Reading in the Content Areas
Official Course Description
The focus of this course is the teaching of reading in a variety of subject areas in the middle and secondary schools. Topics examined will include: reading in school programs, problems in curricular materials, meeting individual needs, general and specific reading and study skills, critical reading and adjustment of reading instruction to meet individual learning styles. (University Catalog, 2007)
Unofficial Course Description
This course is designed to get you started thinking about how we learn to read. But it will also address how you teach others to read, how you inspire students to pick up a book, and how they might become better readers and writers. I see it as a methods class with the goal of getting you to think about the ways to foster literacy within your classrooms and how you can best teach students to read and write more effectively. As you approach your teaching career, I hope that this class fosters a keen awareness of how important reading is to student success and how you can teach students to read well, regardless of your academic discipline.
In writing this syllabus, I’m struck by how fluid we will have to be in our first few weeks together as we figure out who is taking the course and what they need from the course. We will begin by surveying the literature about reading and readers, trying to puzzle out the major debates in the field, and trying to figure out how these debates are (or will be) relevant to the classroom. We will then turn to the connections between reading and writing, and how to build a classroom where children’s progress can be measured in a genuine way.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, I hope that all of you will have thought deeply about the following questions:
1. What does it mean to be a “good” reader? How do you teach someone to become a read well? What are the unique approaches necessary within your teaching field?
2. What factors affect the way students learn to read? How are these factors relevant to a secondary classroom?
3. How can you create a secondary classroom rich with texts and infused with literacy? How can you vary your instruction to ensure that all students succeed?
4. What does it mean to be a “good” writer? Are there good writers or is there just good writing? How do you teach someone to write well?
These are all important questions that you will grapple with as long as you continue to teach. And as you reflect on these questions, you might consider this pair of standards, one from the state, and one from SJU, that lay out what an effective teacher is:
(A) The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline the teacher teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for all students.
(B) The teacher understands how all children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, career and personal development.
(C) The teacher understands how students differ in their ability and approaches to learning and creates opportunities that foster achievement of diverse learners in the inclusive classroom.
(D) The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies, including interdisciplinary learning experiences, to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills
(E) The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning and self-motivation.
(F) The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal and media communication techniques supported by appropriate technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration and supportive interaction in the classroom.
(G) The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community and curriculum goals.
(H) The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social and physical development of the learner.
(I) The teacher thinks systematically about practice, learns from experience, seeks the advice of others, draws upon educational research and scholarship and actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
(J) The teacher contributes to school effectiveness by collaborating with other professionals and parents, by using community resources, and by working as an advocate to improve opportunities for student learning.
SJU Learning Principles
*The teacher gives priority to the development of social justice and equity in the classroom.
*The teacher fosters relationships between the school and communities it serves, taking into consideration such issues as gender, race, and class, as well as promoting the sharing of resources and perspectives that enhance and enrich learning in a community of learners.
*The teacher is able to make connections between theory and practice and understands the role that scholarly research can play in guiding the work of the practitioner.
*The teacher uses an interdisciplinary approach to teaching based on an understanding that learning is enhanced when students make connections among different subject areas.
Required Texts:
Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle : new understandings about writing, reading, and learning (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Birkerts, S. (2006). The Gutenberg elegies : the fate of reading in an electronic age. New York: Faber and Faber.
Fecho, B. (2004). "Is this English?" : Race, Language, and Culture in the Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Prose, F. (2006). Reading like a writer : a guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Perkins, L. (2006) Criss Cross. NY: Harper/Trophy.
Schultz, K. (2003). Listening : a framework for teaching across differences. New York: Teachers College Press.
Wiggins, G. P. (1998). Educative assessment : designing assessments to inform and improve student performance (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wolfe, M. (2007) Proust and the Squid, New York: Harper Collins.
On-line articles
Bell, D. (2005). The Bookless Future. The New Republic
Biancarosa, G. & Snow, C.E. (2004). Reading next: A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004,
Cline,Z. & Neccochea, J. (2003) My Mother Never Read to Me. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (47)2, 122-125.
Lemann, N. (1997). The Reading Wars. Atlantic Monthly 280(5), 128-134.
