Literature
for Adolescents
ENG
471 Schedule Line # 74818
ENG
598 ST Schedule Line # 72251
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Professor Alleen Nilsen Fall,
2000
Office:
LL 218; Phone 965-9577; e-mail: Alleen.Nilsen@asu.edu
Office
Hours: MTWTH 3:30 to 4:30 and by appointment
CLASSROOM: LL 102 Mon/Wed:
4:40 to 5:55
CLASS READING
MATERIAL: Texts available at ASU
bookstore
Literature
for Today's Young Adults, Sixth Edition by Nilsen and Donelson, Longman
Point of Departure edited by
Robert S. Gold (Dell paperback)
The
Giver by Lois Lowry (Bantam paperback)
A
Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck (Random House paperback)
Twenty-five books chosen by you (some
from the cart I will bring in) to match the genres shown on the attached
"Reading Lists." Besides the
books I loan you, you will need to borrow some from libraries. ASU has some YA titles, but your best bet
will be a community library.
GRADING: I grade on a modified curve meaning that in
a general way you compete with each other in earning a maximum of 90 points,
but I lean the curve towards A's and B's and will make the
dividing lines where there are natural breaks.
Midterm
Exam Wed. October 11 20
points
Final Exam Wed. Dec. 13, 4:40-6:30 20
points
Class participation based on my
evaluation 10
points
of your contributions to group work
and
presentations
including (but not limited to)
two book talks, a 20-minute group presentation
illustrating the use of drama or
poetry in an
English class, and for graduate
students, a
report to the class on a
professional resource.
Your term project which will be a
teaching plan 20
points
for at
least one YA novel that I will chose from
your
first reading list. You may tie it in with other
books
and poems if you wish.
Miscellaneous written materials
including sample 20
points
scripts for 2 book talks distributed
to the class (4 pts.),
a reading autobiography (5 pts.), a
short story
reaction (5 pts.), and a collection
of ten poems
that you would like to share with
students (6 pts.).
NOTE: I WILL DEDUCT
ONE POINT FROM YOUR TOTAL FOR EACH ABSENCE
TENTATIVE
SCHEDULE
You will get more
from the lectures and discussions if you read the textbook chapters before they
are discussed in class.
M-21 Introduction to the class, each other, young
adult literature, an extra assignment
for graduate students, and a discussion of Arizona State Academic Standards in relation
to the teaching of reading and literature.
I will also talk about the reading autobiography, which you will turn in
on August 28, and I will distribute books for a get-acquainted exercise with
new books by selected authors.
W-23 Lecture/Discussion Text Ch. 1 “Young Adults
and Their Reading”
M-28 Reading
autobiographies due
Lecture/Discussion
of Text Ch. 2 “A Brief History of Adolescent Literature”
Toward
the end of the period, we will divide into groups based on the author you read
and prepare for making group presentations introducing your author to the
class. The point is for the class to
get acquainted with important new authors and to get an overview of the kinds
of books currently being prepared for teenagers as compared to the historical
ones discussed in Chapter 2 of the textbook.
W-30 Group presentations introducing contemporary
authors and talking about how their books differ from the historical ones
M-4 Labor Day Holiday
W-6 Come ready
to discuss from Point of Departure:
Updike's "A & P"
Malamud's "A Summer's
Reading"
Saroyan's
"Seventeen"Continuation of group presentations.
Gordimer's
"A Company of Laughing Faces"
M-11 Come ready
to discuss from Point of Departure
Kelley's "A Good Long Sidewalk
Sillitoe's
"The Bike"
McCuller's "Sucker"
Collier's "Ah the
University"
W-13 Read all three
of these stories, but choose one of them to write on: Updike's
"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and So
Forth," Clayton's "The White Circle," or Hecht's "Snowfall
in Childhood." Write a 2- to 4-page paper in which you:
1. Indicate the appropriate grade and
maturity level.
2. Tell why the story is worth using with
kids.
3. Tell how you would prepare kids to read
and consider the story.
4. Tell what's worth talking about in the story.
5. List at least seven questions worth
asking about the story. Put them in
ascending order of difficulty or sophistication.
6. As a conclusion, write a paragraph or
two responding to one of the more difficult questions as you hope a good
student would.
NOTE: Sept. 15 is
the unrestricted withdrawal deadline.
M-18 Text Ch.
3 YA Literature, Pop Culture, and the
Mass Media
W-20 Text Ch. 4
The New Realism: Of Life and Problems
M-25 Come ready to discuss Robert Newton Peck's A
Day No Pigs
Would
Die.
W-27 Text Ch.
5 The Old Romanticism: Of Wishing and
Winning
October
M-2 Be ready to
discuss in groups your accomplishment romance.
W-4 Text Ch.
6 Adventures, Mysteries, the
Supernatural, and Humor
M-9 Come prepared to do a book talk on a book you
especially enjoyed. Reading List due
with 12 books. Bring written
scripts for two book talks photocopied
to be given to everyone in the class.
W-11 Midterm Exam
M-16 Text Ch.
7 Fantasy, Science Fiction, Utopias,
and Dystopias
W-18 Come ready to discuss first half of Lowry's
The Giver.
Lecture/discussion
on making a teaching plan for a book
M-23 Come ready to discuss the rest of Lowry's The
Giver.
W-25 Text Ch. 8
History and History Makers
Discussion
of biographies
M-30 Text Ch. 8 Nonfiction: Information, Poetry,
and Drama
We'll get organized into eight
groups to do some kind of a special presentation (10 to 15 minutes) of drama,
poetry, or other literature appealing to teenagers.
W-1 Bring a non
fiction sex-education book to class or a fictional book that includes sexual
references. We want to compare
different approaches.
M-6 Lecture/discussion
on poetry and drama
Half-period
saved for groups to work on oral presentations
M-13 Text Ch. 10 Evaluating,
Promoting, and Using Young Adult Books
Presentations
by Groups 1 and 2
W-15 Continuation of Text Ch. 10
Presentations by Groups 3 and 4
M-20 Text Ch. 11
Literature in the English Class
Presentations by Groups 5 and 6
Turn in
your collection of 10 poems gleaned from various sources
W-22 Text Ch. 12 Censorship
Presentations by Groups 7 and 8
M-27 Bring two more written scripts for book talks
of favorite books photocopied to give to all class members.
People
in first third of alphabet, present their teaching plans (between 5 and 10
minutes) for the book I assigned from first reading list. Prepare a one-page handout summarizing your ideas for your classmates.
W-29 Presentation of teaching plans by middle
third of alphabet.
M-4 Presentation of teaching plans by last
third of alphabet.
Everybody turn in teaching plans for
grading.
Turn in reading list with all 25
books.
W-6 University Wide Reading Day
W-13 Final exam 4:40 to 6:30