LGA3101 Sem 3

No t e b o o k: Cre at e d : A u t h o r: T ag s: 2 PPG 05/11/2012 8:49 AM Suhaimi Shaarani exam, lga3101, sem3, tips Up d at e d : 05/11/2012 9:45 AM

1.

Definition of Children Literature It is literature designed specifically for children. There are different age groups and reading levels that they are categorized in and the subject matter pertains to children and the things they like. Childrens literature or juvenile literature is a variety of literature that comprises books, stories, poems and riddles, and songs and plays meant for children.

* The characteristics of childrens literature which makes it different from adult literature is the voice, the language, the level of vocabulary, pictures, fewer amount of page numbers, larger font size and like I said previously, the subject matter. These are things which are crafted especially for children. 2. E-Concept of Children Literature . It refers to the use of computer-based technology providing interactive childrens literature; moving from print to electronic literacy.

3.

What are the personal values found in Children Literature? Determination Courage Moral Friendship Forgiveness Perseverance Generosity Gratitude Honesty Kindness

4.

How do you motivate learning in your pupils? Be enthusiastic about the material and about teaching. Show care about the pupils and their learning. Know your pupils and their interests. Use a variety of teaching methods. Communicate high but attainable expectations and goals. Give pupils the chance to succeed. Create a learning community in the classroom. Use collaborative/ cooperative learning Reward success publicly. Share exemplary work with pupils.

5.

What are the factors that motivate or demotivate?

Pupils fail when they do not know what to do (procedures) and what to learn (objectives) Motivation Have a sense of control over their own lives. The classroom is organized and they know what to do. The pupils feel secure in an organized environment they can trust. Even with no adult in the room, the pupils know how to help others accomplish things. Have a sense of responsibility to get their assignments done. This is because the teacher has 1. provided objectives that give sense and purpose to the lesson, 2. given a test that is aligned to the objectives, so the pupil knows what to learn or accomplish to earn a grade, and 3. provided a scoring guide whereby the pupil is in complete control and strives for a good grade. Feel secure and safe in an environment that is organized, predictable, and structured They have the power to earn grades based on prior knowledge of lesson criteria. Demotivation Someone else has control over their lives. For instance, the teacher repeatedly scolds the pupil for doing something incorrectly, but no one structured the classroom with procedures so the pupil would know what to responsibly do. The teacher threatens the class by instituting a disorganized environment, which the pupils do not trust. When given a test for which there are no objectives to study against and they are subjected to a grade given externally. The teacher places the pupils in a helpless position with meaningless assignments. The teacher can inflict punishment with the poweror threatto give out grades. These teachers sometimes mistakenly believe that by holding a threat over a pupils head they can force or scare a pupil into doing better. 6. How to know your pupils have been motivated or demotivated? By observing their non-verbal cues or behaviour. The eagerness and excitement they show for each lesson. Active participation of pupils or otherwise. Feedback from pupils positive or negative Capability to answer related comprehension questions. Beaming with confidence or uncertainty. 7. Elements found in the literature text. The main idea of the work, or a specific message they author Theme : attempts to convey.

Plot : What happens and why. Setting: The time, place, and the environment around the characters. Characters: The people who are used in the work, such as: protagonist, antagonist. Major characters and minor characters. Narrator: Who tells the story. It can be: First person narrator: The narrator is a usually a character in the work. Pronouns such as "I" and "we" are used. Found in autobiographies and some fiction. Second person narrator: When the narrator uses the pronoun "you." In effect, this comes across that the narrator is telling you the story. Third person narrator: when the narrator uses the pronouns "he," "she," or "they." The third person narrator is the most versatile because it can tell the story from any time and place. Style: The language of the work where it is modern, old, easy, or difficult. Also, the techniques the author uses to convey his or her message. Symbols: Symbols represent things and ideas for something which they are not. For example, a character can be symbolic of a particular idea, or an object can be symbolic of a concept. 8. Selecting text for your pupils, explain briefly.

Stimulates the imagination Has fun language, rhyme, rhythm and patterns Has big, clear print and pictures Is developmentally appropriate Keeps a childs attention Gets children involved in the story Has sensory appeal 9. What type of plot do you think your pupils like? A Dramatic or Progressive Plot: This is a chronological structure which first establishes the setting and conflict, then follows the rising action through to a climax (the peak of the action and turning point), and concludes with a denouement or resolution(a wrapping up of loose ends). 10. Discuss how you would teach literature in a multiracial classroom. Be open-minded Colour blind Literature texts must be diverse and varied comprising all cultures Tolerance Fair and equal treatment Opportunities for all Encourage maximum participation from all races Be sensitive Be respectful Avoid controversies 11. What are the different genres / What are 5 genres in teaching Children Literature?
1. 2. 3. 4.

Picture books picture story books traditional literature modern fantasy

5. poetry

12.

Assessing Children's Literature Are the stories interesting to children? Are there various conflicts for children to explore? How are the conflicts resolved?

