LIBR 271A-10
Genres and Topics in Youth Literature
Topic: Narrative Nonfiction
Spring 2014 Greensheet

Richie Partington
E-mail
Other contact information: (cell) 707-293-0012
Office Hours: There are no formal office hours. I prefer receiving emails but you are also welcome to telephone. I will typically respond within 24 hours, and will definitely respond within 48 hours unless there is an emergency or I have specifically notified the class that I will be out of touch (which is extremely rare).

D2L Information: This course has a D2L site. You will be enrolled into the site automatically on the first day of the semester.

Course Description

Narrative Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults
Readers are entranced by “real” stories about people, places, things, times, and issues. In addition, it is essential that young people build information literacy skills through significant practice in reading and analyzing nonfiction so as to be able to retrieve information, recognize the point of view of an author, and evaluate the author's research underlying his or her nonfiction writing. Distinguished narrative nonfiction is now recognized by nonfiction awards in the American Library Association's ALSC and YALSA divisions.This course surveys this literature; its placement in collections; its role in developing lifelong reading habits; its impact on building information literacy skills; and its central role in the Common Core State Standards.

Course Requirements

Course Assignments
This course requires a number of assignments designed to introduce students to the concepts covered in class and in the texts, as well as practical applications of methods. Students will work individually and participate in group projects (for which they will employ a Google group), and in Discussion Forums on D2L. Students accumulate up to 1000 points. The total is then divided by 10 to determine the course grade. See Grading Scale below for details.

• Assignment 1. Build a Narrative Nonfiction Database, 350 points, due May 9, 2014:
  Read, and develop information about 35 books that are narrative nonfiction titles appropriate for children and or young adults. Each of these 35 books must be 64 pages or longer. (Books in excess of 200 pages can be counted as two books.) You will choose at least 30 of your 35 books from the following sources and lists:
  • Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Medal winners and Honor books;
  • YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults winners and finalists
  • Books listed in D2L under "Nonfiction titles from ALSC Notable Books lists 2002-2013
  • Books listed in D2L under "Alex Award-Winning Nonfiction Titles, 1998-2013"
  • Books listed in D2L under "Nonfiction titles on Best Books for Young Adults Top Ten Lists, 2001-2010"
  • Books originally published between 2002 and 2013 that have been selected as Orbis Pictus winners or Honor books (NOT the Recommended list books)
  • Books listed in D2L under "Nonfiction titles that have won a Newbery Medal or Newbery Honor, 2001-2014"
  • Books listed in D2L under "Nonfiction titles that have been National Book Award finalists in the Young People's Literature category, 2000-2013"
  • Books listed in D2L under"Richie's Picks Nonfiction Titles 2001-2014"
  • Narrative nonfiction books for children and/or young adults meeting the  64 page minimum that are written by your group's Assignment 2 author.
     
  The remaining five books of the required 35 total can be chosen from the same sources (above) or can be chosen from outside of the aforementioned sources with the approval of the instructor. These 35 narrative nonfiction books will include at least one from each of the following six categories and notate them in your blog as such (and please count a particular book toward only one of these categories even if it meets several of them):
• a diversity-related title;
• a history-related title;
• a science-related or environmental-related title;
• a biography or autobiography;
• a current-issues title;
• an adventure-related title.
• The 35 narrative nonfiction books you choose to read and blog about must also include two meeting the 64 page minimum that are written by the author who is the subject of your group's Assignment 2 Author study.
• You will create a blog using available online software in which you will compile your database for Assignment 1. In your blog entries you will include all of the following components for each of the 35 narrative nonfiction books you read:
• A cover image;
• A bibliographic citation that includes title, subtitle, full name of author, year of publication, publisher city, publisher, number of pages, and ISBN;
• A listing of significant awards won/selection lists on which it has been included;
• A live link to the author's or authors' website(s) (if one exists) or the statement "No Author website.";
• An annotation (book summary) you create (not copy from elsewhere) of no more than 40 words;
• A personal reaction to the book;
• A listing of the books front-and back-matter.

(10 points per book for a total of 350 points) [Helps to fulfill SLO #1 and #5. Helps to satisfy Core Competencies C,F, I, and M.]

• Assignment 2. Group Author Study, 100 points, due April 4, 2014:
  Sign up in an available slot on the D2L Assignment 2 Discussion for one of the authors listed on the D2L site under "Author Study Authors."  As a group, develop an action plan for necessary tasks to be accomplished, and for delegation of these tasks.  Tasks will include reading the author's narrative nonficton titles relevant to this class (children's and young adult titles of at least 64 pages); reading existing interviews of, articles about, speeches and articles by the author; developing at least six significant questions for the author that relate to his or her researching and writing of narrative nonfiction; corresponding with or "meeting" virtually with the author; developing and conveying any necessary follow-up questions; and developing a presentation to be delivered to the class that includes a summation of your research and correspondence along with an annotated bibliography of the books read by group members and any additional reference listings. [Helps to fulfill SLO #1, #4, and #5.  Helps to statisfy Core Competencies C, F, I, and M.]
  