NEA. (2004). Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America. Washington DC: National Endowment for the Arts
N.E.A. (2007). To Read or Not to Read. Washington DC: National Endowment for the Arts.
Hendrix, S. Family literacy education—Panacea or false promise? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 43 (4), 338-345.
McNichol & Dalton, The best way is always through the children: The impact of family reading
Mokoto, R. (2008, July27). U Really Reading? New York Times.
Williams, B (2006). Home and away: The tensions of community, literacy, and identity. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 49(4), 342-347.
There will be a number of articles distributed in class as well.
Assessments
For each of these assessments, there is a section on blackboard that contains the rubric I’ll use to evaluate the work and outstanding examples of the assignment.
(15%) Revisiting your Philosophy of Education Due: February 1st
In your schools and society class you wrote your own philosophy of education. For this class, you are to dig this paper up and re-write it with an eye towards the following themes:
*how did you learn to read and write?
*what do you remember about the process of becoming literate?
*how did you read and write in high school?
*how do your own experiences influence your vision of teaching?
You might also consider the ways in which Prose and others that we’ve read constructed their own literary biographies. While this is an informal essay that you ought to feel free to write in the first person, it should still adhere to high standards. (750-1000 words)
(10%) Reading Wiki Due: Sunday before we discuss the reading
You will be responsible for maintaining a wiki (or possibly two) on one of the texts we read this semester. Some of the texts have wikis already; you ought to edit them with an eye towards improving them. For other texts, you’ll have to use the available template.
(15%) Professional Reading Recommendation Due: February 22nd
Part of being a strong secondary teacher is your ability to translate recent works in your field into language and ideas that high school students can readily understand. In a 1000-1,250 word essay, you will describe a recent work -- a novel or a monograph -- and detail how one could use this text in a high school classroom. Your goal is to think about how high school students might “read” this advanced work. Nothing published before 2002 will be accepted as an appropriate text nor will anything read for another class.
(15%) Writing Assignment Design Due: March 22nd
This assignment has three parts: one, you’ll design a short essay you want students to write based upon the texts they’re reading. Two, you’ll write the assignment yourself. Three, you’ll construct a detailed rubric for the assignment.
(10%) Group Unit Plan, Paper and Discussion Due: April 15th
In a small group, you will put together an interdisciplinary unit plan. The template for the unit plan will be provided; there will also be portions of two class periods to help facilitate the process.
(20%) Unit Plan Due: Day of Final Exam
By the end of the semester, you will develop a three week unit plan based upon a trio of texts. These materials may be poems, films, websites, but must include at least one monograph or novel. The template for this unit plan will emerge from our reading of Grant Wiggins; keep in mind that you will be responsible for fifteen lesson plans for this unit, so make sure that you begin early. During the last class you will present your unit plan to your classmates for feedback. The written portion will be due on the date of the final exam. No late assignments will be accepted.
All written work will be submitted on-line via blackboard. When you submit a copy on blackboard, you may send me a copy as an attachment for back-up.
Course Schedule
Wednesday, January 21st, Introductions, Syllabus Review, “What are we reading?”
Readings for next week: Birkerts, Part One; Prose, 1-33, skim To Read Report.
Wednesday, January 28th: Reading: What’s the Point? What does it mean to be a good reader?
Readings for next week: Five articles from Kathy Davidson; Prose, pp. 35-142.
Wednesday, February 4th: What has it meant to teach someone to read historically? What’s at stake with reading instruction?
Readings for next week: Report from National Reading Panel; Minority Report.
The Reading Wars, Nicholas Lemann; Carnegie Foundation Report on Adolescent Literacy.
Wednesday, February 11th : What do the current “experts” say about learning to read?
Readings for next week: M. Wolf, 1, 4-6
Wendesday, February 18th: The Science of Reading
Readings for next week: Criss Cross (novel); Hendrix, McNichol & Dalton, Williams, Cline & Neccochea.
Wednesday, February 25th: How do families affect reading and literacy?
Readings for next week: Bob Fecho, chapters 4-8.
Kathy Schultz, chapters 4-5.
