Curriculum

The course examines a variety of teaching strategies using literature written for children and adolescents. Among the topics addressed are how to locate and evaluate the text and illustrations in children’s books, how to integrate literature into the K-12 curriculum across multiple content areas, and how to stimulate and evaluate a variety of student responses to literature.

This course is designed to provide practicing teachers with a foundation for literacy instruction in K–12 classrooms. Teacher participants will examine literacy in terms of its definition, the factors contributing to its development, the stages of literacy growth, and the role of literacy in enabling full societal participation. The teacher’s role in providing effective, appropriate instruction to ensure that all students reach their literacy potential will be emphasized. This will include an awareness of the New York State Learning Standards and the Ontario Expectations as guides to levels of literacy achievement. In addition, participants will examine effective instructional practices across the grade levels and explore how they can develop families as literacy partners, address diverse needs of students, use effective assessment to guide instruction, and incorporate technology into literacy instruction.

This course introduces practicing teachers to multiple uses of technology in literacy education. It provides them with the knowledge and experience to use technology as a tool to improve literacy teaching and learning for all students. Teachers examine and evaluate literacy software in terms of applicability to a variety of educational settings. Teachers learn to teach students how to access literacy information and resources using the Internet. Teachers also learn how to guide students in Web publishing.

This methods course focuses on research-based principles and practices for providing diverse young children, birth through age eight, with a strong foundation in language and literacy. Developmentally appropriate assessment techniques and instructional approaches, professional collaboration, and ways in which literacy may be fostered in the home context are also examined. Field experiences required.

This methods course focuses on knowledge development and theoretical application of evidenced-based literacy assessment and instruction for intermediate grade learners (grades 3-8). Instructional differentiation for academically and culturally diverse learners, content area literacy, and literacy leadership skills are also examined and developed. Field experiences required. 

This methods course focuses on diagnostic assessment and instruction for literacy learners in grades k-12, emphasizing individualized or small group settings. Candidates will examine formal and informal literacy assessments, conduct a diagnostic assessment of reading abilities, analyze the assessment, and plan and implement appropriate reading instruction. Professional collaboration is emphasized. Field experiences required.   

(grades 5 – 12 candidates only)

This course offers the grade 7-12 teacher the opportunity to design instructional and assessment materials in reading, writing and study skills in the content subjects for his/her own classroom use. This course will sensitize the practicing teacher to the important role that reading plays in learning any subject. The course will provide a knowledge base about the reading process and opportunities to use that knowledge in instruction, assessment and program organization.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the principles of research in education. Students will become effective consumers of educational research by analyzing the literature in a particular area of study and synthesizing the results into material that can be applied to diverse educational settings. Students will also develop practical research skills that they might use to assist them in their own professional development. Preservice teachers and practitioners enrolled in this course will complete a field-based research project pertaining to their area of study.

This course has been developed to help build teachers’ knowledge and skills in scientifically based reading research which will enable them to teach all children to master reading by the end of grade three. By providing teachers and instructional support personnel with quality training through the application of scientifically based reading research, to reading instruction, assessment, diagnosis, progress monitoring and intervention, reading instructional effectiveness will occur. This course will cover modules one through four. Module one: Reading and Language Arts: The Context of Change. Module two: Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness. Module three: The Alphabetic Principle and Phonics. Module four: Word Study.

This course has been developed to help build teachers’ knowledge and skills in scientifically based reading research which will enable them to teach all children to master reading by the end of grade three. By providing teachers and instructional support personnel with quality training through the application of scientifically based reading research, to reading instruction, assessment, diagnosis, progress monitoring and intervention, reading instructional effectiveness will occur. This course will cover modules five through eight. Module five: Fluency. Module six: Vocabulary. Module seven: Comprehension I. Module eight: Comprehension II.

This course takes a global approach to the promotion of literacy. Focusing on juvenile and children’s literature as well as on literature applicable to adolescents, the course will provide an in-depth study of literacy beyond our national borders. Methods of teaching literacy — reading, writing, speaking, comprehending, and thinking — to ELL students will be infused in the course. Students will develop lessons, literature-teaching modules, and develop materials for use in future classroom work. Field experience required.

This course will provide participants with a deeper knowledge of how to deliver writing instruction more effectively. Participants will gain knowledge of the America’s Choice writing standards, New York state writing standards, writing genres, components of writer’s workshop, writing conferences, and how to analyze students’ writing using rubrics. Participants will review and discuss strategies to help strengthen the workshop approach in the classroom. Writing standards will be defined clearly to help guide instruction as well as to communicate with parents and other educators the expectations of each grade level’s writing program.

This course will provide participants with a deeper knowledge of how to deliver reading instruction to students with diverse learning needs. Focus will be placed on planning instruction, accessing and developing resources and conducting assessments for students from different cultural back-grounds and learning abilities.

This course is designed to provide candidates with advanced knowledge and application of consultation as a service delivery model for students with diverse needs and the application of collaboration as a framework for working in inclusive settings. The course focuses on pedagogical theories, skills for consultation and collaboration through field work and best practices for working as an effective educational consultant and collaborator.

Taken concurrently with EDU 798

The literacy practicum is designed to enable practicing teachers to develop and demonstrate competence in teaching literacy. Candidates are expected to demonstrate the attitudes, knowledge and skills commensurate with effective literacy instruction. Candidates will be observed by university-designated supervisors as they perform the activities of a reading teacher in a variety of contexts.

Taken concurrently with EDU 796

This course discusses advanced topics in literacy instruction, including the connection of theory and practice as related to effective instructional practices that address the New York State Standards and Ontario Expectations in literacy, the diverse literacy needs of students, the use of technology in the literacy classroom, and literacy assessment.

This course is designed to assist candidates in the advanced graduate programs in the College of Education as they develop their comprehensive portfolios that evidence the knowledge, skills, and dispositions recognized by the highest national and international professional organizations within their program areas. The course will explore the general and specific directives of portfolio preparation including format and composition. Personal guidance will be provided by the instructor through regular meetings.