Last Class Session Reminders

I feel like I've already said this several times, and posted about it previously, but just in case, here are some last minute reminders about what is expected for our last class session. (I know it can be hard to keep everything straight, with the expectations from all of your different classes.)

• Here is a final checklist for class Wednesday:
• Hand in blog log.
• Bring to class the books you reviewed for your final project, to share with classmates.
• On your blog you should also have:
  Final project: 3-5 book reviews (depending on if you used picture books or novels or a combination), 1 professional resource review, 1 post in which you reflect on an aspect of your project as a whole

"Public" post for final project:

• Over the weekend, you should have received an invitation to be a contributor to the "Issues of Diversity in Children's and Adolescent Literature" blog. Respond as directed to this email. Choose one or more of your book reviews to post on this blog. Remember to follow the model for full citation and labels for the posts.

For next week (finals week) due Wednesday, April 30, class time

• Final course post: Find some time in the upcoming week to reread your questioning the text papers, look over the course syllabus, and page through the course readings. Then write a short reflection that highlights how your thinking about diverse literature has changed over the semester. What have you learned? How has your reading/understanding of diverse literature changed over the semester? Do you have new questions/concerns? Where will you go from here? Focus on whichever prompt(s) make sense for you! (This is not a course paper. The idea is to highlight, in a concise manner, a few key points!)

Any questions? See you in class!

Session 13 - GLBTQ Lit and loose ends, Final Projects

This coming week in class:

• We will be discussing GLBTQ literature, with Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan for our book discussion. Everyone will be writing their final Questioning the Text paper this week.
• One of the short articles we are reading is also by Levithan (2004), and the other by McLean (1997). Come to class with your responses to these articles and ideas to contribute to class discussion.
• You might also want to check out a blog on GLBTQ lit called Worth the Trip--an excellent resource and just great reading.

• We will also spend a bit of time in class catching up on a bit of review we didn't get to last week. Be prepared to review what questions you should ask of diverse lit and what characteristics you should look for in diverse lit. We'll compare to the list you made earlier in the semester and see how you've progressed.
• I'd also like to revisit what questions you still have, what is still troubling you, about issues covered in the course. What work will you still have to do when you leave this class?

Blogging:

• How does your Blog log look? Are you up to date? Will you be ready to turn in your log on the last day of class (that's when it's due)? Note any extra credit blogs (also not part of your assigned # of blogs.)
• There will be one more required blog, (that "counts" on your log) that will be a reflection of the semester. I will discuss more details on what that should entail in class.

Answers to some questions about Final Projects:

• Your final project will be a series of posts on your blog. These do NOT count as part of your regular blogging assignment.
• Each book review should be posted as a separate blog post. Your review of the professional resource is also a separate blog, with full citation for the resource. One more separate post for your reflection of your final project as a whole.
• You will chose one (or more if you like) of your book reviews to post on our "public blog" which was begun last semester, and will carry on next semester as well. You will receive information on how to post there next week.
• Bring up any further questions in class or comment on this post and I will reply for everyone.

I like you to think about how you would like to share your final projects on the last day of class. I have some ideas, but I'd like to hear your input.

Week 12

Just a reminder that there is no class this week, April 2. Papers originally scheduled for April 2nd are now due on April 9th when we are next in class. Remember that this week off is intended as time for you to work on your own on your final projects. Good luck and I'll see you one the 9th.

Session 11 - Asian Pacific American Literature

This week we'll be reading and discussion Project Mulberry. The accompanying articles are:

• Siu-Runyan (2002): This article focuses on "Books that teach about the Asian and Pacific Island peoples of Hawaii". What does it add to your understanding of that population? Of the purposes and need for multicultural literature in general?
• Yamate (1997): As of 1997, what was the state of publishing for Asian American texts? What type of research might you do to explore whether anything has changed over the last 10 years? What themes might you find in Asian Pacific American literature?

This week Group B is writing Questioning the Text papers for Project Mulberry.

Session 10: Latino/a Literature

This week we will be exploring Latino/a Literature, reading and discussion Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan (who you might remember as the author of Esperanza Rising, one of our texts from TE 348). For our supporting reading, note as follows:

• Ada (2003): This chapter is from the book A Magical Encounter: Latino Children's Literature in the Classroom. Some things to think about while reading: Why does Ada use the term "Latina" to identify herself? How is this connected to her understanding of self and history? What does she add to our understanding of the insider/outsider debate? To our understanding of the Pura Belpre award?
• Barrera and Quiroa (2003): This chapter is from the book Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature. Why is it important to consider the use of Spanish in texts? When does it enhance the text? When does it detract from the text? How might audiences of Spanish/English and English speakers be accommodated?

