Teaching with Science Fiction: Social Studies and Dickson's Space Winners

3 Post Sections:
Initial problem; book review; teaching with science fiction.

In her book review Rozalyn Mansfield has said that Space Winners "...would be a great book to use in school classes."

She went on to suggest how it could be used in social studies classes.

Rozalyn Mansfield's Teaching Suggestions
for Space Winners by Gordon R. Dickson

Space Winners can be used to relate to many aspects of history and civilization: the interaction of the Europeans with the native cultures in America beginning with Columbus, for example.

It would be wonderful to have a complete study guide for the book with questions and answers, related projects, etc.

Also, the "Lilo and Stitch" tie-in could be used with Space Winners to hook kids.

Others agree with the usefulness of science fiction in teaching social studies. Jan Finder, author and organizer of SF cons, has said,

"SF is an excellent resource for discussing subjects that are not easily
discussed in the here and now.

"The social sciences & humanities often overlook it as a valuable resource."

Related articles on using science fiction as metaphors for teaching social concepts has been written by Valerie both here and in my personal blog. Others have written similar ideas in the RFF Reflections series "Teaching with Science Fiction." In addition to the richness of concept examples in science fiction, the books should motivate students to read and learn.

Suggestions for Writers and Publishers

Rozalyn made suggestions specifically for Space Winners.

• Develop and publish a study guide with questions and projects for the novel.
• Reprint the book for students that includes the "Lilo and Stitch" stories for motivation and comparison.
• Use a book cover with the young characters and Peep a their pet.
• Describe the book in ways that would intrigue fans of "Lilo and stitch."

Teachers have made note of what they would like to see in classroom texts. Both Rozalyn and I have made such suggestions.

Says Rozalyn,

"I know a lot of people in RFF are doing a lot of good things with study guides and bibliographies. I've even seen there are beginning to be more published study guides on SF books, such as one I saw in an educational supply store on Lois Lowry's The Giver. So teachers are getting more and more receptive to study guides on SF.

"Also, the "Lilo and Stitch" tie-in could be used in a new YA edition of Space Winners to hook kids--do a new cover featuring the kids in the book with Peep as their "pet" and also have a cover statement that would describe Peep in a way that would intrigue "Lilo and Stitch" fans. Once they read and like Space Winners, there's a good chance they'd go on to read a lot more Gordon Dickson books, and other SF as well."

AboutSF lists study guides for many SF novels and stories.

I once wrote on Lee and Miller's Live Journal forum that I would like publishers to remove questionable sections from specific books and then publish the revised editions as YA. This would take care of the overt sex, extreme violence and unacceptable profanity that prevents teachers from recommending some of the more exciting stories of the SF genre.

My thoughts were to create an anthology of excerpts, novelettes, and short stories that could be published along with a study guide. Lo and behold, Julie Czerneda has been doing this for years with several co-editors and lesson writers.

RFF, Inc., and AboutSF are collaborating on a day-long workshop at WorldCon's Roadshow this August. Lessons and book lists will be presented for an audience that will include fans, parents, teachers and librarians. Yep, once again the team has met the Call for Papers requirements.

As Rozalyn Mansfield says, "It would be great to work out ways to get kids reading
this book." And, I must add, many other books of the genre, too.

~Valerie

Book Review: Space Winners by Gordon R. Dickson

3 Post Sections:
Initial problem; book review; teaching with science fiction.

Pardon the [editing]. This book review was part of a message that included the original problem. To separate the parts, I had to be heavy-handed with the editing.~valerie

Rozalyn Mansfield Reviews Space Winners

Peep,[the small furry pet of Space Winners] only superficially resembles Stitch [of Disney's "Lilo and Stitch"]. Although the description [previous post][of a furry pet] was accurate, there is quite a bit of difference between the characters. However, there is enough similarity to hook kids into reading the book.

Our daughter is reading it now and really enjoying it.

It's an excellent, thought-provoking book with one of the best defenses ever for the idea of the "Prime Directive." It shows a very interesting interaction between highly advanced and more primitive cultures; and also has extremely intriguing interactions between the characters, especially the kids in it who are chosen by extraterrestrials to be "space winners". The kids have differing viewpoints about interaction with aliens and how beings with higher levels of technology and knowledge should treat other less-advanced beings they know about.

There are a number of used copies available through Amazon and other sources, but unfortunately the book is presently out of print. If anyone out there has ideas about ways to get it re-printed, it would be a great book to use in school classes....

Rozalyn went on to make a few teaching suggestions. These are in a post in the series Teaching with Science Fiction.

