I. Instructional Team

Name	Position	Office, Phone, & e-mail address
Bonnie Armbruster	Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction	394 Education 244-3002 (office) 586-3522 (home) bonnie@uiuc.edu
Wen-Hsien Hsu	Teaching Assistant, Department of Curriculum and Instruction	311 Education 244-8286
Claire Lloyd	Teaching Assistant, Department of Special Education	288 Education 333-0260
Ruth Quiroa	Teaching Assistant, Department of Curriculum and Instruction	311 Education 244-8286
Amber Walker	Teaching Assistant, Department of Curriculum and Instruction	320 Education 244-3389 (office) 355-5385 (home) a-walker@uiuc.edu

Office hours by appointment

II. Introduction

"Language and Literacy" (L&L) prepares prospective elementary teachers to teach the language arts--reading, writing, speaking, and listening--as well as to become familiar with children's literature as a tool for teaching language arts. We, the developers of the course, believe that it will prepare you well for being teachers of the language arts, and that you will find the experience interesting, challenging, and fulfilling.

As we developed the course, we kept in mind some basic principles of learning and instruction. First, we are interested in making the course as authentic as possible. We want you to engage in meaningful, functional tasks that resemble what you will encounter in the "real world" of teaching. Most of the assignments are actual lessons or prototypes for lessons that you will be able to use in your teaching career. The final exam is a portfolio that you can use to demonstrate your skills as a teacher of language arts when you interview for a teaching position.

Second, we want to be sure you experience good models of effective teaching practices. For example, guest speakers will share with you their expertise in classroom teaching and booktalking, and you will see videotapes of master teachers at work. We will also use some of the same practices in teaching this course that we hope you will use in your own teaching. For instance, we will have you engage in "kidwatching" and develop a case study, use the writing process to write and publish a book, and develop integrated units of instruction.

Third, we want to encourage you to become reflective teachers who are critical thinkers and problem solvers about your own teaching and who can articulate your knowledge and understanding to others. Therefore, we have included many opportunities for reflection and articulation--in reading responses, in observations and case studies, and in frequent discussion sessions.

Fourth, we hope to help you become collaborative teachers who can work with others (e.g., administrators, fellow teachers, librarians, parents, community people) to optimize your continuing learning and professional growth, your teaching, and the education of your students. Teaching is often considered a "lonely" profession, but it doesn't need to be. In this course, you will have many opportunities to interact in small groups, to provide and receive feedback from classmates, and to exchange ideas and projects.

We are eager for this course to be a very positive experience for you. We all have the same goal--to help you become excellent teachers of the language arts. Please help us accomplish this goal. We encourage your questions, comments, and feedback throughout the year.

III. Objectives

In addition to the preceding objectives, major content objectives of L&L are the following:

• to develop an understanding of how research and theory are related to language acquisition and growth; this knowledge will help guide instructional practices
• to develop an understanding of the influence of linguistic and cultural diversity on the development of language and literacy
• to develop teaching goals that provide for a balanced program in language arts (i.e., reading, writing, listening, speaking)
• to become aware of a variety of methods used to help students communicate for a variety of purposes, to a range of audiences, and in a number of different types of situations
• to learn a variety of methods to teach all students, including students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds
• to develop an understanding of how growth in one area of the language arts contributes to growth in other areas
• to learn how to assess growth in language arts

IV. Times and Locations of Classes

Classes meet from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays. On Mondays, class will be held in the Champaign Public Schools Administrative Center (Mellon Building) on the corner or John and New Streets, Champaign, except as announced (e.g., on school holidays). On Fridays, class will be held in the Education Building, except as announced. YL1 (Orange Cohort) will meet in Room 385 Education, while YL2 (Blue Cohort) will meet in Room 33 Education.

V. Assignments

Before describing each assignment, we offer some general comments about assignments. First, most assignment due dates are suggested only. Our requirement is that all assignments due for the Fall semester must be turned in by December 9, 1996, and all assignments due for the Spring semester (except the Final Exam: Portfolio) must be turned in by February 17, 1997. (There will be a grade penalty for assignments received after those deadlines.) We provide suggested due dates for assignments because we believe these due dates are reasonable expectations and will help you pace yourselves. However, we recognize that the YLP is very demanding and that you have many more assignments and responsibilities this year. Therefore, in this course we leave it largely to you to plan for completing your assignments. Exceptions to the flexible due dates are noted in specific assignment descriptions that follow.

The second point is that because your assignments will be coming to us on an irregular schedule and because there are many of you students and several of us instructors, the possibility for misplacing your papers increases. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you keep a copy of each assignment you turn in. It is also wise to keep a copy of all work that is returned to you, in case there are questions about grades at a later point.

Third, written assignments will be evaluated based on both content and writing. For content, we will be looking forthoroughness (completeness; amount of examples and detail), andthoughtfulness (reflective; analytic; evaluative), as well as the extent to which you meet the requirements for each assignment (see individual assignment descriptions). We will evaluate writing on the basis of a) organization, b) coherence/clarity, and c) mechanics.

The fourth point concerns the format of assignments. With the exception of field notes for your case study, all assignments must be typed or, preferably, done on a computer (word processor).

The total points for the course = 300 (100 for Fall semester; 200 for Spring semester). Each assignment description will include the number of points for that assignment.

