I hope you will enjoy the course and find many valuable ideas that you will be bringing into your future classrooms.
I will be running the course from my website to keep ownership of all my materials. We will be using the Ecollege site from time to time but the majority of the course will be right here.
The course is inquiry-based. The modules are all done in the WebQuest method. Each week I will have a mini lecture and a question for you to ponder and write out. Now don't worry. I will have online resources for you to click on. I do not want you to spend your time trying to find the right website to complete your assignment. I want you to spend your time exploring websites that I have already reviewed and feel that you will enjoy. Now you always can look for more but let me do the research and you sit back. You will have enough to do already. I must tell you that we have a lot of work ahead of us. This course in my opinion is fun and important to your future as a teacher. I take my job seriously...I know you have entrusted me with that. I will share my knowledge and hope you find the course challenging and useful.
Fondly,
Dr. Iwamoto
Week 1
Introduction:
Children's Literature entices, motivates and instructs. It opens doors to discovery and provides endless hours of adventures and enjoyment. Adults have a responsibility to help children become aware of the enchantment in books. The extent to which books play a role in the life of young children depends upon adults. As you read our textbook, read websites and go through the course, you will gain the knowledge about literature so that you can share stimulating books and book-related experiences with children.
Task
Read Chapters 1,2, and 4. Review all sites in the resource section. Preview them. They will be of assistance to you in future classes. I will add different resources each week but you may wish to refer to Week 1's resources throughout the course.
This week you will only preview the sites. Next week I will give you a question to reflect upon. I do want you to look through all the sites. Your assignment is to email me a short essay on who you are and where you are in the program. Please also include whether you are using a MAC or PC and what wordprocessor you will be using. I'd like to know what you'd like to learn from this course so I can make sure I address you needs.
Resources
1. Children's Literature: Suggested Web Sites Worth Visiting
http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~ifican/resources/pathfinders/childrens_books.html
This site has an extensive list of information that will be useful to you throughout the course.
2. Children's and Young Adult Literature Internet Guide
www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/
Another good site for general information on a wide range of literature ideas.
3. The Children's Literature Web Guide (www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index/html)
4. Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site - A Wealth of Information!
www.carolhurst.com/index.html
