ERDG 504: Children’s Literature
Program Requirements and Prerequisites: This is a required course for students in the Literacy Specialist B-6 program and Childhood Education. It is an elective for the Early Childhood Education program.
Course Description: Students read and respond to multiple genres of children's literature, including nonfiction texts, across both print and electronic platforms. Topics include: supporting and appreciating students' complex responses to literature; analyzing the symbiotic relationship of words and pictures in visual texts; using technology to promote literary understanding; and meeting the standards by designing literature instruction informed by critical literacy perspectives.
Attributes· Literacy as Social Practice*
· Equity
· Generate Productive Learning Communities*
· Engagement**
· Reciprocal Relationships Across Modes of Communication**
· Strategic Teaching to Promote Self-Extending Learning
· Assessment of Literacies and Their Development
· Research Based Professional Learning* / Attributes (continued)
· Respectful Representation of Students, Families and Communities
· Critical Literacies**
· Disciplinary Literacy/Knowledge Building*
· Data Based Decision Making
· Technologies and Digital Media*
· Materials and Resources**
· Prevention and Intervention
· Standards*
Core Content / Possible Assignments / Possible Readings
· Response to Literature
· Art, Aesthetics, & Picturebooks
· Postmodern and Wordless Picturebooks
· Reading and Evaluating Genres of Children’s Literature: Traditional Literature; Modern Fantasy; Realistic Fiction; Historical Fiction; Informational Texts; Poetry; Biography; Manga and Graphic Novels
- Choosing Books to Reflect the Diversity of Children’s Lives and Communities
- Themes of Immigration and Language Diversity in Literature
- Book Selection to Promote Inquiry in the Disciplines and the Development of Children as Readers
· Global Literature
· Promoting Engagement with Children’s Literature: Readers Theatre; Art; Writing in Response to Literature: Double-Entry Journals, Poetry, etc.; Literature Circles (in person and online); Book Talks; Surrounding Books with Supplemental, Nonfiction, Multi-genre texts
· Critical Literacies
· Using New Technologies to Respond to Literature
· Digital Texts and E-books
· Online Literature Circles / Child Response Study
Students share a picturebook with a child or a small group of children, encouraging and allowing for spontaneous responses throughout the read aloud. Using Sipe’s (2000) categories of response, students analyze children’s verbal and nonverbal responses to gather insight into how children respond to literature.
Author/Illustrator Study
Students choose an author or illustrator to study in-depth. They create a handout and present their work to the class.
Genre Study
Students read widely within a chosen genre and evaluate selected books within that genre using evaluation criteria.
Fairytale Project
Working in groups, students select one popular fairytale i.e., Cinderella, Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Sleeping Beauty. Student read analyze many variants across cultures and time periods, comparing plot, theme, characters, moral, language, illustrations across texts.
Cultural X-Rays
Students read fictional texts about the same historical event from the perspective of characters in different parts of the world. Students compare and contrast the texts to lead to a deeper understanding of culture beyond the superficial.
Web Assignment: Big Ideas in Children’s Literature
Students think seriously about how children’s literature can help learners explore “big ideas” (Walmsley, 2006). After choosing a “big idea,” students choose at least 25 books and create engagements with books to promote critical and 21st century literacies. Engagements also align with Common Core State Standards.
Multimodal Responses to Literature
Students explore possibilities for multimodal responses to literature. Students choose one online software program (e.g., Storybird) to render and share a response to literature with multiple modalities. / Range of picturebooks and chapter books written for children, updated each semester
Kiefer, B. Z. & Tyson, C. A. (2013). Charlotte Huck’s children’s literature: A brief guide (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sipe, L. (2000). The construction of literary understanding by first and second graders in oral response to picture storybook read-alouds. Reading Research Quarterly, 35 (2), 252-275.
Sipe, L. (1998). Learning the language of picturebooks. Journal of Children’s Literature, 24 (2), 66-75.
Maderoza, C. et al (2010). Beyond picture walks: Revaluing picturebooks as written and pictorial texts. Language Arts, 87 (6), 437-446.
Serafini, F. (2003). Informing our practice: Modernist, transactional, and critical perspectives on children’s literature and reading instruction. Reading Online, 6(6).
Clarke, L. W. & Whitney, E. (2009). Walking in their shoes: Using multiple-perspectives texts as a bridge to critical literacy. The Reading Teacher, 62 (6), 530-534.
Leland, C. et al (1999). Exploring critical literacy: You can hear a pin drop. Language Arts, 77 (1), 70-77.
Rosenblatt, L. (1982). The literary transaction: Evocation and response. Theory Into Practice, 21 (4), 268-277.
Burns, T. J. (2009). Searching for peace: Exploring issues of war with young children. Language Arts, 86 (6), 421-430.
Atkinson, T. S., Matusevich, M. L., & Huber, L. (2009). Making science trade book choices for elementary classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 62 (6), 484-497.
Möller, K. J. (2013). Considering the nonfiction CCSS nonfiction literature exemplars as cultural artifacts: What do they represent? Journal of Children’s Literature, 39(2), 58-67.
Maloch, B. & Bomer, R. (2013). Informational texts and the Common Core Standards: What are we talking about, anyway? Language Arts, 90(3), 205-213.
Duke, N. K., Caughlan, S., Juzwik, M. M., & Martin, N. M. (2012). Teaching genre with purpose. Educational Leadership, 69 (3), 34-39.
Larson, L. C. (2009). Reader response meets new literacies: Empowering readers in online learning communities. The Reading Teacher, 62 (8), 638-648.
Martinez-Roldán, C. M. & Newcomer, S. (2011). “Reading between the pictures”: Immigrant students’ interpretations of The Arrival. Language Arts, 88 (3), 188-197.
Jewett, P. (2011). “Some people do things different from us”: Exploring personal and global cultures in a first grade class. Journal of Children’s Literature, 37 (1), 20-29.
Chick, K. (2008). Fostering an appreciation for all kinds of families: Picturebooks with gay and lesbian themes. Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature, 46 (1), 15-22.
Medina, C.L., & Enciso, P. (2002). “Some words are messengers/Hay palabras mensajeras”: Interpreting sociopolitical themes in Latino/a children’s literature. New Advocate, 15(1), 35-47.
Vasinda, S. & McLeod, J. (2011). Extending Readers Theatre: A powerful and purposeful match with podcasting. The Reading Teacher, 64 (7), 486-497.
Whitin, P. E. (2009). “Tech-to-stretch”: Expanding possibilities for literature response. The Reading Teacher, 62 (5), 408-418.
Zawlinski, L. (2009). HOT Blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. The Reading Teacher, 62 (8), 650-661.
Yang, G. (2008). Graphic novels in the classroom. Language Arts, 85 (3), 185-192.
Dallacqua, A. K. (2012). Exploring literary devices in graphic novels. Language Arts, 89 (6), 365-378.