This week Group A is writing Questioning the Text papers. Note the change in the timing of posting on the Drop Box on Angel (I've given you a bit more time).

Blogging: Don't forget to post your required blog on developing a Personal Philosophy, by class time on Wednesday. This blog counts as one of your ten for the blog assignment. If you have attended one of the extra credit options and are posting a blog (rather than turning in a paper to me) that also should be posted by class time on Wednesday, but as extra credit, it does not count as one of you blogs for the blogging assignment.

Extra Credit Opportunities

I was asked today if there were any other extra credit opportunities possible, and I didn't think so at the time, but I did see another good opportunity just today--it's also for tomorrow evening (Thursday), but for earlier.

GLBT Safe Schools is sponsoring a Safe School Seminar tomorrow (Thursday) on teachers' and schools' legal rights and responsibilities towards gay,lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students, teachers, andparents. Details are below: Legal Rights & ResponsibilitiesAttorney Jay Kaplan from the ACLU will return to provide an overview of the teachers' and schools' legal rights and responsibilities towards gay,lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students, teachers, and parents. He will also give us an update on the current legislation affecting Michigan schools, including the school bullying bill.Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:00 - 6:30 252 EH Erickson Hall Pizza will be served.

If you attend this seminar and write a one page paper or equivalent blog post on what you learned, you can earn up to 2 points of extra credit.

If you attend the Native American Seminar (detailed in an earlier blog posting), you don't need to attend the whole three hours, but at least half of the time, (1 and 1/2 hours), and write a 1 page paper or equivalent blog posting, including which presenters you listened to and what you learned. Let me know if you have any questions.

Final Projects

The final project is an opportunity to practice selecting, reviewing, and researching books on a topic of your choice. You will also be sharing your work, not only with your classmates, but with a larger educational community.

During session 7 read through the directions and rubric for the final project and I passed out a hard copy of these documents in class. They are also posted on Angel.) Here are some links that you might find helpful:

• Sample book review that models the format of the review: MLA citation, book cover, summary of book, critical component, labels. (Remember that "critical" can be a positive or negative evaluation. The important aspect is that you draw on our work in the class to thoughtfully consider the text as a piece of literature.)
  
• Sample professional/critical resource: Remember that this can be a review of a resource as a whole OR can be a post in which you share a focused idea/question from the resource.
  
• Link to "public site" at which you'll post one or more of your reviews. (Don't worry about this now, I'll provide directions on selecting and posting your final work later in the semester.)
• Although this is an optional post, you might want to write about why you are focusing on your topic and/or where you are "coming from" as a reader. Here's an example post from a student last term talking about her interests.

Remember you are welcome to work with other students with the same interests as you, sharing resources and giving each other feedback on the reviews you write. (You will still need to each select your own books and professional resources.) I will post a discussion board forum on each class sections Angel site, with a thread for each category, to make it easy to connect with other students who have chosen the same topic. (It's okay if you want to change your mind from what you originally signed up for--just let me know.)

Please post questions and comments about this project here. That way everyone will benefit from the discussion and responses that result from your questions.

Session 9 - Critical Literacy

This is a pretty light week, coming off of spring break--no written assignment, no novel to read, and just one article (Kuhlman). (The MacDowell article listed on your syllabus is an error, it was used last term, but is not going to be used this term. ) Hope you're not too disappointed. :~)

Here is a session for all of you who are eager to think about pedagogy--this time we are going to spend time thinking about what would kids say, how would they react, what should we do with books with kids, but, more importantly, what do you need to know about yourself first. The Kuhlman (2000) article will direct your thinking along these lines, and our conversation in class on Wednesday will take it further. What does Kuhlman mean by "critical pedagogy"? By "critical reading"? How does she engage children in this kind of reading?

Have you read Little House on the Prairie before, as a child or an adult? Revisit any memories you have of the book--what were your responses to the text? (feel free to bring it to class if you have a copy)

Session 8 -

This week we are looking at literature depicting people with disabilities. Our book discussion this week will be Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko and to support our discussions and thinking on this topic, reading the articles by Tal (2001), by Williams et.al.(2005) and by Linton (1998). Remember that everyone is writing a Questioning the Text paper this week - should be posted by Tuesday, 6 pm.

