English 396:Teaching the Reading of Young Adult
Literature

If
books could be more, could show more, could own more, this book would have
smells . . . .If books could be
more and own more and give more, this book would have sound . . . .And finally if books could be more,
give more, show more, this book would have light . . .If books could have more, give more, be
more, show more, they would still need readers, who bring to them sound and
smell and light and all the rest that can't be in books.The book needs you.--Paulsen,
Gary.The Winter Room

€ works
collaboratively to improve professional practice and student learning. (State
standard #7)

Pedagogical Framework

The
course is taught using John Dewey¹s theoretical concept of experiential
learning.We will experience a
reading strategy and then analyze it.For instance, we will participate in whole class readings, small group
readings (literature circles), and individualized reading (student choice) and
then compare and contrast the various forms. I would encourage you to set a goal of reading as much and as
widely as possible.

Course Recommendations

1.Attendance and active
participation.Because each class period carries a different theme
and because many class projects are completed as a group, it is vitally
important that you are an active participant every class period.I take attendance during every class
meeting, and I expect that only emergencies would require that you be absent
and then only absent for amaximum
of TWO class periods.If you absolutely cannot be present,
you are to call me in advance of
the class meeting.Office phone:
294-9981

2.Student-teacher conferences.You
are required to attend the first conference with me in order for us to discuss
your reading interests.You are
invited to have a second conference to discuss final projects; this conference
is optional but highly recommended.

3.Assignment due dates.It
is advisable to maintain a reading schedule and compile the portfolio pages
during the course.The attached
schedule can aid you in meeting the requirements.

Definition of Young Adult (YA) Literature

Definition
of Young Adult:The Young Adult Service Division of the American
Library Association (ALA) defines the age range of an adolescent or young adult
as ages 10-19.

Early
adolescence (elementary or middle school or grades 5, 6, 7)

Middle
adolescence (junior high or grades 8, 9, 10)

Later
adolescence (high school or grades 11, 12)

Definition
of a Young Adult Literature:Literature written for and
marketed to young adults. Young adult literature is usually given
the birth date of 1968 with the advent of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders.Other forms of literature prior to this
date may have had young adult protagonists (such as Huck Finn), but it
was usually intended for an adult audience.According to Beach and Marshall, characteristics of a young
adult novel usually include several of the following:

€
a teenage (or young adult) protagonist

€
first-person perspective

€
adult characters in the background

€
a limited number of characters

€
a compressed time span and familiar setting

€
current slang

€
detailed descriptions of appearance and dress

€
positive resolution

€
few, if any, subplots

€ an approximate length of 125 to 250 pages

What
Is Not Young Adult (YA) Literature:"While
young adults . . . will read 'classics' with teen protagonists--such as Mark
Twain's Huckleberry Finn . . . or Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
or even William Golding's Lord of the Flies--such novels are not
strictly considered YA literature.Similarly, contemporary novels popular with adults and young people,
such as those written by Danielle Steel, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King, are also
not in the category of YA literature." (Christenbury, Leila.Making the Journey:Being and Becoming a Teacher of English
Language Arts. Portsmouth, New
Hampshire:Heinemann, 1994.)The "classics" mentioned
above do not fit into the young adult literature category because they were
intended for adult audiences.The
popular fiction of Steele, Clancy, and King usually have adult characters.Remember the two-part definition for
young adult literature:³written
for and marketed to young adults.²

Without
books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and
speculation at a standstill.Without books, the development of civilization would have been
impossible.They are engines of
change, windows on the world, and lighthouses erected in the sea of time.They are companions, teachers,
magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind.

Barbara
Tuchman, The Book

Required Texts

(Books are available at
the University Book Store in the Memorial Union and at Campus Book Store.)

