Dr. Roberta Seelinger Trites 438-4572Office: Williams Hall 349
ENG 272: Literature for Middle GradesTR 3:35-4:50, Williams 313
Course objective: In this class we will define concepts of childhood and children’s literature. We will also discuss what makes the literature of students in fourth to eight grades unique. We will analyze literature written for this audience in terms of literary criticism and use various theoretical models to analyze texts for this age range.
Required Texts:
Alexander, The Book of Three
Birdsall, The Penderwicks
Burnett, The Secret Garden
Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Dahl, Matilda
Frank (Anne), The Diary of a Young Girl
Griswold, Feeling Like a Kid
Jimenez, The Circuit
L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
Pilkey, Captain Underpants (Book 1)
Riordan, The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Spyri, Heidi
Twain, Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Yep, Dragonwings
Course requirements:
Class participation and daily work:10%
Midterm: 25%
Short paper:15%
Term paper:25%
Final exam:25%
Policies:
Students are expected to attend class. Three absences will adversely affect your daily grade; five will affect your final grade; seven may result in failure.
Any assignment that is late will be penalized one letter grade per day that it is late.
I expect you to have read the assignments listed on the syllabus before you come to class. (All novels need to be read entirely on the Tuesday before class begins.)
Please word process out-of-class papers double-spaced with one-inch margins on standard white paper. Proofread everything you turn in, because grammar, organization, and mechanics are a substantial part of every grade you receive.
Plagiarism, collusion, or any act of cheating is intolerable.
I will not discuss any evaluation I have given your work until at least twenty-four hours after you have received the evaluation.
You earn your grade by performance, not by negotiation. Unless I have made an error of computation, please do not ask me to raise your grade.
Communication:
I consider communication between the student and the instructor a key factor in maximizing students’ learning. Please feel free to email me at the address above; I find email exchanges with students very fruitful.
I also encourage you to drop by my office during office hours, once they are announced, or to contact my office at 438-3651 to set up a more formal appointment. Students are my top priority; don’t be afraid to contact me!
Webpage:
Assessment:
Author papers and bibliography
Each student will write one short and one longer term paper analyzing the works of one author of books for middle grade children. YOU MUST GET PERMISSION FROM ME BEFORE YOU CHOOSE YOUR AUTHOR! I will provide you with suggestions, and I will discourage people from duplicating one another's topics. You may not write about any book we are discussing in class on your term paper.
The first stage of your paper, due October 8, will analyze one book by your author, and you may revise this paper to be a part of your final term paper. The short paper will also include a bibliography of secondary reference materials about your author. You do not need to have read all the sources on your bibliography, but you do need to know what is available about your author.
Your term paper, due November 19, will analyze three to five novels by one author—and no J.K. Rowlings papers, please. You will write on one aspect of the author’s writing that applies to all of these novels. In both papers, you may write on any of a number of topics, including such things as analyses of recurring issues, recurring themes, recurring (or shifting) ideologies, developments in the writer's style, or narrative structures, or issues pertaining to gender, race, sexual orientation, or physical ability. (Pick one of these topics; do not attempt to do them all. Well-focused papers are better than shallow papers that attempt to cover too much material.) I AM NOT INTERESTED IN BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS! We will discuss the paper throughout the course of the semester, but PLEASE do not hesitate to ask me your questions about it, either before class or during office hours.
You can find bibliographic information in the online MLA, ERIC online, and among the Teaching Materials Center's reference books (6th floor Milner). I recommend that you begin with two encyclopedias: Something About the Author and Children's Literature Review, both of which are located among the TMC's reference materials. These tools will help you create the bibliography that is due with your short paper.
Examinations
The midterm and the final exam will be essay examinations. The final will be comprehensive. Please purchase two examination “blue books” and bring one to each exam. DO NOT MARK YOUR NAME ON YOUR BLUE BOOK as blue books will be collected and redistributed the day of the test.
Reading and assignment calendar:
Week 1: August 18 and 20
August 18: Introduction
August 20: Read C.S. Lewis “On Three Ways of Writing for Children” (handout) and read Jack Zipes “The Cultural Homogenization of American Children” (on reserve at Milner)
Week 2: August 25 and 27August 25 and 27: Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Week 3: September 1 and 3September 1 and 3: Heidi
September 3: Chambers, “The Reader in the Book” (on reserve at Milner)
Week 4: September 8 and 10September 8 and 10: The Secret Garden
September 10: Lissa Paul, “Enigma Variations”(on reserve at Milner)
Week 5: September 15 and 17
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
Week 6: September 22 and 24
September 22: The Penderwicks
September 24: MIDTERM
Week 7: September 29 and Oct 1September 29 and October 1: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
October 1:Griswold, 1-74
Week 8: October 6 and 8October 6 and 8: The Book of Three
October 8: SHORT PAPERS DUE
Week 9: October 13 and 15
October 13 and 15: A Wrinkle in Time
October 15: Griswold, 75-126
Week 10: October 20 and 22
Dragonwings
Week 11: October 27 and 29
October 27 and 29: Matilda
October 29: Gooderham, “Children’s Fantasy Literature”
Week 12: November 3 and 5
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Week 13: November 10 and 12November 10: The Circuit November 12: Writing workshop
Week 14: November 17 and 19
November 17 and 19: Captain Underpants
November 19: TERM PAPERS DUE
Week 15: December 1 and 3 The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
FINAL EXAMINATION: Thursday, December 10: 3:10-5:10 p.m.