• For the Linton reading, consider Linton has to say about the power of language? What terminology do you prefer when discussing this topic? Why? What would it mean to read Al Capone Does my Shirts from a "disability studies framework? What types of questions would you ask about the representations in the text? How would you analyze those questions?
• When reading the Tal and Williams articles. think about the many different ways people with disabilities have been portrayed in text? What criteria might one use to evaluate books that include people with disabilities? Is there anything you question about the criteria presented?

You might also want to check out Gennifer Choldenko's website and think how your thinking about Al Capone Does My Shirts is impacted by what you get to know about her.

About blogging:

• Don't forget to post your groups summary of what you found out about the award you looked up if you haven't done that yet.
• You could also choose to post a blog (one of your ten for the blog assignment) about your perspective on the awards issue we talked about in class.

Diverse Literature Awards

Here is where you can post the blog you created with your team for the award you researched. (post as a comment) I'm looking for a summary of the information you gathered, but feel free to also include a link to the award's website if there is one, or list of winning books. Be sure to check out the other groups postings on the award they researched. This may be a good resource for the final project! Looking forward to seeing what you came up with.

Poetry Slam - Black History Month

Since I also teach at Lansing Community College, I always recieve info on events happening there. LCC has a very active Black History Month, with many and varied events. There is one coming up next week I thought some of you might be interested in. Thursday the 21st in the Kennedy Cafeteria between 6 and 8 pm: Poetry Slam featuring the Nu Poets. There will be an open mike as well as voter registrationand NAACP membership drives. Hope some of you will be able to attend. Let me know if you need more info.

Native American conference/Extra credit opportunity

Here is the information (finally) on the Native American Writers Conference I've been telling you about where Debbie Reese will be speaking. http://aisp.msu.edu/returning_the_gift.html It is titled "Returning the Gift" and takes place March 13-15 (NOT 14-16 as I said previously). The conference takes place at the MSU Union, and the cost to students is $20--there are many sessions that look appealing to me, but I will be attending a conference on Young Adult literature at WMU on the 14th, so I will only be able to attend the open reading on Thursday evening, which is open to the community and free. The link above will give you full information. Debbie Reese (and 9 others) will be reading from their work. If you also choose to attend this reading, (and write a one page paper or a comparable blog entry) on the experience, you can recieve up to 2 pts of extra credit.

Session 7

There are two topics we will be covering in session 7. One will be "practicing close readings of text" and there is nothing to prepare for this! The other is analyzing awards for diverse literature, and the preparation for this that I brought up in class Wednesday is as follows:

• Everyone:
  Read the Aronson and Pinkney articles. What are the arguments for and against honoring books in specific cultural/social categories? What assumptions does each position rely on?
  Where do you stand in terms of the debate?
  
• Small groups Award jigsaw: Research the following information for your assigned award. (Remember that information is on the slides from session 6 I’ve posted on angel, in case you can’t remember or weren’t in class.)
• Is there an official website for the award?
• Are there other resources that provide information about the award? (Sometimes libraries or author blogs feature information not available on the official sites.)
• Why and when was this award created? What is the rationale for the award?
• Selection criteria: What books, authors, illustrators are eligible? How are the books judged?
• Who sponsors the award?
• Selection committee: Who chooses the winners? How do you get on the committee? How transparent is the process?
• Bring in books that have won or have been honored by the award. This will mean a trip to the library--you can coordinate this within your group.
• How easy was it to find the books? Do they have seals or other indications that they are award winners?

It would be helpful if one person in the group could bring in a computer.

In class we'll teach each other about the awards, share books, and talk about the questions that our research raises. The "product" of your group work will be a collaborative post on your award. (Although you'll have time to work on this with your group, most of your research should be done in advance of class.)

How is blogging going so far?

I would like us to have a conversation on how you feel the use of blogs in the class is going so far. Although no one is required to post, please do so if you have a comment or question to add to the discussion.You might write about:

• What you find valuable about our use of blogs
• What you find to be limiting or frustrating
• How you can imagine using blogs in the future
• Questions you have about the blogs
• Ideas for mini-lessons/discussions we might have in class

I'll read the posts carefully, both to guide my planning this semester and think about the use of blogs in future classes.

Suggeted Reading - McIntosh

I completely forgot to post the info on the suggested reading I told you about a in Session 4 (it's posted in the Ppt slides I put on angel.) This article was one of the first of the required readings I did for the "Doing Our Own Work" Seminar (two four day retreats) on racism and white privilege, back when the Children's Lit Team was preparing for and developing this course.

