Essentials of Children's Literature, 9th Edition Test Bank

CHAPTER 2 LEARNING ABOUT CHILDREN AND LITERATURE Multiple Choice. Select the best answer. 1. Books that feature clearly defined objects and bright colors on a plain background are designed for A. babies and young children age 0 to 2. B. children ages 2–4. C. children ages 4–7. D. children ages 7–9. 2. A picture storybook with a simple plot about daily routines and familiar objects is designed for the child A. age 0–2. B. age 2–4. C. age 4–7. D. age 7–9. 3. Complicated plots, flashbacks, and symbols are suitable in novels for children aged A. 4–7. B. 7–9. C. 9–14. D. none of the above 4. Books for babies A. are wordless. B. promote oral language development by “talking the book through.” C. should contain simple, rhyming words. D. are for infants to enjoy alone. E. require no reading. 5. Easy-to-read books (mark ALL that apply) A. have illustrations that give clues to word meanings. B. use words familiar to the reader. C. include word patterns. D. never vary widely in level of reading difficulty. E. are often published in a series. 6. It is especially important that books selected for beginning readers A. are slightly above the student’s reading level, so as to increase their reading ability. B. have less than 100 words so as not to intimidate them. C. match the reader’s interests and reading ability, so as not to bore or dishearten them. D. be picturebooks that the teacher has read aloud to them previously. E. be written in verse so as to increase the predictability of the text. 7. When choosing books for children, adults need to keep in mind all of the following EXCEPT A. the publisher of the book. B. the level of difficulty of the book. C. the quality of the literature. D. the students’ reading and listening levels. 8. Studies on general reading preferences have found that A. wide differences exist between the preferences of boys and girls under age nine. B. the greatest differences in reading preferences of boys and girls occur between ages 10 and 13. C. girls in middle grades prefer action and adventure stories. D. children least prefer mysteries. 9. Readability formulas A. are based on the average number of sentences and average number of syllables in randomly selected, 100-word passages of a text. B. estimate the grade or age at which an average student should be able to read a text with comprehension. C. are quite consistent and precise in determining a text’s reading level. D. attempt to factor in a student’s background knowledge and reading interests. 10. In selecting books for children, readability refers to A. how long the words are in the book. B. how difficult the vocabulary and sentence structures are in the book. C. the overall length of the book and the length of chapters. D. the size of the print and the amount of text per page. 11. In selecting books for children, conceptual difficulty refers to A. how long the words are in the book. B. how difficult the vocabulary and sentence structures are in the book. C. the overall length of the book and of the chapters. D. the complexity and presentation of ideas treated in the book. 12. Evaluating the text complexity of books for children involves all of the following EXCEPT A. considering the experiences that the reader brings to the text. B. examining the structure of the text and the knowledge demands for a reader. C. creating an interest inventory for readers. D. using a formula to determine the readability of that text. 13. All of the following characteristics of books matter to young readers and should be considered by adults when selecting books for children, EXCEPT A. short books and books with short chapters. B. stories with characters the age of the intended reader or slightly older. C. picturebooks and novels with illustrations interspersed throughout the book. D. stories with many interesting main characters. 14. One of the main reasons for establishing children’s book awards is A. to honor the most popular children’s authors and illustrators. B. to attract more writers to the field of children’s literature. C. to honor the pioneers in the field of children’s literature. D. to elevate the standards in writing and illustration for children. 15. The U.S. children’s book award for the most outstanding illustrations published in the previous year, and its British equivalent, are the A. Newbery Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. B. Caldecott Award and the Carnegie Award. C. Caldecott Award and the Kate Greenaway Award. D. Kate Greenaway Award and the Governor General’s Award. Matching 1. Match each item on the left with the best descriptor on the right. _____ Pura Belpré Award A. U.S. award for best picturebook published in preceding year and given to the illustrator _____ Carnegie Medal B. Canadian award given to an author and illustrator of the best books for children published in the previous year _____ Governor General’s Award C. U.S. award given to Latino writers and illustrators for literature celebrating the Latino cultural experience _____ Caldecott Medal D. British award for best book published in preceding year and given to the author E. U.S. award for a translated book, given to the publisher 2. Match each item on the left with the best descriptor on the right. _____ Newbery Medal A. British award for best picturebook published in preceding year and given to the illustrator _____ Kate Greenaway Medal B. U.S. award for best book published in the preceding year and given to the author _____ Coretta Scott King Awards C. Canadian award for best picturebook published in the preceding year and given to the illustrator _____ Sibert Award D. U.S. award for the most distinguished informational book published in the previous year E. U.S. award for outstanding books by African American authors and illustrators published in the previous year Fill-in-the-blank. 