As to getting copies of the book in the future, maybe someone will place it on Project Gutenberg or the owner of Dickson's estate will republish the story, maybe as an ebook. ~Valerie

What SF Story for YA is This?

3 Post Sections:
Initial problem; book review; teaching with science fiction.

Does this Story Sound Familiar?

Rozalyn Mansfield of Seeds of Discovery presented RFF with this problem that she got from a student.

"What science fiction story is about a small bad-tempered furry alien, who has super-strength, near-invulnerablility, and a super-dense molecular structure which makes it impossible for him to swim and which therefore makes him have a great dislike for water, and who has to disguise himself as a young person's pet in order to fit in on a lower technology planet?"

Answer, anyone? Choose one.

• Lilo and Stitch
• E.T.
  
• Space Winners
• Star Wars

Did you Choose Right?

Rozalyn offered this answer to her question.

"Actually the story is not "Lilo and Stitch," we found out, although "Lilo and Stitch" is one of our daughter's favorite movies-- "Lilo and Stitch" fits, but this is another, earlier story. The student gave us a copy to read; it's Space Winners by Gordon R. Dickson, which features a delightful alien being called Peep, who has the characteristics described."

Find out More

Read Rozalyn's book review of Space Winners Rozalyn Mansfield is the co-author of The Great Unicycle Race

To Share or Not to Share; How does one Decide what Books to Recommend to Youth? Part 2

The Birth of Human Intelligence, an image by ©AlienCat - Fotolia.com.

This image may only be used with permission of Fotolia.com. It is used here by Valerie Coskrey, who purchased a license for its use.

Some RFFers' Thoughts on Favorite Books

Have you read Part 1?

Mary, a teacher, wrote,

"I found that as a kid -- 4th grade and up -- I was generally drawn to "classic" authors with minimal gore and/or sexual content. I tend to recommend books like that to kids as well."

To which Alberto responded,

My 11-year-old is very interested in History and Greek Mythology; I can't think of any science fiction that has _more_ gore and sexual content than History and Greek Mythology.

Again, Mary responded, "Point well taken! (Of course, our school doesn't teach Greek and Roman Mythology either.)"

Librarian Sandy Moltz added these criteria,

"I think you have to take a number of factors into consideration when recommending an adult science fiction book. Difficulty of the language, length of the book can be reasons I wouldn't recommend an adult book. For example, I love Neal Stephenson but think that Cryptonomican is too long for a lot of kids.

"Also, many kids who read above their age level aren't ready emotionally for all adult books. I'm lucky enough to be in a small library where I usually get to talk to the kids and have a sense of what works for them. For example, a very smart 5th grader may not be ready for a book that has a violent rape scene (I don't have a specific title in mind, this is just a hypothetical example).

"I often recommend Brightness Reef, Blood Music, and The Man in the High Castle. For some, I'll suggest Snow Crash, William Gibson, China Mieville, and Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch.

Dave chimed in with books he asked Sandy to consider.

"What about David Gerrald's The Man Who Folded Himself or Bruce Coville's Skull of Truth or Orson Scott Card's Enderverse?

"Dave Farland aka Dave Wolferton wrote On My Way To Paradise (c) 1987 Bridge Publications, Inc He expanded it into a novel. I have given copies through RFF Utah. Dave does not see it as YA.

"The Man Who Folded Himself is very adult in subject matter. RFFUtah sent it to a Junior High School teacher in Davis CA for the club library.

"School of Truth is that when the skull from Hamlet is in the room you can only tell the truth. The younger brother tells the family he is gay. The family says so, we have known that for years.

"Scott aka Noam D. PLUME, Byron WALLEY, Dinah KIRKHAM wrote plays and edited/wrote LDS magazines. He invented the game when he was 17. Ben Bova, Analog editor, said he would never buy a it-is-a-computer-game story. Changed his mind. Ender's Game was nominated for a Hugo and lost. Scott had a book contract to write Speaker for the Dead but expanded Ender to a book. Both books won Hugos and Nebullas. The Ender books according to Scott are grades 7, 8 and 9. The Bean cycle (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon and Shadow Puppets) I used the original Ender at 2001 MilPhil and after 9/11 in an alternate high school. The students wrote about the ethics of training young children to kill. This Rustycon a woman said she would never recommend the Enderverse to kids. TOR sends boxes of Ender to inner city schools."

Tentative Conclusions

In our search for criteria to use in recommending an adult to a YA audience, we have conflicting values to reconcile. Some, including me, see no problem with youth reading about controversial subjects, alternative life styles, a bit of violence, and limited sexual content. I notice that so far there has been no mention of profanity. So many science fiction authors use little to none profanity in their books that some might consider this a non-issue.

So far we have these 5 questions to ask about a book.

