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Home - Course Web Pages - Summer 2006 - LIBR 260-10 Greensheet

LIBR 260-10
Resources for Children, Ages 0-6
Summer 2006 Greensheet

Allison Taylor McBryde
E-mail

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Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements

Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials

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Students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard before June 1st,  2006. You will be required to use a password access code, which will be provided through MySJSU Messaging system.

Course Description

This course is designed to establish a working knowledge of the resources available for and about children from birth to age six. From an examination of the evolution of the picture book, to contemporary trends in children's book and media publishing, students will develop skills to critically evaluate children's resources and professional literature related to that topic for librarians, preschool educators, caregivers, and parents. Research on child development from birth to six will provide a background for the evaluation and promotion of materials. Familiarity with professional resources and research on early literacy will develop a sense of critical evaluation, hone reader's advisory skills and help you prepare a literature-based program for a group of young children in a pre-school or public library setting.
Prerequisites: none

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course students will have:

• Knowledge of current children's books from board books to the ubiquitous picture book, from nursery rhyme collections, folklore, poetry and song books to concept and informational books for children from birth to six.
• Read a minimum of one professional selection (selected chapter(s), journal articles or Web sites from a list of posted resources) weekly for discussion purposes. Read ten appropriate children's titles each week of the course to match the topic or age group. Each title will be new to the student this term, except when specified, and titles must have an original publication date between 1990 - 2006. The requirements for readings will be posted weekly.
• An appreciation of the variety of artistic styles and design techniques used in the creation of children's books and media.
• A benchmark by which to compare newer children's books (published since 1990) to the classics, the lexicon to evaluate and interpret critical reviews, and criteria to develop selection policies.
• Knowledge of published resources about children's literature for parents, teachers and librarians and a familiarity with a wide variety of early literacy research and other  reference books, Web sites, selection tools and review journals for professionals.
• An overview of the stages of child development and an understanding of current research on language development, intellectual and social growth of babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
• The ability to translate developmental research and an awareness of age appropriate literature into library programming for children (and their parents, care-givers or teachers), of a particular age and community, using a variety of presentation styles. A segment (10 - 15 minutes) of this program will be presented during the two day workshop in San Jose or Fullerton. The program may be designed for babes, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their parents and care-givers, or may be a presentation on early literacy for parents or professional colleagues.
• The ability to provide reader's advisory to children, parents, care-givers and teachers and to find appropriate resources for a variety of ages on various topics.
• Knowledge of a variety of media, from music and spoken word cassettes and CDs , educational CDROM and informational and literature based videos and DVDs which are appropriate for children six and under.
• Knowledge of the importance of the early or pre-literacy skills developed during early childhood, the critical role of the parent, care-giver and community. An awareness of the vast educational benefits of reading aloud and sharing literature with young children.
• An introduction to the research on Family and Early Literacy and an understanding of how the research relates to the literature and services offered by public libraries for various age groups.

This course supports the following SLIS objectives and core competencies:

1. understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
2. articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
3. use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
4. demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
5. evaluate programs and services on specified criteria; and
6. contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.

Textbooks and Readings

Required Text
No single textbook is required. Several professional resources will be recommended and used for one or more lectures or assignments. You will require access to some but not all titles. Journal articles will be available through your library's database. Public and university libraries may also have some of the research texts but you are not expected to purchase titles not available through a library. Weekly readings will be assigned and may include journal articles, Web sites or selected chapters of a professional text. Access to a public library with an excellent and diverse collection of children's materials is essential for the reading assignments of children's books and media. In preparation for the course you may wish to research which of your local libraries has the best selection of newer  preschool materials (picture books, CDs, DVDs etc).

Recommended Texts
These are a few of the texts which will be referred to frequently throughout the course. Throughout the term, you will have options as to which titles you read and review each week. A complete list of resources and recommended texts will be available on the course Web site. You do not need access to all of these titles, but you may wish to start researching which libraries have the best professional resource collections on early literacy, children's literature and library programming. A few of the highly recommended titles are:

• Dickinson, D. K. & Tabors, P. O. (2001) Beginning literacy with language: young children learning at home and school. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub.
• Dickinson, D.K. & Neuman, S.B. (2002) Handbook of early literacy research. Volume 1. New York: Guilford Research
• Dickinson, D.K. & Neuman, S.B. (2006) Handbook of early literacy research: Volume 2 New York: Guilford Research
• Golinkoff, R. M. and Hirsh-Pasek, K. (1999) How babies talk: the magic and mystery of language in the first three years.  New York: Dutton.
• Healy, J. M. (2004). Your child's growing mind: Brain development and learning from birth to adolescence. Third edition. New York:Broadway.
• Hearne, B. G. & Stevenson, D. (1999) Choosing books for children : a commonsense guide Urbana: University of Illinois.
• Horning, K. T. (1997) From cover to cover: evaluating and reviewing children's books. New York: HarperCollins.
• Jalongo, M.R. (2004). Young children and picture books. Second edition. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
• Mayes, L. C. and Cohen, D. J. (2002). The Yale child study center guide to understanding your child. Boston: Little Brown.
• McGuinness, D. (2004). Growing a reader from birth: your child's path from language to literacy. New York: W.W. Norton.
• Neuman, S. B. and Roskos, K. A. (1998). Children achieving: best practices in early literacy. Newark, NJ: International Reading Association.

Additional Readings
A full list of recommended resource titles and optional readings will be available on the course Web site and through the weekly reading assignments. Each week, professional literature will be reviewed and discussed on our discussion board and through the lectures.

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Course Requirements

This course, according to students in previous summers, was quite the handful! Even though the summer term is shorter, the content is that of a full term course. This makes this course a challenge, but hopefully also a great deal of fun. This is one of the most exciting and vibrant areas of children's services, with a wealth of fascinating research and wonderful and beautiful resources. I look forward to meeting you on-line!

Course Format
This is a ten week Web based course using Blackboard, beginning June 1st, 2006 and concluding August 14th, 2006. This course includes two full meeting days (10 a.m. - 5p.m. ) at either the San Jose or the Fullerton campus. Attendance for both days at one site is required. The San Jose two day workshop will be on July 7th and 8th (Thursday / Friday) from 10 - 5p.m. in CL322 at Clark Hall. The Fullerton two day workshop will be on July 11th and 12th (Tuesday/Wednesday) from 10 - 5p.m. in PLS 68. On-line instruction begins June 1st on the SLIS Blackboard site and concludes August 14th, 2006. After formally registering, students must self-enroll for this course on Blackboard before June 1st. You will be required to use a password access code, which will be provided through the MySJSU messaging system. Assignments will be submitted as word documents via the Blackboard site and in person during the two day workshops at Fullerton or San Jose. All course assignments must be submitted on dates posted or during class meeting dates.

A schedule on the blackboard Web site will provide a full week by week outline of the discussion topics and lectures.

Office Hours
I work full time at a public library but will try to have "e-office hours" on Monday and Wednesday and Saturday (or Sunday). The best way to contact me is to e-mail ataylor@slis.sjsu.edu. I shall try to post repeated questions on the Web site under announcements. Further information regarding potential resources, and weekly reading requirements, and discussion board topics will be available on the course Web site.

Computing Requirements
As a student in this course, you must

1. have the minimal home computing environment as described at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
   and have Internet Access, including the ability to send and receive e-mail, view the WWW with a graphical browser, create and view PDF files and word documents.
2. keep virus software up-to-date and all assignments must be scanned before submission.

Assignments
The assignments for this course are:

• Program Presentation and Documentation: 20% of grade
  Design a half hour program which could be presented in a public library, a daycare, pre-school or kindergarten. You may elect to do a program for babies and their parents; or toddlers (two year olds) and their parents, an all-age preschool program for families, or a program for a kindergarten or Grade 1 class. You will present one half (approximately 15 minutes) of this program during the two-day meeting at the San Jose or the Fullerton campus. Create a one page (double sided if necessary) handout citing your resources, outlining your intended audience, the titles of the books read aloud in your program, and an "additional titles to read at home" list of ten books. Sufficient copies of this handout must be available for your fellow students at the on-site workshop. Include the full text of any poems, rhymes or songs included. Your half-hour program outline should include three or four stories to read, at least one of which is to be presented as a felt-board story, told with a puppet, draw-and-tell story, or told as storytellers do - without the book, sung or dramatized. Due: Copies of your handout for your fellow classmates are due during the on-site workshops days at San Jose (July 6/7) or Fullerton (July 11/12); your fifteen minute presentation ( approximately half of your storytime) to be scheduled during one of these afternoons. By sharing your program and presentations, you'll have skills at hand for implementation as a children's librarian.
• Reading Diary: 40% of grade
  This course requires extensive reading, listening and viewing of children's materials. In order to broaden your knowledge base, even if you have a great deal of experience in this field, these materials must be new to you this term and may not include titles previously encountered. For the reading diary you will need books you haven't encountered previously through classwork, professional experience or parenting. You will therefore require access to a medium to large sized children's library with current children's books and resources.
  