1. A reading ________________________________ is a stated or implied choice between several reading options. 2. A reading _________________________________ comes from within oneself and implies freedom of choice in reading materials. 3. _____________________________________ is an estimate of a text’s difficulty based on its vocabulary and sentence structure. 4. __________________________________________refers to the complexity of ideas in a text and how those ideas are presented. 5. The Common Core State Standards put an emphasis on increasing levels of __________________________. 6. Two resources for locating the best in new children’s books are _________________ and ___________________. 7. The main British award for the best writing in children’s literature is ______________________________________________________________________. 8. The British award for the best picturebook of the preceding year is ______________________________________________________________________. 9. The Canadian award for the best book for children in the previous year is ____________________________________________________________. 10. . The U.S. award for the most outstanding contribution for a children’s book by an African-American author/illustrator in the preceding year is ______________________________________________________________________. Short answer. 1. List three ways that you can learn to evaluate children’s books and improve your judgment of the merits of books. 2. List five ways to achieve balance and variety in literature chosen for children. 3. Name five reliable, widely available sources available to adults for good book titles. 4. List two journals for excellent reviews of children’s books 5. List five characteristics of books that are likely to appeal to children today. 6. Explain the differences in the procedures used to collect data in a reading preference, a reading interest, and a reading choice study. 7. Explain the difference between the readability and the conceptual difficulty of a text. 8. List four ways an adult can discover individual children’s reading interests. Essay. 1. List and discuss the five groups of students who may be resistant readers. Then suggest instructional practices to address some of these concerns. 2. Select one of the following age ranges and describe literature that, according to your textbook, would be appropriate generally for children within that age range: 0–2, 2–4, 4– 7, 7–9, 9–12. 3. Describe the three dimensions used to determine text complexity by the Common Core State Standards. 4. Discuss the pros and cons of readability formulas and discuss the types of books for which these formulas are often inaccurate. Invitations for Further Investigation 1. Conduct a reading interest inventory with a group of students. Analyze your findings and suggest appropriate titles to children for independent reading from books available in the school or library. 2. Observe and document the reading habits and literary selections of three children over a period of several weeks. Select one avid reader, one typical reader, and one resistant reader for your observations. 3. Create a list of favorite books that you remember reading as a child and use a database to look up the Lexile ratings for those texts. Consider the quantitative ratings for these books and how they match with when you actually read them as a child. What factors in your own characteristics as a reader influenced your ability to read and understand these books? 4. Explore a book review journal or website that interests you and provide a description of the resources and services available on that site for class members. 5. Locate your state’s children’s choices book award and read some of the current nominees or recent winners of the award. Evaluate their student appeal, literary quality, complexity, curricular value, and illustration quality. Content of questions for Chapter 2 is referred to on the following pages of Essentials of Children’s Literature, Ninth Edition: Multiple Choice 1. p. 12 2. p. 12 3. p. 13 4. p. 12 5. p. 13 6. p. 13 7. p. 13 8. pp. 13-14 9. pp. 15-16 10. p. 15 11. p. 15 12. pp. 15-16 13. pp. 13-14 14. p, 17 15. p. 18 Matching 1. p. 18 2. p. 18 Fill-in-the-blank. 1. p. 13 2. p. 13 3. p. `5 4. p. 15 5. pp. 15-16 6. pp. 17-19 7. p. 18 8. p. 18 9. p. 18 10. p. 18 Short answer. 1. pp. 12-16 2. pp. 16-17 3. pp. 18-19 4. pp. 18-19 5. pp. 13-14 6. p. 13 7. p. 15 8. p. 14-15 Essay. 1. pp. 19-20 2. pp. 12-13 3. pp. 15-16 4. pp. 15-16