Tuesday, July 4, 2017

LSSL 5385 03 Textbook Reflection - Chapters 6-10

LSSL 5385 03 Textbook Reflection - Chapters 6-10


Genres and formats?
  • There are two genres:  Fiction and Non-Fiction.
  • Everything else is a sub-genre.  
  • I created my own little infographic to better understand where everything falls. 
  • Important information about Modern Fantasy:  Hard Science Fiction is when science is most in the forefront of the book, not the characters and their relationships.  When the book has a science element but the characters and their development is at the forefront the book is considered a Soft Science Fiction book.  The same thing goes for High Fantasy.  If they have created new worlds, new languages not ones that we would recognize then it is considering High Fantasy.  If it focuses more on the characters and their development then it is Low Fantasy.
  • Subjects and Categories are just that, subjects and categories or topics. They are not genres.  They are things like: mystery, chick lit, dystopia, horror, sports fiction, war, classics, humor, paranormal, action-adventure, etc.
  • Formats are the types of books like poetry, drama, novel, chapter books, short stories, picture books and graphic novels.  
  • These are all things to consider when thinking about genrifying a library. Personally, I am not a big fan of genrifying.  I like my students to know they can go into any section in the library to find what they are looking for.  Some students might be afraid to look in sections that are traditionally for boys or traditionally for girls.  To me, if it is organized by the Dewey Decimal System then they can feel comfortable going into any section.
Reflection
This was a big clarification for me.  I was under the impression that most of these sub-genres where genres.  I am also glad to know that Dr. Perry is also not a big fan of genrifying libraries. 

What is YA Literature?
  • Young Adult Literature is published for readers usually aged 13 to 18 with characters about the same age.
  • They are from the adolescent's point of view, usually surrounding a conflict or problem of some sort in which a significance change their their life will occur.
  • The main character is usually highly independent, presented with issues that mirror events occurring in modern times.
  • The story usually spans a fairly short period of time in a limited setting with only a few characters who have been fully developed.
  • The main character experiences the brunt of the consequences of their actions plus the story evolves around how an adolescent develops. 

How do adolescents develop?
In order to successfully match students with books, we must know how those students develop.  There are 5 main areas to consider:  Intellectual, Moral, Physical, Developmental and as a Reader.
  • Intellectual - We need to consider how the adolescent develops in thinking.  According to Piaget, children go through developmental stages.  The stage of youth from ages 7 til about 11 to 14 are concrete thinkers and then they progress to more formal or abstract thought.  This can effect how pre-teens and teens process literature and what they read.  If they are still in a concrete level then we need to provide proper scaffolding to help them get to the more abstract thought that they may not yet have developed.
  • Moral  - According to Kohlberg there are three stages of moral development:
    • Pre-conventional: reward/punishment.  If I do this, I will be rewarded.  If I do that, I will be punished.  This is the lowest level.
    • Conventional - These are the rule followers.  Those that follow rules based upon society or perhaps their religion
    • Then there is Post-Conventional - These are the people who recognize the laws but life supersedes the law, for instance Rosa Parks disobeyed the law when she wouldn't give up her seat but it was for a greater cause.
    • We need to realize and understand where our students are in this hierarchy.
  • Physical - students at this age are going through puberty so they are going through a great deal of change physically and mentally.  Their body is developing at different rates and they begin to wonder "Am I normal?" Educators need to understand that the student's physical reality can get in the way of everything else.
  • Development - A lot is going on with students from the age of 13 to 18.  They are moving from learning to get along with their peers and having easy relationships with the opposite sex to beginning to wonder about their place in the world.  
    • For them pay = independence so they are wanting to work for pay
    • They are pulling away from their parents to find their own way
    • In pulling away, they are beginning to question their morals and values and ask themselves, "Do I agree with my parents on this issue or that?"
    • They are adapting to their changing bodies - big hands, big feets, growth spurts, acne, etc.
    • They are defining appropriate sex roles.  They can be friends with girls that are NOT their girl friend, etc.
    • Maslow's Needs Hierarchy also needs to be considered.  Their needs must be met in order for them to learn beginning with physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem to be able to reach self-actualization.  If these needs aren't met then the reader is unable to be developed.
  • Lastly, the Reader.  Students develop as readers over time.  They will develop empathy, unconscious delight, autobiographically, etc.  They will develop all of the characteristics of why we share literature with children in the first place.  It all comes full circle.
Reflection
It is important in everything we do to consider our audience.  Although, much of this is common sense I am glad to see the science and philosophy behind make of the data about how adolescents develop and mature.  I have two teenagers in my house at this moment in time and it's a good reminder as a parent too.

