Shortwood Teachers’ College
Language Arts Department
Subject: Language Arts
Course: Language Arts in the Early Childhood Curriculum
Duration: 45 hours
Semester: One
Lecturer: Mrs. Margaret Clarke
Mrs. Janette McLaren
Ms. Dahlia Palmer
COURSE OUTLINE:
Rationale:
In post-independence Jamaica, the teaching of the language arts has been the subject of national debate by educators in several spheres of influence. However, amidst the differences in perspectives, there is agreement that the teacher needs to be empowered to effectively guide students’ language development. There is also consensus that the preparation of language arts teachers needs to be contextually driven.
General Objectives:
The objective is to develop student-teachers’ understanding of and response to the:
1. Major processes of the language arts
2. The approaches and strategies for developing these processes with young children
3. The overlapping contexts (linguistic, curriculum, policy) in which language arts instruction takes place
Course Topics:
Unit 1: Introduction to the Language Arts
· Definition of LA (strands of LA)
· Role of LA in the EC Curriculum
· Environment as a catalyst for LA
Unit 2: The structure of Jamaica Languages
· English and Creole as second languages in Jamaica
· Defining Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
· Attitudes to Creole and English
Unit 3: Children’s literature in the early Language Arts programme
· Roles of children’s literature for children’s language development
· Criteria for selection of children’s literature
· Children’s literature as a vehicle for integration
Unit 4: Guiding pupils’ language arts development
· Play and oral language development
· Oral language communication in the classroom
· Drama for developing children’s language competence
· The reading/writing connection
Unit 5: Producing and evaluating language arts instructional materials
· Role of instructional material in language learning
· Criteria for selecting instructional material
· Designing and customizing instructional materials
· Using technology in the EC Language Arts programme
Language Arts in the EC Curriculum
Coursework Assignments – 2011
Assignment #1: Due week of September 19 - 23, 2011 (20 marks)
Group Assignment
a) Explain how you would use any three activities to develop the language mode assigned to your group (8 marks)
b) Demonstrate one of these activities in class (12 marks)
Grading for assignment #1
Group Presentation (12 marks) / Written Component (8 marks)Appropriateness/relevance of activity / 5 / Clarity of expression and depth of explanations / 4
Use of language / 3 / Sequencing of ideas / 2
Organization of presentation / 2 / References / 2
Group collaboration/cohesiveness / 2 / - / -
TOTAL / 12 / 8
Assignment #2: Test (week of October 10-14, 2011 (15 marks)
Multiple choice and short answer test on:
· Theoretical perspectives of language development (i.e theories that relate to a child’s oral language acquisition and development (such as Lev Vygotsky, Naom Chomsky, Jean Piaget, B. F. Skinner).
· The structure of the Jamaican Language
Assignment #3: Due Week of October 31 - November 4, 2011 (15 marks)
Group Assignment – Part I (8 marks): Compile a resource booklet of eight children’s literature as follow: (i) 2 non-fiction (ii) 2 fiction (iii) 2 Caribbean writers (fiction/non-fiction); and (iv) 2 concept books. Ensure that you include the following information for each book:
a) Bibliographic information (title, author, publisher, year of publication)
b) Summary of the book
c) Specify the recommended age group for the book
d) Suggest reason(s) for selecting each literature
Part II (7 marks): Show how you would use any one of the children’s literature to develop at least four modes of language arts in the EC classroom (group presentation).
Notes re group preparations/presentations:
· There are two group assignments, i.e. for assignments 1 and 3. For assignment #1, you will select your group members. For assignment #3, the lecturer will assign students to their groups.
· For both group assignments, each group will be required to complete a contract form. The form can be accessed at www.dlpalmer.weebly.com. The first page of the contract must be submitted prior to the assignment. The second page of the contract must be included with the written component of the assignment.
· Each group member must participate in the group assignment(s). Any person who does not make contributions to the group preparation and presentation, will not benefit from the group grade.
Language Arts Department
August 2011