RLA 527 - Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults
Fall 2008
Tuesday 4:00 -6:45 pm
Webb 113
Dr. Susannah Richards
Office phone: (860) 465-5210
Office Hours: Mondays, 1-3, Tuesdays, 12-2, Thursdays 10-12
Course Description
This course examines issues and trends found in multicultural literature for children and adolescents. The full range of books depicting the experience of people of color will be read and analyzed for authenticity, literary quality and appeal to readers.
Objectives
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Assess the populations in the United States and their local communities to help readers build an accurate conception of the culturally diverse nature of this country and the legacy of various minority groups.
a. Develop knowledge about the changing nature of this country's population.
2. Understand the role of literature as a transmitter of cultural and moral values and as a factor in the development of a more just society.
3. Identify positive portrayals of characters with authentic and realistic behaviors, to avoid stereotypes of a particular cultural or ethnic group.
a. Reflect on the cultural values of the characters in books.
4. Apply criteria to analyze texts that support the exploration of multicultural issues.
a. Evaluate contemporary as well as historical fiction that captures changing trends in the roles played by minority groups in America.
b. Determine historical accuracy in text, when appropriate.
c. Be able to evaluate multicultural literature in political and literary settings.
d. Evaluate authentic illustrations to enhance the quality of the text, since illustrations may have a strong impact on children.
5. Understand the role of literature as a transmitter of cultural and moral values and as a factor in the development of a more just society.
6. Develop a repertoire of high literary quality diverse literature with strong plots and well-developed characterization.
a. Be able to recognize values and uses of literature by and about African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Native Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, and Middle-Eastern Americans with homogeneous and heterogeneous populations.
7. Integrate culturally diverse literature into the curriculum.
8. Develop strategies for bringing children and adolescents to literature that represents many cultures.
9. Use technology to become knowledgeable about multicultural literature and its use in learning experiences.
Course Purpose
This course is designed to engage you in examining multicultural literature for children and young adults. The focus of such examination will be on excellence, appropriateness & authenticity, literary quality and appeal to readers as well as on recognition of the role of literature in the formation of moral and cultural values. For purposes of this class multi-cultural is being defined as multi-ethnic, and the major focus will be on Ethnic American stories rather than stories set in the country of origin of the ethnic group.
Yokota (2001) selection criteria for children’s literature that reflects the range of multiculturalism and diversity:
1. Is the book quality literature?
2. Does the author(s) and illustrator(s) offer culturally appropriate perspectives?
3. Are the multi-dimensions of culture presented?
4. Are cultural details integrated naturally?
5. Are the cultural details accurate and are interpretations current?
You should expect to read a wide variety of multicultural books for children and young adults, and you will be expected to read some specific titles as well as books that you choose. I will provide you with resources so that you will be able to select books that represent authentic multicultural perspectives and voices. You are encouraged to visit local public, school and the ECSU Curriculum libraries to locate these titles.
Standards Alignment
For a comprehensive description of each standard please visit:
Connecticut Common Core of Teaching (CCTE) http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=320862
NCATE
http://www.ncate.org/public/standards.asp
NCATE IRA and NCTE Standards
http://www.ncate.org/public/programStandards.asp?ch=4
INTASC Principles
http://cte.jhu.edu/pds/Resources/INTASC_Principles.htm
ECSU Education Unit
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/edu.html
IRA / NCTE / NCATE / INTASC / CCTE / ECSU Education Unit2.3.1-2.3.4 / 3.1: 3.5-3.5.4; 4.1-4.8 / Standard 4b / Principles 1-10 / ELA I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII / Content Knowledge; Diversity
Textbook:
Bishop, R. S. (2007). Free within ourselves: The development of African American children's literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
For information about the Rudine Sims Bishop visit http://www.ncte.org/elem/awards/educator/126145.htm
*Please note that this text is a model for how we may look at other cultures and that other readings will focus on other cultures.
Articles
Alanis, I. (2007). Developing literacy through culturally relevant texts. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 20(1), 29-32.
Al-Hazza, T., & Lucking, B. (2007). Celebrating diversity through explorations of Arab children’s literature. Childhood Education, 133-135.
Anthropology Outreach Office, Smithsonian Institution, (1996). Erasing Native American stereotypes.
Au, K. H. (1993). Literacy instruction in multicultural settings, Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Banks, J. A. (1993). Multicultural education: Issues & perspectives, 2nd edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Barrera, R., Verlinda D. Thompson, and Mark Dressman. (eds), (1997) Kaleidoscope: A multicultural booklist for grades K-8 2nd edition. Urbana: NCTE.
Bishop, R. S. (ed), (1994). Kaleidoscope: A multicultural booklist for grades K-8 1st edition. Urbana, Il: NCTE.
