Assignment
Application: Recommending Books for a Preschool Classroom Library
You have focused on the vital role that children's literature can play in developing a range of early literacy skills and you have been introduced to guidelines for selecting quality books to use with young children.
For your Application assignment, imagine that you are a preschool teacher. Your program director has asked you to review a variety of children's books and recommend eight of them-four fiction storybooks and four nonfiction, informational books-to add to your preschool classroom library. You're thrilled to have this opportunity and, because you share your director's belief that high-quality books not only foster early literacy learning but also inform children's development and thinking, you decide to use research-based, trusted guidelines to help you make your decision.
To complete this Application, do the following:
Step 1: Plan and Prepare
• Identify a library or bookstore in your area with a quality collection of books for children ages 3-5 .
• Print out your Children's Literature Selection Chart that will help you complete this assignment:
• Review the chart for information you will need to provide about each book.
• Review "Ten Steps for Reviewing Children's Books."
Step 2: Review and Select
• Bring the following materials with you:
• A printed copy of the Children Literature Selection Chart for taking notes on the eight books you select (or, if you have a laptop computer, you may choose to complete the chart electronically on site)
Please Note: You will need to submit your completed version of the Children Literature Selection Chart.
• A printed copy of "Ten Steps for Reviewing Children's Books"
• Text resources you choose to bring with guidelines for selecting quality books
• Keep these points in mind as you review books:
• You may select recently published books and/or older books.
• Make your recommendations based on the "Ten Steps for Reviewing Children's Books," other guidelines for judging quality, and opportunities for learning from and taking joy in a book's content and illustrations.
• Consider the range of diverse learners in a preschool program.
• Think about whether you and the children will find each book engaging.
• Complete the chart.
Step 3: Reflect
Considering what you have learned in your coursework, summarize the following in a Reflection:
• Your experience of reviewing and choosing books to recommend.
• Insights you gained or misconceptions corrected about selecting quality books for young children.
• Suggestions for the library or bookstore you visited concerning their children's literature collection, such as sharing recommendations based on the anti-bias guidelines.
Submit both your written Reflection and your completed Children's Literature Selection Chart.
Assignment length: 2-3 pages
APA format all orginal work.