Course Syllabus

ENG 555: Children's Literature
4 Credits, Online
Fall Term 2010, Sept. 13 - Dec. 10
(Holidays- Veteran's Day: Nov. 11 & Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 22-28)

Last Updated: July 21, 2010

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Instructor: Barbara Krol-Sinclair
Contact Info: barbaras@bu.edu (after the course begins please use Blackboard Private Messages)

Course Description

What are the qualities that make a particular work of children's literature endure? Why do deceptively simple books remain favorites for years? Citing the work of depth psychologists, art historians, educators and authors, students will explore this and similar questions. The course considers picture books, traditional literature, and Young Adult novels. Students prepare annotated bibliographies of various genres taking a personal look at the important role particular books play in the moral and social development of children.

Prerequisites

ENG 500: The Writing Process

Learning Outcomes

Learners will:

  1. Compare and contrast the ideas of professionals from across the disciplines, e.g. psychologists, art historians, educators, etc. whose work focuses on children and their literature.
  2. Apply specific criteria to evaluate various types of literature for children such as its stance on relevant developmental, behavioral, and cultural issues of concern to children.
  3. Describe how a particular book may evoke various meanings to different children or to the same child at different developmental stages.
  4. Critically analyze literature based on personal criteria through an application of the concepts developed by psychologists, art historians, educators and authors.
  5. Explicate the variety of categories and range of genres into which children’s books can be classified, providing some prominent examples in the major categories.

Course Resources

Textbook(s):

  1. Tunnell, M.O., & Jacobs, J.S. (2007). Children's literature, briefly, 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-173490-3 (ISBN-13: 978-0131734906)
  2. Feinberg, B. (2004). Welcome to Lizard Motel: Children, stories, and the mystery of making things up, a memoir. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN: 0807071455 (ISBN-13: 978-0807071458)

Textbooks are available via GSC's online bookstore, MBS Direct at: http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/gsc.htm (The course-CRN number for ordering this textbook is: ENG555-10179). Textbooks can also be purchased from MBS via phone, mail or fax. For additional information, visit the Online Bookstore section of the college web site.

PLEASE NOTE: It is the learner's responsibility to have purchased all required course materials before the start of the course. Learners are expected to meet all course expectations even if the shipment of a required textbook or other learning resource is delayed. Be sure to choose the shipping option that will get your text/resource delivered in a timely manner.

Other Class Materials:

IMPORTANT: We will be reading Welcome to Lizard Motel in the final week of the course (Module 12). Please do NOT read it earlier.

You will also be expected to read a wide variety of children's books-all of which you can borrow from your public library.

Blackboard Orientations

There are no face-to-face sessions for this course. If you have never taken an Online Interactive Course (OIC) at the college, we highly recommend that you attend one of the 2-hour Blackboard Orientation sessions available throughout the state. If you choose not to attend a face-to-face session, you are encouraged to complete the Online Orientation with audio at your own convenience.

Course Policies

Workload Pattern: In order to keep up with the workload and to maintain online collaboration with your fellow students, you must respond to the weekly posted discussion question by Wednesday night each week and then respond to at least one of your colleagues' postings by Saturday night each week. I strongly suggest that you find a little time to log into the course every day. If you wait until the end of the week, you'll find way too much to read. Moreover, you'll be letting your classmates down if you always post late in the week. You'll find that a little time each day will keep you up to date on what's going on and able to really take in what your colleagues are saying.

Due Dates: Although the course week technically ends on Friday, most of your written assignments will not be due until Sunday evening. The exception to this will be the final week's assignments, which must be submitted by Friday night at midnight.

Course Methods

There will be little lecture in this course. We will focus on diving into children's books together, primarily through online discussions, written analyses of children's literature, and development of an annotated bibliography.

Description of Course Activities and Requirements

Three Reflection Papers (5-10 pages each)

In your first reflection paper, you will compare and contrast literature written for different age groups (due in Week 5); in the second reflection paper, you will create an annotated bibliography and then examine the work of a specific author, theme, or genre (due in Week 9); in the final reflection paper, you will analyze one children's book from a variety of perspectives. (Due in Week 12).

