SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Academic Programs
SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 231Z, Children’s Literature
Spring Quarter 2006
Mondays - Fridays, 9:00 - 9:50 a.m., SC301
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The richness and diversity of American life is reflected in children’s literature. In this course, you will read and analyze books written for children. English 231 is not primarily a history of children’s literature or a course about writing for children. Instead, it is a literature course, exploring elements of plot, character, setting, theme, point of view, style, and tone. You will read, discuss, and enjoy many children’s books; lectures and supplementary readings will give you tools of analysis. Besides the literary elements, we will consider the different genres of children’s literature, the design and illustrative elements of picture books, the representation of different U.S. cultures in children’s literature, and the issue of censorship.
Books Needed:
All of these books will be required reading. You may buy them in the SSCC bookstore, or they are available from libraries.
E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web. (We will be using this all quarter.)
Margaret Mahy, The Seven Chinese Brothers
Margaret Wise Brown, Goodnight Moon.
Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are.
Louis Sachar, Holes.
Katherine Paterson, The Great Gilly Hopkins
Scott O’Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Lois Lowry, The Giver
Christopher Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy
Gary Soto, Chato’s Kitchen
Sharon Creech, Love that Dog.
The following textbook is very helpful, but it is optional. It will fill in the details in the teacher’s lectures and provide more examples of concepts. It is available in the bookstore for purchase, and one copy is on reserve in the library:
Lukens, Rebecca J. Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature. Longman, 1999. 7th ed.
OBJECTIVES:
To gain new insights into the range, richness, elements, and techniques of children’s literature.
To use elements of character, plot, setting, point of view, theme, style, and tone to analyze literature.
To explore children’s literature as a means of learning about diverse cultures within the United States.
To evaluate books written for children as literature.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Your work in this class will consist of the following:
1. Reading an assigned children’s book each week.
2. Writing 350 (a page and a half) words a week analyzing and responding to what you have read in preparation for seminars.
3. Participating in eight out of ten Friday book seminars.
4. Preparing an annotated bibliography of five to ten children’s books on a particular theme.
5. Writing an extended analysis of one children’s book
6. Taking weekly quizzes on the books read and literary concepts or a final exam.
JOURNALS AND SEMINARS
Each week, write 350 words in your journal about the assigned children’s book for the week. These entries are preparation for the Friday seminars and must be completed before class for full credit. Keep them in a separate notebook; I will check your entry each Friday and collect the journals occasionally. Prompt completion of 8 (out of 10) journal entries and participation in the seminar for that book will constitute 30% of your grade for the course.
QUIZZES AND FINAL EXAM
Every Monday a quiz will be given on the textbook chapters, lectures, and book from the week before. The final exam will be developed from these quizzes. At the end of the quarter, 35% of your grade will be based either on the final exam or on the average of your seven best quizzes, whichever is higher.
WEBSITE
Some of the materials presented in this class, such as the syllabus, illustrations from picture books, and an annotated bibliography of the SSCC Library Children’s Literature collection are available on the course website.
GRADES
Grades will be based on:
Journal and seminars (30%)
Eight entries, completed before participation in eight
Friday seminars 120 points
Writing assignments (35%)
Annotated bibliography 70 points
Analytical essay 70 points
Quizzes and/or final exam (35%) 140 points
Top seven quizzes, each worth 20 points, or
Final exam, worth 140 points
TOTAL: 400 points
These points will convert to a 4.0 scale as follows:
382-400 (96-100%) = 4.0 322-325 (81%) = 2.6
378-381 (95%) = 3.9 318-321 (80%) = 2.5
374-377 (94%) = 3.8 314-317 (79%) = 2.4
370-373 (93%) = 3.7 310-313 (78%) = 2.3
366-369 (92%) = 3.6 306-309 (77%) = 2.2
358-365 (90-91%) = 3.5 302-305 (76%) = 2.1
354-357 (89%) = 3.4 298-301 (75%) = 2.0
350-353 (88%) = 3.3 294-297 (74%) = 1.9
346-349 (87%) = 3.2 290-293 (73%) = 1.8
342-345 (86%) = 3.1 286-289 (72%) = 1.7
338-341 (85%) = 3.0 282-285 (71%) = 1.6
334-337 (84%) = 2.9 278-281 (70%) = 1.5
330-333 (83%) = 2.8 260 (65%) = 1.0
326-329 (82%) = 2.7 240 (60%) = 0.5
College Community Responsibilities: At South Seattle Community College each of us will …
Treat each other with courtesy and respect
Speak civilly and act responsibly with consideration for the rights of others
Affirm the value of diversity and promote cultural sensitivity
Maintain a safe and welcoming community
If you are a student with a documented disability who will require accommodations in this course, please register with Disability Support Services in the Robert Smith Building, Room RS 12 (763-5137) for assistance in developing a plan to address your academic needs.
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