From: Michele Regenold <michele.regenold_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:31:00 -0500

I'm using children's nonfiction picture books in two community college courses I teach.

In Written Communication, I'm asking students to choose a fairly recently published nonfiction picture book to analyze. The purpose of the assignment is to encourage students to look more closely at the choices writers and illustrators make and how effective those choices are in light of the author's and illustrator's purpose(s). Since the students are dealing with a relatively short book, they have more time to analyze, not just read, and since the book also relies on images, they have the opportunity to explore the interplay of text and image.

In Technical Reporting, it's fun to examine the visual design of picture books and take note of how many different elements of design work together to create an attractive and compelling whole.

My vocational students range in age from 18 to 50+ and are taking their required English courses. These are practical people, so I wasn't sure how they'd respond to these assignments. I was afraid that they might see them as babyish. But so far, they've been more intrigued than anything. As to whether they'll write interesting analyses, I'll know in a few weeks.

Michele Regenold English Instructor Nicolet Area Technical College Rhinelander, WI
Received on Mon 11 Oct 2010 11:31:00 AM CDT