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Last revised 8/11/05 being revised now

Course Syllabus for IRLS695H

Link to Course Outline

Fall 2005 Instructor: Patricia Montiel Overall

Image of Patti Overall


COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES

Children's and Young Adult Literature in a Multicultural Society

IRLS695H

There are no course prerequisites.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION

"The purpose of this course is to survey a wide variety of children's and young adult literature with an emphasis on bilingual , multilingual, multicultural and mulitethnic literature in order to develop an appreciation of this literature by reading books from children's and young adult current collections, and by studying characteristics and special qualities of the literature to develop an understanding of how children's and young adult literature can be used to develop literacy in a school and library setting. This course is 3 credit hours."

What will we be covering in this course?
Children's and young adult literature will be studied with an emphasis on notable author's, poets, and illustrators who have contributed to bilingual, multilingual, and multicultural, and multiethnic collections. Various types of children's and young adult literature will be examined and criteria for selection and renewing collections for school and public libraries will be discussed. The use of children's and young adult literature to develop literacy, particularly for English learners (ELs) will be examined. Particular emphasis will be given to the use of children's and young adult literature in developing multiliteracy through teacher and librarian collaboration (TLC). Children's and young adult literature will be examined from diverse perpectives, in particular from that of African Americans, Asians, Latinos,and Native Americans. Information related to children's and young adult literature from professional organizations such as The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and The Public Library Association (PLA) will be discussed. Professional cultural and ethnic organizations involved in children's and young adult literature will also be discussed. Individual and group assignments will take place online. D2L will be used for the course management. Instruction on D2L will be provided. Homework assignments and quizzes will be given throughoout the semester. A final Web-based project will be required.

Literature studied will be current children's and young adult literature. Students will read a broad variety of literature from both categories, although those wishing to specialize in children's (or young adult) services may focus their reading on literature appropriate children or youth. A minimum of 100 books will be read during this course. These books should include a variety of genres discussed in the required texts. Recommended literature from required texts and CD-ROM should be included in literature read during the course.

Students will also read selected professional articles. These article will be available on E-Reserve through the Univiersity of Arizona library. A password will be provided on D2L.

Students will engage in 25-30 hours of service learning throughout the semester. Service learning will provide students an opportunity to put into practice ways of using children's and young adult literature in a school or public library. Service learning sites must be identified by the third week of the semester. Sites may include any grade level school library or public library. A combination of school and public library may be used to fulfill this requirement with the consent of the instructor. Prior experience in a public or school library is not required. The online discussions will draw primarily on service learning experiences. Therefore, service learning hours are to be spread out over the entire semester. Students who have prior experience working with children or young adults are encouraged to share their experiences during online discussions and in written reflections.

The course is designed to engage students in a social learning environment and to provide students with experience using children's and young adult literature in a "real" setting.. Online discussions through D2L and service learning provide the social interaction for learning in this course. Lectures are not part of this course.

So how are we going to do this?

This course is taught as a virtual course. Students are responsible for individual assignments. Students will also participate in online discussions of weekly assignments. These will take place in D2L chat rooms. Students will be assigned to chat rooms for four weeks. This will give you an opportunity to become better acquainted with classmates.

Online chats are evaluated on the quality of students' responses. Serious thought should be put into these discussions. D-mail may be used for social discussions.

The CD-ROM in the back of the required text will be used for assignements and should be used as a resource for selection of children's and young adult literature..

To being this course, you will log into D2L. The homepage for this course will provide you with further information about this course.

To communicate with the instructor, use D2L mail. This D-mail is checked daily and responses to inquiries can be expected promptly by the instructor or teaching assistant.

The first assignment for students enrolled in this class is provided on the D2L homepage for this course.

What will be expected of you, the student?

  • As a graduate course, the expectation is that students will spend approximately three hours for every
  • You will be expected to participate in online discussions with students in your group. Four to five students will be assigned to a group.
  • Interactions with fellow students and with instructor should be respectful. Differences of opinion are welcome. Students should make an effort to support their views with substantial information.
  • Students will be expected to participate in online discussions and to complete individual assignments as indicated on the class schedule.

My hope is to provide an enjoyable experience for you as you read children's and young adult literature. I also hope the professional literature and required texts help you develop an understanding of the impact children's and young adult literature has on the development of literacy, particularly for English learners (ELs), and on developing greater mutual respect and understanding of different cultural perspectives.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is designed to provide experiences that help students develop:

1. An understading of diverse cultural perspctives presented trhrough a variety of genres and topics in children's and young adult literature.
2. A familiarity with a notable and emerging authors/illustrators/poets, and awards presented for notable works.
3. An understanding of how to develop literacy through literature in the school and public library particularly for English learners (ELs).
4. An ability to critically analyze children and young adult literature from diverse perspectives by
developing criteria for selecting and evaluation of children's and young adult literature for public and school libraries.
5. An appreciation and experience reading professional literature concerning children and young adult literature and its use in schools and public libraries.

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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

Children's Literature: An Invitation to the World by D. Mitchell (required)

Literature for Today's Young Adults by Alleen P.Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson (required)
Connecting Boys with Books by M. Sullivan (required)

Censorship and Selection by H. Reichman (recommended)
Best Books for Young Adults, 2nd Edition by B. B. Carter, S. Estes, and L. Waddle (recommended)
Books, Babies, and Libraries: Serving Infants, Toddlers, Their Parents and Caregivers by E. Greene (recommended)
Books in Bloom: Creative Patterns and Props That Bring Stories to Life by K. K. Faurot (recommended)
Building Bridges with Multicultural Picture Books: For children 3-5 by Janice Beaty (recommended)
Best Books for Young Adults (2nd Ed.) by Betty Carter

E-reserve articles. Password will be provided by the instructor on the course homepage on D2L.
A minimum of 100 children's and young adult books including bilingual, multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic literature . Further details are described on the course homepage. Two young adult books will be selected for discussion in groups.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

25-30 hours of service learning.
100 children's and young adult literature (read and create a reading log).
Weekly group discussions online.
Final Web-based project.

 

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COURSE POLICIES

Academic Code of Integrity

Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an instructor.

Accommodating Disabilities

The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Assignment Policies

Incompletes

The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads

The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ...

If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.

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GRADING

Points will be assigned as indicated below. Students begin the semester with 100 points. At the end of the semester, students with 90-100 points will have earned an "A" for the course, while those with 80-89 points will have a "B," etc. Late assignments and/or absence from online discussions will result in a lose of points.


Assignment Points:
Homework (6 @ 5 pts each) 30
Participation 15
Peer Evaluation 15
Final Web-based Project 20
Self-Reflexive Papers (2 @ 10 pts each) 20

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CONTACTING ME

Office 520-626-8984
E-mail overall@u.arizona.edu
D-Mail is preferred way to contact me for this course.

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