The article is "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh. The article introduces the idea of "white privilege": the idea that white people may or may not have had a chance to recognize the significance of race in day to day life. Although McIntosh thinks in terms of race, the idea of privilege can be helpful in thinking in more general ways about how those with majority identities sometimes haven't had a chance to explore common experiences of people with socially marginalized identities. A colleague (Valerie) also suggeted article which uses the concept of privilege to think about heterosexual privilege called "The Daily Effects of Straight Privilege". What do people think? Did anything in McIntosh's article "ring true"? Was there anything that you questioned? What does "privilege" have to do with our identities as readers?

Session 6

This week we are reading Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. This novel is a bit different what we have read so far--it alternates between poetry and prose, and is told in about 17 different voices, with one main narrator. As you read, you might try reading some of the poems outloud, to really take in the poetry aspects. Pick a couple of the most that you find the most meaningful or interesting and would like to share and discuss in class.

The supporting articles we are reading this week are:

• Woodson (1998): Here is yet another perspective on the insider/outsider debate. What does her voice add to the debate?
• Martin (2004): What does she mean by the "double voicedness" of text? How is this "double voicedness" connected to the historical position of African Americans? Do any of the modes of discourse seem familiar? (You might draw on popular culture for examples or written texts.)

Optional:

• What can you learn about Nikki Grimes through internet research? Post any interesting resources in a blog entry.
• Contribute a response to "How is blogging going?" by 6 pm the night before class

Group C:

• Write a questioning the text paper and submit it to the Angel dropbox by 6 pm the night before class
• Bring a hard copy of your paper to class

Magic in Africa: Questions the Lesson Raised

Anyone interested in continuing our conversation about representations of Africa or about the two books themselves? I know people had lots to say that didn't get said because of time constraints!

One topic that we didn't discuss in class was raised my someone in her quickwrite:

• As a teacher, should I raise these questions with kids? Or should I just let them read or explore on their own?

My response to the first question was "yes"! All readers need to consider what books "offer" them and read with a critical eye. (Rethinking Schools on-line has some great articles on how teachers do this type of critical literacy work in the classroom.)

But the second part of the question makes it tricky, right? It makes me wonder:

• How do you teach someone to read critically without communicating that the teacher's read of the text is the "correct" one? (This is the question I'm going to ask my instructor group to help me think about when we watch the video tape of the lesson.)
  
• To add a layer of complexity, how do we learn to read transculturally, especially when we value cultural authenticity and when issues of power and representation are involved?

Any thoughts, either on questions we raised in class or on the question of what it means to teach this type of lesson?

Session 5

This week in class we are discussing Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye and looking at two different readings to support our study of Arab American literature.

• The Al-Hazza and Lucking (2005) article provides a context for our discussion. Who are Arab Americans? How are they (mis)represented in the media? What are the implications for how we read a book like Habibi?
• Al-Hazza (2006) provides an analysis of children's and adolescent literature? What do you notice about the types of books that are available that portray Arab Americans? What seems missing?

As you read Habibi, take note of what strikes you, what questions or concerns you have, anything you would like to bring to the discussion. The B's will be writing Questioning the Text papers this week, (and posting them in the drop box on angel by 6 pm Tuesday), but of course everyone will come to class prepared to discuss their impressions of the novel.

Suggestions for Questioning the Text papers

I had several students ask me after class Wednesday to talk to them about examples for your Questioning the Text papers. I did give one example in class before reading Heart of a Chief, and I will give you a few more here, but I want to caution you not to get too tied to examples, or to try to fit each book to one of the examples. Be open to the spontaneous questions that come to as you read a particular text and take care to be specific to the text you are reading, and not try to get it to fit a generic model of a question. That being said, the following may be helpful in thinking about your papers. First, I will suggest that you take the time to read the assignment guidelines again and ask yourself if the question you want to pose can be answered by analyzing the text and if it engages in a discussion of the work as a piece of diverse literature. I also have for you below a list of some generic types of question that were helpful to students last term. I hope that all of you will also post samples of questions that seem to work in discussions as we go throughout the term, to add to this list.

