DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND ADMINISTRATION
SYLLABUS (Subject to Modifications)
SEMESTER: Summer 2016
I. COURSE TITLE: LITERACY DEVELOPMENT FOR ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION EDRE 5070 Sections 030 or 026
ONLINE COURSE
II. INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Angela Randall
OFFICE LOCATION: MH 204 D
PHONE NUMBERS: 940 565 2065 (office)
EMAIL ADDRESS:
OFFICE HOURS: I check BB daily. It is easier to email me at then to use the BB messages. You can also reach me on my cell phone number which is in BB. I am pretty much available everyday if you have a question. Feel free to email and or call.
III. RESOURCES AND MATERIALS:
Required:
Herrera, S. G., Perez, D. R., & Escamilla, K. (2014). Teaching reading to English language learners: Differentiated literacies. Boston: Pearson. ISBN: 0-13-285519-4
Herrell, A. L., Jordan, M. (2016) 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners with Enhanced Pearson e-text—Access Card Package (5th Edition) ISBN: 0-13-405729-5
IV. COURSE DESCRIPTION
The current reality in public schools includes many linguistically diverse students who desire to live and learn successfully in the United States. Classroom teachers must be ready, willing and able to meet the needs of these students in their instructional programs. Central to this missing is the development of language competency and literacy skills that are expected in contemporary society. Linguistically diverse learners present a wonderful opportunity for teachers to apply sound theory and exciting instructional applications that enrich the classrooms on many levels. This course will enable students to increase their awareness and understanding of linguistically diverse learners, the language process they experience, and the best instructional practices that facilitate the progress of this special population. The course emphasizes language and literacy, the cultural aspects related to language and leaning experiences to help teachers meet the needs of the whole child.
Focus on Diversity: Acknowledging the pluralism in our society, this course focuses on the literacy needs and the variety of language learning strategies of our diverse school populations. Students in the class are expected to be sensitive to and responsible for the needs of children in their instructional planning, materials selection and proposed activities. In addition, students are expected to broaden their knowledge base of multicultural issues, including: language differences; learning styles; economic disparities; and cultural variations, and to evidence growing insight into these perspectives in their assignments as they prepare to work in public schools into these perspectives in their assignments as they prepare to work in public school classrooms, this insight is particularly important if teachers intend to provide excellent instruction who are learning English as an a additional language and who need to make accelerated language and academic progress in regular school programs.
How to Get Started
To get started, in the course content page of Blackboard you will see a START HERE icon, click on it and you will see instructions about where and how to begin, what tools to use, how to introduce yourself, and what books to purchase right away. The syllabus has all the instructions for each assignment as well as deadlines. Each assignment is also described under weekly assignments.
V. COMPETENCY- BASED LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Competencies / Teachers of young students:Oral Language
Ch. 1 Herrera / understand the importance of oral language, know the developmental process of oral language and provide a variety of instructional opportunities for your students to develop listening and speaking skills.
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
Ch. 3 Herrera / understand the components of phonological and phonemic awareness and utilize a variety of approaches to help young students develop this awareness and its relationship to written language.
Alphabetic Principle
Ch. 4 Herrera / understand the importance of the alphabetic principle to reading English, know the elements of the alphabetic principle and provide instruction that helps students understand that printed words consist of graphic representations that relate to the sounds of spoken language in conventional and intentional ways.
Literacy Development and Practice
Ch. 6 Herrera / understand that literacy develops over time and progress from emergent to proficient stages. Teachers use a variety of contexts to support the development of young students;’ literacy.
Word analysis and Decoding
Ch.5 Herrera / understand the importance of word analysis and decoding to reading and provide many opportunities for students to improve their word analysis and decoding abilities.
Reading Fluency
Ch. 7 Herrera / understand the importance of fluency to reading comprehension and provide many opportunities for students to improve their reading fluency.
Reading Comprehension
Ch. 6 Herrera / understand the importance of reading for understanding, know the components of comprehension and teach young students strategies for improving their comprehension.
Development of Writting
Ch. 8 Herrera / understand that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provide instruction that helps young students develop competence in written communication.
understand how young students use writing conventions and how to help students develop those conventions.
