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PICTURING THE PAST: HISTORICAL PICTUREBOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND HISTORY EDUCATION

Module code: EDF342
Credits: 2.5
Semester: 1 and 2
Department: FROEBEL EDUCATION
International:
Coordinator: Dr Patricia Kennon (FROEBEL EDUCATION)

	Overview
	The use of story in History Education is a central medium for facilitating the shift from the passive consumption of didactic historical information created by others and mediated via the classroom textbook to the active construction of historical knowledge by child historians. Historical picturebooks with their multimodal narrative processes and development of visual literacy skills can stimulate children�s understanding of the relationship between continuity, conflict and change and facilitate explorations of different ways of knowing. Historical picturebooks afford a rich opportunity for challenging student teachers to examine historical narratives and to generate high-quality resources for their own practice which promote links between play, active learning, research skills, metacognition, game design, History Education and children�s literature studies. Over the course of the module a range of historical picturebooks for children and young adults will be explored from a range of theoretical perspectives to explore historical concepts, attitudes and skills and the potential of children�s literature as a socio-cultural, reflective and pedagogical platform for historical thinking, discussion and imaginative reconstructions and representations of the past. The module will will focus on narrative techniques, didactic elements of stories for young people, power relations between children and adults, and the potential of historical children�s literature for developing empathy, respect for diversity and intercultural connections. Students will investigate the historical potential and narrative strategies used in genres such as mythology, biography, autobiography, historical non-fiction, wordless historical picturebooks. Regarding assessment, students will work design and create a board games inspired by different historical picturebooks and informed by relevant History Education concepts, skills and attitudes, and then present and peer teach this board game to the class. The game-based and interdisciplinary assignment facilitates cross-curricular integration, research skills, creativity, peer teaching and learning, and enquiry through the stimulus of creating historical visual narratives for young people.

Overview

The use of story in History Education is a central medium for facilitating the shift from the passive consumption of didactic historical information created by others and mediated via the classroom textbook to the active construction of historical knowledge by child historians. Historical picturebooks with their multimodal narrative processes and development of visual literacy skills can stimulate children�s understanding of the relationship between continuity, conflict and change and facilitate explorations of different ways of knowing. Historical picturebooks afford a rich opportunity for challenging student teachers to examine historical narratives and to generate high-quality resources for their own practice which promote links between play, active learning, research skills, metacognition, game design, History Education and children�s literature studies.
Over the course of the module a range of historical picturebooks for children and young adults will be explored from a range of theoretical perspectives to explore historical concepts, attitudes and skills and the potential of children�s literature as a socio-cultural, reflective and pedagogical platform for historical thinking, discussion and imaginative reconstructions and representations of the past. The module will will focus on narrative techniques, didactic elements of stories for young people, power relations between children and adults, and the potential of historical children�s literature for developing empathy, respect for diversity and intercultural connections. Students will investigate the historical potential and narrative strategies used in genres such as mythology, biography, autobiography, historical non-fiction, wordless historical picturebooks.
Regarding assessment, students will work design and create a board games inspired by different historical picturebooks and informed by relevant History Education concepts, skills and attitudes, and then present and peer teach this board game to the class. The game-based and interdisciplinary assignment facilitates cross-curricular integration, research skills, creativity, peer teaching and learning, and enquiry through the stimulus of creating historical visual narratives for young people.

	Learning Outcomes
	On successful completion of the module, students should be able to: Demonstrate a familiarity with, and an effective application of, relevant literary techniques and History Education curriculum, concepts and skills to the critical study of picturebooks for young audiences Increase their sensitivity to, and critical analysis of, the ideological, ethical, literary and socio-cultural dimensions of/around historical literature for children and young adults Enhance their practical skills in effectively participating in collaborative critical analysis Conceptualise, design, structure, and present effective sessions of peer teaching Independently select, use and critically evaluate historical picturebooks, suitable for different levels of discussion and readership Reflect on how the skills, concepts and attitudes in studying historical picturebooks can support young people�s historical thinking, enquiry and learning

Learning Outcomes

Teaching & Learning methods

Assessment

Module Graded (numeric value) or Ungraded (Pass/Not Passed): Graded
Continuous Assessment detail(s): Assignment. Students must design, create and make a class peer-teaching presentation about their boardgame according to the specified criteria in order to pass this module. Students have to select and design a suitable format of game (e.g. Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders), set of rules and game materials (e.g. playing cards, multiple-choice questions, currency, spinners, character pieces) inspired by their book�s time period, characters, themes, illustration style, genre conventions and motifs. Each game must successfully visually and verbally represent the world of the story and address the following criteria: identity three literary techniques used in the book (e.g. flashbacks, narrative voice, symbolism, intertextuality) and creatively incorporate these into the game design; include at least two problems or challenges during the game which link with the book�s plot; and incorporate at least two opportunities for independent research by the players regarding the story�s particular time period, autobiographical information about characters, socio-cultural setting etc. Students then present and peer-teach their game to the class while contextualising the design and content of their game within relevant History Education concepts, attitudes and skills.

Assessment type	Options	Weighting
Continuous Assessment		100%
University scheduled written examination	No	0%
Other		0%
Total		100%

Pass standard: 40%
Could the result of this module be capped? No
Satisfactory attendance is a requirement of this module

	Autumn Supplementals/Resits
	Are supplemental/resit registrations permitted? Yes The supplemental comprises the design and creation of a historical boardgame inspired by a historical picturebook, and a short reflective essay. Is Supplemental Continuous Assessment registration permitted? No Is Supplemental Continuous Assessment capped? No

	Additional Reading
	Required: Burke, Fatti and John (2016) Historopedia. Gill Books. Cole, Henry (2012) Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. New York: Scholastic. Crew, Gary and Shaun Tan (2007) Memorial. Hodder Children’s Books. Innocenti, Roberto and Ian McEwan (1985) Rose Blanche. Creative. Wheatley, Nadia and Donna Rawlins (1994) My Place. Walker Books. Williams, Marcia (2007) Archie’s War: My Scrapbook of the first World War 1914-1918. Yolen, Jane and David Shannon (1996) Encounter. Voyage Books. Recommended: Butler, Catherine and Hallie O’Donovan (2012) Reading History in Children’s Books. Palgrave Macmillan. Bradford, Clare (2007) Unsettling Narratives: Postcolonial Readings of Children’s Literature. Wilifred Laurier University Press. Kokkola, Lydia (2009) Representing the Holocaust in Children’s Literature. Routledge. Streamas, John (2008) “Narrative Politics in Historical Fictions for Children” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 10:1-7. Youngs, Suzette (2012) “Understanding History through the Visual Images in Historical Fiction” Language Arts 89(6): 379-395.

Additional Reading

	Timetable
	This timetable is not currently available, please contact the Froebel Education Department.

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PICTURING THE PAST: HISTORICAL PICTUREBOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND HISTORY EDUCATION