  Except for the week June 5th when we examine the "classics" of the picture book genre  the children's books or resources selected must have an original publication date after 1990, and "new to you" this term. Reprints, television tie-ins or anniversary editions are not appropriate.
  
  Beginning June 5th, students will be required to keep a reading diary of each children's title read which will include a full APA citation, and a 200 - 250 word annotation for each title. A minimum of ten children's titles published since 1990 (which you've never read or listened to previously ) will be required weekly. During various weeks, the ten titles may also include sound recordings, or other media presentations. Specific weeks will include books for babies and board books; concept and picture books for two and three year-olds; nursery rhymes, poetry and song books; picture books for preschoolers; traditional folk and fairy tales; picture books for five and six-year-olds; books for emergent readers; multicultural populations, and informational picture books. Details regarding assigned readings will be posted to the Weekly Schedule.
  
  The annotation of the children's books should include a one-line outline of the plot but the focus of the reviews should be on the quality of the text, the relationship of the words to the art and a critique of the themes, age appropriateness and design. In picture books, at least one-third of your annotation should relate to the artistry of the illustrations and the design of the book.
  
  This is an essential part of the course and keeping up with the Reading Diary is critical. These readings follow the weekly lectures and relate directly to the weekly discussion boards.
  
  Due: The Reading Diary will be submitted in two parts.
  • Part One is due the first day of the two day workshops in San Jose or Fullerton.
  • Part Two is due by posting the assignment to Blackboard by midnight August 6th.
• Weekly Discussions: 20% of grade
  The Blackboard discussion board will be the site for weekly postings on the professional literature regarding trends, research and issues in services and resources for children under six.
  
  Two specific discussions topics or threads will be discussed each week. All students are expected to submit a thoughtful and constructive comment per week to each of the two weekly blackboard discussions, citing appropriate research and readings. This is your forum to discuss your readings, and share your professional related experience.
  
  The first posted discussion thread each week will relate to your recommended reading of a professional journal, article or chapters of a reference work and related to the weekly lecture. Your second comment will relate to your readings (or viewing) of children's materials as they pertain to the topic, genre or age group .
  
  Due: Discussions begin June 5th with a minimum of two comments due by midnight of the following Sunday each week. (Ie: Discussion 1: Begins June 5th and you may post until midnight June 11th, 2005. Discussion 2: Begins June 12th and you may post until midnight June 18th etc. Final week of discussion will be July 31st - August 6th, 2006.
• Essay: Topics in Early Literacy: 20% of grade
  Select a topic of interest from the research on early literacy, language acquisition, child development, cultural approaches to early literacy, bilingual learning or literature for preschoolers. Read the research from at least three professional, reference sources, which may include journal articles, Web sites, and books listed on the class bibliography and discussed throughout the term. Create a five page double spaced (approximately 2000 - 2500 words) paper illuminating the critical themes and theories pertaining to your topic. A suggested list of topics will be available at the group workshops in San Jose and Fullerton and topics much be approved at that time by the instructor. Essay due: August 13th, 2006

Submitting Assignments
The first two assignments are due during the workshop meetings in San Jose and Fullerton. Discussion Board assignments will be posted by midnight of the due date. Written assignments (essay and part 2 of the reading diary) will be submitted with the student's name in the e-mail body with the assignment number, and numbered footers on each page of the assignment. Assignments will  be submitted as word documents via Blackboard.

Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses:

97-100	A
94-96	A-
91-93	B+
88-90	B
85-87	B-
82-84	C+
79-81	C
76-78	C-
73-75	D+

Plagiarism
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University's Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

All assignments submitted must be your own work. Sources and resources must be properly cited in papers. The university requires that papers conform to the APA style sheet. A "crib sheet" is available at: http://www.docstyles.com/apacrib.htm

Academic Integrity
Read the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy
http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf

Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please e-mail me as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to establish record of their disability.

No matter where students reside, they should contact the SJSU DRC to register. The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/

Allison Taylor McBryde
April 2006.

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