GROUP COURSE
Children's Literature
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Anyone can view this course. To reserve a place — take the placement test and join the cohort — sign in or create a free account. You only pay later, once the group is confirmed.
About this course
This course teachers you how to create stories and what decisions authors and publishers are really making when it comes to content and values as portrayed in stories. In this course you will write stories, develop critical literacy skills, and explore dozens of texts from around the world, published in the last two centuries. We will also examine the politics of children’s literature and discuss Indigenous storytelling.
Program
Unit 1: What is children's literature and why we study it.
Unit 2: Types of plots and how to choose one for your own stories. The impact different plots have on a story. Types of narrative structures and character development. The impact narrative structures have on a story. How to write a compelling character and what to consider when illustrating a story. Fables and folktales. What are they and what do they look like across cultures?
Unit 3: Values and how they are written into stories. Messages stories imbue and how to find the values being 'sold'. Politics in children's literature. Who is deciding which books and which stories/values are published? Who chooses the book lists for schools? What does the government control?
Unit 4: Critical literacy. How to develop it yourself and how to teach it to others. Storytelling methods around the world. Explore 12 cultures and their traditional ways of sharing cultural values.
How group courses work
This is a live cohort course. It runs once at least 5 students have signed up (up to 10 seats). You reserve your place first; you only pay once the group is confirmed and a start date is set. Because a cohort is scheduled around confirmed students, fees are non-refundable from the point the group forms.