Literature for Young MIinds, Objectives

Course: Literature for Children and Teenagers (Spring 2010)




I. Objectives

本課程的主旨在訓練學生閱讀分析與思辨的能力，圖像解讀的能力與創意寫作之習慣，從三方面進行。

(1)針對兒童文學與青少年文學的，給予學生閱讀與分析上的訓練，並培養學生對不同文學主題和寫作風格的鑑賞能力。

(2)晚近又有奇幻文學經典改編成電影之熱潮，本課程藉由原著與改編之對照來強化學生的分析思辨能力。

(3)鼓勵學生發揮創意，嘗試中英雙語的繪本創作。並嘗試把經典作品改編成劇本，以供演出。



II. Syllabus

Week 1 (1) Introduction (2) The heroes in ”Transformers”

Focus One: The Classical World

week 2 (1) Beowulf (2) King Arthur's legend

Week 3 (1) Anderson's Fairy Tales (2) Grimm's Fairy Tales

Focus Two: Fables and Picture Books

Week 4 (1) Peter Rabbits (2) Stuart Little

Week 5 (1) Charlotte's Web (2) The Little Prince

Focus Three: Novels and Motion Pictures

Week 6: Eragon

Week 7: Howl's Moving Castle

Week 8: The Kite Runner

Focus Four: The Theme of Adventures

Week 9: Charlie's Chocolate Factory

Week 10: The Adventures pf Baudelaire

Week 11: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Focus Five: The canon of Fantacy Literature

Week 12: The Hobbits and the Lord of the Rings

Week 13: Narnia

Week 14: Harry Potter

Focus Six: The Emerging of New Works

Week 15: Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath (by Cornelia Funke)

Week 16: Northern Lights: THe Golden Compass (by Philip Pullman)

Week 17: Wrapping-up

Week 18: Final Exam



III. Percentile of final grades

1. Weekly exam on designated reading (25%)

2. Creation of a story with pictures (25%)

3. Choice of an English novel and

a. Writing a 5-page report in English analyzing the novel, or

b. Adapting the novel into a play about 30-page long. (25%)

4. Class attendance and participation in classroom discussion (25%)



IV. Reference

(1)The 20th-Century Childen's Book Treasury. By Janet Schulman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf., 1998.

(2)The 20th-Century Childen's Poetry Treasury. Selected by Jack Prelutsky. Illustrated by Meilo SO. New York: Alfred A. Knopf., 1999.

(3)Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales. Authorized Edition by Frederick Warne. London: Penguin, 2002.