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Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Define literacy and emergent early literacy.
2. Define and describe positive teaching practices that best promote and
support expressive language with young children in a classroom
environment.
3. Plan and evaluate engaging classroom activities that incorporate play
to support reading and writing development based on a developmental
continuum.
4. Create and design goals and lesson plans that will incorporate the
developmental continuum of reading and writing experiences for young
children.
5. Demonstrate scaffolding teaching strategies to support literacy
development in the classroom.
6. Analyze the processes of play that enhance emerging literacy.
7. Demonstrate effective literacy strategies in working with second
language learners.
8. Analyze and critique appropriate literature and other learning
materials for diverse learners, including those with special needs.
9. Design strategies to involve families in supporting language and
literacy with young children.
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I. Early Literacy Theory and Issues
A. Quality of children's early experiences
B. Development of motivation for children to read
C. Families as partners in children's literacy success
D. Interrelatedness of speaking, listening, reading, and writing
E. Teacher's role in promoting language and early literacy
F. Best practices of teaching
G. Defining early literacy
II. Assessment and Developmental Continuum
A. Birth through eight years of age
B. Adaptation of teaching/learning experiences to children's needs
C. Utilizing family information and support
D. Achievable, challenging learning goals for young children,
including children with disabilities and special learning needs
E. Intentional goal settting for groups and individuals
F. Systematic assessment of young children's literacy learning -
observations, informal and formal
G. Developing and maintaining children's motivation to read
H. Importance of families as partners
I. The role of the teacher in promoting language and early literacy
III. Environments for Literacy Learning Experiences
A. Designing environments for different age groups
B. Integrating technology
C. Teacher's role in intentionally utilizing the environment
IV. Curriculum and Teaching
A. Providing meaningful and developmentally appropriate curriculum
B. Infusion of literacy skills in all areas of the curriculum
C. Integration of children's cultures and languages
D. Scaffolded instruction, definition, and practice
E. Effective teaching strategies to motivate children to read and
write.
V. Literacy Enhanced Play
A. Environment and materials
B. Teacher's role - three approaches
C. Acquisition of literacy skills through play
D. Learning elements of narrative dramatic play and dramatization of
stories
E. Connection between play, literacy, learning and curriculum studies
F. Props, themes, and teaching interaction strategies
VI. Integration of Language Arts
A. Speaking and Listening
1. Definitions of oral, expressive, and receptive language
2. Continuum of language - infancy through age eight
3. Modeling for children's development, adult to child and child
to adult
4. Effective approaches for teaching English and second language
learners
5. Strategies to promote language learning, including children
with special needs
6. Vocabulary and language development across the curriculum
7. Supporting language through information books, experiments, and
project work
B. Reading
1. Continuum of reading development, infancy to eight years
2. Effective strategies for reading aloud
3. Inclusion of cultural and individual differences including
second language learners
4. Criteria for selecting quality developmental and culturally
appropriate books and materials
5. Analyzing for bias in materials and books
6. Engaging families in reading and related activities
7. Print awareness and book handling skills
8. Strategies for engaging children with a variety of books
9. Use of large group, small group, and individual reading
strategies
10. The development of phonological awareness
11. Alphabetic principles
12. Promoting reading for children with special needs
C. Writing
1. Continuum of writing development from infant to eight years.
2. Interrelationship of reading and writing
3. Planning developmentally appropriate writing activities
4. Sustaining motivation to write
5. Promoting writing for children with special needs
6. Strategies to support phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge,
and concepts of print
7. Daily writing in the classroom to promote creative expression
and communication
8. Writing individual name
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Homework:
1. Weekly reading assignments of texts and related materials given in
class with written personal reflection and practical application for
supporting literacy with young children and their families noted in
journal. Approximate length four to six pages each week.
2. Analyze and critique ten books/stories presenting a written evaluation
and summarization of cultural awareness and possible bias utilizing
specific criteria given in class. Term paper approximate length 7-10
pages. May also be incorporated as a part of the integrated curriculum
unit.
3. Design and present a two week integrated language arts curriculum using
literature as the central theme following a teacher and student designe
checklist and rubric. (Written homework.)
In Class Work May Include:
4. Demonstration and presentation of home and classroom literacy lesson
plans and activities incorporating emergent developmental reading,
listening and writing activities based on theory and research noted in
texts and reading.
5. Informal presentations which will utilize clear organization and
effective communication skills as defined by teacher and student
generated rubric.
6. Analyzing children's literature for meeting the needs of second
language learners and special needs children utilizing a provided
rubric based of current research.
7. Evaluation and comparison of sample children's books for bias as
demonstrated by short written and oral summaries for class.
8. Designing and utilizing rubrics, assessments, portfolios, and checklist
for evaluation of class projects and observations.
9. Group work identifying strategies to involve families in supporting
emergent literacy as demonstrated by a clear written summary and group
presentation to the class.
Field Work May Include:
1. Analyzing the processes of play and structured learning type activities
that promote emergent literacy that meet the developmental ages and
need of all children.
2. Working with young children in presenting a literacy activity in a home
or school setting utilizing one of the lesson plans written in the
integrated curriculum assignment.
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Textbooks Recommended:
Burns, Griffin, Snow, Editors. Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting
Children's Reading Success. National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
National Academy Press, 1999.
Lilly, Elizabeth & Green, Connie. Developing Partnerships with Families
Through Children's Literature. Prentice Hall, 2004.
Neuman, Susan, Copple, Carol & Bredekamp, Sue. Learning to Read and
Write, Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. National
Association for the Education of Young Children, 2000.
Supplemental Texts:
Christie, James, Enz, Billie & Vukelich, Carol. Teaching Language and
Literacy, Preschool Through the Elementary Grades. Pearson Education Inc.,
2003.