Assessment and Instruction of Developing Literacy
Ch. 9 Herrera / understand the basic principles of assessment and use a variety of literacy assessment practices to plan implement literacy for young students.
Research and inquiry Skills
Ch. 6 Herrera / understand the importance of study and inquiry skills as tools for learning and promote students’ development in applying study and inquiry skills
How to Meet the Competency- Based Learning Objectives
• Review the syllabus in its entirety;
• Follow all the course instructions found in the weekly learning modules in Blackboard and in this syllabus in order to address each assignment and assessment;
• Participate in forums using the discussion tool
• Ask questions about any particular assignment before it is due
• Turn in written assignments using WORD files;
• Submit assignments on time and on the due dates.
Learner Interaction and Engagement
The learning activities in this course promote the achievement of the learning objectives. Practice opportunities will be provided to help meet the objectives. Students will interact with the content, instructor, and classmates through forum discussions, gradebook, the assignment’s tool, messages or e-mail, and GoToMeeting. I as the instructor will be available in the course to communicate and provide feedback. I check email often so please feel free to ask questions through email or by calling my phone.
Learner Support
The University of North Texas provides technical support in the use of Blackboard. The student help desk may be reached at: , phone: 940-369-7394, or in person at UNT Chilton Hall, Room 112C. The Help Desk support hours are Mondays to Thursdays, 8:00 am to 9:00 pm; Fridays, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; Saturdays, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm; Sunday – Closed. GoTo Meeting offers 24x7 Technical Support at (888)259-8414 or online. If you have questions regarding access or your account, please contact the CLEAR Faculty Helpdesk at 940-369-7394 or at .
Navigation and On Demand Help and Learning Catalog
When you log on to Blackboard you will find the On Demand help and learning Catalog. When you click on the link it will redirect you to https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/Reference/Blackboard_Learn_Videos. In there you will find tutorials on video about the functions of Blackboard. This resource will better equip you to navigate the course.
VI. COURSE TECHNOLOGY
In order to be successful in this course students need to have minimal technical skills such as sending and receiving e-mails, uploading and downloading files, posting in forum threads, have speakers to listen to videos, lectures and podcasts have a webcam or cell phone to communicate via GoToMeeting. Additionally, the hardware and software necessary in your computer to use Blackboard effectively are:
PC: Windows 7
Mac: 0S 9 or 0SX
Internet access with compatible web browser
Headset and microphone
Java: Version 1.6 0 Update 18 or more recent
Word Processor and WORD Application to transmit files
VII. ACCESSIBILITY
To get started with the course log on to https://learn.unt.edu, enter your EUID and password and click the link with the course name. If you have forgotten your EUID or password you can go to: http://ams.unt.edu.
This course has been designed to make content accessible to students of different styles of learning. For example, it includes PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents that can be accessed using the reader tool, textbook and article readings, and different external web links related to course contents. Additionally, UNT provides academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to individuals with disabilities. If you believe that you have a disability requiring accommodation, please contact me and/or contact the Office of Disability Accommodation at 940-565-4323 during the first week of class to obtain authorized documentation.
VIII. ASSESSMENT & MEASUREMENT
The grading scale for this course is:
900-1000 points A
800-899 points B
700-799 points C
600-699 points D
599 points and below F
IX. REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS - Check for your assignments in Blackboard. All Assignments, discussions etc. will be due on their due date by 9pm
WK 1 Proficiency Level Descriptors / 100 pointsWK 1 Discussion Question 1 / 50 points
WK 2 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid Ch. 1 & 2 / 160 points (80 points each)
WK 2 Discussion Question 2 / 50 points
WK 3 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid Ch. 3 & 4 / 160 points (80 points each)
WK 3 Discussion Question 3 / 50 points
WK 4 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid Ch. 5 & 6 / 160 points (80 points each)
WK 4 Discussion Question 4 / 50 points
WK 5 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid Ch. 7 & 8 / 160 points (80 points each)
WK 5 GoToMeeting Book share / 60 points (40 assignment and 20 for attendance)
SPOT Extra Credit / (10 points)
Total / 1000 points
Late Work: All assignments and discussion questions are due on their due date by 9 pm. Work is considered late after that. Late work is accepted for up to 2 days past the due date but points are deducted for each day. Work turned in later than 2 days past the due date will not be graded and you will receive a 0. Summer courses are short and move quickly and I have to turn them around and grade them quickly so please get your assignments turned in on time so they don’t catch up to you. It is easy to get behind and before you know it you can’t catch up. Permission for late work must be asked for BEFORE it is due and not AFTER.
