EDRD602 Secondary Reading Instruction: 7-12 (2 cr.)

This course focuses on literacy development in the middle and high school years, with the goal of promoting reading for learning, understanding, and enjoyment. Topics include assessment of students’ reading and written language skills, the cognitive and skill levels required by various content-area materials and written tests, use of alternative testing strategies, and instructional strategies for developing strategic readers and competent writers in all content areas. Collaboration with content area teachers to adapt course materials, teaching strategies, and assessment practices for students with exceptional educational needs such as learning disabilities and gifted/talented are also featured.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

A. A teacher of reading must have knowledge of the foundations of reading processes and instruction:
(12) teach comprehension strategies such as adjusting reading approach, activating background knowledge, summarizing, generating questions, constructing mental representations, and self-monitoring;
(13) teach and foster critical thinking skills and behaviors such as thinking independently, withholding judgment, recognizing point of view and bias, and considering multiple solutions; and
(14) teach writing to advance reading development and learning from text.

B. A teacher of reading must be able to use a wide range of instructional practices, approaches, methods, and curriculum materials to support reading instruction:
(1) organize and manage effective reading instruction appropriate across developmental levels, proficiency, and linguistic backgrounds;
(4) understand and apply instructional and informational technologies, digital literacy, and electronic resources to support literacy;
(6) understand the rationale for using a wide range of texts and show evidence of using multiple texts within instruction, including informational texts, content area texts, electronic texts, and nonprint materials;
(7) understand the structures of texts, both print and electronic, and the challenges presented by these materials, and use this knowledge in lesson design to match materials to the cognitive levels of all readers and across the curriculum