Theme: JOURNEYS:COMING TO NEW UNDERSTANDINGS

Lowry, Lois.The Giver.New
York:Bantam Books, 1993.On Jonas' twelfth birthday, he is
chosen to be trained to be The Giver, the individual who holds all of the
memories of both pain and pleasure.He must decide how he will use this new gift.(Newbery Medal recipient)

Creech, Sharon.Walk Two Moons.Harper Collins, 1994. This book features a story within a story as a
young Native American girl, with her grandparents' help, comes to terms with
her mother's leaving.(Recipient

of
five awards including the Newbery Medal)

Theme:CHALLENGES OF
PREJUDICE AND ³COMING OF AGE²

Myers, Walter Dean.Monster.New York:HarperCollins,
1999.Steve Harmon writes a movie script and journal entries
about his trial for being an accessory to a murder and robbery.(American Library Association Best Book
Award)

Crutcher, Chris.Whale Talk.New
York:Laureleaf, 2002.With scars on her face and hands, Sarah
Byrnes shares a special relationship with overweight Eric.When Sarah's tragic past causes her
suddenly to stop speaking, Eric attempts to uncover her secrets.(Author received the 2000 Margaret A.
Edwards Award for lifetime contributions in writing books for teens.)

Spinelli, Jerry.Stargirl.New
York:Scholastic, 2000.Leo
discovers that Stargirl is really different from his other peers.She gives of herself to others
continually, even cheering for both teams at games.Leo finds himself falling in love with her, but will their
relationship work?

Theme:CHALLENGES OF PREJUDICE
AND ³COMING OF AGE,² cont.

Draper, Sharon.Romiette and Julio.New York:Simon and
Schuster, 1999.As an
African American-Hispanic couple, Romiette and Julio discover that the local
gang and their parents disapprove of their romance.Their story parallels that of Shakespeare¹s Romeo and
Juliet.

Oates, Joyce Carol.Big Mouth & Ugly Girl.New York:HarperCollins, 2002.When
Matt is questioned by the police about making terrorist comments, Matt
proclaims his innocence, but the entire school now treats him
suspiciously.Ursula, who refers
to herself as the Ugly Girl, becomes Matt¹s defender, both to her and to Matt¹s
surprise.The story is told in
alternating perspectives of Ursula¹s first person narration and Matt¹s third
person narration.

Theme:FACING OPPRESSION,
FOSTERING HOPE

Hesse, Karen.Out of the Dust.New
York:Scholastic, Inc., 1997.A teenage girl growing up in Oklahoma
faces a terrible accident and the ravages of the Dust Bowl.This book, set in narrative poetry
form, contains themes of family, identity, and hope.(Newbery Medal recipient)

Park, Linda Sue.A Single Shard.New
York:Yearling, 2003. Tree-ear, an
orphan in Korea, lives under a bridge with Crane-man, a one-legged man, and
spends his days assisting Min, a master potter.While Tree-ear toils at chopping wood and digging clay, he
learns of a secret new type of inlaid pottery.His biggest test comes when he journeys across mountains and
forests to take pieces of pottery to the ambassador, hoping for a royal pottery
commission for Min.(Newbery Medal
recipient)

Course Requirements

Individualized
Reading

You
will also be expected to read a large and wide variety of young adult novels;
the expectation is approximately one to two books per week.A course pack which includes an
annotated bibliography for your individualized reading can be purchased at
Copyworks.The reading log sheets and circle graph at the back of the
course pack are to be completed as you read and are to be included in your
final course portfolio.Because
young adult books tend to be short and relatively easy reading, I will expect
students who really want to have a solid background in this area to read a
large variety of texts.Therefore,
to be considered for a(n):

A
or A-, you will need to read at least 26 books

B+
or B, at least 23 books

B-,
at least 21 books

C
range, at least 15 books

(The above numbers
include the nine required books, the literature circle book, and individually
chosen books.)

Papers

1. Reader Sketch (approximately 5 double-spaced pages—there
is no maximum length, so it can be longer).You are asked to
describe your history as a reader from early childhood to today, noting your
attitude and experiences in reading.Describe the people who encouraged or discouraged your reading.Tell your reading goals for the
future.You are required also to
attach a one-page reflection of writing the reader sketch.One or more examples of reader
sketches will be shared in class.We will prewrite ideas for the reader sketch during class time, and then
you are asked to bring a rough draft of the reader sketch and reflection to
class for a PQP workshop time(praise, question, polish) with a small group of class members.A rubric will be provided.See the course pack for the following
items:(1) Reader¹s Sketch
questions, (2) Explanation of reflective writing, (3) Reader Sketch Rubric, (4)
PQP Sheets.

2. Philosophy.Using either a current or future perspective of a
parent, teacher, student, or community

member, state your beliefs (and supporting reasons)
about young adult literature.You
may either write in list

form (³I believe that . . . .²) or in paragraph
form.For instance, you might
include how literature is chosen or

the guidelines adults might use to encourage young
adults to read YA literature.Example:³I believe that

young adults should read a variety of young adult
literature.²(We will spend part
of a class period

brainstorming ideas for your philosophy.)Approximate length:two-thirds to one page(See the course pack

for more specific directions.)

