Imagining the World Through Language and Literature
Overview
This unit is designed to develop and deepen pre-service teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature as an essential part of language and literacy development. This will enable them to make informed decisions about selecting and using literature and language experiences in early childhood education. They will become familiar with and knowledgeable critics of a wide variety of genres, including poetic, narrative and informational literature, traditional tales, picture books, popular culture and new technologies suitable for use in early childhood education (birth to eight years of age).
Requisites
09-February-2025
01-June-2025
05-October-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Identify and advocate how children’s literature is an essential part of literacy education.(birth to eight years of age)
- Articulate how storytelling and picture books support language acquisition and literacy skills
- Examine factors, current trends and how popular culture impacts upon language and literature
- Analyse a range of genres and conventions in children's literature, including folklore, picture books, storytelling, language games and poetry
- Implement techniques of effective and engaging teaching to enhance literacy skills
- Critically evaluate children’s language and literature resources
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Class |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Class |
3.00 | 8 weeks | 24 |
| Specified Activities Various |
4.00 | 12 weeks | 48 |
| Unspecified Activities Various |
5.50 | 12 weeks | 66 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Swinburne Online
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 12.50 | 12 weeks | 150 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Individual | 40% | 1,2 |
| Portfolio | Individual | 60% | 3,4,5,6 |
Content
- Children’s literature and storytelling
- Language and literacy development
- History of children’ literature
- Considerations for diversity and difference
- Thinking critically about language and literature
- Criteria for selecting literature for children from birth, based on knowledge of a range of theories of
- Literary criticism (for example, structuralism, post modernism, feminism)
- Genres in children’s literature (for example, picture books, big books and illustrated texts, poetry, narrative/novels (fantasy, historical, realistic), short stories, informational texts)
- Folklore and fairy tales
- The oral tradition
- Significant authors and illustrators
- Literature for different age groups
- Cultural influences on literature
- Creating the language and literature environment
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.