Annotated Bibliography

You will read and write brief paragraphs about 25 books that share some unifying characteristic (e.g., author, genre, setting, similarities of plot, characters, setting). (Due in Week 7).

Contributions to Online Discussions

Class participants will be required to contribute to online discussions on a weekly basis. You will also be asked to comment on your colleagues' postings. These discussion messages will be opportunities to question, clarify, and discuss readings and experiences. Because the course is conducted completely online, your active and consistent participation is crucial to your success in ENG 555. (Ongoing)

Grading Percentages

Activity % of Final Grade
Reflection Paper 1 25%
Reflection Paper 2 25%
Reflection Paper 3 25%
Annotated Bibliography 15%
Weekly contributions to Discussion Board 10%
Total 100%

Granite State College Standard Grading Scale

Grade
Percent
Grade Points
Level of Achievement
A 95-100 4.0 Excellent
A - 90-94 3.67
B + 87-89 3.33 Good
B 84-86 3.0
B - 80-83 2.67
C + 77-79 2.33  
C 74-76 2.0 *Acceptable
C - 70-73 1.67 †
D + 67-69 1.33 Poor
D 64-66 1.00
D - 60-63 0.67
F ≤59 0 Failure, no credit

* A grade of C or better is required to fulfill requirements in the major, minor, or general education core at GSC. Please consult the GSC catalog for details.

† A grade of C - or below generally does not transfer to other academic institutions.

Course Schedule & Topics

The course has been broken up into 12 modules, with each corresponding week of the term. (e.g., Module 1 will be covered the first week of class, week 1 = module 1). Each week you will complete a set of readings, answer questions posed on the discussion board, and respond to at least one of your colleagues' postings. Assigned readings will be clearly listed. Please check the Tasks List and the Announcements tool on a regular basis for frequent updates and information.

Module

Assignments/Activities

Week 1: Thinking about Children's Literature

(9/13 - 9/17)

 

Explore the Course:

· Visit Getting Started page, explore the menu buttons, and check announcements.  

Read:

  • Course text (to be read by the end of the week): Children's Literature, Briefly, chapters 1 & 2, pp. 1-17; chapter 17, pp. 212-225 (this last chapter is optional - for those interested in teaching).
  • Children's literature Choose at least one picture book to read by the authors listed on the Module 1 Assignment page.  

Discussion Board:

  • First off, please post an introductory message in the "Introductions" section of the Discussion board.
  • Weekly discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 1". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student. 

Week 2: Reading and Responding to Children's Literature

(9/18 - 9/24)

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapters 3, & 4, pp. 18-40; chapter 18, pp. 226-243 (again, this last chapter is optional - for those interested in teaching).
  • Children's literature: Read Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery  

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 2". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 3: Genres of Children's Literature

(9/25 - 10/1)

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapters 5 & 6, pp. 41-60.
  • Children's literature: Using the children's literature database CD, choose and read at least one example of a picture book that fits into each of categories listed on the Module 3 Assignment page.

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 3". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 4: The Role of Fairy Tales

(10/2 - 10/8)

 

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 9, pp. 101-115
  • Children's literature: Select and read at least 1 fairytale, myth, and fable from each of the categories listed on the Module 4 assignment page.  

Visit a Website:

· In order to fully understand the roles of fairy tales, it's important to consider the various lenses through which they are analyzed. Please visit the following website to read about different approaches to identifying messages in fairy tales. As you read, think about which make sense to you and what questions these different analyses raise for you. We will be focusing on these analyses in our discussions. http://www.answers.com/topic/approaches-to-the-literary-fairy-tale 

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 4". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 5: Modern Fantasy

(10/9 - 10/15)

 

Read:

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 5". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student. 

