For Week 11 - Questions to guide your reading and details

Read:

* Project Mulberry

* Siu-Runyan (2002): This article focuses on "Books that teach about the Asian and Pacific Island peoples of Hawaii". What does it add to your understanding of that population? Of the purposes and need for multicultural literature in general?

* Yamate (1997): As of 1997, what was the state of publishing for Asian American texts? What type of research might you do to explore whether anything has changed over the last 10 years? What themes might you find in Asian Pacific American literature?

Write (Group B):

* Write a questioning the text paper

Blogging assignment details

Some of you have been asking me about the blogging requirement in this course. Here are a few clarifications and suggestions.

1. Remember to post/comment regularly. To receive full credit for this part of the course grade, the minimum number of posts and/or comments is 15. Generally try to post/comment once a week.

2. Some of you have been struggling with what to post about. Look at other people's blogs to get some inspiration. Feel free to start posting initial thoughts about your final project topic. Post your reaction to what you're reading (trade books, course articles). AND, if you're still stuck, email me and I'll help you out!

3. Remember that the idea behind the blogging part of the course is to help you become more proficient at using technology and to widen the audience for your writing/reflections.

For Week 10 - Questions to guide your reading

This week we'll focus on Latino/a children's and adolescent literature.

Read:

* Becoming Naomi Leon

* Ada (2003): This chapter is from the book A Magical Encounter: Latino Children's Literature in the Classroom. Why does Ada use the term "Latina" to identify herself? How is this connected to her understanding of self and history? What does she add to our understanding of the insider/outsider debate? To our understanding of the Pura Belpre award?

* Barrera and Quiroa (2003): This chapter is from the book Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature. Why is it important to consider the use of Spanish in texts? When does it enhance the text? When does it detract from the text? How might audiences of Spanish/English and English speakers be accommodated?

Write (Group A):

* Write a questioning the text paper and submit it by the morning before class.

Information about class on Mar 18

I just sent everyone an ANGEL email with some specifics about how to best prepare for our class after Spring Break. Be sure to read it.

On the 18th, we'll be talking about critical literacy issues in the classroom, a topic that many of you are eager and excited to start talking about. We'll be spending about half of our time together discussing this and then will be walking over to the library for a tutorial on how to locate scholarly articles for your final projects.

Some resources for you (I read Lakeya's blog post and just had to give more!)

I came across this educator's recommended blogs:

Favorite Blogs: A Great Way to Keep Up with New Children's Books