Credit

You asked me to do it.
I promised to do it.
I planned to do it.
I started to do it.
I really meant to do it.
Except I forgot.
Couldn't I get some credit
For promising,
Planning,
Starting,
And really meaning to do it?
Guess not.

- Judith Viorst

Although this is not really an "assignment," it is our expectation that you will demonstrate the kind of professionalism in this class that will later make you a credit to the profession of teaching. We consider the following habits and attitudes to be essential to teachers: responsibility, cooperation, respect for others, "doing your best," "putting your best foot forward," and engaging in reflection and self-evaluation. This class should provide an opportunity for you to practice these aspects of professionalism.

Specifically, we expect you to participate in and contribute constructively and thoughtfully to discussions and activities. The value of class sessions is largely a function of your participation and that of your classmates. On most Fridays, we will be discussing the readings for the week. We would like you to prepare for these discussions by using a single sheet of paper to jot down a few notes on the readings, as well as comments to share and/or questions to ask. We will be informally checking to see that you have this sheet with you, but we will not collect and grade it.

Another aspect of professionalism is your ability to evaluate yourself. We will ask you to do some self-evaluation of your participation and progress in this course this year--sometimes as a part of specific assignments, and sometimes as a separate activity.

We also expect you to report to class regularly and punctually, and stay for the entire class. You must contact Dr. Armbruster (or leave a message on e-mail or answering machine) prior to an absence, and all absences must be excused (e.g., illness, death in the family). You need to sign an attendance sheet at the beginning of each class meeting; we'll count you absent if you don't. Tardiness and early departures will be noted.

Finally, of course, we expect you to treat guests, instructors, and classmates respectfully and courteously.

Evaluation: We will evaluate you on the basis of the above criteria, taking into account your own self-evaluation. Total points = 30.

We believe that reflecting on your own development of literacy skills will help you better understand children who are learning to read and write. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to help you understand yourself as a reader and a writer. This understanding will evolve over this year and beyond. This short paper is only the first step.

You will write a paper (5-7 pages) reflecting on your personal development of literacy skills. In writing your paper, consider the following points:

what learning to read and write was like for you (preschool and school memories)

how well you read and write

how much you read and write

what you like to read and write

what kinds of materials you actually read and what kinds of writing you do

how you view the kind of reader and writer you are (for example--good, poor, slow, effective, strategic, etc.)

Of course, include anything else you discover about yourself as a reader and writer as you think about it.

Evaluation: This assignment is worth 8 points.

Suggested due date: September 13

The purposes of this assignment are a) to get you to reflect about the meaning the readings have for you, including what you will bring from the readings into your own classroom someday, and b) to help you prepare for discussing the readings on Fridays. (See comments under "Professionalism.")

You will write a total of five responses about the assigned readings, following this schedule: Response 1 covers readings for Weeks 1-5 (Sept. 6-Oct. 4); Response 2, Weeks 6-8 (Oct. 7-25); Response 3, Weeks 9-11 (Oct. 28-Nov. 15); Response 4, Weeks 12-16 (Nov. 18-Jan. 24); Response 5, Weeks 17-19 (Jan. 27-Feb. 14). One of these responses will be done electronically in a computer-conferencing forum, which will be explained in class. What follows is a description of the assignment for the other four written responses.

You do not need to respond to every reading assigned in the designated time period, but you should respond to most of the readings. The response paper is NOT intended to be just a summary of the selections. Here are some ideas for what you might include in your response papers:

1) Comment on new ideas. What new ideas (theories, methods, etc.) did you learn? What was your favorite/most meaningful idea from the readings? Why? You might want to quote a short piece that you feel is a really important idea, or something that you'd like to remember for yourself or to share with others. If you didn't learn anything new, tell us that, too!

2) Connect. How does this reading relate to other materials you have read as a student, including materials from other courses as well as from this course? Do you predict you will use this information in the future, and if so, why?

3) Share experiences/memories. Comment on whether and how the readings relate to your own experiences, either your own history as a student or what's going on in your classroom now. Does the reading remind you of anything? What comes to mind as you are reading this selection? Write about these experiences or memories.

4) Ask questions. What confuses you? What don't you understand? What don't you agree with? What do you want to be sure to have clarified during discussion?

5) Above all, react. Write about your reactions to the readings, giving examples and reasons for your reaction. Do you think others will feel the same way?

Convince us that you have read the selections. Even though we don't want just a summary, we do want to see evidence that you read the selections you chose to highlight in your response.

Each response paper should be 3-4 pages long.

Evaluation: Your reading responses are worth a total of 50 points: 10 points for each response.

Suggested due dates: By the end of each time block designated above. The computer conference assignment will be handled differently and must be completed within a time frame we give you.

The purposes of this assignment are: a) to help you become more familiar with the language arts environment and instruction in your classrooms, and b) to nurture the skill of careful observation, which is critical to effective teaching.

You will complete two different types of observations of language arts instruction. The first observation focuses on more global features of language arts instruction; the second asks you to focus more on the specifics of instruction for particular children.

The observation forms to be used for these observations are included at the end of this syllabus. The forms are divided into two sections: Description and Reaction. Please answer all questions in both sections. Some questions for Observation 1 may address aspects of the classroom that you're not able to observe directly. If so, please ask your cooperating teacher so she/he can tell you about what you are unable to observe. When you write up your observation, please identify anything that you heard about but did not observe.

