EDUC2201 Children's Literature, the EYLF and the Australian Curriculum

This topic seeks to explore how children's literature plays a role in the cognitive, social, emotional, language and literacy development of children. In considering the role of quality literature in supporting children's language and literacy development, students will examine a range of text types with a focus on their linguistic and structural features. Attention will also be given to eliciting readers' responses to literature. Students will consider children's learning and engagement with texts in spoken, written and multimodal form. Using a questioning stance, students will analyse texts and consider the literary devices employed by authors and illustrators to convey perspectives and meaning. Diversity within children's literature will be explored and reflected upon as to why this is relevant in contemporary Australia.

This topic aims to:

• Support students to critically analyse children's literature and consider its relevance for children in Australian early childhood and school settings
• Equip students to make decisions about meaningful texts to be used in teaching and learning with children
• Assist students to use a curriculum cycle for planning and programming with a focus on specific text types
• Connections will be made to the Early Years Learning Framework, Australian Curriculum and Numeracy Progressions

1. Critically analyse children’s literature and select texts for teaching and learning which are relevant to children in Australian early childhood and school settings
2. Use a curriculum cycle to demonstrate knowledge of what may be considered for children’s learning about specific text types and to elicit children’s responses to literature
3. Articulate the role of literature for teaching and learning and the storytelling tradition