Georgia College & State University
The John H. Lounsbury School of Education
Department of Early Childhood and Middle Grades Education
Departmental Course Syllabus

EDRD 3215 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE:
TEXT, IMAGE, RESPONSE -- Fall 2002

Dr. Paige Campbell & Ms. Leigh Hern (School of Education)
Dr. Mary Magoulick (English Department)

CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Introduction to Children’s Literature. Methods and materials for literacy instruction that encourage the use of literature to develop independent readers and writers. Emphasis is on discovering, evaluating, selecting, and sharing quality literature and focuses on both image and text.

RELATIONSHIP OF COURSE TO DEPARTMENTAL MISSION
As an offering in the undergraduate program in both the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the School of Education, this course will encourage students not only to rethink their own early reading habits but also to challenge students in using critical thinking and sound aesthetic judgments in evaluating literature for children. This supports the mission of the college as an institution dedicated to education experiences typical of liberal arts colleges. The interdisciplinary activities planned will encourage students interests and curiosity in the content of quality literature and literature for children as an art form. 

RELATIONSHIP OF COURSE TO PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. 
“The professional preparation program is designed to guide students in learning how to make connections between content and other disciplines and to develop skills which reflect current research in pedagogical practices” (SPE manual, p. C-4). This course will make these connections obvious as media and books are examined, compared, contrasted and aesthetically scanned. Sensitivity toward diversity is also a theme that resonates strongly in the SOE conceptual framework. From diverse children’s literature, education students will learn first hand that the power to change society’s sensitivity to diversity will start in their own classrooms.

PURPOSE
This course will fulfill in part the Board of Regents 1998 Principles for Quality Teachers mandated reading/language arts classes for early childhood initial teacher preparation.  In addition, one purpose is to apply evaluation criteria to a limited number of works in answering questions such as: What defines quality literature for children? What is its value? And, with more than 100,000 books for boys and girls now in print how do adults navigate this vast landscape? Furthermore, how do adults choose materials to challenge, read aloud, use for instructional purposes or bring pleasure to children?

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
Performance outcomes are correlated to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Standards Consortium (INTASC), the National Association for the Education of Young Children standards (NAEYC), and the National Council for the Teachers of English (NCTE) along with the International Reading Association (IRA). 

Students will be expected to

• Select, read, evaluate, discuss, and respond to a variety of classical and contemporary literature across genre that is appropriate for children (grades P-5). [IRA/NCTE Standards 1 & 2; INTASC Principle 1; NAEYC Standard 4c & 4d]

• Select, read, evaluate, discuss, and respond to a literature that addresses various linguistic and cultural differences of children [IRA/NCTE Standards 2 & 9; INTASC Principles 1 & 3; NAEYC Standard 4c]

• Select literature that will provide a meaningful context for appropriate language/literacy development skills [IRA/NCTE Standard 3; INTASC Principles 1 & 4; NAEYC Standard 4c & 4d]

• Formulate various approaches for engaging children at home, in the classroom, or in the community in activities that utilize a variety of text (i.e., oral, print, or visual) [IRA/NCTE Standard 6; INTASC Principle, 1, 2, 5, 6, & 8; NAEYC Standard 4b & 4d]

• Discuss and try out a few activities with individual children for a variety of purposes and at least two stages of reading (e.g., emergent reading stage and fluency stage) [IRA/NCTE Standards 3 & 5; INTASC 1, 2, 3, & 4; NAEYC Standard 1 & 4b]

• Engage with group collaborative project designed to elicit a variety of student responses to a number of selected pieces of literature [IRA/NCTE Standard 11; INTASC 3, 5, & 8; NAEYC Standard 4b, 4c, 4d, & 5]

• Use a variety of technological and informational resources (libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather, synthesize and communicate knowledge [IRA/NCTE Standard 6; INTASC Principles 4 & 10; NAEYC Standard 4c]

COURSE TEXTS 

Colfer, E. (2002). Artemis Fowl. New York: Hyperion Press.

Engfer, L. Conrow, R., & Engfer, L. (1998). Stolen dreams: Portraits of working children. Minneapolis, MN:  Lerner Publications Co.

Galda, L., & Cullinan, B. (2002). Literature and the child. Fifth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Hughes, L. & Pinkney, B. (1996). Dream keepers and other poems. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Ringgold, F. (1998 ). My dream of Martin Luther King. New York: Crown Publishing Company.

Additional articles and texts as specified.

COURSE ACTIVITIES

The course is loosely divided into three interrelated sections: History of Children's Literature, Genre Studies of Children's Literature, and Responding to Children's Literature. In addition to content, your professionalism will be necessary to support your studies; your ethical and good faith behaviors embody your commitment to your early childhood program of study and the John H. Lounsbury School of Education conceptual framework.

◊Fairy Tale Motif

This semester you will have the opportunity to engage in an in-depth genre study with Dr. Mary Magoulick whose research interests fall within folklore studies. Your study will entail an in-depth examination of fairy tales, motifs, tale creation, and performance art. This type of genre study may serve as a conceptual model for other genres, author, or illustrator studies. You are encouraged to participate fully to help support your intellectual understandings of genre and specifically of Folklore.  

☼Challenged Book Investigation

As a professional educator, you will be faced with issues of censorship and intellectual freedom. This activity is to engage you in a process that may be used to inform either selections for your in-class library or to recommend selections for your school library. 

1.        From the following web site, select one book to read which is developmentally appropriate for P-5 readers: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top100bannedbooks.html. You may wish to use your textbook to assist you in decisions for developmentally appropriate selections.

2.        Read a total of 10 reviews of the book—5 that support the book and 5 that do not support the book.

3.        Based on your knowledge of the genre and the reviews of the book, write recommendation to your school media specialist that would recommend the book for approval or disapproval for the school library collection.

“Literature Circles” is a response-based activity that supports students in aesthetic reflection of literary texts.  The circles group provides a forum for individual response to be developed into community understanding and shared experience of selected books. 

1.        In the beginning of the semester, form “groups” of 4-5 readers.

2.        As a group, select one book to represent Contemporary/Realistic Fiction, one book to represent Historical Fiction, one book to represent Biography, and five books to represent  Picture Storybooks. Please select from the Georgia Children’s Book Award List as much as possible (http://www.coe.uga.edu/gachildlit/awards/nominees02-03.html).

3.        Individually, keep a response journal to address your understandings. You may wish to refer to the Reflective Thinking Writing Guide that you received in EDIS Science during your Junior Year. Your responses should push toward a dialectical level of thinking.

4.        By the end of the semester, you will generate a “final representation” that reflects both your individual and group processes for engaging in literate understanding.

♥Content Knowledge & Tools of Inquiry of the Discipline

As teacher candidates, you are expected to inquire about and conceptualize your understanding of Children’s Literature as a discipline. A suggested method to help individual reflection is the use of a reading journal. For the in-common readings (the class textbook and the four selected children’s books), you will be expected to account for your understandings in some form. You may negotiate the form with your professors should a reading journal not provide a rich enough response environment. Should whole class discussions show a general lack of preparation and engagement with the whole class text, the professors reserve the right to administer formative assessments.

♠Professionalism

As a professional, you are expected to collaborate with each other, your host teachers, and your professors within a collegial spirit. In addition, you are expected to engage in professional organizations that support teaching in the English Language Arts.  To this end, you must become a member of the Georgia Council of Teachers of English (GCTE). First time membership is inexpensive and membership will provide resources for your professional growth and classroom practice. This semester you also will be encouraged to attend the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA (November 21-26, 2002).  To join GCTE go to http://gcte.net

You are expected to attend all class sessions—excused absences are not guaranteed.