3.Book Sheets

A book sheet is required for each book you read for
the course, including required books, literature circle books, book talk books,
and free choice books. Book sheets are one single-spaced page (no less), in a
font no larger than 12-point Times.(If you tend to write a lot, you can make the margins small and the font
as small as 10-point, but don¹t go over a page.)You will turn in book sheets on the day we begin talking
about required books in class, and you should plan on turning in other book
sheets on a regular basis during the semester. You must turn in at least one
book sheet per week.When you have
completed a book, write a book card, print two copies, and place them in the book card folder.I will respond to one copy with my
reader's comments and return it to you.The other copy will be filed in a cumulative file by category; you may
use the files to decide which books you would like to read.You may turn in no more than two
book sheets a class period—you
MAY NOT turn in a whole sheaf of book sheets at the end of the course.

Audience:Approximate
age range of readers, for example, ³7th or 8th
grade.²(Don¹t go by amazon.com—this
is often way off—use your own judgment.) The grade level is usually two
years younger than the protagonist's age--students like to read about older
characters to know what is ahead for them in life.If a protagonist is 14 years old, the audience is usually
12-15 years old.

Summary:In
one paragraph , write a brief, five to seven-line plot summary.

Themes:Writing
in paragraphs, describe two to four ideas or themes you consider might beimportant
for you or another teacher using this book.Each theme requires a separate

paragraph.You must have at least two paragraphs.

Connections:How might this
book be compared to other books you have read, or useful in connection

with
other teaching materials or other subjects?

Your Reaction:In a paragraph, describe your
own reader response to this book.Did you like it?If not,

what
type of student might?

Others¹ Reaction:Look on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.What have critics and readers said

about this book?

The most important sections
of any book sheet are the summary, themes, and connections, so do your best to
do an excellent job.

4.
Capstone Project: Unit Plan.You
are to compose a ten-day unit plan using five books connected by theme, topic,
or author.Choose one of the books
for your whole class book.The
other four books you will use in a following unit consisting of literature
circles, so you will only need to list these four books and explain why you
chose them.A complete packet will
be given to you describing each step of the unit plan.

Presentations

1.Book Talk with read-aloud.For one day during the course, you are
asked to give a book talk and read aloud a section of a book.Your book choice is to accompany that
day's theme (see attached schedule) but cannot be a required class book.You will have a time allotment of five
minutes.Help us visually see the book title, author, and characters
by writing information on the board or overhead transparency and by showing the
actual book itself (one visual required).Work on using eye
contact and voice inflection so that your book talk will receive the audience's
attention.Think about a creative
way to introduce your book--lights
off, background music, posters, inviting audience members to perform parts,
etc.The purposes of the book
talks are to give you ideas of books you may wish to read and to broaden your
concept of young adult literature.

2.Literature circle presentation.Your literature circle will read a commonly shared
novel, give a brief presentation, and correspond with eighth grade email
partners.You will individually
write a reflection on the literature circle experience (to be included in your
portfolio). During the days that your literature circle meets, you may share
and discuss the literature, talk about your email correspondence and its
successes/problems, and determine how you will present this book to the class
members of English 396 (videotaped for eighth grade partners).Book choices include Briar Rose, Deathwatch, Dunk, Ironman,Seventh Son,
Speak, and Words by Heart.

3.Book group presentation.Five group presentation books are listed on the
syllabus.On the Student Choice
Sheet, please select your preferences for a book that sounds interesting to
you.Your choice of a novel will
determine your group.We will
devote five class periods to these panels, and you will have flexibility in
determining how your group would like to present your novel.Possibilities include small group
discussions or art work (collage, etc.), large group discussions, individual
work (journaling, etc.), and/or brief presentations by group members.You are required to involve your
audience in the presentation, use at least one visual, and include interesting
and learning-filled (critical thinking) activities.You may
wish to use handouts, a poster, overhead transparencies, maps, costumes, etc.
for the visual.See the course
pack for instructions on the accompanying reflective piece.(You will be given class time to meet
with your group to plan your presentation.)