• In what ways does XXX function as a generalization or stereotype in XXX?
• Who seems to be the implied audience for the text? (i.e. What textual clues signal who the author assumes you'll identify with or what knowledge the reader does or does not bring to the text)
• How does the [genre/style/plot/or any other literary feature] position readers to think about XXX?
• What does XXX say about the relationship between XXX and members of the dominant culture?
• How is humor/tragedy/etc. used to...?
• How does XXX and XXX work to unravel the dichotomy of…
• What did [plot twist, particular character/etc.] add to the text?
• How does the text challenge ideas about [choose any dichotomy: modernity/tradition, gender, etc.]
• Using XXX’s framework, how would you characterize XXX?
• What does the title of the book…

Please continue to post your questions, ideas and thoughts on your papers as they come to you. I began by cautioning you not to get to caught up with these examples, I also want to caution you that using one of these models doesn't guarantee a particular grade. I need to assess how you develop the question and the relationships between the sections of the paper. I hope this has been helpful.

Claire

Magic in Africa: Following up on your feedback

Where should I begin? I just finished watching the video of the lesson we did together yesterday and I have so much to say! Once I've created an artifact with the lesson, I'll be happy to share it with you.

I read through the feedback you offered in your quick-writes and want to follow up on a couple of ideas. (You can see the complete list of feedback here.)
Hi again,

Here are some questions/dilemmas that I've had when planning and watching the video of this lesson.

• People seemed to value the experience of looking at a book closely and questioning. (This is, of course, what you do in your questioning the text papers.)
  

• The activity didn't seem to clarify or suggest a "right" answer to the question of who can write culturally authentic literature. Even if this felt frustrating, I think this is good! These topics are complex--the trick is to become comfortable with the messiness of it all. Being a teacher means that you will always be generating new questions that will lead you to learning new things which will lead you to new questions... (You get the point--it's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, but with knowledge!)
  

• People wanted more information to help them make sense of the books we read. In addition to general resources on Africa (or whatever country or more narrow topic that interests you), you might check out Sankofa: A Journal of African Children's and Adolescent Literature. The MSU library has it and don't forget the African Studies Center on campus!

• Almost across the board, people said they would have liked more time working with the books and debriefing as a group. I'll arrange for more time in the future!

In my next post I'm going to share the questions that the activity raised for me.

Thank you again for letting me visit!

Advice on blogging from last semester

Some of this we have talked about in class, but this advice that Valerie gave her students last semester is something I thought would be very benefical to have on our blog where we could all comment and question on these points as we go.

• Audience for blogs and confidentiality concerns
  Remember that your blogs are currently set up so that anyone can read them. This includes prospective employers, family members, and "the public". Never disclose information on your blog that you don't want to be public. This might include controversial positions which might be misread outside the context of the course.
• Consider your audience. One audience for the blogs will be your classmates with whom you've built relationships and who know the context of the course. Another audience might be potential employers who might be interested in your ideas, your writing skills, and whether you "sound like a teacher". (I can imagine a principal asking herself, "Could I imagine this person creating a classroom blog that students and parents would read?")
• The same rules of confidentiality that we discussed regarding classroom interactions apply to our blogs. Don't mention other classmates by name or with identifying information. Respond to ideas, not to people.
  If in doubt, choose the more confidential option. We have lots of "spaces" in which to exchange ideas in our class: our face to face meetings, our blogs, the questioning the text papers, and the Angel website. For example,if you want to pose a question that feels more personal or "risky", you might decide not to start that conversation on your blog, but rather start a discussion strand on Angel.
• As professionals, one of your tasks is to develop "professional discretion". Although I read all posts and will contact you if I have a concern, it is ultimately up to you to make choices that demonstrate good judgment and respect for your classmates.In the future you'll be making the same types of choices with your students, parents, and professional communities!
• In terms of copyrighted material, you need to be aware of what you can and can not post on your blog. Posting the full text of a copyrighted article, for example, is a no-no. Providing a link to that article, a short excerpt, or summary of the article is fine.

Suggestions for posts to fulfill blogging assignment:

• Write a post that summarizes how you are thinking about one of the key questions we explore each week. (See slides)
• Explore electronic resources connected to diverse literature and share them through your blog. Several of our readings so far have noted blogs you might want to check out--both by authors of articles and authors of children's literature
• Try adding elements to your blog. For example, you might create links to the blogs of people in your discussion group. Or you might create a space for professional resources.
• Explore using Google Reader to manage reading people's posts. (See Valeries post with link to instructions.)

Managing your blog reading

I enjoyed visiting your class yesterday (and thanks so much for letting me video tape)! I'll write a post this weekend sharing some of your responses to the activity we did together.

In the meantime, here's a link to a post that I wrote for last semester's class on using Google Reader to manage your reading of blogs.

