EDUC 319 Teaching Elementary Language Arts

A survey of instructional approaches, materials and media for the teaching of language arts including reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing and visually representing. Emphasis will be given to developing differentiated instructional practices for diverse learners with a focus on the writing process, reading and writing connections, assessment, writing genres, research techniques and content area strategies.

This course will equip the candidate with Science of Reading theory and instructional practices regarding the teaching of English language arts and writing. The teacher education candidate must understand and apply concepts from reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing in the context of the PreK-8 classroom. Additionally, the teacher education candidate must address the specific differentiated literacy needs of struggling readers, English language learners, and those who speak language varieties other than English.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. The candidate will formulate a thread in response to the following prompts: writing strategies; the instruction assessment cycle; narrative writing devices; and incorporating technology into writing instruction. Each thread must be a minimum of 350 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the candidate will reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be a minimum of 150 words. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

In preparation for edTPA in student teaching, the candidate will practice a simulation of edTPA Task 2. The candidate will view and evaluate a video clip of a literacy lesson segment. The candidate will complete the Planning Commentary to reflect on the instructional practices and assessments in relation to the diverse students’ needs in the classroom learning environment. (CLO: A, B, E)

The candidate will construct an effective lesson plan that supports reading comprehension and writing skills through syntactical awareness. Using the Virginia State Standards of Learning, the candidate will design a lesson plan that will model syntax, sentence structure, and paragraph development skills. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

The candidate will develop a model lesson focused on using content area strategies, skills and informational text structures. The candidate will analyze informational text structures and develop a sample topic web to model writing for this genre. (CLO: A, B, D, E)

To support comprehension in the content areas, the candidate will develop a model lesson that provides explicit instruction on how to plan and write a summary. The candidate will use various scaffolds to support summary writing across the content and for a variety of learners. (CLO: A, B, D, E)

The candidate will select a grade level (K-8) and design a language arts project integrating the six language arts strands- listening, talking, reading, writing, viewing, and visually representing. The project will include selecting developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant resources to meet the needs of all learners. The candidate will include mini-lessons that emphasize writing, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction and assessments. Additionally, candidates will demonstrate differentiation of literacy needs by designing tiered reading group instruction.
(CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

Quizzes (4)

The candidate’s knowledge and understanding of the textbook material will be assessed through four quizzes. Each quiz will cover the textbook material for the assigned module: week. Each quiz will be open- book/open-notes, contain ten multiple-choice questions, and have a 30-minute time limit. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)