  
• Assignment 3. Booktalk narrative nonfiction, 75 points, due April 18, 2014:
  Record a video of a booktalking presentation of no more than 10 minutes total in which you present 4 of the narrative nonfiction books from your Assignment 1 blog.  You will use YouTube or another online video-sharing website for posting your recordings.  Post the URL necessary for accessing your recording to the appropriate D2L discussion forum. [Helps to fulfill SLO #5.  Helps to satisfy Core Competencies C, F, I, and M.]
  
  
• Assignment 4. Create a book trailer, 75 points, due April 25, 2014:
  Using web technology, produce a book trailer that includes words, pictures, and music and/or other audio to entice readers to read one of the narrative nonfiction books included in your Assignment 1 blog.  Post the URL necessary for accessing hte recording to the appropriate D2L discussion forum.  [Helps to fulfill SLO #5. Helps to satisfy Core Competencies C, F, I, and M.]
  
  
• Assignment 5. Develop a proposal for a Narrative Nonfiction Initiative, 100 points, due May 11, 2014:
  Synthesize the information you have gathered through your readings, discussions, group work, and assignments in order to develop a professional proposal for extensively highlighting narrative nonfiction in the library.  Your proposal should include concepts of collection development, cataloguing, programming, serving diverse populations, connecting with library- and web-based reader communities, web page development, and publicity.  Limit your submission to 3,000 words (not including reference lists and other supporting backmatter).  This assignment can be posted to your blog or submitted as a Google doc. [Helps to fulfill SLO #2, #3, and #4.  Helps to satisfy Core Competencies C, F, I, and M.]
  
  
• Class Discussion Board Participation, 20 points/week, 300 points total.
  Students will participate in discussion forums in order to practice professional discourse on the course topics and materials.  All discussion postings must be of graduated standard writing and content.  Students must proofread discussion posts for correct spelling, grammar, and usage.  I expect proper etiquette and professional behavior in responding to the work of your colleagues in the course, that you participate in all discussion forums, that you post your original contribution early in the week (permitting classmates time to respond), and that you respond later in the week to at least one of your colleagues' postings in each discussion forum.  Therefore, my expectation is that you post a minimum of two (2) times per discussion forum.  I will base your grade for participation not only on the frequency and timliness of posting, but also on the quality of information in your discussion posts.  Please don't just say "Me too," or say "That book sounds interesting."  Remember that this is a graduate program discussion forum, not Facebook.  Discussion forums for the course will include your profession reflections based on background reading, personal research, and reading of required books and media.
  
  As there is a time frame for the beginning and ending dates for each forum (They always end and lock closed at 11:59 pm Friday night.), late posting of comments will not be possible.  I will hold students responsible for carefully and respectfully following the SJSU guidelines for academic integrity.

Expectations for Success:

• This Greensheet is the course contract. Please read it and understand it.
• There will be a few additional readings that I will choose from newly-published articles relating to this course's subject matter.
• Title pages: All course assignments must have a title page.
• Students must proofread written assignments (including discussion forum postings) for correct spelling, grammar, and usage. I encourage you access the SLIS Writing Resources site. You are also welcome to peer edit each other's work.
• Students should use the Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed.) as the standard for all bibliographic citations.
• Students and faculty are bound by the U.S. copyright regulations and need to cite the sources of the intellectual property of others, including information, images, or ideas that do not belong to us. Follow the regulations located in the Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials policy at http://libguides.sjsu.edu/copyright;
• If you submit work with words, images, or ideas that are not their original ideas, words, or images, you must cite the sources of those words, images, or ideas. It is important for students in library science courses to develop a respect for the work of others and to be responsible users of the work of others. Although the work of students does have some fair-use protection, you are never safe in using words, images, or ideas of others in a course in which we share our work with one another. Not only will you need to remember this when you are posting to the discussion forums, you must also practice responsible use of resources in your projects that you will be sharing with your colleagues.
• Penalty for late work: I will accept late work on Assignments (but not on the discussion forums), but you will lose points for each day the assignment is late as per assignment descriptions. There will be a 10 point per day penalty for late submissions of Assignments 1, 2, and 5; and a 2 point per day penalty for late submissions of Assignments 3 and 4.

Course Grading
1,000 points possible to be divided by 10 for then determining course grade as per the standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale.