Evaluation: Observation 1 is worth 12 points, and Observation 2 is worth 18 points. For the final version of your observation report, you will be evaluated for thoroughness and thoughtfulness, as well as the quality of writing.

Suggested due dates: We recommend that you complete this assignment during your first 8 week assignment, because you will be busy doing the following assignment, the Case Study, during your second 8 week assignment. We recommend the dates of Sept. 27 for Observation 1 and Oct. 11 for Observation 2.

The purpose of this assignment is to help you learn how to observe children carefully, which is essential to effective teaching and assessment/evaluation. Your case study assignment consists of three parts. Each of the three parts of the assignment--field notes, informal reading inventory and interviews, and complete case study--is meant to guide you through the process of conducting a case study. Note: In writing up each part of this assignment, use only the first name or a fictitious name for your student in order to ensure privacy and confidentiality. However, please identify the student by gender and ethnicity/race. Be sure to note whether English is the child's first or second language.

Part 1 : Field notes. Within the first two weeks of your second placement, you are to choose one student to watch. The student you choose should be a student who is performing at or below grade level; the choice of a particular student is up to you and your cooperating teacher. You are to "watch" (carefully observe) this student for approximately two weeks. Keep track of what reading, writing, listening, and speaking this student is doing. Observe the student's use of language (both oral and written) in a variety of situations (e.g., formal/informal, individual/small group/large group, peers/adults). Record some of what your student is saying and writing. Collect as many artifacts of the student's work as you can.

Your field notes should be descriptive. They should capture on paper the behaviors and accomplishments of the student you are kidwatching. Some of the questions you should keep in mind as you write your field notes are: What does your student know? What is she/he learning, or having trouble learning? What kinds of interactions does she/he have with the cooperating teacher, other adults, and other students? What kinds of behavior patterns does your student have? You will be shown examples of field notes in class.

Evaluation: Your field notes will be evaluated for completeness of your observations and depth of your description. Part 1 is worth 8 points.

Part 2: Informal reading inventory, surveys, and interviews. For this part of the assignment, you will administer an informal reading inventory to your student, as well as another survey of your choice. You will also conduct interviews in order to find out more about your student. As a minimum, you are required to talk with the cooperating teacher. Depending upon availability and how comfortable you feel, you may want to consider interviewing others about the child--e.g., teacher's aide; other teachers (such as the child's previous teacher or special teachers like the dance and drama or LD teachers); the parents; and the YLP student in this classroom during the first eight weeks.

If you are in a Grade 1-5 placement, you will administer the "Classroom Reading Inventory"; if you are in kindergarten, you will be given another instrument to use. Instructions on how to administer these instruments will be given in class. You will also be provided with a number of survey forms from which to choose.

Plan on approximately 15-30 minutes to conduct each interview. Before the interview, think of questions that focus on language and literacy issues from the perspective of the interviewee. Some of your questions may derive from the field notes from Part I. Ask open-ended questions to get the individual talking rather than narrowly focused or leading questions. Some possible questions for teachers are:

How would you describe Tammy as a student? How did you come to that conclusion?

Why is Vern in that reading group? How do you think he'll do in it?

What is your impression of Kim's attitude about writing? Any hypotheses about why that's the case?

Do you have any particular plans or strategies for Roberto? How/why did you decide to do that?

Because the interviews will not last very long, it is important to give careful thought to the questions you will ask. The key element in this part of the assignment is to record the thoughts that others have about your student that you would not be able to find out through observation alone.

You will submit the actual inventory and survey, as well as the interviews you conducted. Your interviews should be typed in a dialogue format. Please include the questions you asked of each person and make sure to label the interview with the appropriate interviewee. You may use direct quotes or paraphrase the conversations. You will be provided with examples.

Evaluation: Your inventory and survey will be evaluated for completeness. Your interviews will be evaluated for quality of your questions and amount of information you were able to obtain regarding the language and literacy development of your student. Part 2 is worth 12 points.

Part 3: Case Study. "A case study is a detailed examination of one setting, or a single subject, a single depository of documents, or one particular event." (Merriam, 1988). In your case study you will "tell the story" of your student. It will be told through the eyes of you, the observer, the child, the cooperating teacher and anyone else you've interviewed, and it will include the information you gained from the inventory/survey. You will be trying to "paint a literacy picture" of the child in your study by combining all of the sources of information you have gathered and your own analysis of what you have learned about the child.

Your work will become a case study as you take the observation (Part I) and inventory/survey/interview data (Part II) and try to make sense of this child and his/her literacy development. The "making sense" is the most important part, although, of course, your ability to "make sense" will depend largely on the quality of the data you have collected. Some possible questions to consider are: What is literacy like for Anton? What do you think is the reason for a particular behavior that Alicia has? How do you evaluate Chris' progress, and what would you do to help him if you were his teacher? What factors have led to your conclusions about Tina and literacy? Remember that you are not simply reporting; rather, you are reflecting, interpreting, evaluating, drawing conclusions--in other words, engaging in higher-order thinking about this child. Keep in mind that the purpose of doing such a case study is to provide you, the teacher, with information that is useful to your evaluation of this child's progress and to your ability to teach to the child's needs.

