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| Course Format | Textbooks/Readings | Assignments/Grading |
Course Description
An overview of literature and information materials, including media and web sites, for children ages 6-12. The emphasis will be on the evaluation and selection of materials for school and public libraries. The course will also include history of children's literature, current trends, multicultural materials, and use of these books in library programs.
Course Objectives
At the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
- Demonstrate a familiarity with a variety of children's literature and information books as well as various media for this age group,
- Critically review and evaluate materials, and use related collection development resources and selection tools,
- Use children's books and other materials for library programming,
- Develop a Children’s collection policy for a school or public library.
The course supports the following SLIS Objectives:
- One or more specialized aspects of information management, and
- Evaluating and utilizing relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines.
Course Format
This is a Web-based course. All of our interaction will take place on the SLIS Blackboard
site; you should be able to enroll in our Blackboard course by May 25, 2005. Course materials
will be available primarily through the Course Documents and "External Links" sections of the
Blackboard, books from your public library, and journal articles available on the SJSU library
database. Assignments for the course should be posted electronically. Our class discussions
(worth 20 percent of your grade) will be conducted using a Blackboard "chat room" and/or your
responses to a different discussion question posted each week. You can either attend the chat
or post to the discussion questions, or do both. Use whichever method is most comfortable to
you, but always post to the Discussion Question before we have the weekly chat on that topic.
You can either attend the chat or post to the discussion questions, or do both. Use whichever method is most comfortable to you, but always post to the Discussion Question before we have the weekly chat on that topic. You will be graded on both the content of your posts (not just "I agree"), and meeting the minimum of posting or chat at least once a week. The weekly "chats" will be held on Mondays from 6:00-6:50pm. The first "chat" will be held on Monday, June 13, 2005, and the last on Monday, August 8, 2005; last day to post to the Discussion Board is Friday, August 12, 2005.
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
Students who need accommodation due to a disability must register with SJSU's Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first three weeks of the semester. The Center will work with the students to determine the disability, document it, and determine the services and accommodations necessary for student success. Then, the DRC will contact the faculty member to determine the types of consideration necessary.
Students attending the Fullerton campus should first contact the Disability Resource Center in San Jose since they are SJSU students. The DRC will then direct the students to supporting resources on the Fullerton campus.
The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
Academic Integrity
Read the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy
http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
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Textbooks
Horning, Kathleen T. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books. HarperCollins, 1997. $13.95. ISBN 0-06-446167-X.
Tomlinson, Carl M. and Lynch-Brown, Carol. Essentials of Children’s Literature: Fifth Edition. Pearson, 2005. $$40.00. ISBN 0-205-42015-X.
Available from Amazon.com and from several used book web sites
Other assigned reading
Be sure to see the Course Documents on the Blackboard for the assigned readings for the class, including the journal articles assigned for the class. You will also see a sequence of lectures, the weekly topic for the chat and the discussion question, and more extensive descriptions of the assignments.
You will also want to visit your local public library to find the children’s books you will use for the assignments as well as reading book reviews in School Library Journal, Horn Book, Booklist, and Publishers’ Weekly.
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Assignments
SJSU Academic Integrity Policy: http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
Assignment 1: Due Tuesday, June 28, 2005, by 11:59pm.
Assignment 2: Due Tuesday, July 12, 2005, by 11:59pm.
Assignment 3: Due Tuesday, July 26, 2005, by 11:59pm.
Assignment 4: Due Tuesday, August 5, 2005, by 11:59pm.
Assignment 5: Due Friday, August 12, 2005, by 11:59pm.
All assignments should be a Word file posted to the Blackboard site in the Digital Drop box, or sent as a Word document attachment to e-mail. All assignments must use APA format for sources.
Grading
Class discussions are worth 20 percent of your grade; Assignment 5 is worth 20 percent, all other assignments worth 15 percent.
