LIBR 261
Resources for Children, Ages 6-12
Spring 2004

Darla Magana
E-mail

GREENSHEET

Course Description

An overview of literary and information materials for children from ages six to twelve. The emphasis will be on the evaluation and selection of materials for collections in school and public libraries. The course is designed to give students some familiarity with print and media materials currently available, with selection tools, with trends in education and with the use of the materials in library programs.

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
• Develop programs and/or lessons that promote appropriate library resources.

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.

Course Format

This is a web-based course. You will be able to enroll on the Blackboard site starting January 25th. Instruction will begin the week of February 1st. All of our interaction will take place on the SLIS Blackboard site and via personal email. Course materials will be available through the Blackboard site or through the online databases at Clark Library. Assignments for the course should be posted electronically.

Textbook: From Cover to Cover by Kathleen T. Horning. HarperCollins, 1997. ISBN 0-06-446167-X. It is available through Amazon.com and from several used book websites.

Assignment 1: Literary Book Reviews. Due March 2, 2004.
Assignment 2: Lesson or Program. Due March 23, 2004.
Assignment 3: Collection Development. Due April 27, 2004.
Assignment 4: Reader's Advisory Notebook. Due May 17, 2004.

Grading:
Assignment 1: (60 points)
Assignment 2: (45 points)
Assignment 3: (65 points)
Assignment 4: (65 points)
Weekly Discussion/Activity: (75 points)
Late assignments and postings will be lowered a grade.

Final Grading Rubric:
280-310=A
250-279=B
220-249=C
190-219=D
less than 189=F

If you need any special consideration due to a disability, you need to register with the SJSU Disability Resource Center and notify the instructor by the second week of classes.

All assignments submitted must be your own work. Sources must be properly cited in papers as specified in class. The San Jose State University regulations governing plagiarism will be enforced. Those regulations may be found at: http://info.sjsu.edu (Search keyword : Academic Dishonesty).

Assignments

Assignment 1: Literary Book Review
Select 4 fiction titles published since 1990. Selected books should cover a variety of genres and reading levels appropriate for readers age 6-12. At least one of the books should be written for either an emerging reader or a transitional reader. For each book cite bibliographic data and write a brief book review of approximately 150 words in length (not counting bibliographic information). The reviews should be written for an audience of librarians.

Use Chapter 8 in From Cover to Cover as a guide and look to reviews in School Library Journal, Horn Book, Booklist or other reputable library reviewing sources for models.

An online "chat session" will be offered on February 19 from 7:30-9:00 in which questions and concerns about the assignment can be addressed. Grading rubric will also be posted.

Assignment 2: Lesson Plan/ Program Plan
With a partner develop a lesson plan (for a school library) or a program plan (for a public library) for children ages 6-12.

Lesson Plan: The lesson should address California state curriculum objectives and national Information Literacy Standards and follow a standard lesson plan format . List grade/subject, resources used, student activities, assessment methods and collaborative teaching role of both teacher and LMT.

Program Plan: Describe program theme and target audience, publicity, program activities (i.e. attention grabber, transitional activities, physical activities, games, songs, closing activity), resources used, room arrangements and budget.

An online "chat session" will be offered on March 11 from 7:30-9:00 in which questions and concerns about the assignment can be addressed. Grading rubric will be posted.

Assignment 3: Collection Development
Choose a subject area of the library collection that needs developing. Make sure that it is a workable size, (i.e. basketball, rather than sports). Create a list of ten nonfiction resources targeted at children ages 6-12 that should be added to the collection. Resources should include a variety of formats (reference books, media, webpages, and trade books) as appropriate.

All entry's on your list should include bibliographic information, an annotation and a complete explanation of your method or process for selecting the item.

Include an evaluation of the selection tools/methods you employed. Describe which method(s)/tools worked well for you and why and compare them to those methods/tools that didn’t work well.

An online "chat session" will be offered on April 12 from 7:30-9:00 in which questions and concerns about the assignment can be addressed. Grading rubric will also be available.

Assignment 4: Reader's Advisory Notebook/Database
Create an entry for 50 books appropriate for children ages 6-12. Each entry should include the bibliographic information, a brief , but complete, plot description, a genre label, a reading level, and mention of any books that are similar in style content, theme or characters. Also include any of the following items that you think might help you with reader's advisory activities in the future.

• Personal thoughts
• Subjects/themes
• Awards
• Series Information
• Character names/descriptions
• One/two sentence high interest annotation (that might be used on reader's advisory bibliography)
• Programming/lesson ideas
• Notes on passages that would be good to use for booktalks/programming.
• Anything else you'd like to add

Complete project should include entries for all different book genres and reading levels discussed in class. Complete project should include several recent (1990+) award winning titles.

Entry's can be formatted using Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Access, Excel, or other software (with prior discussion with the instructor to check for compatibility).

A grading rubric will be available.

Weekly Discussion/Activity
Each week a discussion topic will be posted to the Discussion Board. Contributions to the online discussion will be assessed as a significant part of your grade. Students are expected to contribute thoughtful comments and feedback based on readings or experience. Please refer to the posted rubric for grading standards.

Guidelines for Weekly Discussion

• Respond to the comments of others as well as posting original comments.
• Be specific. Mention titles and examples to illustrate your opinions and 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.

The final discussion and culminating activity will be a “chat session” on May 13 from 7:30-9:00.