- Getting to know you/Venn diagram Attached Files:
- Getting to know you.doc (57.5 KB)
- Greetings and Welcome to Content Literacy for the Middle Grades During this course we will explore various components included in helping middle school students strengthen their literacy skills in the content areas. The last couple of years this need has come to the forefront in education. All of the activities and assignments associated with this class are designed to help you gain a clearer understanding of this need and a clearer understanding of how to address it in the middle level classroom.
Each week you will have several things required of you. It will be important to complete each of these weekly. Your work will guide you as you create a content area unit using literacy to strengthen instruction.
First, you will be creating a set of instructional materials for a unit of study within a content area. The first step will be to select a content area, topic and grade level on which to focus throughout the class. Once you have made these decisions, you will create an alternative text collection. The texts you select will be used as you create artifacts and lessons for your classroom. For the remaining weeks, you will continue to add to this with first an anticipatory activity and then later lessons/activities for vocabulary, comprehension, writing, etc. Once your unit is completed, you will be asked to write a reflection that will be included in your Portfolio.
You will be asked to review the current literature for journal articles related to the need for Content Literacy and use these to prepare a formal paper.
During the class, you will be asked to read self-selected texts. If you are taking this class during the regular fall/spring semester, you are required to read 5 selections. If you are enrolled during a summer term, you are asked to read 2.
We will also be exploring digital literacies as a way to engage striving readers in the middle grades. You will be asked to purchase an eBook, blog, and use a wiki.
Each week you will be asked to complete a reading assignment prior to coming to class. This will be some type of study guide, etc. to help you prepare for class. This reading assignment will be available until the day of the class meeting we discuss the chapter. Please review the dates, since once the links are closed they will not be reopened.
During the summer the quizzes are due the day before the chapters are discussed in class. The other assignment due dates will be noted on the calendar.
I hope you enjoy the class and leave with a new knowledge of how to use literacy to strengthen the content areas.
- Textbooks We will be using three books this semester. Two of these are new and I am very excited to have them for the class. I think you will find them both informative and practical. The rental book is Improving Adolescent Literacy: Content Area Strategies at Work by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. Our readings will come from this text. Many students have found this text for sale on-line for about the same as the rental price. I also believe it is a book you would find useful later.
You are also asked to purchase 50 Content Area Strategies for Adolescent Literacy by Douglas Fisher, William Brozo, Nancy Frey, and Gay Ivey. This is a resource you will find very helpful as you plan your unit and as you begin teaching.
The final text is Goodbye Round Robin: Twenty-five Effective Oral Reading Strategies by Razinski, Opitz, and Bird. Research continues to show the ineffectiveness of round robin reading. This text provides alternatives to use in the classroom.
It is imperative that you have the texts as we begin the semester.
- Alternative Text Collection You will be creating an alternative text set to be used during this course. You may complete this assignment independently or with a partner. I will be setting up a wiki for you to use as you work on this assignment. This will be explained further in class.
At this point, begin thinking about a topic within a content area (not communication arts!) that you will use throughout the course. Consider the grade you will be using; it must be from grades 4-8. Then review what is expected of students in the grade.
Finally, review the assignment and begin looking for alternative texts.
- Book Order Activity Attached Files:
- BookClubOrderShopping.pdf (647.245 KB)
- Reminder-Ch. 1 Just a reminder to complete the Ch. 1 Reading Assignment and submit it before coming class. You will find more information in the Ch. 1 Folder.
- Teacher Inquiry to Effective Practice http://msaija.com/
This is a wonderful site to show how teacher inquiry, assessment, and reflection lead to better instruction and student learning.
- Mills Teacher Scholars http://millsscholars.org/
Mills Teacher Scholars supports ongoing learning for teachers through facilitating teacher-led investigations of teaching and learning. Contrary to popular belief, most teachers are not provided opportunities in their work day to carefully consider their students’ learning. Mills Teacher Scholars responds to this by creating a much-needed thinking space for teachers to better understand the complexities of their work and to implement changes to their teaching based on these considerations.
Participants include over 50 K-12 urban public school teachers who are investigating an aspect of their teaching or of their students’ learning that they feel is crucial to improving student learning outcomes. Teachers meet monthly to discuss their questions with their colleagues and to systematically study the data that they collect to answer their questions, including classroom video data, student work, student interview data, and observational data. Mills Teacher Scholars staff provides facilitation and inquiry coaching to help move teachers in their thinking and to support them as they document the changes they make in their teaching and how these changes impact student learning. At the end of the year, Scholars present their findings to their colleagues.