Bishop, R.S. (2003). Reforming the debate about cultural authenticity. In D. F. Fox & K. G. short (Eds) Stories that matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature. Urbana, IL: NCTE
Bishop, R. S. (1994). A reply to Shannon the canon. Journal of Children’s Literature, 20(1). 6-13.
Cai, M. (2003). Can we fly across cultural gaps on the wings of imagination? Ethnicity, experience, and cultural authenticity. In D. F. Fox & K. G. short (Eds) Stories that matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature. 167-181. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Davis, K. L., Brown, B. G., Liedel-Rice, A., & Soeder, P. (2005). Experiencing diversity through multicultural children’s literature. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(4), 176-179.
Day, F. A. (1997). Latina & Latino voices in literature for children & teenagers. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Field, L., & Singer, J. Y. (2006). Talking with children about the Columbian exchange. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 18(4), 24-26.Hansen-Krening, N., E. M. Aoki & D. T. Mizokawa (Eds), (2003) Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural booklist for grades K-8 4th edition. Urbana: NCTE.
Harris, V. J. (1992). Teaching multicultural literature in grades K-8, Norwood: Christopher-Gordon.
Higgins, J. J. (2002). Multicultural children’s literature: creating and applying an evaluation tool in response to the needs of urban educators. New Horizons for Learning, 1-20.
Kruse, G.M., & Horning, K.T. (1988). Multicultural Literature for Children and young adults: A selected listing of books 1980-1990 by and about people of color. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (Bulletin NO. 1923).
Kruse, G. M. (1992). No single season: Multicultural literature for all children. Wilson Library Bulletin 66, 30-33.
Labbo, L. (). Off the shelf: Resources for celebrating the lives of African American women.
Landt, S. M. (2007). Using picture books to arouse interest in the story of geographic areas. The Social Studies, 98(1), 9-12.
Lindgren, M.V. (1991). The Multicolored mirror: Cultural substance in literature for children & young adults. Fort Atkinson WI: Highsmith.
Manna, A.L. & Brodie, C.S. (1992) Many faces, many voices: Multicultural literary experiences for youth. Fort Atkinson WI: Highsmith.
Mendoza, J., & Reese, D. (2001). Examining multicultural picture books for the early childhood classroom: Possibilities and pitfalls. 3(2), Early Childhood Research and Practice.
Nathenson-Mejia, S., & Escamilla. (2003). Connecting with Latino children: Bridging cultural gaps with children’s literature. Bilingual Research Journal, 27(1), 101-116.
Oyate. (1999). Review of My heart in on the ground: The diary of Nannie Little Rose, A sioux girl, Carlisle Indian School, PA published in 1999 by Scholastic and available at http://www.oyate.org/books-to-avoid/myHeart.html.
Rochman, H. (1993), Against borders: Promoting books for a multicultural world. Chicago: American Library Association.
Swartz, P. C. (2003). Bridging multicultural education: Bringing sexual orientation into the children’s and young adult literature classroom. Radical Teacher, 66, 11-16.
Shannon, P. (1994). I am the canon: Finding ourselves in multiculturalism. Journal of Children’s Literature, 20(1). 1-5.
Sims, R. (1982), Shadow & Substance: Afro- American experience in contemporary children’s fiction. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English.
Soundy, S. S., & Qiu, Y. (2006/2007). Portraits of picture power: American and Chinese children explore literacy through the visual arts. Childhood Education, 68-74.
Stewart, L. (2006). Celebrating the legacy of Rosa Parks. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 19(1). 23-26.
Susag, Dorothea M. (1998). Roots and branches: A resource of Native American literature-Themes, lessons, and bibliographies. Urbana: NCTE.
Taxel, J. (2006/2007). Reading multicultural children’s literature: Response, resistance and reflection. Transformations, 17(2), 106-166.
Wan. G. (2006). Teaching diversity and tolerance in the classroom: A thematic storybook approach. Education, 127(1), 140-154.
Yamata, S. S. (1997). Asian Pacific Children’s Literature: Expanding perceptions about who Americans are. In V. J Harris, Using multicultural literature in the K-8 classroom. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon, 95-128.
Yokota, Junko (ed), (2001). Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural booklist for grades K-8. 3rd edition. Urbana: NCTE.