Assignment 1: Easy Readers
Choose five easy readers to read and evaluate. Write a book review of each of the five books. Each book review should be at least 150 words in length, not counting the bibliographic information. Give full bibliographic information. Look at reviews in School Library Journal or Horn Book for a model. These are evaluative reviews, not just plot descriptions. Evaluate the text and the illustrations, commenting on the media used for the illustrations and how (or if) the text and illustrations work well together. The Easy Readers should be aimed at the age group that reads Green Eggs and Ham, Frog and Toad, or Are You My Mother? You may include one “moving up” or “transitional” book among the five. For a definition, see Horning’s From Cover to Cover, pages 121-148 and the Lecture marked “Easy Readers.” Make sure these are not picture books!
Assignment 2: Folklore
Choose one illustrated folktale – not a collection of folktales or fairytales, or a spoof of a folktale, but a single tale published with illustrations, like a picture book. This should not be an original story, but a folktale, fairytale, tall tale, legend – a traditional tale (see pages 46-68 in Horning). It should have been published between 2000 and 2005, not earlier. Give an evaluative review of at least 250 words, commenting on the text and the illustrations, including the media used for the artwork. Things to include: brief plot description, description of artwork, do the illustrations and text work together or not? Are the text and/or illustrations true to the culture from which the folktale originated? Is the source of the story documented? Comment on the source note (see p. 52-56 of Horning).
Assignment 3: Genre Fiction Part I
Read a chapter book aimed at 4th-6th graders, from the mystery, historical fiction, sports, adventure, animal story, fantasy, humor, science fiction, or realistic fiction genres. This should be a book considered “literature”; not a paperback series knock-off but an award-winner or runner up, or by someone considered a good writer in the field. If you are not sure, e-mail me the title so I can okay it. Read the book and write an evaluative review at least 250 words in length. Write a 2-5 page description (approx.) of how that book could be used in a Reading Circle (sometimes these are called “Mother/Daughter Book Clubs,” or Readers’ Roundtable, etc.). Include at least 5 suggested discussion questions tailored to that particular book, and some related fun (non-homework-like) activities (art projects, food, games, crafts, etc.) complete with step by step instructions on the activities. Suggest at least 5 other books in that same genre that a reader may also enjoy (you should read these books in their entirety, and give full bibliographic information and a one or two sentence description of each of the books). Be sure to list all the sources you used.
Assignment 4: Genre Fiction Part II
Choose a different genre from the book chosen for Assignment 3, and read one chapter book, aimed at 4th-6th graders. Write an evaluative review (approx. 250 words), and suggest at least 5 other books in that genre that a child may also enjoy, giving full bibliographic information and a sentence or two about each book (you should have read all of these). Instead of writing up a description for a Reading Circle, write a 2 or 3 page description for any other type of library program that this novel could inspire: a tea party, a Readers Theatre or play, an author visit, a film showing, a library display, a hands-on project like an arts or craft activity, etc. Give a clear description of how this program can be organized, publicized, conducted, costs, etc. The programming idea shouldn't be too “homework”-ish. Be sure to list all the sources you used.
Assignment 5: Informational/Nonfiction Books
Choose a nonfiction/Dewey Decimal numbered subject area to do a “collection development” project. This area should be limited; i.e. “Insects and Spiders,” not animals, or “Baseball,” not sports. Other topics could include poetry from a specific culture (African-American, Latino, Asian-American, etc.), history from a certain time period (the Holocaust, the Civil War), biographies of a specific focus (contemporary American women), etc. Select ten items to suggest for purchase in that subject, for children grades 3 through 6. All of the items should be in print, and at least one of the ten items should be a video, DVD, CD or other non-book media you would purchase (not a Web site). Compile these into a list, with each item having a short two or three sentence annotation. Write up a 2-3 page description of the selection tools, review journals, and other sources you used to select the books; which were most helpful? What tool(s) did you use to determine if an item is still in print? How did you decide what to choose? What did the local library have or lack in this area? Be sure to give a list of all the sources you used.
Penny Peck, April 2005
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