LIBR 260
Resources for Children, Ages 0-6
Summer 2003

Dr. Adele Fasick
amfasick@earthlink.net

GREENSHEET

Course Description

An overview of literary and informational materials for children from ages birth to six. The emphasis will be on the evaluation and selection of materials suitable for young children in public libraries, daycare programs, and schools. The course is designed to give students some familiarity with materials currently available, with selection tools, and with trends in early childhood education, publishing, and media.

 Course Objectives

 At the completion of this course the student should be able to

• Demonstrate a familiarity with the varieties of materials available for children.
• Critically examine representative materials and apply criteria for evaluating such materials.
• Use selection aids appropriately
• Design a book-centered program for young children.

The course supports the following SLIS objectives:

• § One or more specialized aspects of information management
• § Evaluating and utilizing relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines

Assignments

Assignment 1: Personal Introduction. Due June 7

By June 7 each student is to post some information on the Personal Home Page provided by Blackboard. This information should be professional background information about current or past jobs, or plans for future library work, the kind of information you would share with colleagues in a new job. You may include as much additional information about your interests and hobbies as you wish. Everyone is strongly urged to post a picture.

Submitting Assignments

Assignments 2, 3, and 4 should be sent to instructor via the Blackboard Digital Drop. Please name the file with your last name and the number of the assignment (02 or 03) for example: Smith02.doc. Also remember to put your name on the attached file as well as in the message.

Assignment 2: Picture Book Annotations Due June 16

Select twenty picture books that are not among books listed for class reading. These should include a mixture of board books, wordless picture book, traditional stories, and contemporary stories. The books should be published 1995 or later.

For each book give bibliographic data and write a brief evaluative annotation of approximately200-250 words. The annotations should be written for an audience of librarians.

Before writing your annotations, read the file on librarians annotations in the Course Schedule section of the 260 website for more information about the bibliographic entry and the style of annotations. Also look at short reviews such as those published in School Library Journal and Booklist for models of annotations directed at librarians.

Assignment 3: Program Plan Due June 30

Plan a program for a group of children using picture books or other materials suitable for young children. You will plan a session to be given on a particular day, although it may be part of a longer series of programs. Most of these programs should be for preschool children (ages 0-6) but if you work in a school library and would prefer to design a program for an older group that is permissible. Just be sure to use the type of materials we are examining in this course.

Your assignments should include the following parts:

1. Description of the setting (daycare center, kindergarten, public library, school) and the group (English-language learners, homeless families, mixed neighborhood group, suburban)

2. Theme of the program (holiday, oceans, animals, etc.)

3. List of books and materials needed for the program

4. Step by step description of the program (opening activity, books read, fingerplays or songs, etc.)

5. An attractive booklist including books read in the program and additional reading, to be given to each child at the end of the program. (See "Booklist for Patrons" for format.)

Assignment 4: Multimedia List Due July 14

Choose ten multimedia products for young children. These may include websites, CDs, videos, DVDs, educational games, or other types of material that might be collected by a library. For each item write a brief evaluative annotation of approximately150-200 words. The annotations should be written for an audience of librarians

Group Discussions: June 1 through July 12

Contributions to the ongoing discussion on Blackboard will be assessed as part of your grade. Each student will be expected to contribute substantive comments to the discussion. The discussion topics are listed in the Course Schedule section of the 260 Website. Other discussion threads may be started if they are related to the focus of the course.

Note: Any student who has information or announcements to share with the entire class should feel free to email it to the instructor for posting on the Announcements or Course Documents section of Blackboard or to email the entire class.

Guidelines for Discussion

• Respond to the comments of others, rather than merely making your comments.
• Be specific. Mention titles and examples rather than merely making general statements.
• Try to refrain from relating personal anecdotes, although professional experience with a book in a class or library setting can add important information to the discussion.

Grading

Personal Introduction 5 percent

Picture Book Annotations 25 percent

Program Plan 25 percent

Multimedia List 25 percent

Online Discussions 20 percent

Course Format

The class website is the primary source of information about the course. Reading lists and some of the class readings will be posted on the website. It will be necessary for students to find and read other materials (mostly children's materials) in their local libraries or to buy or borrow them. Not all material that you need can be found online. Blackboard will be the site for class discussion and for the posting of some supplementary materials throughout the course.

Twice a week a class discussion question will be posted on the Discussion section of Blackboard. Students are expected to contribute to the discussion and to use their reading as background for their comments. Each student will be expected to contribute at least two messages to the discussion for each topic.