Pablo Cantu
LSSL 5360
September 17, 2016
Textbook Assignment #1
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What You Already Know About the Topic
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What you learned about the topic
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What you still need to learn about the
Topic
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How do you plan to share what you learned?
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Assignment #1: Read
the (a) Introduction, Read the Chapters on (b)Awards, (c) Literary Elements, and (d) Why we share Literature with
Children.
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What
you already know about the topic?
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(a) Not sure what this class is about, and
hopefully the introduction would shed some light into what this class is
about. The only clue is the title,
which I assume will be about the different aspects of Children’s Literature.
(b) These are not the Emmys, Tonys, Academy Awards, or
Grammys. Unless you might say that
books are mentioned in the Grammy Category of Best Spoken Word. Other than that, I know that some books are
deemed award winning books or honor books.
This I know from the syllabus of this class that states we need to
read books that are Caldecott, Pura Belpre, Coretta Scott King and Geisel
Awards. But that’s about it; I am not
familiar as to what qualifies one to receive such an award or as to how they
are presented.
(c) Even though I
am not an English Major, or have taken an English class in the past 20 years;
I am still quite familiar with some of the literary terms that were mentioned
in this chapter. Having taught
remedial English last year as well as currently teaching Journalism, I have
taught my students some of these terms.
Terms such as the Antagonist, and the Protagonist are familiar, in
that the protagonist is the main character of any book, story or movie; while
the antagonist is the person or thing that is his/her rival. I am also familiar with terms such as plot,
character, conflict, setting and theme.
But I know I need a refresher on terms such as deus ex machine, motif,
allusion and allegory; to name a few.
(d) Why do we share literature with
children? Do I really know this
answer, not really? What do I think
the answer is? My personal opinion is
that we share literature with children because we want them to practice
reading and increase their vocabulary.
We want them to explore faraway places without leaving the confines of
their homes. We want them to imagine,
to use their creativity, to wonder, to have fun. We want to be entertained, to lose themselves
for hours while reading a really good book.
That what I think as to why we share literature with children?
That
is what I think I already know about the topics for this assignment. Let’s see what truly I should know about
them.
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What
you learned about the topic
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(a) That shed some great light! I am glad that the introduction from Dr.
Lesesne gave me some information as to what to expect. I am also VERY GLAD that Dr. Lesesne and
Dr. Perry are willing to share their vast knowledge of the subject for
free! Being a former Student Council
sponsor, I have come to love FREE STUFF!
(b) I did not
know anything about Awards. I knew the
name of several awards but that’s it.
I did not realize the plethora of different award categories that are
out there. The following are the
awards that were mentioned and what they honor:
The following awards are given by the American Library Association
1) Newberry Award: honors the author of the
most distinguished contributions to American literature for children.
2) Caldecott
Award: Given to the artist of the most
distinguished American Picture book.
3) Pure Belpre
Award: Given to a Latino/a writer and
illustrator which celebrates the Latino culture in literature for children and
youth.
4) Sibert Award –
Given to the most distinguished informational book written in the U.S. in
English. This award is given to the
author and illustrator.
5) Schneider Family
Awards – This award honors an author and illustrator for a book that embodies
an artistic expression of the disability experience for children and adolescent.
6) Batchelde Award – given to a children’s
book originally published in country outside of the U.S. in a language that
is not English. This awards is given
to the publisher.
7) Geisel Award –
This award is given to the author and illustrator for the most distinguished
American book for beginning readers.
8) Odyssey Award –
This is given to the producer for the best audiobook produced for children
and/or young adults.
9) Wilder Award –This is given to an author or
illustrator whose book has made a substantial and lasting contribution, over
a period of years, to literature for children.
10) Coretta Scott
King Award – This award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and
children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the
African American experience.
11) Notables – this is a list of books created
by the Association of Library Service to Children. The list identifies the best of the best in
children’s books, recordings and videos.
The following are presented by the
International Literacy Association
1) Children Choices –
List of 100 books for children chosen by the children themselves. Each book is accompanied by a review
written by child.
2) Young Adult Choice – List of 30 books selected and reviewed by young adults. 3) Teachers Choice – A list of 30 books selected by teachers that will encourage young people to read.
The following are presented by the Texas
Library Association
1) 2X2 – A list of 20
books that are recommended for children aged 2 to grade 2.
2) Texas Bluebonnet
Award – Awarded to books that are aimed for grades 3 to 6.
3) Tejas Star – Encourages reading for
children aged 5-12. It encourages
these students to explore multicultural books and for them to discover the
cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism.
And I am almost sure that there are more awards out there that
I should be familiar with. I am
pleased to see that these awards are for various people (Authors,
Illustrators, and Publishers) involved in producing children’s books. The awards also cover a wide spectrum of
topics (Disabled students, Hispanic Culture, African-American Culture, and Non-English
books).
(c) Literary terms
are legit! I am glad that I was aware
of what some of these terms meant and that I was correctly teaching my
students how to identify them in the stories/essays that they read. But learning that an allusion is a way of
describing someone while using a reference.
In that you must use prior knowledge or research to determine the reference
being made. For example, in the
website literary-devices; they give the example of “Mary is like Mother
Teresa” for the term allegory. If you
are aware of who Mother Teresa is, you can use that knowledge to figure out
Mary’s character; but if you are not aware of the reference that you would
either as someone to explain what they meant or just look up the information.
