Midterm Description
Note: It may seem like there
are a lot of rules here, but I just want to anticipate every possible question
you might have.
1. At the start of the class period I will
distribute two picture books of my choice to each of the groups you have been
assigned. As a group, read through the two books (quietly – please do not
disturb the other groups).
2. DO NOT write in the books,
spill anything on them, break their spines, or bend or fold back the
pages. Return them in perfect condition
at the end of class. Treat them like
they aren’t yours, ‘cause they ain’t! I have borrowed many of them.
3. You have the entire class
period to write down as many thoughts and interpretations as you can, applying
major concepts, terminology, and issues from the course. I expect you to
use all period, writing until you run out of time. If you feel like you have discussed all of
the major ideas regarding the book, start playing with different possible interpretations. Your goal is to demonstrate: 1) a strong
understanding of major concepts, and 2) the ability to apply terminology
convincingly through very specific examples from the text. Your assignment is to perform both a close reading and an ideological (or critical, resisting, or
oppositional) reading.
4. Make sure you cover at least 4 major concepts (consult the
Guide I will hand out) but absolutely cover more if you have time. Say as much as you possibly can about the
books. Explore these terms through examples, don’t
just merely apply them in a list. You
may talk about one of the books, or both of the books. You may compare
and contrast the two books, or you can apply separate terms to each of the
books. Work as a group. You may select one person to write notes,
or you may each write out notes and turn in all of your writing as a single
document. Try not to repeat information
if you are writing separately.
5. You may use notes, my
glossary, books, and each other freely. I am also available as a
(limited) resource.
6. Do not feel that you are
trying to guess what I believe about these books. Your goal is to read
the books freely, but to make strong cases through textual evidence regardless.
Do not argue by assertion; that is, saying that the book is ambiguous simply
because you think it is. And remember, a book isn’t, say,
adult-centered just because you say it is, you need to prove your
interpretation through examples. You
must prove whatever points you make through examples from throughout the
book. Express terms in your own words, but demonstrate a good understanding
of them.
7. You do not need to write
an essay, but ideas should be expressed clearly. You can make lists, numbered items, pictures,
or complete sentences. However, you need
to develop your points – writing,
“Didactic: Teaches a Lesson” isn’t going to cut it.
8. Your ideas don’t have to
be in any order, but they should be consistent.
For instance, if you say the book is ambiguous and adult centered, you should explain how these two contradictory
ideas can possibly happen in the same text.
9. Concentrate heavily on: 1)
EXAMPLES of whatever term you are applying or whatever point you are making,
and 2) making your understanding of the term clear – remember that some terms
have a number of various aspects or characteristics to them, and you should
explore as many as you can.
10. DO NOT: talk about
whether the book is good, whether the book is cute, whether children will like
it, what it teaches children. AVOID
GENERALIZATIONS about children ("This book is too weird for a child to understand"
or “This is a good book for children”).
I am looking for a literary assessment.
Remember to talk about the illustrations as well as the words, to look
for both the content and the form of the text.
11. It is my expectation that
your exam will be minimum two to
three pages handwritten, depending on handwriting and format. Ideally it will be longer. Whatever you turn it, be
thorough, be clear, and point to examples.
Take the time to create something impressive.
I will assign a group
grade:
"A"
exams show an excellent understanding of important concepts (including all of
their various characteristics), applying these concepts in surprising and
insightful ways. They go far beneath the
surface, exploring the book in exciting and provocative ways. At least four
major concepts are explored in detail, although many ideas are brought up, and
there are clear connections between all of the concepts (even if the book has
some contradictions in those concepts).
The exam uses multiple convincing examples that make clear points that
are explained in detail. It shows a remarkable understanding of what we
have been talking about in class, and the ability to go beyond. This includes providing insightful possible
interpretations of the book.
Example: Agency – we feel
that this book is a great example of agency, which we have talked about as the
capacity to act meaningfully in the world, to have the freedom and desire to
act for ourselves, to be free from power.
We see agency in this book whenever characters are free to wander and
explore, without punishment or guidance.
This is evident on:
- page 4 – when the pigs escape
from the stories they have been trapped in + look around
- page 7 – when the book becomes
a big white space that the pigs can explore
- page 10 – at this point the
book is going along at whatever pace the pigs want it to
- page 14 – they enter and leave
stories as they want to, whenever they are interested in
something else
All of these moments in the
book show the story opening up to possibilities, even if the pigs decide to
return home at the end of the book.
Unlike “Where the Wild Things Are,” where Max expresses his agency by
dominating others, these pigs decide to use their agency to help others, and to
create a more perfect world at the end by rewriting the story to include
everyone.
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"B" exams use
several concepts in good ways to make some good points. Interpretations may be on the surface, and
discussions of the terms may not be that involved, and not covering all of the
issues behind a concept, but the exam displays a good understanding of what we
have gone over in class. The exam may
concentrate more on just covering four concepts than in exploring the book in
all of its complexities, connections between the concepts may not be entirely
clear, or sometimes the writers might contradict themselves. And sometimes the exam could use a few more
examples.
Example: Agency – this book
is a good example of agency, or being free to do what one wants. You can see this when the pigs walk around
freely in the book, such as page 6, or when they reverse the power that they
didn’t have before by returning and scaring the dragon. There are examples on page 10 and 14 of the
pigs walking in and out of stories, showing that the book encourages
exploration.
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"C" exams cover
four or more major concepts and apply them in basic ways. There isn’t really any interpretation of the
books, or any connection between the terms applied. Or they are quickly done, with only a few
examples (that aren’t very well explained) and a very general understanding of
the basic concepts. They make
assertions, but don’t prove or elaborate on those assertions.
Example: This book is child-centered
because all of the child characters are good.
Max does what he wants to (page 5) and has agency (page 7). [Note, no clear idea why doing what you want
to makes a book child-centered, or why the example on page 5, whatever it is,
shows doing what you want to, or if it
is an example of child-centeredness / Also, there are other characteristics of
child-centeredness than this ]
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"D" exams do not
address any issues from the course and instead draw on broad assumptions about
children that we have been challenging all semester.
Individual students will
receive an "F" if they fail to take the exam without a reasonable
excuse. Only documented emergencies will
be acceptable.