Evaluation: You will turn in your field notes, inventory/survey, interviews, and your case study. Your case study will be evaluated for thoughtfulness, completeness, and degree of higher-order thinking (i.e., "making sense") that you have demonstrated. We will ask this question of your case study: To what extent does this case study provide useful information for instruction and evaluation of this particular child? Part 3 is worth 15 points.

Suggested due date: The case study should be dompleted during your second 8-week placement. November 25 is our recommended due date.

The purposes of this assignment are to: a) help you become familiar with the various genres of children's literature, including representative books and authors within those genres, b) provide you an opportunity to practice giving a book talk, c) give you a chance to share ideas for using literature in the classroom, and d) give you the opportunity to work cooperatively in a group.

Groups of approximately 4-5 students will work together to prepare a class presentation on one of 9 genres (or subgenres) discussed in the Tomlinson/Lynch-Brown book: Poetry; Picture books; Traditional Literature; Modern Fantasy; Realistic Fiction; Historical Fiction; Multicultural Literature. After carefully reading the appropriate chapter in Tomlinson/Lynch-Brown (and the recommended Norton book), each group will prepare a class presentation of approximately one hour in length (45-60 minutes recommended). The presentation will include at least the following: a) a definition/description of the genre; b) book talks on representative books within the genre (each student should give one or two booktalks), c) a discussion or demonstration of some activities for using books in that genre in the classroom (see the second part of each Norton chapter for ideas), and d) distribution of a copy of a bibliography of books you used in your presentation to each member of the class.

About the book talks: "Book talking" will be explained and modeled for you early in the course. One of the guidelines you will hear is that book talks should be short. For purposes of this assignment, the book talk proper must not be longer than 5 minutes in order to allow time for other book talks and the rest of the presentation.

Procedure

1. Sign up for a genre in class early in the semester. The presentation dates appear on the sign-up sheet and are repeated below.
2. Meet with your group members on a regular basis.
3. On the day of your presentation, each person in the group will submit a one-paragraph self-evaluation of your participation in the group.
4. Compile a bibliography on the books you will share in your presentation. Make copies for all members in the class, plus instructors.

Evaluation: Your presentation is worth a total of 30 points.

Due Dates: This assignment does NOT have flexible due dates. The times are set for each genre presentation, according to the sign-up sheet. Poetry--Oct. 7; Picture Books--Oct. 21; Traditional Literature--Oct. 28; Multicultural & International Literature--Nov. 4; Realistic Fiction--Nov. 11; Historical Fiction--Nov. 18; Nonfiction: Informational Books--Nov. 25; Nonfiction: Biographies--Jan. 27; Modern Fantasy--Feb. 3.

The purposes of this assignment are: a) to model and give you practice in a method of sharing literature that you can then use with your own students, b) to interest you in and inform you about a variety of children's literature, and c) to enable you to explore literature with your classmates. The purpose of literature circles is to provide readers with a way to explore intensively the meanings they construct during reading with other readers.

You will select a novel from among 5 possibilities, which are listed and described on the next page of the syllabus. Early in the semester, you may sign up for the one book of your preference, as room allows (there will be 2x5=10 slots for each book). You may check these books out of a library or purchase them. You must have your book read by the time the literature circle meets, and you must bring the book with you to the literature circle. 

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep Moon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Inspired by the account of a Chinese immigrant who mnade a flying machine in 1909, this book portrays the rich traditions of the Chinese community makings its way in a hostile new world.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1990 Newbery Medal Book) Set in Denmark in 1943, this is the story of ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen, who is Jewish. When the Nazis come to Copenhagen, Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be part of the family. Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. Will she be able to save her friend from the Nazis?

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1977 Newbery Medal Book) In the early 1930's, Cassie Logan and her family learn many hard lessons about racism in the South, including night riders, burnings, and personal insults. But nothing can tear the family apart as long as they have the land they have owned since the late 1880's. Will they be able to keep their land?

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1986 Newbery Medal Book) Anna and Caleb mother has died, and their father sends for a mail-order bride. Sarah travels all the way from Maine to the prairie to be a part of their family. Will she stay?   Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (1993 Newbery Medal Book) Since Summer's Aunt May died, she and her uncle are truly "missing May." A moving story.

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (1974 Newbery Medal Book) In 1849, a thirteen-year-old white boy from New Orleans is kidnapped by slave traders to play his fife on their ship. As he is forced to play his fife while the slaves "dance" aboard the ship, he experiences the horrors of the slave trade.

Evaluation:

You are to write 1-2 pages describing and reflecting on your experience in the literature circle. What was it like? What did you learn? Was it what you expected, or were there surprises? What were the strengths and weakness of this type of discussion group? Do you think you will use this method in you own teaching? Why or why not? In addition, you will include an evaluation of your own participation in the literature circle. Did you contribute to the discussion in a substantive, meaningful, and helpful manner? Total points = 12.

Due Dates: Literature Circle: October 21; suggested date for written evaluation, October 28.

The purposes of this assignment are: 1) to familiarize you with the process of planning a thematic curriculum unit that makes use of children's literature, 2) to help you gain skill and confidence in using library resources, 3) to demonstrate the use of "literature webs," and 4) to help your prepare for units in other instructional blocks.