Literary Elements - these are the quick, short definitions of each terms as we see these over and over again
  • Antagonist - Character in the story - usually a bad one
  • Character - person in the story
  • Conflict - problem
  • Mood/tone - the emotion the author is trying to convey
  • Plot - The action that makes up the story
  • Protagonist - Main character - usually the good one
  • Setting - When and where the story takes place
  • Theme - The message that the author is trying to convey, evidence is found in the story
Reflection
Literary elements are generally something that we are familiar with but again a good reminder.  I especially enjoyed the video on Theme.  I think that this abstract thinking is hard for elementary but it would be something that I could help my older students begin to understand especially with the help of your examples of using picture books like Where the Wild Things Are

Literary Devices - these are the quick, short definitions of each term.  Literary devices are those story structures that authors use to convey messages in his or her writing.  
  • Allegory - figure of speech but not symbolism
  • Allusion - an indirect reference to something that gives additional meaning to the thing being described
  • Archetype - A typical character.  Examples: The Hero, the Mother figure, the Villain, etc.
  • Deus ex Machina - An divine intervention or incident that brings an abrupt resolution to the story but doesn't necessarily tie up all the loose ends.
  • Hyperbole - figure of speech that is exaggerated, for example, "Not in a million years."
  • Imagery - language used to create a picture in your mind's eye.
  • Metaphor - comparison between two things, for example, "I am dead tired."
  • Motif - concept or idea that repeats itself throughout a story in a noticeable way.
  • Point of View - How the story is told from first person, second or third.
  • Simile - a comparison between two things using "like" or "as"
  • Symbolism - signifies underlying ideas or meaning, for example white can symbolize pure or light.
Reflection
I loved the links to all these different literary devices.  Again another good reminder and useful to help when teaching my students. 

Awards - There are numerous awards given to YA Literature books.  They are given for both fiction and non-fiction, lots of different formats, like graphic novels, paperbacks, audiobooks, etc. and lots of sub-genres, subjects and topics.

  • Printz - This award is named for "Michael L. Printz Award. It is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."
  • YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction - "YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year."  
  • Great Graphic Novels for Teens - "Great Graphic Novels for Teens is a list of recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for those ages 12-18, prepared yearly by YALSA."
  • Best Fiction for Young Adults - "YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Committee presents fiction titles published for young adults in the past 16 months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18. The purpose of the annual list it to provide librarians and library workers with a resource to use for collection development and reader’s advisory purposes."
  • Margaret A. Edwards Award - "The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." 
  • ALEX Award - "The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing." 
  • Odyssey Award - "This annual award will be given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. 
  • Morris Award - "The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature." 
  • Outstanding Books for the College Bound - "The books on this list offer opportunities to discover new ideas, and provide an introduction to the fascinating variety of subjects within an academic discipline. Readers will gain an understanding of our diverse world and build a foundation to deepen their response to that world. This list is developed every five years."
  • Popular Paperbacks - "Each year, the Popular Paperbacks committee creates lists of books to encourage young adults to read for pleasure. The lists of popular or topical titles are widely available in paperback and represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres."
  • Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers - "The Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list identifies titles aimed at encouraging reading among teens who dislike to read for whatever reason. The list selects both fiction and nonfiction."  
  • Readers’ Choice - "YALSA’s Readers’ Choice list seeks to engage a wide audience of librarians, educators, teens and young adult literature enthusiasts in choosing the most popular teen titles in a given year, as organized by broad genres.  The list will also provide librarians with a timely means of identifying popular teen titles on an ongoing basis." 
  • Teens Top Ten - "The Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year!'
  • Amazing Audiobooks - "Each year, YALSA's Amazing Audiobooks committee selects and annotates an annual list of notable audio recordings significant to young adults from those released in the past two years."
  • YA Choices - "Since 1986, the Young Adults' Choices project has developed an annual list of new books that will encourage adolescents to read. The books are selected by the readers themselves, so they are bound to be popular with middle and secondary school students." 
  • Lone Star Reading List - "The Texas Lone Star list is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table. The purpose of the list is to encourage students in grades 6, 7, or 8 to explore a variety of current books. The Lone Star list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum." 
  • TAYSHAS Reading List - "The Tayshas Reading List was developed to motivate young adults, grades 9-12, to become lifelong readers and to participate in the community of young adult readers throughout Texas." 
  • Maverick Reading List - "The Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List was created and approved in 2009 to encourage young adult readers, grades 6-12, to explore a variety of current books in graphic novel format. The name, “Maverick” was chosen for this reading list because Texas was the first state to create a graphic novel reading list- we were the Mavericks in the field."
  • Edgar Award for Mystery - "The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theater published or produced in the previous year."
  • Orbis Pictus - "The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award was established in 1989 for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children."
  • Batchelder Award - "The Batchelder Award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States."
  • Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction - "Scott O'Dell established this award to encourage other writers--particularly new authors--to focus on historical fiction. He hoped in this way to increase the interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world."
  • Pura Belpre Award - The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. 
  • Schneider Family Award - The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
  • Sibert Award - The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. 
  • Stonewall Award - The first and most enduring award for GLBT books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table.



Award Resources:
Each award is a link to the information contained therein.

Reflection
I had no idea that there were this many different awards. It did not appear that any of these awards were duplicates of another, they were all for either a different purpose, genre, format, etc.  I had heard of a few of these but now I have a really good grasp of the scope of awards that can be awarded in the YA field.

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