RWS 306A Children’s Literature, Spring 2015
Wednesdays 7:25-10:05 p.m.
Bret Kofford, (760) 353-3711, 768-5679 Kofford@roadrunner.com,
bkofford@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hours – Wednesdays 6:35-7:25 p.m., Thursdays 1-2 p.m., and by arrangement
EXPECTATIONS
This course introduces future teachers, librarians and future parents and teachers to the
wide world of children’s books that can be used from kindergarten through 12th grade.
We will introduce you to ways to use these books to help children become avid readers.
The course will help the students become more insightful interpreters of literature. We
also will work extensively on improving writing and speaking skills.
Cell phones should be turned off upon entering the room, and since this is an English
class, only English will be spoken in the classroom. Insistence on not complying with
either edict will result in participation points being reduced.
Also not tolerated is rudeness. When the instructor or a fellow student is speaking, there
are to be no side conversations. The instructor abhors rudeness. If students continue to be
rude, they will lose points and get on the bad side of the instructor, which is not an
advisable place to be.
If a student is going to miss class or be late, the student should call the instructor to let
him know. The instructor also does not like tardiness because it interrupts the flow of the
class. If a student is continually absent or tardy, the student will be dropped from the
class.
Late assignments will be marked down one letter grade per week unless a note on
professional stationery is presented (from a doctor, counselor or someone else equally
legitimate.)
GOALS
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Provide background in children’s literature
Explore a variety of ways of introducing literature to young people
Be able to present literature through storytelling, drama, visual aids and media
Use literature to help promote students’ appreciation for diverse ethnic groups and
cultures and historical periods
Learn to incorporate other subjects such as art, music, history and science in
presentations
EXPECTED STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME
Upon completing this class students will be well-versed in children’s literature and
prepared to use that knowledge in their own classrooms.
TEXTS
Burnett, “The Secret Garden”
Crew, “Children of the River”
Curtis, “The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963”
Fenner, “Yolanda’s Genius”
George, “Julie of the Wolves”
Haddon, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
Hesse, “Out of the Dust”
Lowry, “The Giver”
Milne, “Winnie the Pooh,”
Odell, “Island of the Blue Dolphins”
Ryan, “Esperanza Rising”
White, “Charlotte’s Web”
GRADING
Annotated bibliography – 150 points
Final exam – 200 points
Midterm - 100 points
Oral report – 100 points
Play written and performed for class – 200 points
Storytelling – 50 points
Other writings, pop quizzes, class participation – 200 points
ASSIGNMENTS
Midterm and final essays will be in-class and open book and reference the reading
materials. The essays should be analytical, avoiding plot summary. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated. Blue books must be brought on the days of the tests.
The annotated bibliography must include 10 works of children’s literature, including up
to five picture books. These cannot include the books assigned to the class as a whole but
can include the oral report books. Entries must be typed either on 5” by 8” card or on
separate sheets of paper, including:
1) Your name and the book’s author, title, publisher and date of publication at the
top
2) Six sentences explaining the theme of the book or the conflict addressed (divorce,
a bad coach, etc.)
3) A couple of sentences suggesting assignments to use with the book, preferably to
connect it with writing, art, science or other disciplines
4) Your rating of the book’s quality for a particular age group, such as second grade:
3 means excellent, 2 good and 1 poor
A play based on a work of children’s literature studied in the class will be performed
by groups of students. You will arrange to present the play to children and also to our
class. The use of scenery, props and costumes is encouraged. You may invent dialogue
or quote from the book, but either way creativity is encouraged. Your play should be
typed and turned in to the instructor when presented to the class.
A 10-minute oral report will be presented by each student on an assigned book or
topic. No more than a couple minutes should be on plot summary. The focus should be
on the book’s themes and messages and assignments that might be created to
complement it at a certain grade level.
Informal writing will include homework and in-class writing, along with in-class pop
quizzes.
Storytelling will involve five minutes in front of the class and will help you develop an
important classroom skill. You will not read the book aloud. Instead, tell it to us as if
we are children. If you choose to tell a story in a pair, the presentation will be 10
minutes.
DISABLED STUDENTS’ STATEMENT
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for
this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 5946473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact
Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are
not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided
until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from
Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
SCHEDULE
Jan. 21 – Class introduction, syllabus, picture books, fables, poetry – write a fable
and poem
Jan. 28 – Preschool to first-grade fiction – discuss “Winnie the Pooh,” storytelling
done
Feb. 4 – Realistic fiction, grades 1-3, animal stories, advertising – discuss
“Charlotte’s Web,” write a review of the movie for other teachers
Feb. 11 – Fantasy films and consumerism, grades 2-5 – discuss the first half of “The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” first set of oral reports on Maurice
Sendak books
Feb. 18 – Cross cultural novels for grades 4-7 – discuss “Island of the Blue
Dolphins,” make play assignments, oral reports on Dr. Seuss books
Feb. 25 – Historical fiction for grades 5-9, the Great Depression – Discuss “Out of
the Dust,” oral reports on Aztec, Greek or Norse myths, Elizabeth F. Lewis’s “F. Yung
Fu of the Upper Yangtze,” Shel Silverstein’s poetry, Harry Potter books
March 4 – Midterm, finish second half of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time”
March 11 – Contemporary fiction, grades 5-8, sibling loyalty, disabilities, race,
weight – Discuss “Yolanda’s Genius,” oral reports on Antoine St. Exupery’s “The
Little Prince,” Beverly Cleary’s books, Carol R. Brink’s “Caddie Woodlawn,” and tales
of Hans Christian Anderson
March 18 – British Gothic fiction, grades 5-9, class, disabilities, dialects, exercise –
Discuss “The Secret Garden,” oral reports on Mary Norton’s “The Borrowers,”
Margeruite D’Angeli’s “The Door in the Wall,” Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s “The Velvet
Room,” and Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time”
March 25 - Science fiction, grades 6-10 – Discuss “The Giver,” write sci-fi, oral
reports on L.F. Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” Hugh Lofting’s “Dr. Doolittle,” Joseph
Krumgold’s “And Now Miguel” and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House in the Big
Woods”
April 8 – Multiculturalism, grades 8-12 – Discuss “Children of the River” and talk
about other refugees in our area; oral reports on C.S. Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”
and Anna Sewell’s “Black Beauty,” annotated bibliography due
April 15 – Chicana literature – Discuss “Esperanza Rising;” write a vignette about
your own life; oral reports on G.S. Porter’s “Girl of the Limberlost,” Paula Fox’s “The
Slave Dancer,” Sandra Cisneros’s “The House on Mango Street”
April 22 – Racism, book banning, censorship – Discuss “The Watsons Go To
Birmingham 1963”; oral reports on Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn,” Mildred
Taylor’s “Roll of Thunder, Hear Me Cry,” Rudolfo Anaya’s “Bless Me Ultima”
April 29 – Stereotypes – Discuss “Julie of the Wolves,” oral reports on Louise
Fitzhugh’s “Harriet the Spy,” Esther Forbes’s “Johnny Tremaine”
May 6 – Oral reports, makeup day on Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me,
Margaret,” Gary Soto’s “Baseball in April,” Julia Alvarez’s “Before I Was Free,” Louis
Sachar’s “Holes”
May 13 – Final