Select a thematic curriculum unit (for example, "Pioneers," "Protecting the Environment," "Native Americans") that relies strongly on children's literature to impart the information. We hope you combine this assignment with a project you will be doing for science, social studies, or the C&I "mini-unit." That is why we hope you will complete this project before the projects in other instructional blocks--so that this assignment can help you prepare for those projects.

You are to research and compile an annotated bibliography of literature appropriate to the theme and the age group. Your bibliography should include a minimum of 15 selections and should include selections from at least 4 different genres.

The following is an example of the kind of annotation we have in mind. (This are quoted from another source, so that's why they're in quotation marks. We expect you to write your own!) Note that complete bibliographic information, genre, and approximate grade level are included. In addition to providing a one- or two-sentence summary of the book, the annotation should also include information on how you would use the book in the thematic unit.

For a thematic unit on either "Whales" or "Post Office/Letters":

"James, Simon. Dear Mr. Blueberry. 1991. Macmillan. Picture book. (K-Grade 3)

In addition to the annotated bibliography, you will prepare a web showing various activities that can be used with the literature. Examples of webs will be shown in class.

Your annotated bibliography must be done on a word processor. The web may be done on a computer or neatly by hand.

Evaluation: Total points = 45. Your project will be graded by us on the following criteria: 1) includes at least 15 thematically related selections in at least 4 genres, 2) contains appropriate information in annotations, and 3) includes a complete, thoughtful, and creative web.

Suggested Due Date: Sometime during the Fall before you have a unit due in science, social studies, or C&I. Maybe Nov. 15?

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to experience the writing process, from topic selection through publication, including peer conferencing (some class time will be allocated for this). When you have completed your project, you should be more aware of your own writing process and more aware of the process of evaluating a piece of writing. Also, you will have more appreciation for how students act and feel when they are given a writing assignment. Finally, you will have something you might want to include in your teaching portfolio: a published book.

You are to write, illustrate, and publish a "book." The type of book is your choice--for example, a personal narrative, a collection of poetry, a picture book, or a nonfiction work. The book must contain text; wordless picture books are great, but not for the purposes of this assignment! Your book should include a title page, dedication, and an "about the author" page, and it should be bound in some professional-looking way.

Evaluation:

Part 1: Peer evaluation. You will receive the final copy of your partner's book whenever they give it to you, but hopefully near the date suggested below. You will write an evaluation (1-2 pages) of your partner's book based on criteria you develop. List and define your criteria and provide a justification for each criterion (i.e., why did you choose that criterion?) Out of a total of 8 points, assign your partner points on the basis of your criteria, and justify your assignment of the points. Your peer evaluation will be submitted to us. After we have read it, we will pass it on to your partner. We will give you written evaluation of the peer evaluation you wrote. Failure to complete a peer evaluation will result in a deduction of points from your own project (your classmate will not be penalized).

Part 2: Book. On a later date (see below for suggestion), you will submit 1) your partner's complete book, which you have just finished evaluating, 2) the peer evaluation you wrote of your partner's book, and 3) all drafts and revisions of your book, notes about each of your peer conferences, including a paragraph evaluating your own and your partner's performance/helpfulness during the conference sessions. Total points possible: 25. (8 points--to reflect your peer's evaluation; 2 points--quality of the peer evaluation you wrote; 15 points--inclusion of drafts, quality of conference notes, and your own and partner's evaluation of your helpfulness.)

Suggested due dates: December 2 for Part 1 and December 9 for Part 2.

Your final exam will consist of a portfolio that you will create throughout your experience in L&L. A portfolio is often used as part of the interviewing process for teaching positions. It is a visual representation of you in a professional context. The pieces you select for your portfolio should be purposefully chosen to inform others of your efforts, progress, and achievements, as well as your beliefs, attitudes, and values.

The purposes of your L&L portfolio are to 1) encourage you to reflect on, review, and evaluate your professional development this year in the area of language arts, 2) allow you to experience the creation of a portfolio from a student's perspective, 3) enable us to assess you in the authentic, holistic manner we have discussed in this course, and 4) provide you with the beginning of a complete portfolio that you can take with you on a job interview.

There are five required components of your portfolio:

1. Table of Contents: Indicate what is included in your portfolio.

2. "Dear Reader" Letter: The "Dear Reader" letter is an introduction to your portfolio--really, an introduction to YOU as a teacher of language arts. The letter should contain a statement of your educational philosophy with regard to teaching language arts. In that statement you must address the following questions: What do you believe about the teaching of language arts? How would you enact your philosophy in your own classroom? Include your assumptions about the nature of the child as a language learner, the role of the teacher (you!) and the curriculum of the school in which you teach, as well as information on how you would approach teaching children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Include a floor plan of your ideal classroom with a description of how the physical arrangement contributes to enhancing the language arts aspects of learning for the children in your classroom. In your "Dear Reader" letter, you should explain in general how the pieces in your portfolio reflect your philosophy of teaching langauge arts. Your Dear Reader Letter should be about 4-6 pages.

3. Entry Slips for all pieces in the portfolio. Entry Slips are used to introduce each selection in your portfolio. Explain why you chose to include each piece in the portfolio and what you believe it shows about your development as a teacher of language arts this year. Your ability to give reasons for what you have included in your portfolio is as important as the pieces you choose to include. Think about what each piece says about you and how it relates to your philosophy. The entry slips should be placed in front of each entry.

