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Courtney Britt
ENGL 414 Childrens Literature
Dr. Burke
29 September 2015
1. Web Resources
Title: Reading Rockets
URL: http://www.readingrockets.org
Responsible Party: Washington Educational Television Association
Site Contents: This website contains a lot of great research on reading development in children.
It features expert advice in every aspect of reading from phonics to comprehension and
provides a good number of recommended book lists. There are also video interviews of authors
which would be especially cool for older-elementary school students. Additionally, they
provide a good number of free downloadable classroom resources like quotes, a literacy
calendar, and door hangers all on the topic of childrens literature. This is a great site because
regardless of how much you study education, there will still be some scenario that youre not
prepared for and more than likely that issue is touched on somewhere within this site.
Title: Teacher Treasure Hunter
URL: http://www.teachertreasurehunter.com/search/label/linky%20party
Responsible Party: Melissa, a 1st Grade Teacher
Site Contents: Although this site is the least literature focused on this list, it is an important
resource for being a teacher on a budget. Every dollar you spend here is another you cant
spend over there, so its important to save money however possible. The author of this blog
posts about sales and specials that are going on as well as providing ideas on ways to save
money in the classroom. There is a pretty wide variety of products some of which arent
directly related to literature, but there are a good number of books and reading resources
featured, too.
I think that this site is especially noteworthy to me because I never knew that something of this
type existed. Its really convenient to see various deals in one place rather than searching all
over the internet.
Title:Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators
URL: http://www.scbwi.org
Responsible Party: Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators
Site Contents: This website contains a lot of really great information on childrens literature
and the authors of it. Most of the information is geared towards the authors and illustrators like
material on industry publications, professional organizations, awards, and legal information.
However, some of this content can be useful for teachers, too, by using awarded books as a
jumping off point and staying in the loop with what is going on in the industry. My favorite

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feature is the Speakers Bureau where you can request an author or illustrator to come speak
to your class. I think it would be really neat to spend a short unit on a specific author/illustrator
and then have them come at the end. It would help to make it more memorable for the kids.
Unfortunately the major downside to this site is that many of the pages are only accessible to
paying members. However, there is still a remarkable amount of material available to the
public.
Title: Read Write Think
URL: http://www.readwritethink.org
Responsible Party: Read Write Think Organization
Site Contents: This website offers lesson plans, print-outs, and a list of recommended mobile
apps for use in the classroom. The lessons are designed to adhere to Common Core and other
national and state standards which is a great benefit to them. There is also a section for
professional development that includes strategy guides, conventions and conferences, a
profession library, and online courses and seminars. This is important not only for
recertification standards, but also to stay informed about new research on teaching children
reading and to stay inspired. I especially like how some of the content is divided by grade so
that you can navigate the site by level of ability.
Title: ProTeacher
URL: http://www.proteacher.net
Responsible Party: ProTeacher
Site Contents: ProTeacher is a community for teachers and substitute teachers that is free to
join or open to browsing a wide array of subjects. It is a website designed for teacher
discussion about school-related topics. There are a few main sections: beginning teacher and
professional development, teaching practices, seasonal ideas, classroom management, special
needs, technology in education, visual and performing arts, and course subjects. Within each
are discussion boards that teachers contribute to. This exemplifies the saying, Work smarter,
not harder, because it lets you learn from the mistakes of others. I also think this is great to see
what teachers in other school districts in other states are doing in their classrooms to get new
ideas and to feel a sort of camaraderie within the profession.
2. Non-web Resources
Multicultural American History Through Children's Literature
by Deborah Ellermeyer and Kay A. Chick, 145 pages
Published by Teacher Ideas Press in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2003
This text provides an overview of childrens literature featuring several picture books per
time period and subject matter. Its written for teachers, so it includes student activities. It also
recommends related reading material for students. It helps teachers understand American
childrens literature in a way that they can connect it to historical events. I think this would be
especially helpful in fifth grade when students are learning about early America.
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The Feminine Subject in Children's Literature by Christine Wilkie-Stibbs, 220 pages
Published by Routledge in New York, New York in 2013
I found this text to be particularly intriguing. While you wouldnt take information
directly from it and into an elementary school classroom, it provides a refreshing perspective
on childrens literature through the scope of feminism. It analyzes a variety of texts and
identifies patterns that exemplify the qualities and concerns of feminism. Its written at a pretty
high level, so some background in gender studies and/or psychology would be helpful.
Regardless, its an interesting take on childrens literature and could be really helpful to
teachers at all-girls schools. Perhaps they could make a unit about one of the topics that the
book covers.
International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, Second Edition
by Peter Hunt, 1416 pages
Published by Routledge in New York, New York in 2004
This Encyclopedia as most, wouldnt really be practical to sit and read through its
entirety, but it could provide helpful information on information for teaching literature. It
contains five sections including theory and critical approaches, forms and genres, contexts,
applications, and national and international, so its a comprehensive overview of childrens
literature. The contents seem to be geared towards teachers rather than being strictly
information about literature particularly in the applications section. It discusses issues like
selecting books for young readers, a practical approach to creative writing, and publishing for
special needs. This book would be a great resource for a school or local school system to
provide for their teachers.
3. Evaluating Website Credibility
Over the years I have learned some tips that help me to decipher whether a website is credible
or not. This information has been presented to me through classes, and I have gathered it from
experience of working on research papers and projects. Is important to use credible information
for accurate learning and quality research.
1) Look for bias. Websites that contain a bias toward one side or the
other are at a higher risk for including incorrect information, either for or against
their point, in hopes of persuading the reader. At best, biased websites will depict
no more than half of the information on a particular subject (i.e. only their side).
2) Use current material. Check to see when the website was last
updated. It is important to use only the latest information as it will be the most
accurate. Additionally websites that are updated frequently tend to have credible
information because the entity which is responsible for keeping up the website is
staying informed on the topic

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3) Use authoritative sources. Consider who is responsible for the
content. It is easy to create a website, so it is especially important to consult the
authorities on a given subject. In general website ending in .org, .edu, or .gov are
more reliable because of their greater level of authority. (This is also true because
of the first point. These websites tend to have less by and then a .com website
since they are not trying to sell you a product or make a profit. However, this is
not always true as some organizations exist to promote or criticize a specific
subject.)
4) Look for citations. Use websites that reference the original source
of information. Typically a website that isnt based on facts wont go to the effort
of making up fake citations. Plus, when a website offers the original source for its
information, you can then look at the original source to confirm that the
information is correct. This can also provide you with additional information on
the subject matter.
5) Finally, look for completeness. A trustworthy website has nothing
to hide, so locating the author, publisher, and time of last update should not be
difficult or impossible. If the website is exceedingly difficult to navigate or isnt
written using proper grammar, it increases the likelihood of the website being
faulty.