult emotions and life stressors. Student Counseling Services is staffed by experienced, professional psychologists and counselors, who are attuned to the needs of college students. The services are FREE and completely confidential. Find out more at counseling.illinoisstate.edu or by calling (309) 438-3655.

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Resources

Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 309.438.5853 (voice) or 309.438.8620 (TTY).

Together well do great things

Class Discussion
As your instructor, I will facilitate in-class discussions, though students are primarily responsible for posing questions, contributing ideas, responding to classmates, and participating actively throughout the entire class. In order to do this, you should thoroughly read each reading assignment before the class in which it is assigned, take notes as you need, and think about how the reading may connect to your previous educational experiences (including the readings we do in this class). I assess class discussion on the following scale. Each level assumes that you have accomplished the previous level. 1. You are in class. 2. You bring the necessary materials. 3. You participate silently using body language to indicate your engagement in the discussion. 4. You participate verbally. 5. You connect your participation with that of your peers and expand the discussion in some way.
Class Discussion Quizzes Daybook Midterm Exam Teaching Guide Final Exam 200points 100 points 200 points 150 points 150 points 200 points

Quizzes Throughout the semester, there will be approximately 11 quizzes. Some of these quizzes will be announced and others will not. The quizzes will be over the reading for that day. I realize that everyone occasionally has an off day, so I will drop your lowest quiz grade at the end of the semester.
Extra Credit Depending on campus and community events, there may be extra credit opportunities throughout the semester. Each extra credit opportunity is worth 10 points. In order to earn extra credit, you must attend an approved event and take notes and then write a two-page response describing your reactions to the event and connecting it to the ideas we are discussing in class. The two-page response will be due on the Mondayfollowing the event.

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A word about Deadlines: Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. All assignments should be submitted on Reggienet. Late penalties (5% deduction) may be assessed for each calendar day an assignment is late. Assignments over a week late will not be accepted. However, I understand that sometimes life circumstances can be out of an individuals control. Extensions on assignments may be granted if exceptional circumstances apply; please contact me to request an extension for such reasons.

Course Schedule
Week 1 Jan 13-17 Defining Tensions Week 2 Jan 20-24 What is Childhood? Week 3 Jan 27-31 Fairy Tales Introduction MLK Day No Class Read two versions of one of the following:: Cinderella Beauty and the Beast The Three Little Pigs The Tortoise and the Hare *in the fairy tale folder on Reggienet Charlottes Web

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Items that are denoted with an asterisk (*) are available on Regginet under the Resources and Materials tab in the Reading folder and items denoted with a double asterisk (**) are available on course reserve at Milner Library.
Introduction for Students* Peter Pan Optional Daybook Checkpoint The Early History*

Historicizing Childhood* How to Read Childrens Literature*

Week 4 February 3-7 Fantasy Week 5 February 10-14 Fantasy Week 6 February 17-21 Picture Books Week 7 February 24-28 Picture Books Week 8 March 3-7 Graphic Novels Week 9 March 10-14 Week 10 March 17-21 Historical

Contemporary Attitudes of Children* On Three Ways of Writing for Children* Where the Wild Things Are Bens Trumpet The Little House The Story Tellers Candle Miss Moore Optional Daybook Checkpoint Spring Break The Boy Who Loved Math On a Beam of Light Midterm Exam

James and the Giant Peach

Picture This

Coretta Black Elks Vision The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznicks Caldecott Acceptance Speech*

The Green Glass Sea

Week 11 March 24-28 Nonfiction Nonfiction Week 12 March 31-April 4 Historical Week 13 April 7-April 11 Nonfiction Week 14 April 14-18 Realism Week 15 April 21-15 Realism Week 16 April 28-2 TBD

Bomb Part I Out of the Dust

Bomb Part II Optional Daybook Checkpoint

Bomb Part III

The Great American Dust Bowl (graphic novel)

Teaching Guide Due

Becoming Naomi Leon

Banning and Prizing*

Alvin Ho

Daybook Due

ISUs Code of Conduct states that Students are expected to be honest in all academic work. A students placement of his or her name on any academic exercise shall be regarded as assurance that the work is the result of the students own thought, effort, and study. This excerpt on academic dishonesty can be found in the Student Code of Conduct: http:// www.deanofstudents.i lstu.edu/about_us/ crr.shtml

Integrity

Attendance
Attendance and participation are important components of a literature class, especially because interactions between readers with varied levels of experience and diverse opinions are important to our understanding and interpretation of literature. I understand that from time to time, circumstances may make it impossible for you to attend class. If you must be absent, I appreciate when you contact me ahead of time or as soon as possible after the absence. Contacting me is a matter of professional courtesy but does not excuse an absence. You will also want to contact a classmate for notes about what you missed in class. Because you cannot participate if you are not present in class (regardless of reason), you will lose class discussion points for any day you are absent as well as potentially missing a quiz and losing those points as well.

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