4. Five different pieces that represent you best work as a teacher of language arts Four pieces may be work that you have done as assignments for this course. You must include at least one piece that is an original work not assigned in this course. Also, at least one of the pieces must explicitly address issues of diversity. For example, you might want to include how you would adapt a lesson to meet the needs of linguistically diverse students, or how you would address issues of multiculturalism in a unit of instruction.

The following are examples of pieces that you might want to include in your portfolio. (They are only examples--feel free to create your own, but you might want to check with us first.)

1) Lesson plans for the two best language arts lessons you taught, with a critique regarding their success. The plans should include two different approaches/techniques (e.g., KWL, a vocabulary activity, a collaborative learning activity, the use of creative dramatics, etc.)

2) Samples of student work from your teaching of language arts, with a written analysis of what you learned from the samples and the projected changes in instruction to increase student success. (Note: remove student names for confidentiality.)

3) Materials or artifacts, created by you, that were (or could be) used in language arts instruction. Provide a description of and rationale for the materials/artifacts.

4) Photographs that reveal something about your teaching of language arts (e.g., bulletin boards, student products, groups in action). Include captions for the photographs that explain what they are and what they show about you as a teacher.

5) An assessment task or portfolio of your original design that you would use in your teaching.

6) A reflective essay on the development of your relationship with children to whom you taught language and literacy, factors that contribute to and detract from that relationship, and your intended use of what you learned in your own classroom.

7) An analysis and discussion of the context of any of the schools in which you have worked and the language and literacy factors that you have noted related to that context. Explain how these experiences contributed to your professional growth.

8) A reflective essay on your development as a teacher of language arts. (You may want to reflect on your teaching performance early in the course compared to the end of the course.)

9) A reflective essay discussing the pros and cons of different issues and approaches to language arts. (For example, you might discuss the pros and cons of whole language and phonics instruction.)

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Your portfolio is to be compiled professionally. Appearance, organization, and "user friendliness" are important.
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5. Presentation: At the conclusion of the course, you will be required to present your portfolio to a panel of instructors (and maybe teachers) in order to simulate what may happen in an actual job interview. (You will sign up for a presentation time.)

You will have 10-15 minutes in which to make your presentation. With that time limit, you will not be able to discuss everything in your portfolio, so think carefully about what in your portfolio will "show off" your knowledge of language arts and expertise in the best possible light. In the presentation, convince us that you are the best qualified candidate for a teaching position because of that vast knowledge, obvious teaching expertise, and impressive professionalism, effort, and caring that your portfolio conveys. You should be prepared to speak the entire time; however the panel may ask you questions during your presentation. The pieces included in your portfolio, the rationale you give for each piece, the thought and effort you put into constructing your portfolio should prepare you for any questions you might be asked. At the end of the presentation, you will turn in your portfolio for review. These will be returned to you in a timely fashion.

Evaluation: Total points = 30. You will receive two scores for the final. The first score will be on your presentation (5 points) The second score will be on the portfolio that you turn in for review (25 points).

Due dates: According to sign-up sheet; not flexible.

VI. Readings

Books
(available in bookstores under both C&I 360 and C&I 370, YL1&YL2)

• Required
  • Au, K. (1993). Literacy instruction in multicultural settings. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
    
  • Barr, R., & Johnson, B. (1991). Teaching reading in elementary classrooms: Developing independent readers. New York: Longman.
    
  • Graves, D.H. (1994). A fresh look at writing. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann Educational Books.
    
  • Powell, D. & Hornsby, D. (1993). Learning phonics and spelling in a whole language classroom. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.
    
  • Tomlinson, C. M. & Lynch-Brown, C. (1996). Essentials of children's literature (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
    
• Recommended
  • Heilman, A. W. (1993). Phonics in proper perspective (7th ed.). New York: Merrill. (backordered; should be available by late September)
    
  • Norton, D. E. (1995). Through the eyes of a child: An introduction to children's literature (4th ed.). Englewood Clffs, NJ: Merrill. (not for purchase; on reserve in Education library)
    

Pamphlet
(available only at IUB)

• IRA/NCTE Joint Task Force on Assessment (1994). Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing.
  

Chapters and Articles
(available at Notes & Quotes under C&I 360/Armbruster)

1) ______ (1995). Learning to read: Schooling's first mission. American Educator, 19(2), 3-6.

2) Adams, M.J. & Bruck, M. (1995). Resolving the 'great debate'. American Educator, 19(2), 7 ff.

3) Button, K., Johnson, M.J., & Furgerson, P. (1996). Interactive writing in a primary classroom. The Reading Teacher 49(6), 446-454.

4) Christensen, L. (1994). Whose standard? Teaching standard English. Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice: A special edition of Rethinking Schools (pp. 142-145).

5) Clay, M. M. (1991). Reading Recovery surprises. In D.E. DeFord, C.A. Lyons, & G.S. Pinnell (Eds.) Bridges to literacy: Learning from Reading Recovery. (pp. 53-77). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

6) Council on Interracial Books for Children: 10 quick ways to analyze children's books for racism and sexism. Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice: A special edition of Rethinking Schools (pp. 14-15).

7) Cunningham, P.M., & Cunningham, J. W. (1992). Making words: Enhancing the invented spelling-decoding connection. The Reading Teacher, 46(2), 106-113.