Another term that
I was not sure about, but had heard the term before was hyperbole. I am now aware that it is a literary device
used to over exaggerate or over emphasize a feeling or statement that is
being made. It was refreshing to
relearn the definitions of the many literary terms that I know are being used
in Children’s literature.
(d) I am proud to say that I was somewhat
correct with my opinion as to why we share literature. I was informed about different reasons why
we share literature with children by watching Dr. Lesesne and Dr. Perry’s YouTube
video. While I already knew that we
share literature to help improve reading comprehension, I was quite surprised
as to that if a student reads at least 20 minutes a day; they will gain
1,800,000 words a year, and have them in the 90th percentile. That’s something that is amazing. Another piece of information that I learned
from their presentation is that reading develops empathy. That the student that reads will have a
better understanding of how someone else might feel. That because of their experiences from
reading has helped them become better people.
Another new reason that I became aware of, is that by reading we get
all these new inventions. By asking themselves
“what if I did this” helps them create.
I personally feel that this generation of students lack the
imagination that most had 10, 15, 20 years ago. While technology is great; I feel that has
hindered their imagination.
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What
you still need to learn about the Topic
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(a) As I continue reading the book I will still
be learning different aspects of Children’s Literature. Some of these topics will include poetry,
realistic and historical fiction and of course nonfiction. While I am aware of some of these topics,
it will be interesting to learn how this is exposed to children. Also how as a future librarian, I will be
able to expose young minds to these wonderful topic
(b) In regards to the Awards chapter, I need to become more
familiar with the different winners from the different awards. The most intriguing books for me at this
time to read will be the Schneider Family award books. I would love to read a book that expressively
describes the disability experiences that children and/or young adults go
through. I will also love to become
familiar with the books on the Children’s List and Young Adult’s List. I want to be able to recognize the trend in
subjects that the students in our country are currently in love with. There is just so much that is out there,
that I cannot wait to begin learning and reading.
(c) Even though I was made of aware of various
Literary Elements there are more that I need to become familiar with if I
want to be able to convey how the author of a book is using these devices in
their story. Words that I need to
become more familiar with and how they are used in a book or story are
amplification, asyndeton, syntax, synecdoche, syntax, and juxtaposition to
name a few. I will always be a student
so that I can learn new things or just refresh my memories of information that
I already know but might have forgotten.
(d) In regards to this topic, there is quite a
lot I need to learn. I need to become
more familiar with the different types of books that would be beneficial for
young children to read. If I am asked
for any help in deciding what book they should read, I will be absolutely
clueless. Dr. Perry talked about a
series of books that I had not ever heard of but feel that they would be
beneficial for my kids to read. Also I
will need to become familiar with books that explore different cultures. Growing up in a Border town, I was exposed
mainly to English and Spanish Books.
But I was not exposed to various books that featured different
cultures. As an adult I am exposed to
different cultures; but I feel that it would have been a great asset to me if
I was exposed to different cultures while growing up.
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How
do you plan to share what you learned
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(a) The brief information that I learned from
the introduction, I will be able to share with some of my colleagues by
showing them the slides and the YouTube videos that were created to accompany
this textbook and course.
(b) This is an easy answer.
From looking at the lists of award winners, I would love to share this
information with our library at our school and those in our district. They might not be aware of the different
categories of award winners that are out there. The one award that comes to mind that most
might not have heard of is the Schneider Family Award. I will also share the Young Adult reading
list to our English Department so that they might be able to purchase a wider
type of books that would benefit our students. One of the books on the list that I will
purchase quite soon will be the book that rewrites Shakespeare by using emoji’s
and phone text writing. This list
along with the award winners will hopefully bring more books to our libraries
and classrooms which will hopefully encourage more students to read. A win-win situation.
(c) Sharing is caring! Is a term that my kids use a lot. They especially say this when I catch them
sharing answer while taking a test.
But in reality, as a Teacher. Sharing is Caring. So I will be sharing my newfound knowledge
of the literary devices with teachers in the English Department in my high
school. I will be able to share the
webpages where I received the information in regards to the terms and examples
of Literary devices. While most of the
teachers in the English Department might already be familiar with these
website, some might not. And I help at
least one teacher, then I have done a good thing. Also, as the Journalism/Yearbook teacher I
am lucky to have access to various programs on my computer, I am able to
create colorful posters. I will use
this to create posters that depict the literary term, and examples that the
teachers can display in their classrooms.
Just something to think about.
One
other way I plan use what I learned is that I will now be able to identify
how the author used these devices in his/her book/story and I can actually
have a better conversation at book club.
(d)
I need to learn how to get the kids to read more. I need to learn how to create displays that
are eye catching that will get students interested in reading books. I need to learn how to explain to parents
that reading is a great tool for kids to become better learners and succeed
in school. While growing up, I
remember that one day we were in San Antonio at the mall, and I asked my dad
for some money to spend. I remember
his response. He said “NO! Because all
you are going to do is go to the book store and buy a book!” Parents need to know that buying and
reading books is a good thing and we need to get our kids to love reading
again!
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