Chapter Summary Graphic Organizers/Visual Aids: Students will read and summarize the content presented in the chapters in a unique way. Students must select or design a suitable format, whether a graphic organizer, or visual aid that includes key ideas or elements related to the chapter topic. At the bottom of each graphic organizer is the rationale in which you will choose one of the ELPS 74.4 (c) 1-5 and explain how it relates to the information in your graphic organizer. The instructor will grade these based on a rubric. More specific instructions will be included in the assignments in BB.
Discussion Question Participation: Students will post and respond to 4 discussion questions to evidence their understanding and to contribute their ideas about the course content. Students must respond to other classmates discussion posts for each week one is assigned. You need to make sure to respond to different people. The instructor will evaluate each student’s discussion question responses for a grade, based on a rubric. More specific instructions will be included in the assignments in BB.
GoToMeeting: Students will contribute to a shared discussion based on the topic assigned by the instructor. There will be 1 GotoMeeting for the semester. Once a date has been set the student will receive an invite with all the information and attached link to attend the meeting. More specific instructions will be included in the assignments in BB.
ELPS-Proficiency Level Descriptors: See BB assignments for further detail.
X. COURSE ASSIGNMENTS & DEADLINES
Week 1, Due on 6/8: 6/12
Discussion Q1: Introduction: Due on 6/8
Assignment: Proficiency Level Descriptors: Due on 6/12
Week 2, Due on 6/15: 6/19 Discussion Q2: Chapter 5: Due on 6/15
Assignment: Ch. 1 and 2 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid: Due on 6/19
Week 3, Due on 6/22: 6/26
Discussion Q3: Chapter 6: Due on 6/22
Assignments: Ch. 3 and 4 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid: Due on 6/26
Week 4, Due on 6/29: 7/3
Discussion Q4: Chapter 12: Due on 6/29
Assignments: Ch. 5 and 6 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid: Due on 7/3
Week 5, Due on 7/6: 7/8
Assignments: Ch. 7 and 8 Graphic Organizer/Visual Aid: Due on 7/6
GoToMeeting- Sometime this week before or by 7/8
Xl. COURSE POLICIES
Attendance
Attendance to an online course is defined as participation in discussions and submission of assignments on the scheduled dates. All work is due in Blackboard on Wednesdays and Sundays by 9:00 PM. If participation is not possible due to illness or death in the family, doctors’ excuses or obituary records will need to be submitted to the instructor. Extraneous circumstances will be excused as well. A detailed explanation will need to be e-mailed to the instructor. Extensions for assignments will be granted on a case by case basis.
Late Work
Late work will be accepted only if the student has communicated with the instructor explaining the reason for the lack of participation. The instructor will make decisions on a one on one basis. Points will be taken off for late work.
Semester Drop Dates
If for any reason you have to drop the course, deadlines and information can be found at http://essc.unt.edu/registrar/schedule/spring/withdraw.html#drop).
XlI. COMMUNICATION
Eagle Connect
All official correspondence between UNT and students is conducted via Eagle Connect and via Blackboard. It is the student’s responsibility to read their Eagle Connect Email regularly.
Other Forms of Communication
To communicate with your classmates use the messages feature of Blackboard (BB) or you can communicate via GoToMeeting. To communicate with me you can call me using my office phone, my cell phone, BB messaging, and e-mail.
Netiquette
Please observe the following Netiquette guidelines during the discussions:
1) Tone down your language. Given the absence of face-to-face clues, written text can easily be misinterpreted. Avoid the use of strong or offensive language and the excessive use of exclamation points. If you feel particularly strongly about a point, it may be best to write it first as a draft and then to review it, before posting it, in order to remove any strong language.