Story:

Characters: Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? Do "good" characters reflect a variety of backgrounds? Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? Themes: Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? Are values being explored instead of preached? Are there lessons to be learned? Settings: Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? Are urban, suburban, and rural settings represented realistically? Are cultural settings represented realistically? Illustrations: Are diverse populations represented? Is there diversity represented within cultural groups? Are characters realistically and genuinely represented? Do the illustrations avoid reinforcing societal stereotypes? Other Considerations: Will the stories encourage discussions? Are children exposed to multiple perspectives and values? Do the stories promote understanding of our diverse society? Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? 13. Elements of Literature: Characters 1) Types of Characters: Protagonist (hero): the central figure with whom we usually sympathize or identify Antagonist (villain): the figure who opposes the protagonist and creates the conflict Foil Character: the figure whose personality traits are the opposite of the main characters. This is a supporting character and usually made to shine the protagonist. 2) The ways characters are portrayed: Flat Characters (stock, static characters or stereotypes): they have no depth and no change; we only see one side or aspect of them. Most supporting characters are portrayed in this way, for example, a strict teacher, a helpful policeman, and an evil stepmother.

 Round Characters (dynamic character): they have more fully developed personalities. We expect the protagonists and antagonists to be rounded individuals who express a range of emotion and change throughout the narrative, usually toward greater maturity. 3) The ways characters are revealed: What the narrator says about the character What the other characters say about the character What the character says about himself or herself What the character actually does Setting 1) The setting refers to the time , the geographical locations, and the general environment and circumstances that prevail in a narrative. The setting helps to establish the mood of a story. 2) Two types of setting: Integral Setting: the setting is fully described in both time and place , usually found in historical fiction. Backdrop Setting: the setting is vague and general, which helps to convey a universal, timeless tale. This type of setting is often found in folktales and simply sets the stage and the mood. For example, "long ago in a cottage in the deep woods" and "once upon a time there was a great land that had an Emperor." Narrative Point of View Internal Narrator (First-person Narrator; the narrator uses "I" to refer to himself/herself): the narrator is a character in the story, often, but not necessarily, the protagonist. This narrative point of view allows for a very personal touch in the story telling. Omniscient Narrator (multiple points of view; the narrator is "allknowing"): the narrator is not a character in the story but knows everything about the story. The omniscient narrator can show the thoughts and experiences of any character in the story. It permits the writer the broadest scope. Limited Narrator (External Subjective Narrator; the 3rd person point of view): the narrator is not a character in the story but looks at things only through the eyes of a single character. This type of narrative permits the narrator to quickly build a close bond between the protagonist and the reader, without being confined by the protagonists educational or language restrictions. Plot 1) The plot of a story is a series of interconnected events in which every occurrence has a specific purpose . A plot is all about establishing connections, suggesting causes, and showing relationships. 2) Four types of plot structure : A Dramatic or Progressive Plot: This is a chronological structure which first establishes the setting and conflict, then follows the rising action through to a climax (the peak of the action and turning point), and concludes with a denouement (a wrapping up of loose ends).

 An Episodic Plot: This is also a chronological structure, but it consists of a series of loosely related incidents, usually of chapter length, tied together by a common theme and/or characters. Episodic plots work best when the writer wishes to explore the personalities of the characters, the nature of their existence, and the flavor of an era.

A Parallel Plot: The writer weaves two or more dramatic plots that are usually linked by a common character and a similar theme. A Flashback: This structure conveys information about events that occurred earlier. It permits authors to begin the story in the midst of the action but later fill in the background for full understanding of the present events. Flashbacks can occur more than once and in different parts of a story.

Conflict

1) Common types of conflicts: The Protagonist against Another The Protagonist against Society The Protagonist against Nature The Protagonist against Self 2) A single story may contain more than one type of conflict, although one often predominates. The conflict provides the excitement and makes possible the growth and development of the protagonists character. Theme 1) The theme is the main, underlying idea of a piece of literature. 2) Among the frequently found thematic issues in childrens literature are the problems of growing up and maturing, such as adjustment to society, love and friendship, achieving ones identity, and finding one's place in the world. Style 1) Word Choice 2) Sentence Length and Construction Short sentences best convey suspense, tension, and swift action. Longer sentences work best when explanations and descriptions are needed. Prose has rhythm just as poetry does. Its rhythm can be produced by the juxtaposition of sounds, the use of repetition with a slight variation of patterns, and the varied length of sentences. 3) Exposition: the narrators passages that provide background information and/or introduce characters to help readers understand the events of a story. Children prefer a balance between exposition and dialogue. 4) Dialogue : the words spoken by the characters, usually to each other, not to the reader. Children especially enjoy dialogue as a realistic and convincing way of defining character. Tone 1) Tone refers to the authors mood and manner of expression in a work of literature. The tone can be serious, didactic, humorous, satirical, caustic/sarcastic, passionate, sensitive, sentimental, zealous, indifferent, poignant, warm, agitated, and so on. 2) Humor: Incongruity is the foundation of humor. We laugh at the tension resulting from something out of the ordinary. Humor is elusive. Humor tends to be age specific. Humor can be either sympathetic or negative. One prerequisite is that the victim must seem to deserve the fate or the harm must not be critical. Ten Types of humor most common in childrens books (Kappas, 1967):

 Exaggeration Incongruity Surprise Slapstick Absurdity Situational humor Ridicule/satire Defiance Violence Verbal Humor: word play, name-calling, jokes and puns, malapropisms (the unintentional misuse of language), or the misinterpretation of language. 3) Parody: A parody is a literary imitation of another piece of literature, usually using exaggeration for comic purpose. A parody implies a degree of sophistication that deconstructs the original story and depicts the characters from a different perspective. Parodies can demonstrate the vitality of literature and can suggest new ways of interpreting old tales. 4) Condescending tones: Condescending tones are inappropriate for children's stories, placing the adult narrator in a superior position. For examples, a moralizing, didactic, sentimental, or cynical tone is not appreciated in children's literature nowadays.