| OVERVIEW
The course details the key aspects of various genres of literature targeted to children and adolescents and provides valuable tools for assessing the suitability and appeal of literature for these audiences. Teachers in the video class also share their ideas for incorporating literature into the curriculum. Course content includes:
- a history of children’s literature
- extensive analysis and interpretation of common genres in children’s literature
- suggestions for increasing children’s appreciation for literature
- curriculum ideas designed to increase overall interest in reading.
Most lessons also feature a segment called "The Author’s Corner", where the contributions of individual authors are discussed in detail.
COURSE MATERIALS
Text: Literature for Children & Adolescents Study Guide by J. Bernstein, University Park, IL: Governor State University, 1999.
COURSE LESSON DESCRIPTIONS
Class 1: Children’s Literature Today
Focuses on the pleasures and benefits of reading for both adults and children. Discussion touches on the broad variety of materials read by and to children. These reading choices are related to divergent definitions of "children’s literature."
Featured author: Eric Carle
Class 2: Changing Views of Children’s Literature
Examines how our perception has evolved with regard to what constitutes a children’s book. Discussion topics include how the concept of "childhood" has changed, and why the latter half of the 20th century has been dubbed the "half-century of children’s literature". Two books published sixty years apart – Peter Rabbit and Where the Wild Things Are – provide a comparison for discussion.
Featured author: Leo Lionni
Class 3: Selecting Books for Children
Introduces three sources of information that help guide the selection of books for children. Viewers learn the characteristics of the four developmental stages of life: preschool, primary, intermediate, and junior high grades. Children discuss their preferences for reading, providing valuable insights from the source. Discussion also covers the value of published book lists and other such sources designed to guide book selection.
Featured author: Author William Stein
Class 4: Using Literary Elements with Children
Introduces the six accepted elements of literary analysis that guide judgment of literary quality . Each of these elements is defined and explained. Two elements in particular - analysis and interpretation - are discussed in-depth and illustrated.
Featured author: Eve Bunting
Class 5: Books for the Very Young
Reviews picture books for younger readers . Viewers learn the essential characteristics of a good picture book, and examples are offered from the prestigious Caldecott Award collection. Accepted literary criteria for these books is discussed and applied. Four types of books for the very young are examined: Mother Goose Books, Alphabet Books, Number Books, and Concept Books. The use of Alphabet Books with older students is demonstrated.
Featured author: Tomie de Paola
Class 6: Books for Primary Readers
Discusses the reading behaviors of two student readers at primary grade level. The lesson reviews the history of I-Can-Read books, beginning with The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Discussion covers the reading interests of primary readers and the four categories of books enjoyed by them: Animal Books, Humor and Exaggeration, Magic and Make Believe, and Real-Life Situations.
Featured author: Marc Brown
Class 7: The Art of Illustration
Explores the art of illustration. Classroom participants view samples of work from famous illustrators of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and the five elements of effective illustration are introduced: color, line, shape, texture, and arrangement. Student readers analyze the use of these elements in selected books with the assistance of art consultant Debbora Lightfield.
Featured author: Jan Brett
Class 8: Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Tall Tales
Discusses folklore as "the mirror of a people". The lesson traces the oral history of folk literature, compares and contrasts oral traditions from a variety of cultures, and analyzes various aspects of folk, fairy, and tall tales. Viewers learn classroom activities for using these tales with older students.
Featured author: Jon Scieszka
Class 9: Experiencing Literature through Storytelling
Explores the value of storytelling . Two suburban storytellers, Marilyn Tannebaum and Marietta Venezia - known collectively as the M and M Storytellers – share stories with our video class and discuss the value of storytelling in the classroom. Viewers learn where to find stories worth telling, how to prepare a story for presentation, and how to use storytelling as a motivational tool for encouraging listening, discussion, and writing.
Featured author: John Steptoe
Class 10: Fables, Myths and Legends
Introduces the origins of and reasons behind fables, myths, and legends. Viewers learn how these tales provided explanations of scientific and human phenomena to people in earlier times. The literary elements of each of these story forms are analyzed, and details from well-known myths and legends are related to the concept of "cultural heritage." Discussion reveals cross-cultural parallels between myths and legends from different cultures. Familiar fables are compared with modern-day fables, and suggestions for using these types of tales in the classroom are offered.
Featured author: Steven Kellogg
Class 11: Modern Fantasy
Discusses modern fantasy as the natural outgrowth of folk and fairy tales. The lesson identifies essential qualities of fantasy, including impossible occurrences, characters that cannot exist, self-contained logic, and wholeness of conception. Viewers are introduced to the five major themes of modern fantasy: Talking Animals, Toys, Strange and Curious Worlds, Little People, and Time Warps. Highlights include a discussion on Science Fiction as a popular form of fantasy.