• Assignment 1. Build a Narrative Nonfiction Database, 350 points, due May 9, 2014:
  Please Note: One of the great benefits of utilizing blogs for this assignment is that the instructor can see work in progress and provide immediate feedback on missing components and work not meeting minimum standards.  This eliminates the possibility of "bad surprises" at end of the semester grading time.  Please post your work about a book to your blog before beginning to read and write about the next book.
• Grading for each blog posting (10 possible points, assuming that the book is eligible for use in the assignment as per specifications listed in the assignment description).
• Contains a cover image -- 1 point;
• Contains a bibliographic citation that includes title, subtitle, full name of author, year of publication, publisher city, publisher, number of pages, and ISBN -- 2 points;
• Contains a listing of significant awards won/selection lists on which it has been included -- 1 point;
• Contains a live link to the author's or authors' website(s) (if one exists) or the statement "No Author website." -- 1 point;
• Contains an annotation (book summary) you create (not copy from elsewhere) of no more than 40 words -- 2 points;
• A personal reaction to the book -- 2 points;
• A listing of the books front-and back-matter -- 1 point.
   

• Assignment 2. Group Author Study, 100 points, due April 4, 2014

• Create and agree to a written plan of action for enumerating and assigning tasks to be accomplished in completing the assignment -- 5 points;
• Compile and submit an annotated list of already-published or posted information found about your author including already-published or posted interviews.
• Develop at least six significant questions for the author that have not been previously asked in published or posted resources -- 30 points;
• Compete necessary reading of author's books and reading about the author --15 points
• Correspond or meet with the author -- 10 points;
• Develop a presentation to be delivered to the class that includes a summation of your research and correspondence along with an annotated bibliography of the books read by group members and any additional reference listings -- 30 points.
   
• Assignment 3. Booktalk narrative nonfiction, 75 points, due April 18, 2014:
  Record a booktalking presentation of no more than 10 minutes total in which you present 4 of the narrative nonfiction books from your Assignment 1 blog. You will use YouTube or another online video-sharing website for posting your recordings. Post the URL necessary for accessing your recording to the appropriate D2L discussion forum.  Assuming that you have chosen books that meet the specifications for inclusion in your Assignment 1 blog, and that you adhere to the time limit, these presentations will be evaluated as to the information presented and as to having an engaging and entertaining style of presentation so that it succeeds in being a tool for enticing a young audience to read the books being presented.
   
• Assignment 4: Create a book trailer, 75 points, due April 25, 2014:
  Using web technology, produce a book trailer that includes words, pictures, and music and/or other audio to entice readers to read one of the narrative nonfiction books included in your Assignment 1 blog. Post the URL necessary for accessing hte recording to the appropriate D2L discussion forum. Assuming that you have chosen books that meet the specifications for inclusion in your Assignment 1 blog, the book trailer will be evaluated as to the information presented and as to having an engaging and entertaining style of presentation so that it succeeds in being a tool for enticing a young audience to read the books being presented. 
   
• Assignment 5. Develop a proposal for a Narrative Nonfiction Initiative, 100 points, due May 11, 2014:
  Synthesize the information you have gathered through your readings, discussions, group work, and assignments in order to develop a professional proposal for extensively highlighting narrative nonfiction in the library. Your proposal should include concepts of collection development, cataloguing, programming, serving diverse populations, connecting with library- and web-based reader communities, web page development, and publicity. It should also include significant initiatives relating to your study of the Common Core State Standards.  Limit your submission to 3,000 words (not including reference lists and other supporting backmatter). This assignment can be posted to your blog or submitted as a Google doc.

Penalty for Late work
I will accept late work on Assignments (but not on the discussion forums), but you will lose points for each day the assignment is late as per assignment descriptions.  There will be a 10 point penalty per day for late completion of Assignment 1 and a five point penalty per day for late completion of Assignments 2-5.

Extra Credit
You will have the opportunity to earn 10 points of extra credit in the first (short) week of the class.  If you set up your blog and submit to me by email the url for your blog by the end of Friday, January 24, you will earn 10 points of extra credit.  Toward the end of the semester you can earn another 10 points of extra credit by completing and submitting your SOTES form for this class and then notifying me by email that you have done so.

Readings

Required Readings:

• Short week, January 22-24): Calkins, chapter 1; Partridge, E. (2011). Narrative nonfiction: Kicking ass at last.  The Horn Book, 87(2), 69-73.  Aronson, M. (2011). New knowledge. The Horn Book. 87(2), 57-62. Freedman, R. (2011). On telling the truth. Booklist, 95(2), 224-5
• Week 2 (January 25-31): Calkins, chapter 2; Stone, T. (2010). No victims in sight. Children & Libraries, 8(3), 5-6. Stone, T. A fine, fine line: Truth in nonfiction. The Horn Book, 87(2), 84-87. Giblin, J. (2000). More than just the facts: A hundred year of children's nonfiction. The Horn Book, 76(4), 413-424. Giblin, J. (1988). The rise & fall of juvenile nonfiction, 1961-1988. School Library Journal, 35(4), 27-31.
• Week 3 (February 1-7): Calkins, chapter 3; Wilson, S. (2006). Getting down to facts in children's nonfiction literature: A case for the importance of sources. Journal of Children's Literature, 32(1), 56-63. Giblin, J. (2003). What sort of man? Children and Libraries, 1(2), 16.
• Week 4 (February 8-14): Calkins, chapter 4; The extreme sport of research. The Horn Book, 87(2), 24-30. Walker, S. (2006). Unlocking a sub's inner secrets. Children and Libraries, 4(2), 10-11.
• Week 5 (February 9-21): Calkins, chapter 5; Isaacs, K. (2005). Truth in information books. School Library Journal, 51(7), 28-29. Rossi, J. (2005). Don't gloss over the glossary. School Library Journal, 51(10), 33. Bartoletti, S. (2011).
• Week 6 (February 22-28): Calkins, chapter 6; Faust, S. (2001). In quest of excellence: Qualities of distinguished information books.  School Library Journal, 47(6), 42-43. Nelson, K. (2009). Trampling the grass at Hank Aaron's house. Children and Libraries, 7(2), 18-19. Murphy, J. (2003). Drawn to story. Children and Libraries, 1(3), 48-50.
• Week 7 (March 1-7): Calkins, chapter 7; Harris, C. (2012). The end of nonfiction. School Library Journal, 58(3), 16. Aronson, M. (2012). "The end of nonfiction"? A weaver's response. http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/nonfictionmatters/2012/03/09/the-end-of-nonfiction-a-weavers-response/. Carstensen, A. (2010). Yalsa award for excellence in nonfiction for young adults, year one. Young Adult Library Services, 8(3), 38-40. Harris, C. (2012) How to get started. School Library Journal, 58(4), 28. Fister, B. The Dewey dilemma. Library Journal, 134(16), 22-25.
• Week 8 (March 8-14): Calkins, chapter 8; Fleming, C. (2011). Getting in touch with Ben. The Horn Book, 87(2), 39. Aronson, M. (2012). YANF and voice. http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/nonfictionmatters/2012/04/20/yanf-and-voice/. Aronson, M. (2012). Text clusters, text complexity. http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/nonfictionmatters/2012/04/18/text-clusters-text-complexity-and-the-print-problem/.
• Week 9 (March 15-21): Calkins, chapter 9; Giblin, J. (2011). The wrong plot. The Horn Book, 87(2), 97. Barton, C. (2011). Your mother should know. The Horn Book, 87(2), 88. Silvey, A. (2010). The real deal. School Library Journal, 56(6), 22-25.
• Week 10 (March 29-April 4): Calkins, chapter 10; Zappy, E. (2011). Sing a song of science: Scientists in the field. The Horn Book, 87(2), 33-38. Fang, Z. & Wei, Y. (2010). Improving middle school students' science literacy through reading infusion. The Journal of Educational Research, 103(4), 262-273.
• Week 11 (April 5-11): Calkins, chapter 11; Filipenko, M. (2004). Constructing knowledge about and with informational texts: Implications for teacher librarians working with young children.  School Libraries Worldwide, 10(1/2), 21-36.
• Week 12 (April 12-18): Sullivan, E. (2001). Some teens prefer the real thing: The case for young adult nonfiction. The English Journal, 90(3), 43-47. Ivey, G. (2010). Texts that matter. Educational Leadership, 67(6), 18-23.
• Week 13 (April 19-25): Kelsey, M. (2011). Compel students to read with compelling nonfiction. Knowledge Quest, 39(4), 34-39.
• Week 14 (April 26-May 2): Vent, C. & Ray, J. (2007). There is more to reading than fiction! Enticing elementary students to read nonfiction. Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 42-44.
• Week 15 (May 3-9):  Sundberg, I. (2010). Narrative non-fiction is hot hot hot! http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/narrative-non-fiction-is-hot-hot-hot/.  Sutton, R. (2007). An interview with Jon Scieszka. The Horn Book, 83(5), 445-55.

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 200, LIBR 260A or LIBR 261A. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of social and cultural trends in literature for children and/or young adults.
2. Critically examine representative materials designed for the child and young adult including books, television, movies, and the Internet.
3. Apply criteria to evaluate resources in relation to child or YA developmental needs, multicultural concerns, and the ability to meet the informational and recreational needs of this age group.
4. Create an appropriate materials collection for the age group selected including print and nonpoint materials.
5. Analyze established policies and recommendations for high quality educational facilities and collections for children.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 271A supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Calkins, L., & Ehrenworth, M. (2012). Pathways to the common core: accelerating achievement. Heinemann. Available through Amazon: 0325043558

• Horning, K. T. (2010). From Cover to Cover (revised ed.): Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. HarperCollins. Available through Amazon: 0060777575.

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

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