4.Capstone
project (unit plan) presentation.At the end of
the semester, we will devote three class periods to hearing a ten-minute
presentation for each individual¹s unit plan.A visual aid is required (in addition to showing the books
used in your project).Make your
presentation attention-getting and interesting for the audience. For instance,
students who have made a teaching unit may lead the class members in one of the
short activities.You may give a
handout to your classmates (such as a bibliography) or you may wish to think of
ways to make your presentation visual and exciting.The presentation is a
requirement to pass the course.

Portfolio

State Standards Portfolio

The Iowa Teacher Quality Act
lists eight standards in which education students and practicing teachers must
show they have competence.(The
Iowa Board of Educational Examiners originally listed eleven standards, but
these have now morphed via the Teacher Quality Act into eight.)These are the eight (abbreviated)
standards:

8.Fulfills professional
responsibilities established by the school district.

Students who will be
accredited teachers must compile a portfolio with sections for each
standard.Each standard section
will contain artifacts (called DPIs, or Designated Performance Indicators J) from completed classes, with accompanying arguments
showing that the artifact demonstrates competence for that standard.The final portfolio will therefore have
eight sections, each section containing a number of DPIs with their accompanying
arguments.Since assignments
for English 396 can be used to demonstrate competence in some objectives of
several of the state standards, for your final assignment you will compile DPIs
for your portfolio and write commentary/arguments to accompany them.The English 396 portfolios for all
English Education majors will be given to Bob Tremmel, and he will start
portfolio files for all of you, so it is imperative that you do your best work.Elementary Education students can
collect your portfolios from me sometime next semester so you can turn them in
at your next collection checkpoint.

Each standard in the Teacher
Quality Act has several specific objectives listed.Though you won¹t be able to meet some of these objectives
until you are in an actual classroom working with students, you can meet some
objectives now with class work from English 396.For each standard below, I¹ve listed some of the objectives
for which English 396 assignments could provide DPIs.

d.Engages
students in varied experiences that meet diverse needs and promote social,
emotional and academic growth.

DPI:Panel
Presentation and argument

Standard 7:Engages in professional growth

396-Relevant Objectives:

b.Works
collaboratively to improve professional practice and student learning.

DPI:Literature
Circle Presentation and argument

The final portfolio will have
eight DPIs.Each DPI will be
accompanied by an argument, or commentary.These commentaries will fully explain each DPI and the
circumstances under which it was written or presented.Each commentary will present arguments
with specific evidence making the case that the DPI demonstrates performance
level ability for the specific objective of the particular standard.Each commentary should be stapled to
its particular DPI.

How should this all be put
together?Each standard should
have its own labeled section (no handwritten labels, please), with separate
labeled sections for each DPI within that standard, so for this class you¹ll
have five main sections, one for each standard we¹re addressing.Each DPI with commentary should be
clearly connected to its proper objective within the standard.Your name should be on each DPI as well
as on the folder.Your final
result should look neat and professional.For yourself, you should begin to keep a separate computer disk solely
devoted to your portfolio.Keep
all portfolio files on it, and keep it backed up.Or alternatively, you can show your competence to the world
by keeping it all on a website.

Knowing about these standards
and competency objectives within the standards should help you plan the work
you do for this course.If you
know, for example, that you¹ll be using your Reader Sketch as an artifact to
demonstrate your competence in a content area of language arts, it focuses the
mind.How can you write that
Reader Sketch in such a way that it demonstrates your competence?How can you write it in such a way that
you make it easy to write the commentary for your portfolio later?If you know that your Unit Plan is
going to be used to demonstrate competence in three different objectives within
a standard, you should obviously design a plan that will address all those
issues.If you know you¹re going
to be using Book Sheets ³to relate ideas and information within and across
content areas,² you should write them with that goal in mind.

Course Grading:

Overall
reflectionon the course10 points

Philosophy
and goals8 points

Book
talk10 pts.

Reader
sketch/reflection50 points

Midterm20 points

Group
presentation/reflection20 points

Email
correspondence and reflection20
points

Literature
circle presentation/reflection20
points

Book
sheets 72 points (3 points per book sheet)

Unit
plan/reflection50 points

Unit
plan presentation20 points

Standards
Portfolio50 points

Total Possible350 points

Note:Remember that you must have the
required number of points to be considered for a particular grade.Your attendance and turning in
assignments on time (including book sheets) are also essential elements of your
grade.