Course Description: This course is designed to investigate literature popular with and suitable for secondary students. Students will attempt to establish criteria by which teachers may select books and other materials for their classes, and help teachers analyze book content, readability, and interest in light of young adult readers. Through oral presentation, design of a teaching unit, and annotated reading lists, students receive practical application of the course curricula.

Objectives: At the end of the course the student will be able to

Show familiarity with the trade books adolescents read.

Understand what motivates adolescents to read and conversely what encourages them not to read

Critically analyze books in the field

Define the reasons for using young adult literature

Understand censorship issues and develop responses to censorship cases

Show awareness of multicultural literature

Possess appropriate knowledge about instruction, planning and teaching English language arts

Understand instructional strategies that help students explore and relate personal experiences and develop interpretation

Use effective whole-class, small-group and individual work techniques

Apply research findings in studying and in teaching the English language arts.

Five Teaching Ideas. Each student will collect five teaching ideas for teaching literature. The ideas must come from a variety of sources and must be student centered and useful.

Book Reports. Develop four reports. At least one must be written and at least one must be a crafted/artistic response. One must be accompanied by a test written for adolescent readers. One report must come from each of these categories: a nonfiction work with appeal to young adults; an Oklahoma author; a teen romance; and a multicultural work of nonfiction.

Dialogue Journals. For one of the novels you use for your book report, write an e-mail dialogue response journal with a partner.

The e-mail dialogue journal will consist of the following:

Send your partner your "Notes on the Text" and your response to the novel.

Your partner will return your e-mail commenting on your response, asking questions about the novel or your response, and so on.

You will reply to your partner's response by answering his/her questions or making additional comments. You will send a copy of this response to your partner and to me.

Review Source Paper. Numerous books are published every year for young adults, too many for even this class to read. Consequently, all of us involved with books and young adults rely on review journals to help us find new books and get opinions on books. Read three review sources for two consecutive issues. Then write a thoughtful paper that explains the differences in the journals and explains which one you prefer. Be sure to include the following information: What appears regularly? Who are the reviewers? What books are reviewed? Are books rated? How? What special features do the journals run? How do you find books in the journals? How do the reviews differ? How are they similar? Which journal would you recommend to a teacher to read? Is that different from the one you would choose? Why or why not? Again, this paper should reflect a careful analysis of the journals and a synthesis of what you find. Be sure to explain which journals you read, including the specific issue number.

Website review. Access the internet to find four websites that provide information about young adult literature, methods for teaching literature and/or lesson plans that other teachers may have used. Write a brief summary of these websites discussing the ease of access, usefulness of material and whether you would recommend them to someone else. Make copies of your findings and bring enough for everyone in the class.

Censorship folder. Censorship is and will continue to be a major problem for all of us who work with young adults and the books they read. Put together a notebook (a pocket folder) that you would give a brand new teacher in your district. It must contain at least the following:

Your philosophy of censorship. Write here about your thoughts on this topic.

Your district's policy for handling censorship issues. You may interview teachers, call the central administration office, or use other ways of researching this. By "your district" I mean where you intend or hope to teach. (Name the district.)

Your selection policy for books for your library. Include what the policy is and how it was developed. Talk about its strengths and weaknesses. If you don't have one, this is the time to create one.

Four articles on censorship. These articles should address issues connected with middle schools, junior/senior high schools and/or young adult literature.

A paper that responds to the articles.

"Five to Ten Most Common Questions about Censorship" and succinct answers.

Extras: Any pamphlets, brochures, hand-outs, phone numbers, support groups, titles or publications, or special services you can find that address censorship or will help you handle censorship cases.

7. Research Presentation. Choose a topic related to adolescent literature for which you are interested in becoming the class expert. You may choose a particular genre, an issue (other than censorship), an author, or something no one else has thought of for this class. Read five to ten articles related to this topic (only half may be from the Web), read experts in the field and prepare a seven to ten minute presentation. You do not have to write a paper, but you will be required to hand in an annotated reading list the day of your presentation. A handout with information your colleagues might find helpful is suggested but not required.

8. Book talk. Prepare a ten-minute Book talk that discusses five young adult books. If they are not all on the same topic, a smooth transition from one topic to the next is mandatory. The audience will be middle school or high school students. Define the audience by the books you choose. The five books you use may not be from our required reading list. Book talks are not book summaries, but are book advertisements. They include a read and tease element; you are selling the book. So, be persuasive.

Textbooks:

Monseau, Virginia R. and Gary M. Salvner, eds. Reading Their World: The Young

Adult Novel in the Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers,

1992.

Gallo, Donald R., Ed. Literature for Teenagers: New Books, New Approaches.

Connecticut English Journal. Vol. 22. Connecticut: Connecticut Council of

Teachers of English, Fall 1993.

Ten YA novels, self selected

Sequoyah book award: Learn about the history of the award and criteria for selection at

http://www.pioneer.lib.ok.us/ola/seq/SEQBOOK/html

OLA (Oklahoma Library Association) 1999-2000 Sequoyah Young Adult Master List (with grade recommendation and brief summary) at http://www.pioneer.lib.ok.us/ola/seq/seq2000.html

OLA 1998-1999 Sequoyah Young Adult Master List (with summary) is located at

http://www.pioneer.lib.ok.us/ola/seq/seq1999.html You can link to previous years from these pages. Previous years do not have summaries.

Young Adult books, listed by authors in alphabetical order, are provided at

http://yabooks.about.com/msub1.htm?pid=2783&cob=home

This provides links to pages about the authors included. This site provides brief summary of the material to be found at the link.

