RDG/420 - Elementary Methods - Reading/Language Arts

Course Description

This course focuses on the most current research, theory, methods, and state standards related to the science of reading and structured literacy. This focus includes phonological awareness, systematic phonics and spelling, vocabulary and oral language, and text reading fluency, all leading to reading comprehension and literacy development. Teacher candidates will enhance content knowledge of phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. This course provides teacher candidates with the background knowledge in the science of reading necessary to prepare comprehensive research-based and standards-based lesson plans, as well as integrated units of instruction. Effective instructional, assessment, and differentiation techniques are also discussed.

This undergraduate course is 5 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for enrollment to residents of Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, Wisconsin, Wyoming and individuals who reside outside the United States.

Course Objectives

Week 1

• Contrast the major theories of cognitive development and of reading.
• Describe the active, constructive role of students in literacy tasks.
• Identify the main stages in literacy development.
• Evaluate the major approaches to the teaching of reading and their underlying principles.
• Examine the integration of language arts with other areas of the curriculum through a balanced literacy approach.
• Compare the concept of emergent literacy with that of reading readiness.
• Identify techniques for teaching and reinforcing alphabet knowledge.
• Investigate the importance of teaching concepts of print in emergent reading.
• Examine the value of reading aloud to, with, and by children in a shared reading lesson.
• Explore the concept of writing as part of emergent literacy.
• Identify a series of prompts to encourage students to use graphophonic, semantic, or syntactic cues.
• Explore assessment tools for evaluating phonemic awareness and phonics skills.
• Identify techniques for developing phonological and phonemic awareness, the importance of knowledge about phonics, sight words, and structural analysis and the basic principles for teaching each in an integrated, functional, meaning-centered fashion.

Week 2

• Identify the basic principles of effective vocabulary instruction including strategies and activities.
• Plan a vocabulary lesson that reinforces morphemic and contextual analysis.
• Explore assessment tools for evaluating vocabulary.
• Define reading fluency and identify methods for improving reading fluency.
• Explore assessment tools for evaluating reading fluency.

Week 3

• Describe pedagogical strategies for activating schemata and background knowledge.
• Identify major comprehension strategies. 3.3 Identify methods for teaching and for reinforcing metacognitive awareness.
• Plan a guided reading activity or a directed reading -thinking activity.
• Identify the major comprehension difficulties posed by content area texts.
• Describe effective techniques to enhance retention of expository material.
• Explore assessment tools for evaluating comprehension.
• Examine the procedures for developing literature-based, cross-curricular integrated units.

Week 4

• Define the steps of the writing process.
• Compare the stages of the reading and writing processes.
• Explain the concept of writing as part of emergent literacy.
• Explore the use of the Six Trait Writing rubric in the writing process.
• Provide examples of ways that students can share or publish their writing.
• Identify appropriate ways to use journals in the classroom.
• Explore assessment tools for evaluating writing skills.
• Explore the characteristics of differentiated instruction, including rigorous, relevant, flexible, and complex.
• Examine differentiation of the content, process and products students use to demonstrate learning.
• Analyze how to address students’ reading and writing deficiencies by using differentiation methods.

Week 5

• Examine the role of assessment in instruction.
• Assess the reading interests of pupils.
• Explain the uses, strengths, and weaknesses of formal and informal assessment measures.
• Explore the use of portfolios and rubrics as assessment tools.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing education for teacher’s courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing education for teachers’ courses is not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. More information about eligibility requirements, policies, and procedures can be found in the catalog or please check with a University Enrollment Representative.