Reading and Writing Instruction and Improvement Course Information
EDUB 533 Reading and Writing Instruction and Improvement
Course Description
In this course, candidates focus on the improvement and facilitation of developmental reading and writing instruction at the P-12 levels. Using a balanced perspective, candidates discuss theoretical models and philosophies of reading and writing instruction and their applicability in the classroom setting. Integration of listening, speaking and children’s literature also will be addressed. Candidates explore a variety of assessment and feedback practices, diverse instructional strategies, materials, software, and reading and writing in the content areas. MAT candidates are required to earn 25 hours of early field experience to complete this course.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
- Analyze several philosophies for teaching reading. Materials and the contexts under which each may be profitably used will be examined
- Learn strategies to teach word recognition, reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, listening and speaking, and structured and student-sponsored writing
- Develop segments of an integrated language arts unit suitable for a K-8 classroom
- Participate in the writing process of brainstorming, drafting, peer editing and publishing and will analyze the procedures
- Explore formal, informal, and alternate assessment and will make or find a rubric suitable for classroom assessment
- Explore techniques and strategies for reading and writing in the content areas
- Read and become familiar with several books in children’s literature for a specific grade level and a professional journal
- The overall objective is to build a repertoire of varying instructional strategies and materials and to be able to use each at appropriate times and circumstances
Week 1
Lecture: Balanced Reading and Writing
Outcomes
- Define reading using a theoretical base
- Identify and discuss the components of a balanced reading and writing program
Week 2
Lecture: Emergent Readers
Outcomes
- Identify the characteristics of an emergent reader and strategies useful at this reading stage
- Discuss the meaning and role of fluency in learning to read
- Define and choose effective strategies for phonemic awareness training
Week 3
Lecture: Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Phonics
Outcomes
- Define and distinguish the characteristics of shared and guided reading
- Discuss various word recognition strategies
- Learn the history and the current views on phonics instruction
Week 4
Lecture: Dominican Lesson Plan Format
Lecture: Comprehension
Outcomes
- Learn the components of the Dominican lesson plan format
- Write a Comprehension lesson plan
- Discuss the basic tenets of comprehension
- Learn and be able to present three comprehension strategies to the student’s class
Week 5
Lecture: Vocabulary
Outcomes
- Identify the difference between direct and indirect teaching of phonics
- Learn effective strategies for teaching vocabulary
- Write a vocabulary lesson plan
Week 6
Lecture: Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
Outcomes
- Learn the general literacy skills, the content knowledge and the content specific literacy skills used in content area reading
- Learn how to teach an effective literacy strategy that can be utilized across the content areas
- Write a content lesson plan utilizing a literacy skill
Week 7
Lecture: Process Writing
Outcomes
- Learn the five step writing process
- Write a lesson plan incorporating one of the five steps of process writing
Week 8
Lecture: Assessment
Outcomes
- Learn the two main types of assessment
- Learn and be able to use rubrics, portfolios, and miscue analysis to help determine reading level
The course description, objectives and learning outcomes are subject to change without notice based on enhancements made to the course. October 2011