Dr. Mary Ellen Van Camp, of the English Department at Ball State University has created a website of links to "useful information about adolescent literature and the outstanding authors who create it." Besides links to sites for "Cool Books for Tough Guys" and links to excellent resources, she includes a link to the ALAN review. Don't miss this site: http://nova.bsuvc.bsu.edu/~00mevancamp/adlit.html

The students enrolled in a YA course at the University of Alabama have created useful notes on the YA literature they have read. (This is similar to the novel profiles you are doing.) The notes include (in some cases, but not all) title, author, summary, commentary, number of pages and themes for each work. It can be a good resource tool for you at http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/~jstallwo/anno1.htm

"Classic Short Stories" - Gary Lindquist, Web site designer at B&L Associates of Seattle, Washington, has a fairly nice list of short stories he has posted to the web. The site includes a bibliography, an opportunity to vote for stories you would like included, and a line to other short story sites. It can be useful if you are looking for short pieces.

http://www.bnl.com/shorts/

Five teaching ideas (15%), Book Reports (10%), Dialogue Journals (5%), Review Source Paper (20%) Website Review (10%), Censorship folder (10%), Research Presentation 15%), Book talk (5%), Class attendance, participation (including the novel profiles) and notations (10%).

Attendance: As a member of this class, you become part of our group dynamic, an essential element in our learning experience. Your contribution to this class becomes an integral part of our learning. In addition, as you prepare to enter the professional field, you must recognize that professional attendance and participation are standard expectations. Thus, absence is not an option.

Course Outline: For a detailed list of course topics, assignments and due dates, click here.

Butler, Francelia. Sharing Literature with Children: A Thematic Approach. Mount

Pleasant: Waveland Press, Inc.

Gallo, Donald R. Literature for Teenagers: New Books, New Approaches. Urbana, IL:

NCTE, 1993.

Hunt, Peter, editor. Children's Literature: An Illustrated History. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1995. 820.9C536 (OBU)

Kelly, Patricia, and Warren Self. Adolescent Literature: Making Connections with Teens.

Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1994.

May, Jill M. Children;s Literature and Critical Theory: Reading and Writing for

Understanding. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 809.M466CT (OBU)

Monseau, Virginia R. and Gary M. Salver. Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel

in the Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heineman, 1992.

Pardeck, Jean A. and John T. Pardeck. Young People With Problems: A Guide to

Bibliotherapy. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984. 158.1.P226Y (OBU)

Peterson, Ralph. Grand Conversations: Literature Groups on Action. Richmond Hill,

Ontario: Scholastic-TAB Publications, 1990. 372.64.P485GC (OBU)

Reed, Aretha. Using Young Adult Literature in the Classroom. New York: Harcourt

Brace, 1986.

Key = Objectives covered - how they are covered - how they will be evaluated

Prospective teachers will be able to or will possess an understanding of:

1.0 Structure of the Basic Program: The institution established an identifiable

curriculum for preservcie English language arts teachers.

1.2 The program contains content, methodology, on-campus experiences, and field experiences designed especially for teaching English language arts - five teaching ideas, book reports, censorship folder, research presentation - evaluation of written products and oral presentations

1.3 College/university faculty in both English and education model effective pedagogy and attitudes - student will use of independent research for teaching ideas, review paper, website review, censorship folder and research presentation; cooperative learning is part of the dialogue journal; class discussion is used for class meetings; oral presentation is required for at least one book report as well as for the book talk; media methods are encouraged in the research presentation; at least one book report must have a crafted/artistic response - the products and oral presentations are evaluated, using both peer and instructor methods

2.0 Knowledge of English Language Arts: Through required instruction, related experiences, and assessment, the program prepares English language arts teachers who are knowledgeable about language, literature, oral and written composition, and nonprint media.

2.1.5 various purposes of language - students will read and discuss the role of

literature in the lives of adolescents - participation in class discussion and book reports

2.2 The program prepares students who will possess knowledge and understanding of the reading process, including:

2.2.1 ways students respond to literature - students will read and discuss a variety of works, along with their perceptions of the expected responses and interpretations of adolescent readers - participation in discussion

2.2.2 ways students read for different purposes - students will read a variety of literature which, by the nature of the texts, includes a variety of purposes; students will discuss the readings - participation in discussion

2.3 The program prepares students who will possess knowledge and understanding of an extensive range of literature, including:

2.3.1.1 works of adolescent literature - students will read - participation in class discussion and evaluation of products produced as part of course responsibilities

2.3.1.4 works of theory and criticism - students will prepare a collaborative rubric for evaluating adolescent literature - discussion and class processing

3.1 The program prepares students who will possess appropriate knowledge about and skills in instruction, planning, and the teaching of English language arts, including:

3.1.2 using instructional strategies that help students explore and relate personal experiences and develop interpretation - students will study poetry in the classroom and bibliotherapy; students will prepare five teaching ideas - participation in discussion and evaluation of ideas

3.1.5 applying research findings in studying and in teaching the English language arts - course responsibilities include five teaching ideas, a review source paper, a website review, and a research presentation - evaluation of products

3.2 The program prepares students who will possess knowledge and understanding of instructional assessment, including:

3.2.1 ability to design varied assessment instruments and procedures - rubrics developed for book reports, censorship folder, written test for one book report - evaluation of products

4.0 Attitudes for English Language Arts: Through required instruction, related experiences, and assessment, the program promotes and strengthens professional attitudes needed by English language arts teachers, including:

4.2 a willingness to take informed stands on issues of concern to the profession - students will develop a censorship folder - evaluation of folder

Portfolio Recommendations:

Review the particular competencies that apply to teaching in general and language arts teaching in particular. You may wish to keep an "Education Diary" to include reflections on topics discussed in class, your career as a teacher, your readings, and other relevant topics. In addition, products, such as your censorship folder, may be appropriate for inclusion in a professional portfolio.