Brandeis University

ED 101a: Elementary School Curriculum and Teaching: Literacy, Social Studies, and Other Topics

Fall, 2014

Literacy Class Meeting: Monday 4:00 – 5:20

Social Studies Class Meeting: Wednesday

Location: ASAC 204

Deborah Moriarty

Cell: 617-838-0124

Email:

Texts:

The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts (And They’re All Hard Parts) by Katie Wood Ray with Lester Laminack, National Council of Teachers of English (2001).

One of the following:

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller, Jossey-Bass (2009).

Radical Reflections: Passionate Opinions on Teaching, Learning, and Living by Mem Fox, Mariner Books (1993).

Requirements:

Attendance/Class Participation: Attendance is vital. PLEASE contact me prior to class if you are unable to attend. Your thoughtful participation is essential to the class, your learning and your grade.

Weekly Readings and Homework Assignments: Assignments must be typed and double-spaced on standard paper. All assignments are due on the date specified. Late assignments will be marked down one grade for each day of lateness unless you have contacted me and we have worked out an alternate arrangement due to extraordinary circumstances. It is important that you proofread your papers for typos, grammar and content.

Assignments:

YOUR CHOICE: DUE: September 29

  • Reader’s Profile Poster
  • My Reading Timeline: reflect on 10 – 12 texts/books that have shaped your life. See:

Book Talk & Book Review DUE: October 6

Please select a Newbery Medal/Honor book that you are not familiar with. Read your book. Complete a book talk. You will share your book talk in class. See

  • The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, adivision of the American Library Association, tothe author of the most distinguished contribution toAmerican literature for children.

Please select a Caldecott Medal/Honor book that you are not familiar with. Read your book. Write a book review; see Writing with Writers: Writing a Book Review with Rodman Philbrick:

(Steps 1 – 4, omit step 5 Publish online).

  • The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by theAssociation for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picturebook for children.

See for Newbery and Caldecott book titles.

Reading Comprehension Lesson Plan DUE: October 20

Create a lesson plan that teaches a comprehension strategy that we have learned about. Include: lesson title, grade, objective, materials (text, graphic organizer), detailed procedure: hook/introduction of the strategy, modeling of the strategy, “Think Aloud” script (if necessary), guided practice, student practice, closure, assessment criteria (what should student be able to do). (See Lesson Plan requirements handout.)

Heart Map DUE: November 17

Author Study DUE: December 1

Reading Response DUE: December 8

** Select a reading (or an excerpt) from the course and write a thoughtful response. (2 pages)

  • What were the key ideas raised in the selection?
  • In what ways did the reading resonate for you?
  • What questions did the reading raise?
  • Which learnings from this selection apply to your classroom? How?

Grading:

Attendance/Class Participation/Professionalism20% (determined jointly by Moriarty & Moore)

Literacy:(determined by Moriarty)

Book Talk/Book Review 5%

Reader’s Profile Poster/Timeline 5%

Lesson Plan 10%

Author Study 10%

Heart Map 5%

Article Response 5%

Social Studies40% (determined by Moore)

Academic Accommodations

If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability you should contact me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations you should contact Assistant Dean Laura Lyndon in Undergraduate Academic Affairs at 6-3470. Letters of accommodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.

Academic Integrity

In this course, you will work jointly with other students and you will be completing work independently. Within the context of this course, you will also participate in a number of in-class activities. In all cases, I ask that you put forth your best effort to learn with integrity and to support the learning of others. If you have a question about any aspect of the course, please let me know: I am available to discuss any question, concern, or interest you may have that relates to this course.

Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person—be it a world-class philosopher or your lab partner—without proper acknowledgment of the source. This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the source of any phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or ideas in published volumes, on the Internet, or created by another student. Violations of University policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the course or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, you must ask for clarification.

If you are working in a group that I have authorized, I will expect your answers to resemble those of your partners; otherwise I expect you to do your work separately from your friends, classmates, family members, and so on. You are not permitted to have anyone other than your professor help you on written assignments outside of class. If you have questions on the type of help you may receive, please ask me before you seek help from someone.

Date / Class # / Topic / Homework / Due
Wed., Sept. 8 / 1 / Introductions
Course overview / Read Schools That Work (Allington & Cunningham) chapter 3.
Read “Making the Words Roar”, (Thomas Armstrong), Educational Leadership, March, 2004.
Mon., Sept. 15 / 2 / How We Are Smart
What is Literacy?
Components of balanced literacy / Read “The Six T’s of Effective Elementary Literacy Instruction”, (Richard Allington), Phi Delta Kappan, 2002.
Mon., Sept. 22 / 3 / Reading Survey
My Life as a Reader / Create Reader’s Profile Poster/Timeline
Mon., Sept. 29 / 4 / Share Reader’s Profile Posters/Timeline
Comprehension Strategies
Strategy Instruction
( grade #3 Reading Minilesson
Lesson Plan Format / Newbery Award Book Talk & Caldecott Award Book Review
Read “START Comprehending: Students and Teachers Actively Reading Text”, (Tabatha Dobson Scharlach), The Reading Teacher, Sept., 2008. / Reader’s Profile Poste/Timeline
Mon., Oct. 6 / 5 / Share Book Talks
Common Core / Read 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy. / Book Talk & Book Review
Mon., Oct. 13 / NO CLASS
Mon., Oct. 20 / 6 / Informational Text / Read “The Common Core Insights Into the K-5 Standards”, (M. McLaughlin & B. Overturf), The Reading Teacher, Oct., 2012. / Lesson Plan
Date / Class # / Topic / Homework / Due
Mon., Oct. 27 / 7 / Pack the Suitcase & discussion groups: The Book Whisperer or Radical Reflections / Read The Writing Workshop, Katie Wood Ray, chapters 1 – 4
Read “NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing”, (NCTE Executive Committee), Nov., 2004. / The Book Whisperer or Radical Reflections
Mon., Nov. 3 / 8 / Stages of Writing Development
Writing Process / Read The Writing Workshop, Katie Wood Ray, chapters 5 – 8
Mon., Nov. 10 / 9 / Best Practices in Writing Instruction
Improving Writing in Schools
Writing Workshop Components / Heart Map
Read The Writing Workshop, Katie Wood Ray, chapters 9 – 12
Mon., Nov. 17 / 10 / Share Heart Maps
Writing Workshop Structure
Conferences / Read The Writing Workshop, Katie Wood Ray, chapters 13 – 16 / Heart Map
Mon., Nov. 24 / 11 / Reading Like a Writer
  • 6 Traits
  • Mentor Texts
/ Read The Writing Workshop, Katie Wood Ray, chapters 17 – 19
Mon., Dec. 1 / 12 / Share Author Study / Reading Response / Author Study
Mon., Dec. 8 / 13
LAST
CLASS / Share Author Study (as needed) / CLASS EVALUATION: ON-LINE / Reading Response