8) Delpit, L. (1995). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press. (pp. 48-69).

9) Fennessey, S. (1995). Living history through drama and literature. The Reading Teacher, 49(1), 16-19.

10) Goldenberg, C. (1992/93). Instructional conversations: Promoting comprehension through discussion. The Reading Teacher 46(4), 316-326.

11) Klesius, J. P., & Griffith, P. L. (1996). Interactive storybook reading for at-risk learners. The Reading Teacher, 49(7), 552-560.

12) Lindfors, J. W. (1987). Children's language and learning (2nd ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Chap. 1, pp. 1-14).

13) Martinez, M. (1993). Motivating dramatic story reenactments. The Reading Teacher, 46(8), 682-688.

14) Raphael, T. E., Goatley, V.J., McMahon, S.I., & Woodman, D. A. (1995). Promoting meaningful conversations in student book clubs. In N. L. Roser & M. G. Martinez (Eds.), Book talk and beyond: Children and teachers respond to literature. (Chap. 7, pp. 66-79).

15) Routman, R. (1993). The uses and abuses of invented spelling. Instructor 102(9): 36-39.

16) Short, D. J. (1991). Integrating language and content instruction: Strategies and techniques. Program Information Guide Series No. 7, National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Georgetown University: Center for Applied Linguistics.

17) Taylor, B, Harris, L., Pearson, P.D., & Garcia, G. (1995). Reading difficulties, instruction, and assessment (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. (Chap. 3, pp. 44-64)

18) Wells, D. (1995). Leading grand conversations. In N. L. Roser & M. G. Martinez (Eds.), Book talk and beyond: Children and teachers respond to literature. (Chap. 12, pp. 132-139).

19) Yopp, H. K. (1995). Read-aloud books for developing phonemic awareness: An annotated bibliography. The Reading Teacher 48(6), 538-542.

20) Young, T., & Vardell, S. (1993). Weaving Reader's Theater and nonfiction into the curriculum. The Reading Teacher, 46(5), 396-405.

[Additional readings may be assigned.]

 

V. Schedule of Topics and Readings

Numbers refer to numbered chapters and articles on preceding reading list.

Abbreviations used:
B&J = Barr & Johnson: Teaching reading in elementary classrooms
P&H= Powell & Hornsby: Learning phonics and spelling in a whole language classroom
IRA/NCTE = Standards for the assessment of reading and writing 

Week		Topic	Readings
1	Sept. 6	Introduction to the course	--
2	Sept. 9-13	Language & literacy--definitions Language acquisition/development Issues of cultural and linguistic diversity in language development	Graves, Ch. 1 Au, Ch. 1&2 #12
3	Sept. 16-20	Emergent literacy • How young children become literate • Visit to Champaign Public Library (Rich McDonald--guest speaker)
4	Sept. 23-27	Learning and instruction in language arts: General • Learning theories that have shaped practices in teaching language arts • Overview of past and present practices in teaching language arts • Reading--definition and theories (Sept. 27--session re: Special Ed.)	Au, Ch. 3-4 B&J, Ch. 2
5	Sept. 30-Oct. 4	Patterns of interaction in classrooms • Questioning/discussion • Cultural differences (Oct. 4--Session re: Special Ed.)	Au, Ch. 6-7 #10
6	Oct. 7-11	Language differences	Au, Ch. 8-9 #4, #8, #17
7	Oct. 14-18 (no class Oct. 14)	• Assessing student knowledge at the beginning of the school year • Organizing, assessing, and grouping for reading instruction (Children's lit presentations begin on Oct. 7)	B&J, Ch. 5-6 Au, Ch. 5

8	Oct. 21-25	Language arts in the primary grades (K-3) • Stages of reading development • Issues in early reading development • Objectives for reading development in the primary grades • Reading programs and materials	B&J, Ch. 3 & 7 #1, #2
9	Oct. 28-Nov. 1	Language arts in the primary grades (K-3), cont. • Strategies for teaching reading in the primary grades • Assessing reading development in the primary grades	B&J, Ch. 4 & 8 P&H, Ch. 6 #5, #11, #19
10	Nov. 4-Nov. 8	Language arts in the primary grades (K-3), cont. • Relationships between reading and writing • Development of writing ability • Objectives for writing development in the primary grades • Strategies for teaching writing in the primary grades	P&H, Ch. 1-5 #3, #7, #15
11	Nov. 11-15	Language arts in the primary grades (K-3), cont. • Assessing writing development in the primary grades • Objectives of speaking/listening development in the primary grades • Strategies for teaching speaking/listening in the primary grades	Graves, Ch. 2-6 Au, Ch. 10 #6, #13
12	Nov. 18-Nov. 22	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6) • Objectives for reading development in the intermediate grades • Theories of reading comprehension	B&J, Ch. 9 Graves, Ch. 7-8
13	Nov. 25-Nov. 29 (no class Nov. 29)	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • The central components of reading lessons • Strategies for teaching reading in the intermediate grades • constructing meaning in narratives - constructing meaning in informational texts	No readings-- Happy Thanksgiving!