Writing:

  • Paper #1 due on Sunday night at the end of Week 5. Building on our readings and discussions over the first five weeks of class, write a paper in which you identify three children's books that have been widely read for at least 50 years. Be sure that the books you select are directed at children of varying ages (e.g., infant/toddler, preschool, early elementary, middle grade, adolescent/young adult). What are common characteristics of these books? How are they different from each other? What characteristics of quality children's literature can be found in each? What types of responses are these books intended to invoke in children? Please submit your paper through the assignment link in Word or RTF (Rich Text Format) by Sunday evening.

Week 6: Historical Fiction

(10/16 - 10/22)

 

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 12, pp. 142-165.
  • Children's literature: Using the children's literature database, select at least one historical novel that is written for grade 5 or up. You can look for one of the books listed on pp. 124-125 of your text, find a book from your own searching, or choose one from the list located on the Module 6 Assignment page.  

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 6". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 7: Informational Literature and Biography

(10/23 - 10/29)

 

RRead:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapters 13 & 14, pp. 166-187.
  • Children's literature: Using the children's literature database, select at least one biography and one informational text. If you choose picture books (or those written for children in grades 3 or younger), please try to read more than one book in the series.

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 7". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Writing:

  • Annotated bibliography due on Sunday night at the end of Week 7. Select 25 children's books that have some unifying characteristic but that span across several age ranges (i.e., books for preschoolers, elementary school-aged students, and adolescents). They can be written by the same author, have similar plot lines, be of the same genre, or have characters or settings that are comparable. Identify each book and write a brief paragraph about the book describing important aspects of the book and how it relates to the topic of the bibliography. (In the back of each chapter in the course text, the Top 10 list of books is annotated; this may help you in coming up with annotation ideas for your bibliography.) Your bibliography should begin with a brief introductory paragraph and should conclude with a summary paragraph tying it all together. Also, for each book, please list the age range for which the book is intended.Please submit your bibliography through the assignment link in Word or RTF (Rich Text Format) by Sunday evening.

Week 8: Picture Books

(10/30 - 11/5)

 

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 7, pp. 61-79
  • Children's literature: Choose at least one picture book by each of the authors listed on the Module 8 Assignment page.

 

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 8". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 9: Poetry

(11/6 - 11/12)

 

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 8, pp. 80-100.
  • Children's literature: Find and read examples of poetry written by each of the author's listed on the Module 9 Assignment page. 

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 9". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student. 

Writing:

  • Paper #2 due on Sunday night at the end of Week 9. Building on our readings and discussion over the first nine weeks of class, write a paper in which you examine the work of a specific author, a theme, or a genre. (You may choose the same area in which you focused your annotated bibliography.) What unifies these works? How are they different? What does the reader take from reading these works as a group? What are examples of books that you find especially important and why? As part of your analysis, think back to the week in which you read different frameworks for analyzing fairy tales (http://www.answers.com/topic/approaches-to-the-literary-fairy-tale). Apply one of these frameworks (folkloric, structuralist, literary, psychoanalytic, historical/sociological, or feministic) to your discussion of your topic. Please submit your paper through the assignment link in Word or RTF (Rich Text Format) by Sunday evening.

Week 10: Multicultural and International Literature

(11/13 - 11/19)

 

Read: 

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 15, pp., 188-201.
  • Children's literature: Select at least two picture book examples and one chapter book example from the list located on the Module 10 Assignment page.  

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 10". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

Week 11: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

(11/20 - 12/3; includes Thanksgiving break - 11/22-28)

 

Read: 

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 11, pp., 128-141.
  • Children's literature: Select and read at least one of the books that is discussed in Welcome to Lizard Motel. See the list provided on the Module 11 Assignment page. 

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 11". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student.

 

Week 12: Issues in Children's Literature

(12/4 - 12/10)

 

Read:

  • Course text: Children's Literature, Briefly, chapter 16, pp., 202-211.
  • Supplemental text: Welcome to Lizard Motel by Barbara Feinberg  

Discussion Board:

  • Discussion questions will be found on Discussion Board under the topic "Week 12". Respond on the discussion board to the question and to at least one other student. 

