English 306A. Children’s Literature
Spring 2015
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Semester Theme: People Are Animals
Instructor: Mary Galbraith, PhD
[email protected]
Class meetings: Tuesday-Thursday 9:30am Physics 146
Office hour: Thursdays 1-1:50 pm, AL 230 (appointment suggested)
Galbraith, English 306A Syllabus, Spring 2015, page 1
English 306A. Children’s Literature. Schedule of reading and writing assignments
(readings must be completed before class on the day listed):
Week 1. Thursday, January 22. Class introduction, go over syllabus and course philosophy.
Two stories about a wolf (provided in class)
Week 2. January 27 and 29.
Tuesday: Versions of Little Red Riding Hood (BB Documents)
Writing assignment due Tuesday, Jan 27:
Write a response to each version of “Little Red Riding Hood.” (See page 4 for details of
response assignment.) Submit under Blackboard Assignments or bring a paper copy to
class if you are not yet on Blackboard. Responses are not accepted after class begins.
Thursday: Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ugly Duckling”
(book: Andersen, Fairy Tales)
Week 3. February 3 and 5.
Tuesday: Wolfgang Lederer, Kiss of the Snow Queen excerpt (BB Docs)
Hans Christian Andersen, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” (Andersen’s Fairy Tales)
Thursday: Hans Christian Andersen, “The Nightingale,” “The Red Shoes”
Week 3 writing assignment: Informal writing in class. Bring Lederer excerpt and assigned tales.
Week 4. February 10 and 12.
Tuesday: Baa Baa Black Sheep (BB Docs)
Thursday: “Mowgli’s Brothers” (book: London, The Jungle Books)
Writing assignment due before Tuesday’s class, Feb 10: Response 2 (BB Assignments)
Week 5. February 17 and 19.
read for Tuesday: “Tiger! Tiger!” (book: London, The Jungle Books)
read for Thursday: “Letting in the Jungle” (book: London, The Jungle Books)
Week 5 writing assignment: Informal writing in class—bring Jungle Books and “Baa Baa.”
Week 6. February 24 and 26.
Tuesday: The Call of the Wild (first two chapters)
Thursday: finish The Call of the Wild
Writing assignment due Sunday, March 8: Study Question 1 on Kipling and London (BB Ass’ts)
Week 7. March 3 and 5.
Tuesday: Little House on the Prairie Chapters 1-11
Writing assignment due online before class on Tuesday: Response 3 (BB Assignments)
Thursday: Little House on the Prairie Chapters 12-19
Galbraith, English 306A Syllabus, Spring 2015, page 2
Week 8. March 10 and 12.
Tuesday: finish Little House; begin Bambi: A Life in the Woods
Thursday: Bambi continued
Week 9. March 17 and 19.
Tuesday: finish Bambi.
Writing assignment due online Sunday, March 30: Study Question 2 on Little House and Bambi
Thursday: Millions of Cats and The Story of Babar (book check)
Week 10. March 24 and 26.
Tuesday: Where the Wild Things Are (book check)
Viewing assignment for Tuesday, March 25: “Tell Them Anything You Want” (film in BB Docs)
Thursday: Anthony Browne, Gorilla and Voices in the Park (book check)
~~Spring frolic~~
Week 11. April 7 and 9.
Tuesday: Charlotte’s Web, first three chapters
Thursday: finish Charlotte’s Web
Writing assignment: Write a smell description in homage to “The Barn”
Week 12. April 14 and 16.
Tuesday: 101 Dalmatians, first half
Thursday: finish 101 Dalmatians
Writing assignment: Informal writing on Charlotte and 101 Dalmatians.
Week 13. April 21 and 23.
Tuesday: Fantastic Mr. Fox, first three chapters
Thursday: finish Fantastic Mr. Fox
Due Sunday, April 26: SQ3 on Charlotte’s Web, 101 Dalmatians, and Fantastic Mr. Fox
Week 14. April 28 and 30.
Tuesday: watch My Neighbor Totoro (link in BB Docs)
Thursday: discussion of Totoro
Week 15. May 5 and 7.