14	Dec. 2-6	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • constructing meaning in informational texts, cont. • Vocabulary development	B&J, Ch. 11-13 #14, #18
15	Dec. 9-13 (no class Dec. 13)	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • Objectives for writing development in the intermediate grades • Informal writing • Theory of process writing • Strategies for teaching process writing	No readings -- Happy holidays!
16	Jan. 20-24 (no class Jan 20)	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • Writer's tools: Spelling, handwriting, grammar • Assessing writing	Graves, Part III; Ch. 9-11
17	Jan 27-31	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • Strategies for teaching oral language - informal oral language activities - interpretive oral language activities - formal oral language activities - dramatic activities • Assessing speaking/listening	B&J, Ch. 14 #9, #20
18	Feb. 3-7	Language arts in the intermediate grades (4-6), cont. • Extending language arts across the curriculum: Planning and implementing theme units	Graves, Part IV #16
19	Feb. 10-14	Language arts in the middle school/junior high (7-8) • Reading • Writing • Speaking • Listening	B&J, Ch. 10 Graves, Part V
20	Feb. 17-21	Professional development for teaching language arts Review Portfolio conferences begin Feb. 21	No readings
21	Feb. 24-28	Portfolio conferences	No readings

VII. Summary of Due Dates and Evaluation

Assignment	Suggested or Actual Due Date	Points
Professionalism	Daily	30
"Myself as a Reader and a Writer" paper	Sept. 13 (suggested)	8
Reading Responses (5)	by end of time blocks on p. 6 (suggested)	50 (10 ea.)
Classroom Observations 1 2	Sept. 27 (suggested) Oct. 11 (suggested)	12 18
Case Study 1 2 3	between Oct. 14 and Nov. 25 (suggested)	8 12 15
Children's Literature Presentation	Varies per sign-up	30
Literature Circle	Oct. 21; Oct. 28 (write-up)	12
Thematic Unit	Nov. 15 (suggested)	45
Published Book	Dec. 2; Dec. 9 (suggested)	25
Final Exam: Portfolio	Feb. 21, 24, or 28	30
Total		300

 

Fall Spring

Assignment	Points	Assignment	Points
Professionalism	20	Professionalism	10
"Myself as a reader and a writer" paper	8	Reading responses (2x10)	20
Reading responses (3x10)	30	Case Study	35
Observation 1	12	Thematic unit	45
Observation 2	18	Published book	20
Literature Circle	12	Children's Lit. Presentation	35
		Final Exam: Portfolio	35
Total	100	Total	200

Grades Fall Spring

A = 90-100%	90-100 points	180-200 points
B = 80-89%	80-89 points	160-179 points
C = 70-79%	70-79 points	140-159 points
D = 60-69%	60-69 points	120-139 points

 

Description

I. Physical features

1) Diagram the classroom.

II. Materials

2) Is the reading program based on basal readers, literature (trade books) or both? If a basal reader is used, which one? (publisher, copyright date)

3) Is there a classroom library? (What types of books? What is the approximate ratio of books to students? Are books authored by children available? Are there magazines and other periodicals? What genres are available? How were the materials obtained for the classroom library?)

4) Describe the environmental print in the classroom. Are there pupil- made materials?

5) Do the children visit the school library regularly? What do they do there? What role does the librarian play?

6) What writing materials are available?

7) Do the students use a computer? How frequently? What do they do on the computer?

8) What other aspects of the environment are/might be used to stimulate literacy development?

III. Organization

9) What time is allocated for language arts instruction?

10) What is your best estimate of how much time students are actually engaged in reading? writing?

11) How are children grouped for language arts instruction? How are/were the groups formed? Do the groups change?

12) How is reading done? (e.g., teacher reading aloud, round robin reading, paired reading? )

13) Is there silent, independent reading? Please describe.

IV. Climate

14) Does the instruction mainly follow a "constructionist" or a "transmission" model? Give some examples to illustrate your conclusion.

Reaction

What do you think about opportunities to learn and practice language and literacy in this classroom?

15) What aspects do you particularly like? Why?

16) What would you do differently? Why?

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Note: Be sure to include the grade level on your observation!

 

Directions: If students in this classroom are grouped by ability for instruction, please observe at least 2 students in a "lower" group and 2 in a "higher" group. If students are not grouped (i.e., heterogeneous grouping or whole group instruction), please identify 2 "higher" and 2 "lower" students to observe. Your observation should take place on three separate days, and should include both reading and writing instruction.

Description

1) Describe the demographics of the classroom. Include ethnicity/race, gender, language background.

2) If students are grouped for instruction, how are they grouped? How were the groups formed? Why were they formed this way?

3) What materials are the students reading during your observation? (be specific)

4) How is reading done? (e.g., round robin, silently)

5) Describe writing instruction. What writing is done? (Try to obtain examples of "higher" and "lower" student work.)

6) What is the approximate ratio of teacher talk to student talk? (a method of recording this information will be shown in class)

7) What is the approximate ratio of the following kinds of questions that are asked during reading and writing instruction?

a) open

b) closed

i) literal

ii) inferential

8) Do all children have equal opportunity to participate (in reading, writing, speaking, answering questions)? If not, who participates most and least?

Reaction

Reflect on what you observed and write a 1-2 page reaction. As much as possible, relate your observation to course readings you have completed to date. For example, tell about any differences you observed in the language arts instruction for "higher" and "lower" students, for different genders, or for different ethnic groups. What did you particularly like about what you observed? Why? What would you do differently? Why?

****

Note: Be sure to include the grade level on your observation!