abstract: The pace of technological development and the integral role technologies play in the lives of today's youth continue to transform perceptions and definitions of literacy. Just as the growth in completely online texts and the use of audio books and e-readers expands the definition of reading, digital platforms like blogs expand the notion of literary response and analysis. Responding to the complexities of literacy, this study examines the ways in which the literacy practice of blogging about young adult literature might elicit the active, intellectual orientation, or habits of mind, often sought in adolescent literacy development. Employing Gardner's Five Minds theory as an analysis tool and what Erickson calls "key linkages" as a framework, blog transcripts were read and coded. Those coded literacy acts were then linked to reveal any evidence of the creating, respectful, ethical, disciplined, and synthesizing habits of mind. From these overlays, empirical data tables emerged, accompanied by integrated case study narratives. Empirical data illustrate the aspects of the cases, and exposition provides a feature analysis of the habits of mind observed during blogging as a form of literary response to young adult literature. Results of this study suggest that bloggers writing about young adult books in a weblog environment reveal 1) some proficiency at synthesizing material, 2) a tendency to evaluate, 3) only moderate demonstration of the disciplined and respectful/ethical habits, 4) minimal evidence of the creating mind, and 5) moderate proficiency in basic transactional writing. Aligning with previous research, Talking with Our Fingertips illuminates possibilities for adopting pedagogical principles that provide student agency and potentially increase motivation and productivity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

This quasi-experimental study (N = 139) measured the effect of a reader response based instructional unit of the novel Speak on adolescents’ rape myth acceptance. Participants were eighth grade language arts students at a Title I middle school in a major metropolitan school district. Seven classes were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 4) or control (n = 3) condition. Two teachers participated in the study and both taught both treatment and control classes. The study lasted a period of five weeks. Participants were pretested using the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Burt, 1980) and a researcher created scale, the Adolescent Date Rape Scale (ADRMS). Analysis of pretests showed the ADRMS to be a reliable and valid measure of rape myth acceptance in adolescents. Factor analysis revealed it to have two major components: “She Wanted It” and “She Lied.” Pretests supported previous studies which found girls to have significantly lower initial levels of rape myth acceptance than boys (p < .001). A 2 (group) x 2 (instructor) x 2 (sex) ANCOVA using ADRMS pretest as a covariate and ADRMS posttest as a dependent variable found that treatment was effective in reducing rape myth acceptance (p < .001, ή2 = .15). Boys with high rape myth acceptance as demonstrated by pretest scores of 1 standard deviation above the mean on ADRMS did not have a backlash to treatment. Extended analysis revealed that participants had significantly lower scores posttest on Factor 1, “She Wanted It” (p < .001, ή2 = .27), while scores on Factor 2, “She Lied” were not significantly lower (p = .07). This may be because the content of the novel primarily deals with issues questioning whether the main characters assault was a rape rather than a false accusation. Attrition rates were low (N = 15) and attrition analysis showed that drop outs did not significantly alter the treatment or control groups. Implications for reader response instruction of young adult literature, for research on rape myth acceptance in secondary schools, and for statistical analysis of effect size using pretests as filters are discussed.

Sixteen-year-old Drea Grimm’s mother walked out of their family home at midnight seven years ago. All she left behind were notebooks full of made up stories and a family that Drea, being the oldest, was now in charge of. One day, Drea finds a mysterious letter with her name on it written in her mother’s handwriting and everything she thought was true is destroyed. With the help of her partner on a school project, Ian, Drea uses her mom’s stories and clues from her last moments to heal her family and maybe bring her mother home. But there is someone who wants Drea and they will do anything to draw her closer to the truth, and in turn, closer to supernatural danger.

Many local and national teaching associations and teacher preparation programs have called for the integration of LGBTQ+ Young Adult literature in the secondary English language arts classroom. However, in practice, classroom teachers continue to rely on classic, canonical works which often represent a white, cisgender male, heterosexual point of view. In choosing these canonical texts, the identities and experiences of the spectrum of LGBTQ+ students are excluded. The effects of this exclusion are harmful to both LGBTQ+ students and their peers. The purpose of this thesis is twofold: 1) explore how LGBTQ+ YA literature is currently being used in secondary English Language Arts classrooms and 2) provide a list of exemplary LGBTQ+ texts that teachers can integrate into their curriculum. In exploring these topics, I discuss various teacher hesitations in using LGBTQ+ texts in their classroom as well as successful ways teachers are currently integrating these texts into their curriculum. At the conclusion, I provide recommendations for novel selections and classroom appropriacy.