The other strategy you might consider to keep tabs on conversation is to set up your blog account so that you receive an email notification when someone comments on one of your posts.

If you have questions, go ahead and comment to this post and I'll respond!

Insider/Outsider debate - Session 4

We've been alluding to the question of who can write diverse literature for the last couple of weeks--well since the very beginning of the course actually. This weeks readings will inform you more and help you to define your own position on this topic. Our readings are part of an on-going debate that does not come to any particular consensus, but has professionals deeply entrenched in both positions. Look for the arguments presented for using literature that is written by an author who identifies as a member of the cultural group being written about. How are positions defended for books being written by an author outside of the cultural group portrayed? Is it an either/or debate? What are some of the finer points to this issue?

Blogging: Remember that this week one of your few required posts is due before class on Wednesday. After reading the articles for this week (in the order they were presented), develop your own concise and focused "position" on the insider/outsider debate to post on your own blog.

Be prepared to discuss the various positions and rationales for whole insider/outsider debate in class on Wednesday, and consider how you will defend your own developing perspectives.

Links to student blogs

Hi all,

If you've logged on to our class blog, hopefully you have noticed that I have posted links to everyone's personal blog. Please check to make sure that everything is correct--that the link works, that I put you in the right section, that I got your discussion group color correct, and gave you the correct letter for your writing assignments. Make sure you contact me right away if there are any errors so I can correct them. (I entered the info for almost 50 links this afternoon, it would be a miracle if there wasn't a typo or mistake somewhere.) I am missing links for three people--if your name is not on the list--please send me your link so I can add it--it's past due.

Last of all--please check out each others blogs! Have fun!

Claire

Session 3

I just wanted to share some thoughts to help you prepare for next weeks class.

• The Cortez article explores stereotypes and helps to differentiate betweeen generalizations and stereotypes. It looks at how stereotypes are created and helps to think about how these ideas might be introduced to children.
• The Reese article gives some background on Native American nations, introduces some important Native American authors, discusses stereotypes and texts with issues. Please be sure to take notes while you read and come to class with some key ideas or questions that you would like to bring to the discussion, as there won't the time to address all of this lengthy reading
• The Smith article is written by an author we will be looking closely at next week. It gives criteria to look at when choosing literature portraying Native Americans and addresses critical reviews of her work. We will be reading one of her books together in class next week.
• Remember that everyone needs to read Heart of a Chief next week, even though only group A is writing a questioning the text paper. Students from the other two groups should still be taking notes on their reading and coming to the book discussion with ideas they want to address. Those of you who are writing a questioning the text paper, be sure to pay careful attention the the guidelines of the assignment. Remember you will need to post your paper to the appropriate drop box by 6pm Tuesday evening and bring a hard copy to class to refer to during the book discussion.

I will address some blogging issues in a later post.

Session 2

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share with you some thoughts preparing for next class session on Wednesday. The Bishop article and the Yenika-Agbaw article with give you a good introduction to issues of diversity:
Bishop (1997): What is multicultural literature? Why use it? What issues might one consider as one reads this type of literature?
Yenika-Agbaw (1997) What is the relationship between reader-text-context? What does it mean to read critically?
To help you think about your poetry assignment:
Tatum (2000) This article will help you think about your own "social identities" and help us think about how they might impact how we read and understand the world.
Remember your poems need to be submitted to the drop box on our Angel site by 6 pm Tuesday night. Be sure to bring a hard copy to class as well.
About blogging:
The Suen (2006) article provides an introduction to blogging and its place in the world of children's literature. Try to take a look at some of the children's literature blogs that she mentions.
While you are not required to set up your own blog until the first week of class, feel free to get a head start if you’re ready. Follow the directions on the last page of the syllabus to set up your blogs and do an initial post. Remember to email me your address.
In our next class session we’ll talk about how it’s going for all of you, and process how to think about the public nature of blogs and what kinds of considerations you should make when posting.
This might seem like a lot to begin with, but it will help get us started for the semester—there won’t always be so much to think about at once. Let me know if you have any questions, posting them as a comment and I'll respond publicly here on our blog so that others can benefit as well.

Welcome!

Welcome to the class blog for TE 448, Issues of Diversity in Children's and Adolescent Literature, Spring 2008. In this community blog along with your individual blogs, we will communicate and track your thoughts and perspectives on ideas addressed in this course. I'm looking forward to getting started and to seeing where we go this semester.