Week 1: Children’s and Adolescent Literature: An Overview
As part of the Application Assignment for this course, you will be compiling a list of attributes that contribute to quality and excellence in children’s and adolescent literature. Creating this Quality Checklist will help you evaluate books for your Annotated Booklist and serve as a reference as you assess other books in the future. Use this template for writing your Quality Checklists in Weeks 1–5.
The Quality Checklist and Annotated Booklist for Weeks 1 and 2 are due at the end of Week 2; and the final Quality Checklist and Annotated Booklist for Weeks 1–5 are due at the end of Week 5.
General characteristics of quality children’s and adolescent literature:
1. Quality children and adolescent books have diverse characters that are not stereotypes.
2. Quality children and adolescent books have attention drawing language that is used in colorful ways.
3. Quality children and adolescent books project and help children to develop ideas.
4. Quality children and adolescent books have great art work that help to tell the story and define the characters.
5. Quality children and adolescent books give life lessons and have realistic story themes.
Characteristics of quality culturally diverse literature:
1. Culturally diverse literature must have well-crafted stories.
2. Culturally diverse literature must have stories with themes that show diversity in non-stereotype ways.
3. Books that are culturally diverse have stories that show aspects of different cultures in sensitive ways.
4. Books that are culturally diverse have stories that show the subject culture in an appropriate and accurate manner.
5. Culturally diverse literature must add to not take away for cultural understanding and acceptance.
Week 2: Picture Books
Based on what you have learned about picture books this week, add at least five new entries to the "Characteristics of quality picture books.” Make sure to describe the characteristics in your own words. Based on what you have learned the first two weeks of this course, add five new entries to the “Characteristics of quality culturally diverse literature.”
Characteristics of quality picture books:
1. Quality picture books have rich colorful language.
2. Quality picture books have excellent art work.
3. Quality picture books have illustrations that help tell the story and set the mood.
4. Quality picture books illustrations are interesting and appealing to the reader.
5. Quality picture books illustrations are not stereotypes and portray diversity.
Characteristics of quality culturally diverse literature cont.:
1. Quality picture books do not display stereotypes illustrations.
2. Quality picture books illustrations are of culturally diverse characters.
3. Quality picture books illustrations can sets the mood of the story in culturally appropriate manner.
4. Quality picture books illustrations are visually accurate.
5. Quality picture books illustrations show culturally diverse themes.
Week 3: Poetry, Folklore, Fantasy, and Science Fiction
Based on what you have learned about poetry, folklore, fantasy, and science fiction this week, add at least three new entries for each genre. Make sure to write the entries in your own words.
Characteristics of quality poetry:
1. Quality poetry uses language in innovative and colorful ways.
2. Quality poetry is easily understood by its intended reader
3. Quality poetry has structures that enhance the reader understanding of its content.
Characteristics of quality folklore:
1. Quality folklore has naturally rhythmic language.
2. Quality folklore retails traditional stories in accurate ways.
3. Quality folklore has traditional themes and values in its stories.
Characteristics of quality fantasy or science fiction:
1. Quality science fiction invokes the reader’s thoughts