Purpose

Wise teachers effectively take advantage of the natural student motivation and opportunities for learning associated with children's and young adult literature. Well-crafted stories, poems, and information books can touch students in a powerful way that helps them want to become members of the literate community. The instructional elements of time, choice, and response will allow students to immerse themselves in literature titles and genres, strategies for selecting and using literature, and for helping students to learn through literature.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of literary genre.
• Apply selection criteria to choose children's and adolescent literature.
• Apply appropriate strategies for using children's and adolescent literature in classroom instruction.
• Integrate children's and adolescent literature across the curriculum.
• Share books with students in a variety of ways.
• Encourage and evaluate students' responses to children's and adolescent literature texts.

Course Topics

• Assess the quality of children's books
  • Literary merit
  • Interest to students
  • Use in the curriculum
  • Diversity
• Understand instructional uses for children's and adolescent literature
  • literary
  • informational
• Understand a a variety of ways to share books with students
  • Read aloud
  • Shared book
  • Guided reading
  • Literature circles
• Understand ways to encourage student response to literature
  • Drama
  • Writing
  • Art
  • Research other content areas
  • Student projects
• Evaluate student response to literature
• Assess the effectiveness of literature-based instruction

Assignments

• Complete assigned readings and be prepared to discuss in class
• Select several pieces of children's literature and evaluate them according to established criteria.
• Implement a variety of instructional strategies for enhancing students' responses to children's and adolescent literature.
• Develop ways to use children's and adolescent literature in content area lessons.

Bibliography

Harvey, S. (1998). Nonfiction matters: Reading, writing, and research in grades 3-8. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Harwayne, S. (1992). Lasting impressions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Norton, Donna E. (1998). Through the eyes of a child: An introduction to children's literature. New York: Merrill.

Norton, Donna E. (1992). The impact of children's literature. New York: Merrill.

Roser, N.L. & Martinez, M.G. (1995). Book talk and beyond: Children and teachers respond to literature. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Short, K.G. (1997). Literature as a way of knowing. York, ME: Stenhouse.