Wednesday, March 4th: How do race, class, and gender affect reading and literacy?
Readings for week of March 18th;
The Bookless Future David Bell (New Republic)Mokoto
Sven Birkerts, The Gutenberg Elegies (117-164) (there will be four additional articles distributed in class)
March 11th: NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
Wednesday, March 18th: How does technology affect reading and literacy?
Readings for next week: Kathy Schultz, 1-3, Jetton & Dole, 6-9
Wednesday, March 25th: How can we help students who struggle?
Readings for next week: Wiggins, Chapters 1-3, Atwell, Chapters 1,2,5,6; One page Willingham Handout.
Wednesday, April 1st : Workshop: Lesson Planning
How do we design activities that work in the classroom?
Readings for Weds: Wiggins 4,5,7,8, Atwell (7-9)
Wednesday, April 8th: Assessment
A: Reviewing Lesson Plans
B: Assessing Student Writing
B: Rubric Design
C: Discussion: Introduction to Wiggins template Unit Planning
Break out groups to plan presentations for next week.
Wednesday, April 15th: Presentations of Group Project Units
Wednesday, April 22nd
First round, student Presentations. You will come to class with a two-three page handout that describes your unit plan as well as a prepared talk (7-8 minutes). We will all offer feedback based upon the rubric being used to assess the units.
Wednesday, April 29th
Second round, student presentations
Unit Plans due: Date of final examination (tba)
Class Requirements
(15%) Participation, Leadership, and Engagement
For this course to work, you must be in class and ready to go. There are multiple ways to participate -- on-line, in small groups, in large group discussions -- for those comfortable with different modes of conversation. I believe that engaged teachers are also engaged learners, and you must be ready to engage me, your classmates, and your own beliefs about reading and teaching for this class to matter.
(5%) Attendance: no absences (all five points). Each additional absence subtracts three points from this grade.
(5%) Course Discussion Board: Before Tuesday night at midnight, write a brief paragraph describing your response to the reading. It doesn’t have to be very long but ought to outline something you found provocative or troubling about the reading. Nine or more post earns all five points; eight posts earns three points; anything less earns zero points. Posts not submitted by the time deadline will not count. Several examples of the kinds of posts I’m looking for are available on the discussion board.
(5%) Participation: you need to be there each week. To earn all six points, you should be a frequent participant who makes accurate, considered comments on the readings; a student who draws insightful connections to other students’ ideas and their own. You should be someone who participates willingly in group activities and projects; serves as a leader or a scribe regularly during group process. Perhaps most important, you should be someone who provides significant direction and service to the classroom.
Attendance
*Because this class only meets a handful of times, it is vitally important that you attend all sessions. If you know your schedule will not permit you to attend all classes, you should probably drop the course. If you miss class for any reason, please submit a 750-1000 word reflection on the readings. To be honest, I’m not interested in the reasons why you’re not here – I’m sure they’re reasonable. Submit the essay within one week of your absence. Excessive absences (e.g. more than 2 absences) will result in a grade of “FA” (failure due to excessive absences.)
Tardiness
Students are expected to arrive for class on time. A combination of two occasions involving tardy arrivals or leaving class early will be counted as one class absence.
Cell Phones
Unless you might be needed in surgery, please keep your cell phones off.
I will try and return all emails. Please allow me twenty four hours to respond. You are responsible for checking your SJU email on a regular basis as it is my primary mode of communication between classes. If you need assistance forwarding your email to a different address, please contact the IT department for help.
Academic Honesty
Saint Joseph’s University has adopted and enforces an official academic honesty policy. Please review this policy in the catalog. Plagiarism is a key part of academic honesty and is always, always unacceptable. ANY INCIDENCE OF PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS.
Students with Disabilities: For those who have or think that you may have a disability (learning, physical or psychological), are encouraged to contact Services for Students with Disabilities, Room 113, Science Center, 610-660-1774 or 610-660-1620 as early as possible in the semester. Accommodations can only be provided to student with current (within 3 years) documentation.
Students are encouraged to discuss their instructional and accommodation needs (“reasonable academic adjustments”) with their professors early in the semester.