CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

LLSS (CIMTE) 443.544, Section 370 Fall 2004

http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr/cimte443/

Instructor: Linnea Hendrickson, M.A., M.A.T., M.L.S.

Office hours: After class and by appointment (no office).

Mailbox: Hokona Hall 144

Messages: 277-0437 (Paula Pascetti, Rm 140); fax: 277-8362

Home phone: 344-7650; e-mail: Lhendr@unm.edu

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Attend and Participate. Because we will be studying responses to literature, developing ways of selecting, sharing and discussing literature among ourselves and with young people, attendance and group participation are crucial. Because this class meets only 5 times, no absences will be allowed. See the handout: Criteria for Class Participation.

2. Keep a log of your reading. Aim for at least 45 books. Read randomly. Read selectively. Follow a quest for books in sets by author, illustrator, narrative structure, theme, or genre. Balance picture books (30-40) and chapter books (6-15). Risk new genres. Read first for pleasure, and a second time as a critic to see how the author structured the book, why you laughed or cried. See the handout: Log Criteria.

3. Work toward becoming a critic of literature. With members of this class, friends, students, family, and children, develop ways of discussing, sharing, and celebrating books. The emphasis will be on experiencing literature and responding to it in ways that are personally meaningful, so that you will be able to engage your own students in similar experiences. Classroom strategies will be experienced rather than explicitly taught.

PROFESSIONAL READING:

Jane Gangi. ENCOUNTERING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: AN ARTS APPROACH (required)

X. J. and Dorothy Kennedy. KNOCK AT A STAR (optional)

Tatar, Maria. CLASSIC FAIRY TALES (optional) or Peter and Iona Opie’s CLASSIC FAIRY TALES

Jim Trelease. THE READ ALOUD HANDBOOK (optional)

CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Many! Please bring to class to share.

EXPLORE THE INTERNET: Subscribe to the CCBC listserve (Cooperative Center for Children’s Books), a moderated list with discussions on scheduled topics, or to Child_lit (send subscribe child_lit your name to listserv@email.rutgers.edu). Look at the Children's Literature Web Guide: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html, or my bibliography http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr Learn to access the UNM and the Rio Grande Valley Library catalogs from your home computer, and pick up handouts from both libraries for more information.

Think of our class as an adventurous journey together. There will be no wrong turns, only new discoveries. Bon Voyage!