Writing:

  • Paper #3 due on Friday night at the end of Week 12.Analyze a chapter book that is an example of either contemporary realistic fiction or modern fantasy. What is the message of this book for young readers? How does it mesh with or contradict the argument that Barbara Feinberg makes in her book? Most importantly, for what reasons do you consider this to be an appropriate or inappropriate book for children/young adults? As part of your analysis, think back to the week in which you read different frameworks for analyzing fairy tales (http://www.answers.com/topic/approaches-to-the-literary-fairy-tale). Apply one of these frameworks (folkloric, structuralist, literary, psychoanalytic, historical/sociological, or feministic) to your discussion of your topic.  Please submit your paper through the assignment link in Word or RTF (Rich Text Format) by Friday evening.

Note: The syllabus and schedule are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Library Resources

Granite State College has a Virtual Library ( http://www.granite.edu/current-students/virtual-library/) available 24/7 with access to the full-text of thousands of journals and professional periodicals, an online Reference Room, selected Internet resources, writer's resources, research and citation help, and a collection of tutorials. The databases are password protected.

See GSC Library tab in MyGranite for username and password. In addition, the Library Info link in the course menu provides direct links to research databases, Research FAQs and more.

Academic Resources and Information Services

Academic assistance to students is available at GSC Centers at no additional charge in such areas as basic skills preparation in reading, writing and math; study skills and research and citation help. Academic Resources staff members work closely with faculty and students toward academic success. A whole range of help is available at the centers and in the online Academic Toolkit, including study and time management tips, APA and MLA citation assistance, access to learning resources online, and feedback on course writing projects. To contact an Academic Resource and Information Coordinator, see the Academic Resource Link on the Resources page in the course menu or go directly to http://bbresources.granite.edu/course_docs/acad_resources.htm.

To access the online Academic Toolkit sign into Blackboard and click on "Academic Toolkit" under GSC Organizations.

Technical Assistance

For assistance with issues related to accessing the MyGranite portal, GSC email, Webrock, online courses or other technical issues related to any of the Blackboard tools, please visit the GSC Technical Assistance Center ( http://bbresources.granite.edu/techassist/help.htm) for answers to the most frequently asked questions or to submit an online help request form. Or call 1-888-372-4270 (Hours: M-F, 8:30-5:00, messages checked twice daily on weekends. Extended hours for the week before start of the term and first week of the term: M-Th, 8:00-7:00.)

Documented Disabilities / Americans with Disabilities Act

Granite State College will provide qualified individuals with disabilities the same educational opportunities available to persons without disabilities. When an individual's documented disability creates a barrier to educational opportunities, the College will attempt reasonable accommodation to remove the barrier. If you need assistance, we recommend that you make contact early to ensure that your requests can be reviewed prior to the start of each term. If you wish to apply for accommodations, contact your academic advisor or the Dean of Learner Services in Concord. See the complete Granite State College policy in the current college catalog for further details.

Academic Honesty

An academic community is based on honesty and integrity. Plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty are not acceptable at Granite State College. Faculty and students have a joint responsibility to ensure the integrity of learning.

All work that you submit must be your own except in those instances when your instructor gives specific permission to collaborate. When quoting, summarizing or explaining ideas that are based on another's work, whether in print or online, make sure to cite references appropriately. Plagiarism is using another's words or even paraphrasing another's work without giving proper credit through the use of citations.

For Granite State College's complete academic honesty policy, see the current college catalog.

Conduct in the Online Classroom

Membership in society implies minimal norms for civil behavior towards one another. It is Granite State College's expectation that all members of our college community treat faculty, staff, and fellow learners with respect. Learners need to be knowledgeable of and comply with college policies. Each individual is accountable for his/her actions and for the consequences of any behavior that is inconsistent with these values and expectations.

Institutional Assessment

Assessment is an ongoing process that enables the College to improve its programs, courses, and teaching methods. Institutional evaluation may be embedded in tests, exams, and other measurements of student learning. As members of a learning community, students, faculty, and staff will be expected to participate in the important process of assessment on occasion. Confidentiality of any data that identify participants is maintained.

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