Dialects in literature

Some of you have been blogging about our class experience of reading literature containing dialects. Great posts! I encourage you to check these out AND to contribute to the discussion by writing on this topic yourself.

Here's a link to the Nappy Hair classroom story I talked about in class.

What are your reactions/reflections on this? It's a good reminder for me that audience (particular mix of students in your classroom) needs to play a big part in what you choose to do and why you might choose to do certain things in the classroom.

In case you needed some convincing...

For any of you who might need some extra motivation to read/get excited about our tradebook for next week, check out Nat's recent blog entry!

For Week 8 - Questions to guide your reading

Read:

* Al Capone Does my Shirts
* Linton (1998): What does Linton say about the power of language? What terminology do you prefer when discussing this topic? Why? What would it mean to read Al Capone Does my Shirts from a "disability studies framework? What types of questions would you ask about the representations in the text? How would you analyze those questions?
* Tal (2001) and Williams, et. al. (2005): In what range of ways have people with disabilities been portrayed in text? What criteria might one use to evaluate books that include people with disabilities? Is there anything you question about the criteria presented?
* Optional: Check out Gennifer Choldenko's website. (I suggest you read the book first.) What do you learn about her? What don't you learn?

Write (Everyone):

* Write a questioning the text paper and submit it to the Angel dropbox by 6 pm the evening before class.

In class we'll watch part of a documentary in which a woman who is autistic shares a little about her experience and talk about how the film may raise new questions about Al Capone Does my Shirts.

For Week 7 - Questions to guide your reading and details about your awards assignment

The co-themes of session 7 will be "practicing close readings of text" and analyzing awards for diverse literature. You'll only need to prepare for the second!

Everyone:
Read the Aronson and Pinkney articles. Be ready to discuss the following:
What are the arguments for and against honoring books in specific cultural/social categories?
What assumptions does each position rely on?
Where do you stand in terms of the debate?

Award jigsaw: Research the following information for your assigned award. 

Is there an official website for the award? Are there other resources that provide information about the award? (Sometimes libraries or author blogs feature information not available on the official sites.)

Why and when was this award created? What is the rationale for the award?
Selection criteria: What books, authors, illustrators are eligible? How are the books judged?

Who sponsors the award?

Selection committee: Who chooses the winners? How do you get on the committee? How transparent is the process?

Bring in books that have won or have been honored by the award. This will mean a trip to the library--you can coordinate this within your group. How easy was it to find the books? Do they have seals or other indications that they are award winners?

It would be helpful if one person in the group could bring in a computer.

In class we'll teach each other about the awards, share books, and talk about the questions that our research raises.

Group 1 - Coretta Scott King
Group 2 - Sydney Taylor Award
Group 3 - Asian Pacific American Award
Group 4 - Lambda Literary Foundation Award
Group 5 - Schneider Family Book Award
Group 6 - The Middle East Book Award
Group 7 - Pura Belpre

(group members are listed on our ANGEL site)

For Week 6 - Questions to guide your reading

Everyone:

* Read Martin (2004): What does she mean by the "double voicedness" of text? How is this "double voicedness" connected to the historical position of African Americans? Do any of the modes of discourse seem familiar? (You might draw on popular culture for examples or written texts.)
* Read Woodson (1998): What does Woodson add to our "insider-outsider "debate?
* Read Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. This books is written in a combination of verse and prose. Try reading (and maybe rereading) the poems aloud to explore how they sound. Mark 1-2 poems that you would like to share and discuss.

Group C:

* Write a questioning the text paper and submit it to the Angel dropbox by midnight the night before class
* Bring a hard copy of your paper to class

Optional:

* What can you learn about Nikki Grimes through internet research? Post any interesting resources in a blog entry.
* Contribute a response to "How is blogging going?" before our class next week

Children's literature by and/or about Arab Americans

For our discussion tomorrow, here's a few weblinks to check out:

Newspaper article about Arab American stereotyping in TV shows

A video contest winner from One Nation Many People

Another video called: I am Muslim

For Week 5 - Questions to guide your reading

For Week 5 - Readings

Al-Hazza and Lucking (2005)
Al-Hazza (2006)
Staples (1997)
Additional reading (optional): An essay by Peggy McIntosh (1998)

Nye's Habibi

Questioning the Text (paper #2) - Group B

Dear America series...class discussion

In class on Wednesday, we'll be discussing one of the Dear America books:

Turner, Ann
The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow
The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl
New Mexico, 1864
Dear America Series
Scholastic, 1999
194 pages, b/w photos
grades 4-7

Click here for a critique of the book by Oyate, "a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us. For Indian children, it is as important as it has ever been for them to know who they are and what they come from. For all children, it is time to know and acknowledge the truths of history. Only then will they come to have the understanding and respect for each other that now, more than ever, will be necessary for life to continue."

The Oyate website is an excellent resource!