Tuesday: watch Spirited Away (BB Docs)
Thursday. discussion of Spirited Away
Writing assignment due before midnight, Tues, May 12: Study Question 4 on Miyazaki
Galbraith, English 306A Syllabus, Spring 2015, page 3
Written Assignments for English 306A: Overview
A. Reading Responses (Complete/Incomplete)
The reading response assignment may vary, but here are the usual requirements:
1. Choose short (~100 words) passages from the assigned reading that have not
been previously discussed in class. Each response assignment will specify how
many passages are required.
2. Copy these passages into your response.
3. Write about each passage in an intimate way. How did you experience the
passage as you read it? How does this passage resonate with your reading of
the work so far? It's fine to look up unfamiliar words, but don't lean on outside
sources for your understanding. If you are confused and having trouble
understanding the passage, you can write about your confusion and difficulty-just stick as close as you can to the text and your own attempts to "get" it.
(Caution: Avoid retelling the story except where this retelling makes a point of
your own. Avoid "borrowing" interpretations from any other source. Write from
your own reading experience.)
4. There is no required length for reading responses, but they should delve deeply
into your understanding and sense of the passage. (Typical responses will
devote 250 words or more to each passage.)
5. Submit your response online in Blackboard Assignments (exception: “Little Red
Riding Hood Versions,” week 2—bring this one to class as a hard copy).
Grading of Reading Responses
Reading responses are not given letter grades. They are evaluated only in terms of meeting the
assignment (not for grammar or paragraph organization, for example). There is no one correct
way to read the passages, and I will not penalize you for having eccentric opinions or for raising
taboo topics. You are free to express yourself as you wish so long as you show me that you did
the reading and that you are writing about your own reading experience.
Responses are recorded in Blackboard Grade Center as complete (2), incomplete (1), or
missing (0). They must be submitted online before class on the day they are due.
(2) Complete: the response demonstrates that you read the assigned reading and follows the
instructions for a response assignment.
(1) Incomplete: the response partially meets the requirements of the assignment.
(0) Missing / unsatisfactory: the response was not submitted or does not demonstrate reading.
B. Reading Quizzes (Pass/ Fail)
These are unannounced short questions at the beginning of class, and they cover the day’s
reading assignment.
Grading of Reading Quizzes: One point is given for each correct answer, and the points are
recorded in Grade Center. Pass = >70% correct answers.
Galbraith, English 306A Syllabus, Spring 2015, page 4
C. Class Discussion notes (Credit/ No Credit)
On days when we have small group discussions in class, your group will turn in notes from your
discussion and all members of the group will get credit for these notes.
D. Informal Writing in Class (Complete/ Incomplete)
Occasionally I will pose a question on the board and ask you to write about it in class. These are
recorded as Complete or Incomplete. “Complete” means that your answer demonstrated
completion of the assigned reading and addressed the question in a meaningful way.
E. Study Questions (Letter Grades)
These are in effect take-home exam questions. They are graded with letter grades. See each
Study Question for details.
Grading criteria for Study Question answers:
—responds to all parts of the question
listening comprehension—demonstrates familiarity with lectures and readings
pendent observation—bases its case on student’s own close observation of readings
– uses examples and quotes to support assertions
—provides high level assertions that emerge from observation
-- "gets inside" the readings in a profound way
—articulate, understandable, and convincing
Grade of A: satisfies all criteria
Grade of B: satisfies most criteria
Grade of C: satisfies several criteria
How your final grade is calculated:
If all ungraded assignments--responses, quizzes, informal writing, and discussion notes-- have
been completed, the average grade of your Study Question answers will be your final grade.
Deductions will be taken from your final grade in case of missing or incomplete assignments.
Note: Our class is based on personal reading, writing, and thinking. Two forms of deception in
particular threaten the integrity of our whole enterprise. The first is pretending to have read
something one hasn’t read; the second is pretending to have written something one did not write
(i.e. plagiarism). Evidence of these deceptions will be investigated and, if conclusive evidence is
found, reported to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities. Appropriate penalties will
be assessed.
Mandated Statement for Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and believe
you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability
Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should
contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not
retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you have
presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Galbraith, English 306A Syllabus, Spring 2015, page 5