Children’s literature might be considered the “holy well” providing healing refreshment and a direct path forward for the soul of every child: a troubled youngster, a young person experiencing a life trial, or a student seeking enlightenment. Whether folklore depicting animals congregating at the water hole at their time of need, learning to share and care; or realistic fiction presenting varying “time of drought” scenarios, and the resolution or healing necessary thereto; or even non-fiction revealing humanity’s dependence on clean water, and the knowledge necessary to help budding scientists, one-day, protect water sheds, these literary genres sustain children during their formative years and beyond. Without these literary selections, children founder and do not appropriately climb developmental ladders, in fact regress into unhealthy social, emotional or intellectual states of mind. This paper contemplates three categories of children’s literature carrying the theme of spiritual development /healing and/or intellectual enlightenment: folklore, realistic fiction, and non-fiction. Books carrying themes, images, and symbols associated with the healing and life-sustaining qualities of water will especially be highlighted within these categories to reveal how each title selected for interpretation either: 1) quenches a child’s thirst for the internationalization of a life lesson or moral; 2) provides a means of resolving a problem or healing a wound; or 3) delivers knowledge necessary to the perpetuation of safe drinking water on our planet. Titles selected for examination based in this theory of sustainability, this allusion to the Irish concept of a “holy well,” will be analyzed with regard to their ability to assist children on spiritual and intellectual levels, in a lasting, long-term fashion, providing wisdom, healing, and learning for the well-being of past, present, and future generations.

Tamora Pierce’s work has been cited by many Young Adult fantasy authors as a major influence in recent years. Despite this, her work remains relatively obscure among librarians and readers of Young Adult literature. This paper examined one of Pierce’s Young Adult fantasy series, Protector of the Small, by comparing the series to existing works of Young Adult fantasy literature commonly accepted as classic or canonical literature. Among the comparative works were titles authored by J. R. R Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, and Philip Pullman. Comparison was character-focused, with emphasis on the representation of parents, other sympathetic adults, peers, and family units. Some comparison was also focused on the representation of antagonists in the selected works. The aim of the comparative analysis was to serve as a guide for librarians, teachers, and readers of Young Adult literature to better understand potential target audiences for the Protector of the Small quartet. It was found that target audiences for the series would likely seek or benefit from the Protector of the Small quartet’s inclusion of supportive parental and mentor figures, strong familial bonds, and supportive and communicative peers. Target audiences would also seek literature with nuanced antagonists capable of character growth. Most prominently, target audiences would seek Young Adult fantasy literature that addresses real-world issues and challenges for young women, including sexism, puberty, and reproductive healthcare.

Thesis advisor: Susan Roberts / The young adult fiction classification features a number of novels that center on the experience of chronic illness in children. This thesis examines the subgenre known as “sick-lit” and its use of illness and gender as themes. Through this study, a repetitive narrative of a beautiful teenage girl falling ill becomes clear. When examined in context, this trope can be traced through several of the most popular “sick-lit” publications. This project is comprised of four chapters, each of which focuses on a specific work, series, or author: Little Women, The Baby-Sitters Club, Lurlene McDaniel, and The Fault in Our Stars. Fleet argues that the representation of these characters is a complex narrative that does not align with the lived experience of chronically ill girlhood while still containing a degree of truth. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: English.

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Values and ethics taught through children's literature can be effective in helping develop good character in students. Actively involving children in learning through art forms helps increase meaning and understanding. Art forms such as creative dramatization, pantomime, creative interpretation, role playing, and reader's theater are concrete learning strategies that extend children's literature. With these hands-on strategies, the outcome is that children will remember the values learned through children's literature and apply them in their own life. This study is designed to select children's literature for teaching ethics and values through use of art forms. The purpose is to answer the following questions: 1. Which children's literature can be used to teach ethics and values? 2. Of that literature (selected for #1), which children's literature can be used to teach ethics and values through use of art forms? The methodologies used are a literature review of relevant research articles and an analysis of children's literature for elementary grade levels (k-6) related to this topic. In the studies reviewed, researchers examine ethics and values in children's literature and the use of art forms. First, books are selected that meet criteria for quality children's literature; then, criteria for ethics and values; finally, criteria for art forms. From the data and children's literature reviewed, specific examples of children's literature, with listed values and suggested art forms, are categorized by genre and presented as a selection of children's literature for teaching values and ethics through use of art forms.

Schools have changed dramatically in the last two decades with the advancements that have been made in technology. One of teachers' main concerns is the appropriate selection of software for classroom use (Hall and Martin, 1999). In our technology driven world, it is essential for future educators to learn all they can about technology. Teachers use software as a supplement or enrichment for curriculum taught in the classroom. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate software for its most effective use in the classroom. There are many different software applications on the market, and it is crucial that teachers know how to provide input when selecting these for their classrooms. T. Oppenheimer (1997) suggests, based on a 1996 poll taken by U.S. teachers, that computer skills and media technology is more essential than the study of European History, biology, chemistry, and physics. This study was designed to create a checklist for teachers to use when evaluating software specifically used in a balanced literacy program. The purpose is to answer the following questions: 1. Can an instrument be developed for the evaluation of software to be used in a balanced literacy program? 2. What are the results of applying such an instrument to selected software? This paper reviews literature related to software evaluation and observation of software used in elementary classrooms. The checklist is comprised of scoring systems of various related checklists and rubrics that deal with evaluating software, and there are a few original questions based on relevant information about children's learning, literacy in the classroom and technology in the classroom. The software was selected due to my previous observations and seminars attended that related to software usage in the classrooms.