Literature and Information

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 15.01.08

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Overview
  3. Rationale
  4. Content Objectives
  5. Gender Bias
  6. Multicultural Role Models
  7. Heroes and Heroines: Analyzing Character Traits
  8. Poetry
  9. Picture Book Biographies
  10. Writing Self Portraits
  11. Teaching Strategies
  12. Classroom Activities
  13. Annotated Bibliography
  14. Internet Resources
  15. Teacher Resources
  16. Appendix A: Implementing District Standards
  17. Notes

Biographies and Autobiographies: Portraits of Peace Builders

Julie So

Published September 2015

Tools for this Unit:

Annotated Bibliography

Abrams, David M. and Brian Sutton-Smith. "The Development of the Trickster in Children's Narrative." Journal of American Folklore (1977): 29-47. In this article children’s reactions to Bugs Bunny as a trickster, using clever thinking and playfulness to defeat those more aggressive and powerful are studied most and interestingly related to their development stages.

Carlson, Lori M. Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States Henry Holt and Co.(BYR), 1994. This is a compilation of poems from several Latin Americans, and reviews point this towards an older audience as well.

Ferdig, Richard E. Exploring Multimodal Composition and Digital Writing IGI Global, 2013. Chapters 10 and 11 are specifically about first graders using technology and digital storytelling.

Fountas, Irene C. and Gay Su Pinnell. Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for all Children. ERIC, 1996. This is the book used in our district for using the Guided Reading teaching strategy.

Ghosn, Irma K. "Four Good Reasons to use Literature in Primary School ELT." Elt Journal 56, no. 2 (2002): 172-179. This is another favorite packed with valuable insight, opening my eyes to better thinking and teaching of literature.

Glaser, Linda, Claire A. Nivola, Frances Sternhagen, and Bruce Howard Zimmerman. Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty Spoken Arts, 2010. This is a children’s picture book of the famous poem Emma Lazarus wrote which became our national poem of which part is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

Gleeson, Shannon. "Ethnic Community Builders: Mexican Americans in Search of Justice and Power—The Struggle for Citizenship Rights in San José, California." Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 37, no. 5 (2008): 472-473. Of the many ethnic leaders highlighted in this book, I focused on Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

Hamilton, Mykol C., David Anderson, Michelle Broaddus, and Kate Young. "Gender Stereotyping and Under-Representation of Female Characters in 200 Popular children’s Picture Books: A Twenty-First Century Update." Sex Roles 55, no. 11-12 (2006): 757-765. This is an interesting study, and gave me great insight into the subject.

Hourihan, Margery. Deconstructing the Hero: Literary Theory and Children's Literature Psychology Press, 1997. This book goes into great detail and theory regarding the hero. I gained wonderful insight from her perspective.

Iaquinta, Anita. "Guided Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of Early Reading Instruction." Early Childhood Education Journal 33, no. 6 (2006): 413-418. Teachers use Guided Reading, yet may not know of any research such as this behind the wonderful teaching strategy.

Maynes, Nancy, Lynn Julien-Schultz, and Cilla Dunn. "Modeling and the Gradual Release of Responsibility: What does it Look Like in the Classroom?" Brock Education Journal 19, no. 2 (2010). This is another strategy teachers use, yet may want to know the solid research and information behind it. This article goes into great detail, and is filled with great research. It also has instructions on how to use it.

Mendoza, Jean and Debbie Reese. "Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls." Early Childhood Research & Practice 3, no. 2 (2001): n2. This is my favorite research article, which provides great timesaving lists to help teachers select high quality and culturally authentic books. Their references are a great resource as well.

Morgan, Hani. "Picture Book Biographies for Young Children: A Way to Teach Multiple Perspectives." Early Childhood Education Journal 37, no. 3 (2009): 219-227. This article includes wonderful timesaving lists promoting social justice such as help in avoiding bias, internet resources of more annotated lists, and titles with summaries of picture books.

Nathenson-Mejía, Sally and Kathy Escamilla. "Connecting with Latino Children: Bridging Cultural Gaps with Children's Literature." Bilingual Research Journal 27, no. 1 (2003): 101-116. This article helps with high quality literature selection as well as their pedagogy regarding connecting culturally, educating students and teachers.

Polacco, Patricia. In our Mothers' House Philomel Books, 2009. This is a children’s picture book about a lesbian couple and their growing family of adopted children from three different countries.

Rosenblatt, Louise M. "What Facts does this Poem Teach You?" Language Arts (1980): 386-394. This gives great insight and perspective for teaching poetry to young readers.

Sedgwick, Fred. Read My Mind: Young Children, Poetry and Learning Routledge, 2002. Chapter 12 Children responding to poems has insight into children learning to appreciate this genre, reading it, and writing it.

Sipe, Lawrence R. "The Construction of Literary Understanding by First and Second Graders in Oral Response to Picture Storybook read alouds." Reading Research Quarterly 35, no. 2 (2000): 252-275. This is wonderful research specifically with first and second graders in response to picture storybook read alouds.

Wright, Mary F. and Sandra Kowalczyk. "Peace by Piece: The Freeing Power of Language and Literacy through the Arts." English Journal (2000): 55-63. This is a wonderful article with great ideas to inspire extended activities.

Yosso, Tara J. "Whose Culture has Capital? A Critical Race Theory Discussion of Community Cultural Wealth." Race Ethnicity and Education 8, no. 1 (2005): 69-91. This is another favorite article, which gives us a positive lens to see the wealth our students embody.

Zecker, Liliana B. "Early Development in Written Language: Children's Emergent Knowledge of Genre-Specific Characteristics." Reading and Writing 8, no. 1 (1996): 5-25. This article provides an in depth study of kindergarten and first grade students in relation to reading and making connections with literature.

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