Dr. Jeanette Shumaker
Eng. 502: Adolescent Literature
760-768-5524 (from campus, x65524)
Th. 4:10-6:50, Fall 2013
jshumake@mail.sdsu.edu (wait several days for reply)
Office: West Faculty 157, W. 3:45-5:15 and Th. 2-4
In this course we will read classic literature written for or about adolescents, including some
Greek, Roman, and Scandinavian mythology. Our course has a two-fold purpose—to prepare
you to teach literature to teens and to analyze teen literature as sophisticated adults. To help you
teach literature to teens, you will learn to use readers’ theatre, along with discussion and informal
writing techniques. You will also present oral reports on novels that the rest of the class hasn’t
read to expand the group’s knowledge of teen lit. As in my other courses, we will work on
improving our close-reading, essay writing, critical thinking and speaking skills.
Required Books:
Anaya, R. “Bless Me, Ultima”
Anderson, M.T. “Feed”
Anderson. “Speak”
Brown. “Favorite Norse Myths”
Evslin, Evslin, and Hoops. "The Greek Gods" (Scholastic 0590441108)
Farmer, N. "The House of the Scorpion"
Gaiman, N. “The Graveyard Book”
Hesse, H. "Siddhartha"
Hesse, K. "Out of the Dust"
Pullman, P. “The Subtle Knife”
Salinger, J.D. "Catcher in the Rye"
Graded Assignments:
Essay (at least 1,800 words, drawing on at least 3 scholarly sources)
Play Performance
Participation (and Informal Writings)
Final Exam
Midterm
Oral Report
22%
8%
20%
20%
20%
10%
Essay:
Your essay should make an argument about a central theme in one or more of the assigned
books. Your thesis (argument) should be supported by sub-points that are proven through quotes,
paraphrases, comparisons/contrasts and other literary techniques. Three scholarly sources,
including at least one from a library Internet database, are required to enrich your essay’s frame
of reference. (You may also use popular sources like Wikipedia or Sparknotes in addition to the
three scholarly sources.) Write to me as an informed reader; don’t include the plot summary you
would provide for general readers. Your essay should be at least six pages typed double-spaced,
using MLA format, plus a Works Cited page.
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Midterm and Final Exam:
The Midterm and Final Exam will primarily be composed of open-book (no notes) essay
questions over books you did not cover in your paper or oral report. You will write about four
books during each exam. You must write about both mythology books during the Midterm.
Play Performance:
In groups of three you will write a ten-fifteen minute play based on a work of adolescent
literature assigned to our class. You will arrange to present the play to at least six teenagers and
will also present it to our class. You may use scenery, props, puppets and costumes to the degree
you feel that they're helpful, and you may provide a Spanish summary of the play if the teens you
present to primarily speak Spanish. You may invent your own dialogue, or quote from the book.
Your play should be typed double-spaced and turned in when you present it to our class.
Evidence for your presenting the play to teens (such as a note from a junior-high or high-school
teacher or photos of your play’s actors with your teen audience) is due at the final exam.
Oral Report and Discussion Leading:
Your oral report and discussion leading session should last about ten minutes, with at least seven
minutes devoted to the report, and the rest to discussion. If you go overtime, I may need to cut
you off, if we have a lot to cover that day. You will be assigned a topic that relates to that night’s
reading. I would be happy to help you develop your report if you come to my office hours or
phone me during them. You can also get help for free at the Learning Center at the rear of the
library.
Both the content of your report and its manner of presentation count. Don’t spend more than two
minutes summarizing plot, or you will bore the audience. Try to speak, not read, keeping eye
contact with your fellow students as well as with me. Using PowerPoint, the white board or other
visual aid can be helpful to your audience.
The discussion questions that you bring may deviate from your report’s focus as you raise other
issues in the assigned reading. Your questions don’t have to cover all of the assigned reading,
however--just what interests you.
If your oral report is not given on its assigned date, its grade will be lowered by one letter, unless
you have made arrangements with me to change the date before the scheduled date arrives. The
grading penalty may be waived if a written, third-party excuse is provided promptly.
Late Work:
Informal writings won’t be accepted late, as the points they earn are meant to reward students
who manage to attend class despite the obstacles life puts in their way.
Late papers will be accepted up to one week past the due date, with their grades lowered by one
letter, unless the lateness results from a documented, third-party excused absence. Missing class
is no excuse for not turning in a paper on time (at the start of the class period); begin your paper
well in advance and then have a friend deliver it if an emergency arises. Since I cannot always
open papers that you email to me as attachments, turning in a paper via email does not count as
making the due date.
