rdg420ca | undergraduate

Elementary Methods: Reading And Language Arts

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This course focuses on current research, theory, methods, and state standards related to reading instruction.  It provides students with the background knowledge in language arts necessary to prepare comprehensive standards-based lesson plans and integrated units of instruction. Effective instructional and assessment techniques are modeled.

This undergraduate-level course is 5 weeks This course is available as part of a degree or certificate program. To enroll, speak with an Enrollment Representative.

Course details:

Credits: 3
Continuing education units: XX
Professional development units: XX
Duration: 5 weeks

topic title goes here

    The Nature of Reading in Today's Learning Environment

    • Examine the integration of language arts with other areas of the curriculum.
    • Examine K-8 reading content as outlined in the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) and the reading/language arts content standards.
    • Contrast the major theories of cognitive development and of reading.
    • Review state language arts standards.
    • 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.

    Assessing Language Arts

    • 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.
    • Use case studies to determine diagnostic course of action.

    Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

    • Compare the concept of emergent literacy with that of reading readiness.
    • Identify techniques for teaching and reinforcing alphabet knowledge.
    • Identify techniques for phonological and for phonemic awareness.
    • Investigate the importance of teaching concepts of print in emergent reading.
    • 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.
    • Explain 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.

    Building Comprehension

    • Identify major comprehension strategies.
    • Identify methods for teaching and for reinforcing metacognitive awareness.
    • Plan a guided reading activity or a directed reading-thinking activity.
    • Investigate progressive cloze procedures to foster comprehension.
    • 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.
    • Examine the value of reading aloud to, with, and by children in a shared reading lesson.

    Teaching 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 concept of writing as part of emergent literacy.
    • 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.

    Building Vocabulary

    • Explore assessment tools for evaluating vocabulary.
    • Identify the basic principles of teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabulary.
    • Suggest effective strategies and activities for vocabulary development.
    • Plan a vocabulary lesson that reinforces morphemic and contextual analysis.
    • Describe pedagogical strategies for activating schemata and background knowledge.
    • Appraise the role of the performance arts in oral/aural development.

    Reading Fluency

    • Define reading fluency.
    • Identify methods for improving reading fluency.
    • Explore assessment tools for evaluating reading fluency.
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    Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.