ERDG 504: Children’s Literature
Program Requirements and Prerequisites: This is a required course for students in the Literacy Specialist B-6 program and Childhood Education.
It is an elective for the Early Childhood Education program.
Course Description: Students read and respond to multiple genres of children's literature, including nonfiction texts, across both print and electronic
platforms. Topics include: supporting and appreciating students' complex responses to literature; analyzing the symbiotic relationship of words and
pictures in visual texts; using technology to promote literary understanding; and meeting the standards by designing literature instruction informed by
critical literacy perspectives.
Attributes
 Literacy as Social Practice*
 Equity
 Generate Productive Learning Communities*
 Engagement**
 Reciprocal Relationships Across Modes of Communication**
 Strategic Teaching to Promote Self-Extending Learning
 Assessment of Literacies and Their Development
 Research Based Professional Learning*
Core Content
 Response to Literature
 Art, Aesthetics, & Picturebooks
 Postmodern and Wordless Picturebooks
Attributes (continued)
 Respectful Representation of Students, Families and Communities
 Critical Literacies**
 Disciplinary Literacy/Knowledge Building*
 Data Based Decision Making
 Technologies and Digital Media*
 Materials and Resources**
 Prevention and Intervention
 Standards*
Possible Assignments
Child Response Study
Students share a picturebook with a child or a
small group of children, encouraging and
allowing for spontaneous responses throughout
the read aloud. Using Sipe’s (2000) categories of
response, students analyze children’s verbal and
nonverbal responses to gather insight into how
children respond to literature.
Author/Illustrator Study
Students choose an author or illustrator to study
in-depth. They create a handout and present their
work to the class.
Possible Readings
Range of picturebooks and chapter books
written for children, updated each semester
Kiefer, B. Z. & Tyson, C. A. (2013).
Charlotte Huck’s children’s literature: A
brief guide (2nd ed.). New York: McGrawHill.
Sipe, L. (2000). The construction of literary
understanding by first and second graders in
oral response to picture storybook readalouds. Reading Research Quarterly, 35
(2), 252-275.
 Reading and Evaluating Genres of Children’s
Literature: Traditional Literature; Modern
Fantasy; Realistic Fiction; Historical Fiction;
Informational Texts; Poetry; Biography;
Manga and Graphic Novels
 Choosing Books to Reflect the Diversity of
Children’s Lives and Communities
 Themes of Immigration and Language
Diversity in Literature
 Book Selection to Promote Inquiry in the
Disciplines and the Development of
Children as Readers
 Global Literature

Promoting Engagement with Children’s
Literature: Readers Theatre; Art; Writing in
Response to Literature: Double-Entry
Journals, Poetry, etc.; Literature Circles (in
person and online); Book Talks; Surrounding
Books with Supplemental, Nonfiction, Multigenre texts
 Critical Literacies
Genre Study
Students read widely within a chosen genre and
evaluate selected books within that genre using
evaluation criteria.
Fairytale Project
Working in groups, students select one popular
fairytale i.e., Cinderella, Three Little Pigs, Jack
and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red
Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Sleeping Beauty.
Student read analyze many variants across
cultures and time periods, comparing plot, theme,
characters, moral, language, illustrations across
texts.
Cultural X-Rays
Students read fictional texts about the same
historical event from the perspective of characters
in different parts of the world. Students compare
and contrast the texts to lead to a deeper
understanding of culture beyond the superficial.
Web Assignment: Big Ideas in Children’s
Literature
Students think seriously about how children’s
literature can help learners explore “big ideas”
(Walmsley, 2006). After choosing a “big idea,”
students choose at least 25 books and create
engagements with books to promote critical and
21st century literacies. Engagements also align
with Common Core State Standards.
Sipe, L. (1998). Learning the language of
picturebooks. Journal of Children’s
Literature, 24 (2), 66-75.
Maderoza, C. et al (2010). Beyond picture
walks: Revaluing picturebooks as written
and pictorial texts. Language Arts, 87 (6),
437-446.
Serafini, F. (2003). Informing our practice:
Modernist, transactional, and critical
perspectives on children’s literature and
reading instruction. Reading Online, 6(6).
Clarke, L. W. & Whitney, E. (2009).
Walking in their shoes: Using multipleperspectives texts as a bridge to critical
literacy. The Reading Teacher, 62 (6), 530534.
Leland, C. et al (1999). Exploring critical
literacy: You can hear a pin drop.
Language Arts, 77 (1), 70-77.
Rosenblatt, L. (1982). The literary
transaction: Evocation and response.
Theory Into Practice, 21 (4), 268-277.
Burns, T. J. (2009). Searching for peace:
Exploring issues of war with young
children. Language Arts, 86 (6), 421-430.
Atkinson, T. S., Matusevich, M. L., &
Huber, L. (2009). Making science trade
book choices for elementary classrooms.
The Reading Teacher, 62 (6), 484-497.
 Using New Technologies to Respond to
Literature
 Digital Texts and E-books
 Online Literature Circles
Multimodal Responses to Literature
Students explore possibilities for multimodal
responses to literature. Students choose one
online software program (e.g., Storybird) to
render and share a response to literature with
multiple modalities.
Möller, K. J. (2013). Considering the
nonfiction CCSS nonfiction literature
exemplars as cultural artifacts: What do they
represent? Journal of Children’s Literature,
39(2), 58-67.
Maloch, B. & Bomer, R. (2013).
Informational texts and the Common Core
Standards: What are we talking about,
anyway? Language Arts, 90(3), 205-213.
Duke, N. K., Caughlan, S., Juzwik, M. M.,
& Martin, N. M. (2012). Teaching genre
with purpose. Educational Leadership, 69
(3), 34-39.
Larson, L. C. (2009). Reader response meets
new literacies: Empowering readers in
online learning communities. The Reading
Teacher, 62 (8), 638-648.
Martinez-Roldán, C. M. & Newcomer, S.
(2011). “Reading between the pictures”:
Immigrant students’ interpretations of The
Arrival. Language Arts, 88 (3), 188-197.
Jewett, P. (2011). “Some people do things
different from us”: Exploring personal and
global cultures in a first grade class. Journal
of Children’s Literature, 37 (1), 20-29.
Chick, K. (2008). Fostering an appreciation
for all kinds of families: Picturebooks with
gay and lesbian themes. Bookbird: A
Journal of International Children’s
Literature, 46 (1), 15-22.
Medina, C.L., & Enciso, P. (2002). “Some
words are messengers/Hay palabras
mensajeras”: Interpreting sociopolitical
themes in Latino/a children’s literature.
New Advocate, 15(1), 35-47.
Vasinda, S. & McLeod, J. (2011). Extending
Readers Theatre: A powerful and purposeful
match with podcasting. The Reading
Teacher, 64 (7), 486-497.
Whitin, P. E. (2009). “Tech-to-stretch”:
Expanding possibilities for literature
response. The Reading Teacher, 62 (5),
408-418.
Zawlinski, L. (2009). HOT Blogging: A
framework for blogging to promote higher
order thinking. The Reading Teacher, 62
(8), 650-661.
Yang, G. (2008). Graphic novels in the
classroom. Language Arts, 85 (3), 185-192.
Dallacqua, A. K. (2012). Exploring literary
devices in graphic novels. Language Arts,
89 (6), 365-378.