Children’s Literacy
In Week 5, you will more deeply examine the value of children’s literature as a tool of moral and ethical development, as well as the opportunity to study issues in children’s literature. There are several substantial issues in children’s literature that greatly affect the teaching and exposure of children’s literature. It is important to understand these issues when looking at the value of teaching the genre of children’s literature.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper that includes the following:
- A description of the value of teaching children’s literature as a tool of moral and ethical development in children, using examples from the course readings that may include its effect on any or all of the following:
- Imagination
- Language development
- Socialization (prejudice and tolerance)
- Gender roles
- An analysis of three of the following issues in children’s literature using specific examples from the course:
- Gender roles
- Censorship (by parents, schools, libraries, era-specific)
- Violence
- Sex and sexual orientation
- Authorial intent
- Race
- Language/Lexile® scales
Note: if you choose censorship, select a reading that is often censored and determine why it is censored and whether or not you agree with that censorship. The discussion should be about the literature and its benefits or defects, not about personal opinion and social norms.
