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ENGL 523

ENGL 523
Teaching Reading in the English Classroom

Catalog Entry

English 523. Teaching Reading in the English Classroom
Three hours lecture (3).

Primarily intended for graduate-level, pre-service teaching intern candidates, this course introduces students to the teaching of reading comprehension.  Reading critically in fiction and non-fiction texts and as an active thinker and writer is emphasized.

 

Detailed Description of Content of Course

The course content includes:

  1. Study of literacy and how to help students become better readers of a variety of texts.
  2. Study of the strategies that support comprehension of fiction and non-fiction texts, including pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading strategies.
  3. Study of measures of readability and of the textual features that make texts more or less comprehendible, including illustrations, prior knowledge, and motivational factors.
  4. Study of instructional materials designed to support reading comprehension, including charts, prior knowledge inventories, organizers, semantic maps, response journals, and questioning templates and guides.
  5. Study of reading assessment
  6. Study of vocabulary acquisition

 

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

As a cross-listed course conducted simultaneous to ENGL 423, ENGL 523 offers a variety of learning opportunities to investigate the nature of literacy as a cognitive act while also applying that investigation to reading instruction in the English classroom at the middle and secondary levels.  Students analyze texts for readability and interest while designing lessons for larger and smaller group interactions and reading events.  Students in the class participate in a variety of whole-class and small-group discussions; students plan and implement lessons focused on teaching reading strategies; students likewise examine and analyze instructional materials designed to support reading comprehension of fiction and non-fiction texts.  Some attention is devoted to investigation of pertinent, official and statutory standards for both textbooks and trade books as are found in public school classrooms.  Students also write individually and in peer writing groups in response to audio-visual and web-based resources pertinent to specific literature selections, authors, genres, and contexts.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students in Teaching Reading in the English Classroom will be able to:

  1. Define literacy and identify its implications for classroom instruction (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Element 1).
  2. Plan reading instruction that uses research-based strategies that help students actively engage with and respond to a variety of texts (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Elements 1, 3).
  3. Plan standards-based reading instruction that uses a variety of individual and collaborative approaches (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Element 3).
  4. Design a range of authentic reading assessments that demonstrate an understanding of how learners develop and that address interpretive, critical, and evaluative abilities in reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and presenting (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Element 2)
  5. To explain vocabulary acquisition as a socio-psycholinguistic phenomena  
  6. Design or knowledgeably select appropriate reading assessments that inform instruction by providing data about student interests, reading proficiencies, and reading processes (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Element 4).
  7. Synthesize information from scholarly articles, textbooks, and coursework to support reading comprehension activities (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Element 1).
  8. Identify and explain measures of readability and of the textual features that make texts more or less comprehendible, including illustrations, prior knowledge, and motivational factors (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Elements 1, 3, 5).
  9. Identify and describe instructional materials designed to support reading comprehension, including charts, prior knowledge inventories, organizers, semantic maps, response journals, and questioning templates and guides (NCTE/NCATE Content Pedagogy III, Elements 1, 3, 5).
  10. Be able independently to research and evaluate research findings related to topics in literacy and reading instruction.

 

Assessment Measures

ENGL 523 uses a variety of assessment measures, which may include a number of the following:

  1. Informal writing activities such as readers’ logs, journals, and discussion questions;
  2. In-class student presentations with learning activities;
  3. Reading quizzes and examinations on assigned readings;
  4. In-class or take-home essay examinations on the assigned readings;
  5. Researched or non-researched essays on the strategies, concepts, and reference materials investigated in the course;
  6. Research project and / or final essay focused on an individually chosen topic;
  7. Lesson plans - traditional or web-based - designed to accompany fiction and non-fiction readings in a middle or secondary English classroom or library setting.

Students enrolled in ENGL 523 will be expected to perform at the graduate level and to complete a research-based unit plan.

 

Other Course Information

None.

 

Review and Approval

May 10, 2024

 

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