Featured author: Jane Yolen
Class 12: Poetry
Examines the elements that separate poetry from good prose. The video class demonstrates two qualities of poetry – rhythm and imagery – by writing a collaborative poem. Viewers learn different ways to arrange the classroom for choral poetry reading and discuss the value of reading poetry aloud. Video class participants share their favorite poems and give their opinions on the poetry writing experience.
Featured author: Shel Silverstein
Class 13: Modern Fiction: Timeless Themes
Explores the general characteristics of realistic fiction. Video class participants share their own experiences with literature to identify the hallmarks of realistic fiction. The timeless theme of family relationships is explored through a discussion of three authors - Valerie Floury, Leah Komaiko and Beverly Cleary – whose works illustrate this theme. The class discusses aspects of animal stories, while mysteries and sports stories are analyzed as examples of "formula fiction".
Featured author: Beverly Cleary
Class 14: Modern Fiction: Contemporary Themes
Examines the shift in recent years toward realistic fiction. The video class reviews the distinctive characteristics of "problem novels", which interweave personal and social problems in many children’s books. Special attention is given to books with a survival theme - a popular topic with young people today.
Featured author: Jean Craighead George.
Class 15: Multi-Ethnic Literature
Discusses the mixing of ethnic cultures in realistic fiction. The video class discusses the contemporary preference for stories that feature heroes and heroines of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. The roots of this trend are traced from its earliest days and exemplified in a discussion of folklore and novels from four ethnic groups: Native Americans, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans. Discussion outlines criteria for choosing multi-ethnic literature, illustrating them through an in-depth analysis of
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry , by Mildred Taylor.
Featured author: Virginia HamiltonClass 16: The Right to Read
Debates the issues of censorship and the freedom to read. This lesson examines the increasing pressure to censor children’s books. The video class attempts to establish valid grounds for banning books, while school students offer their opinions on specific "controversial" books. Cynthia Robinson from the Office of Intellectual Freedom (American Library Association) presents her views on the subject of censorship.
Featured author: Judy Blume
Class 17: Historical Fiction
Provides guidelines for selecting historical fiction books . The video class analyzes the appeal and uses of historical fiction in the classroom – discussing the popularity of this genre in middle and upper grades, critiquing favorite examples of it, identifying its popular themes, and listing the language arts activities it supports.
Featured author: Paula Fox
Class 18: Biography
Looks at the changing trends in biographical books for young people.The video class compares biographies written before the 1970’s to more recent books and evaluates the criteria for selecting contemporary biographies. Viewers get tips on selecting biographies for older students, and discussion identifies famous people whose life stories offer appropriate models for younger students. Autobiography as a specialized form of biography is discussed through an analysis of two books written for adolescents – The Diary of Anne Frank and Go Ask Alice . The lesson includes a demonstration of classroom writing activities based on biographies.
Featured author: Jean Fritz
Class 19: Informational Books
Reviews informational books as a valid source of content area knowledge. The class discusses what constitutes a good informational book, identifying books that meet the preferred criteria and modeling methods for using them when teaching reading and library skills. Video class participants share ideas for topical-friendly units that combine fiction and informational books. The Author’s Corner goes to the classroom, featuring school-age students who share opinions on their favorite informational books. (No featured author discussion)
Class 20: Creating Thematic Units
Discusses the use of literature in an integrated language arts setting. Video class participants work together to create thematic approaches to learning at three different grade levels: Family is the topic illustrated for second grade; a unit on wolves is the topic for fifth graders; the Holocaust is the feature topic for seventh graders.
Featured author: Louis Lowry
Class 21: Encouraging Response to Literature
Presents strategies for helping children appreciate and respond to literature. Guidelines are given for both reading aloud and sustaining silent reading in the classroom. Use of "The Literature Circle" - a strategy for student-led book discussions - is demonstrated and explained by fifth graders from Flossmoor Hills School (Flossmoor, Illinois).
Featured author: Walter Dean Myers
Class 22: Writing to Read, Reading to Write
Analyzes the inter-relationship between reading and writing . Discussion reveals how children often learn to read through writing and how a child’s ability to comprehend print media is increased though self-expression in writing. Eight strategies for helping students "write to read" are demonstrated.
Featured author: Jerry Spinelli
Class 23: Teenage Readers
Defines key characteristics of teen readers and examines their interests. Joan Pignotti, an English teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor High School (Flossmoor, Illinois), reviews her school’s literature curriculum. Mark Hopman, Director of the Media Center at Rich South High School (Richton Park, Illinois), talks about teen activities in the Center.
Featured author: Gary Paulsen
Class 24: Children’s Literature in the 21st Century
Traces the evolution of teaching practices in Reading. Discussion highlights the value of an integrated language philosophy and the rationale behind a balanced reading program. May Wiza, a Learning Center teacher at Mohawk School (Park Forest, Illinois), talks about the role of computer technology in reading programs. The video class shares their favorite books and make predictions as to what books will still be read well into the 21st century.
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