• Does the young adult have the reading skills for the reading level and length of the book?
  
• Is the book one with enough action to interest a young reader?
  
• Is the violence, sexual content and profanity handled in such a way that one would not mind one's grandmother reading the book? (RE: Part 1)
  
• Is the young reader emotionally mature enough to handle the subject matter?
  
• Do I know this young reader well enough to push the limits?
  

Although many science fiction books are written for an adult autdience, there are some that are highly instrutive, just plain fun, or both that young adults, grades middle school through high school, would enjoy. After all, the bottom line for promoting literacy is to foster the enjoyment of reading.

There is more to come. Look for Part 3 at a later date.

~Valerie

Book Review: Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn

Lynda Williams of Okal Rel Universe fame has written this book review.

Lynda Williams Reviews Summer at Castle Auburn

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn is a charming tale of disillusionment and romance set in a classical fantasy setting with some unique touches.

I picked it up second hand for the sake of the endorsements from Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn, and I wasn't disappointed.

Image used with permission.

It's a gentle story, although the protagonist has to live through discovering the ugliness behind her rosy childhood vision of the courtly relatives. I enjoyed the fey species called the aliora, prized as slaves for their unfailing kindness even in captivity, and the many well integrated subplots.

Like many strong-minded heroines in medieval fantasies, the heroine Corie gets away with more than might be historically justified, but not so much that her choices are easy ones. Corie's training in the healing arts of her grandmother, a village wise woman, makes her independence more believable.

A manageable read for young lovers of romantic fantasy and entertaining for adults, also.

by Lynda Williams
Author Okal Rel Universe

More About Sharon Shinn

Sharon Shinn's website lists this book in the novels section where it is described as, "Named to the ALA list of Best Books for Young Adults."

Sharon Shinn writes fantasy for adults and young adults alike. On her website she lists 5 novels and 1 short story written specifically for young adults. Among these, 3 deserve special mention.

• The Safe-Keeper's Secret, first published in 2004, "was named to the ALA list of Best Books for Young Adults."
• The Truth Teller’s Tale was "named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age and made it onto the 2006 Bank Street Children’s Book List."
• The short story "Wintermoon Wish" was published in the young adult anthology Firebirds Rising 

I enjoyed exploring Sharon Shinn's beautiful website and reading the extremely interesting descriptions of her books. Who knows, maybe I will begin to read more fantasy, a feat that I currently do on a limited basis as I am such a die-hard hard SF fan. Am I mellowing as I age? Of course, I have always loved a good romance novel!

Thanks, Lynda, for this introduction to another spec fiction author.

~Valerie

Comments from a Concerned Librarian

Help stamp out media piracy.

I recently received this email from a librarian who understands that it takes the personal action of those who care to stop the rampant media piracy that is supported by several online sites. Want to assist in protecting the copyrights of our nation's writers and artists? Here's a few suggestions on how.

The Concerned Librarian writes:

I am a librarian turned computer teacher. One of my passions is to answer questions on Yahoo Answers. I just made over 400,000 points for helping others.

I have gotten increasingly upset by requests for pirated books. I saw all the postings for Stephenie Meyer books and I checked them out. I could not believe how many kids were scanning her books and posting them on file sharing sites for others to read. Not just in English; but in Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Croatian.

I saw the viral process when her fourth book came out. Twenty-four hours before the books came out in stores, there were copies online. And there were copies of the 12 chapters that Stephenie Meyer gave to the director and Rob Patterson to help with the Edward character in the movie.

The worst sites are Scribd.com and 4shared.com but wattpad.com and others are guilty too. For the past two years, I have been writing down the file names and sending a letter to abuse@   and cc the author and publisher. I have removed thousands of files. Kelly Armstrong, Eoin Colfer, and Darren Shan have sent me nice letters thanking me for my work.

Another good site is copy not. They are aimed at movie and audio theft. I reported Suzanne Collin's Catching Fire audio book on one site and many sites have posted the Twilight movies.

http://www.copynot.com/

Obviously the kids are reading science fiction and fantasy. These are the most requested books to be pirated. These are the most requested movies to be pirated. Illinois recently mandated copyright to be one of the lessons taught. A video piracy ring was apprehended in one of the towns that is part of my school district.

Be aware that your students may be tempted to obtain pirate copies. Some do this because they can't remember or be bothered to take home their books. Some just want their own copy of the hottest books. Some prefer to read on their cell phone or computer rather than go to a library.

I can sympathize that the kids want to read, but authors are being ripped off. Good authors may lose future publishing contracts because of poor sales and we all lose when the price of books goes up to compensate for piracy.


Lindalee Stuckey
http://www.goldenduck.org