Yu-Lu, Mei. (1998). Multicultural children’s literature in the class. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication Digest #133. Available at http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d133.html
Selected Professional Journals
The Dragon Lode (http://www.reading.ccsu.edu/TheDragonLode/default.html for volumes 18-21)), Educational Leadership, The Reading Teacher; Language Arts; Interracial Books for Children Bulletin; Book Links; Book List, Young Children; Journal of Reading; Jounral of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Teaching Tolerance
Web Resources for ELA (English Language Arts)
Organization/Title / URLBeyond the Blueprint: Literacy in Grades 4-12 and the Content Areas / http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&Q=321834
Bookplates and More / http://www.myhomelibrary.org
Connecticut Social Studies Curriculum Framework / http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/Curriculum/Curriculum_Root_Web_Folder/
frsocst.pdf
Children's Book Council / http://www.cbcbooks.org
Connecticut’s Blueprint for Reading Achievement / http://www.state.ct.us/sde/dtl/curriculum/currcbra.htm
International Reading Association / http://www.reading.org
National Council of Teachers of English / www.ncte.org
New Literacies / http://www.literacy.uconn.edu
Picturing Picture Books / http://picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org/
Read, Write, Think / www.readwritethink.org
Reading Rockets / http://www.readingrockets.org
Teaching Tolerance / http://www.teachingtolerance.org
Smithsonian Education / http://smithsonianeducation.org/index.html
TeachingBooks / http://www.teachingbooks.net
Vandergrift’s Reader Response Criticism / http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/readerresponse.html
Websites to Explore Diverse Literature
The Brown Bookshelf / http://thebrownbookshelf.com/Children's Literature Web Guide: Internet Resources Related to Books for Children and Young Adults / http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Children's and Young Adult Literature and Culture Links / http://staff.missouriwestern.edu/~cadden/
Colorin Colorado / http://www.coloringcolorado.org
Developing Multicultural Curriculum / http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/multicultural_curr.php
International Children's Digital Library / http://www.icdlbooks.org/
Literature for Children / http://palmm.fcla.edu/juv/
Multicultural Book Review Homepage / http://edf3.gallaudet.edu/Faculty/BGG/edf730/MulticulturalLit/index.htm
Multicultural Pavilion: Resources and Dialogues for Educators, Students, & Activists / http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/
Multicultural Web Sites: Diversity & Ethnic Studies / http://www.public.iastate.edu/~savega/multicul.htm
National Network for Child Care: Selected Bibliography of Multicultural Fiction and Poetry / http://www.nncc.org/Literacy/bibl.multicult.fict.htm
Specific Multicultural Awards for Children’s Literature / http://www.cedu.niu.edu/ltcy/Resource/MULTICULTURAL%20AWARDS.pdf
10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s books for Racism and Sexism (Council on Interracial Book for Children) / http://www.birchlane.davis.ca.us/library/10quick.htm
American Indians in Children’s Literature / http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
Teaching Tolerance / http://www.teachingtolerance.com
Rethinking Schools / http://www.rethinkingschools.org
Notable Books for a Global Society / http://www.csulb.edu/org/childrens-lit/proj/nbgs/intro-nbgs.html#lists
Department of California Recommended Literature / http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/ll/
Oyate / http://www.oyate.org/
Books in Print / http://0-www.booksinprint.com.csulib.ctstateu.edu/bip/
Methods of Instruction: Individual and group readings; literature & professional reading
discussions; class discussions; written and oral reports; "Teacher as researcher” activities; literature response activities and projects; lecture; lots of reading, both professional materials and books for children.
Note: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of AccessAbility Services at 465-0189. To avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the Office of AccessAbility Services as soon as possible. Please note that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter from the Office of AccessAbility Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Methods of Evaluation: You will be responsible for demonstrating your learning by reading;
discussing; writing; sharing writing; engaging in the many facets of inquiry; participating in individual, small, and large group activities; successfully completing all assignments; honoring many points of view; demonstrating openness to critiquing and stretching your own ideas. Guidelines and rubrics for evaluation of each assignment are included with the assignment descriptions. The grade point values listed in the graduate section of the university catalog will be used to determine final course grades.
Grading Scale
RLA 524, Richards – Fall 2008, p. 2
94-100 A
90-93 A-
86-89 B+
83-85 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
60-66 D
<60 F
Course assignments: The following assignments will provide the evaluation/performance data for
your learning: Each of these assignments is described in the following pages, and each has its own rubric so that you can see what the expectations are for each one. Unless otherwise specified, all assignments will be submitted electronically via Vista by the set due dates. See information in technology policy section for more details on this requirement.
= Diversity & culture shock (10%)
= Children’s & YA literature readings (20%)
= Multicultural author/illustrator study (15%)
= Classroom library project (25%)
= Professional reading and discussions (10%)
= Live and online class attendance & participation (20%)
Technology Policy: This syllabus and other relevant information for RLA 527 are posted on the WebCT
Vista site for this class. When posting files on WebCT Vista, please remember to put your user name as
the first word in the file name of each assignment, (for example: smithj read-aloud paper). You may