A makeup Midterm or Final Exam must be approved before the date of the test. Only one exam
may be rescheduled for any reason.
Exchange phone numbers/ email addresses with a fellow student so that if you must miss class,
you can review his/her notes and discuss what you missed.
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Plagiarism and Cheating:
Plagiarizing or cheating can result in your being suspended or expelled from SDSU. I will punish
such a misdeed with the maximum penalty I can give, which is failing this course. Students
sometimes plagiarize papers from the Internet, but professors use search engines to uncover such
thefts. Be sure to document all sources for your essay using MLA style to avoid a charge of
plagiarism. (An MLA guide is in the reference section of the library, and there are excerpts from
the MLA guide inside the PAC, the library’s computerized catalog.) You should document all
quotes, paraphrases, ideas, and information. If stress tempts you to cheat, talk to me so I can
suggest constructive methods for handling academic pressures. If you are protecting a friend who
cheats, remember that you may be encouraging a perilous addiction: studies show that college
students who cheat often continue cheating or embezzling in the workplace, resulting in a ruined
career, stiff fines, or even imprisonment.
Grading Standards:
A grade of C on an assignment means that you have competently completed it, whereas a grade
of A denotes an outstanding performance in terms of content, organization, and style. A grade of
B means a good performance. Grammatical correctness and clean copy are required for passing
work at the upper division level.
In terms of equivalency with the 4.0 campus grading scheme, 3.85 and higher is an A; 3.5-3.84 is
an A-; 3.15-3.49 is a B+; 2.85-3.14 is a B; 2.5-2.84 is a B-; 2.15-2.49 is a C+; 1.85-2.14 is a C;
1.5-1.84 is a C-; 1.15-1.49 is a D+; .85-1.14 is a D; .5-.84 is a D-; 0-.49 is an F.
Classroom Etiquette:
Courtesy is essential to foster a classroom environment in which all of us can learn and feel
comfortable. Consideration for others is an important skill for parents, teachers, and other
professionals to master.
Please turn off all electronic devices, including laptops, before class begins. Each time your
phone, pager etc. beeps during class, your Participation grade (20% of the course grade) will go
down by one increment; if such a noise occurs during an exam or oral report, your Participation
grade will go down by one letter.
Learning Outcomes:
-Speak extemporaneously about literary texts, analyzing them according to their themes,
symbols, characters, genres, periods etc.
--Write essays both in and out of class that draw on quotations from literary texts to interpret
those works’ themes, symbols, characters, genres, and other stylistic features.
--As well as writing and speaking about adolescent literature in ways appropriate for adults, use
readers’ theatre, informal writings, class discussions, and oral reports as techniques suitable for
exposing teenagers to literature.
Assignments (changes TBA in class or on Blackboard):
8/29 Introduction to the course and each other.
9/5 Discuss all of Evslin (Greek myths).
9/12 Discuss all of Brown (Norse myths).
9/19 Discuss Siddhartha.
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9/26 Discuss Catcher in the Rye.
10/3 Discuss Out of the Dust.10/10 Midterm.
10/17 Discuss The Graveyard Book.
10/24 Discuss Feed.
10/31 Discuss the first half of House of the Scorpion. Peer Review: bring three copies of
rough draft.
11/7 Discuss the second half of House of the Scorpion.
11/14 Essay Due. Discuss Bless Me, Ultima.
11/21 Discuss Speak.
12/5 Discuss The Subtle Knife.
12/12 Final Exam.
Oral Report Schedule:
9/5 Paulsen, G. Dogsong
Garner, Alan. The Owl Service
Cushman, K. Catherine, Called Birdy
9/12 George, C. Julie of the Wolves
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders
Cormier, R. The Chocolate War
9/19 Bloch, F.L. Weetzie Bat
Rees, C. Sorceress
Speare, E.G. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
9/26 Chambers, A. Postcards from No Man’s Land
Ryan, P.M. Esperanza Rising
Soto, G. Baseball in April
10/3 Ishiguro, K. Never Let Me Go
Lowry, L. The Giver
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit
10/17 My Brother Sam is Dead
Pattou, Edith. East
Melling, O.R. The Summer King
10/24 LeGuin, U. The Wizard of Earthsea
Golding, W. Lord of the Flies
Alexander, L. The High King
11/7 Peck, R. The River Between Us
London, J. White Fang
Price, Susan. The Sterkarm Handshake
11/21 Thompson, Kate. The New Policeman
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
11/27 Almond, David. Kit’s Wilderness
Peet, Mal. Tamar
12/5 Fine, Anne. Flour Babies
Crew, L. Children of the River
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