Utah State Office of Education

Reading Teacher Endorsement Course Framework

Literacy Instruction with Children=s/Adolescent Literature

and Informational Text

Syllabus Framework

Department

Institution

Semester/Year

Credit Hours

Instructor

Office Phone

E-mail

Possible Texts

Darigan, D. L., Tunnell, M. O., & Jacobs, J. S. (2002). Children=s literature: Engaging teachers and children in good books. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Galda, L., & Cullinan, B. E. (2002). Literature and the child (5th ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

Lukens, R. J. (2003). A critical handbook of children=s literature (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Mitchell, D. (2003). Children=s literature: An invitation to the world. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Temple, C., Martinez, M., Yokota, J, & Naylor, A. (2002). Children=s books in children=s hands: An introduction to their literature. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Tunnell, M. O., & Jacobs, J. S. (2003). Children=s literature, briefly. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of primarily American literature for children and young adults with emphasis on recent books and publications. Students in this course will acquire knowledge about contemporary authors, trends, and classroom applications.

Course Outcomes

After completing this course, you should be able to:

Course Outcomes

Course Outcomes	IRA Standards
1. Use a wide range of materials appropriately with various instructional approaches.	Standard 2.2
2. Use appropriate materials that promote reading and writing across the curriculum.	Standard 2.3
3. Select appropriate reading materials that match students= interests, reading levels, and cultural/linguistic backgrounds.	Standard 2.4
4. Motivate children to become lifelong readers.	Standard 4.2
5. Engage in collaboration and dialogue with other teachers to help them acquire new ideas related to teaching practices.	Standard 5.2

.

Course Topics

1. Genres of literature (i.e., traditional fantasy, modern fantasy--including science fiction, historical fiction, contemporary

realistic fiction, informational literature--including biography, and poetry).

2. Forms of literature (e.g., picture books, chapter books, engineered books, predictable books, alphabet books,

counting books, etc.).

3. Literary elements (character, plot, theme, setting, point of view, style, and tone).

4. History and trends of literature for young people.

5. Using literature to teach children (e.g., leveling of books, teacher as a reading model, motivating students to read,

magazines for children and young adults, literature discussion groups, etc.).

Suggested Student Assignments

1. Critically evaluate the content and illustrations of children=s or young adult literature.

2. Create a book log of current literature written for children.

3. Present book talks to share books that exemplify specific genres of literature.

4. Conduct a round table discussion of a literary element, showing examples from at least one piece of literature.

5. Present information about an author of books for children or young adults (e.g., important biographical details,

influences, significant works, etc.).

6. Write a paper that explores in depth an important issue or trend in children=s or young adult literature.

7. Write brief response papers that reflect thoughts and reactions to assigned readings, explaining how the ideas in them

relate to specific works of literature.