RDG600 Foundations of Language and Literacy (3 cr.)

Learners participate in directed and constructivist learning experiences to master the knowledge, dispositions, and skills needed to effectively teach literacy to all learners from kindergarten through middle school. Learners understand the stages of development of listening, speaking, reading and writing in children. The learner is expected to demonstrate professional dispositions of a reflective, principled and purposeful instructional decision-maker.

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:

(1) demonstrate the ability to support a philosophy of literacy instruction with theory and research;

(2) indicate knowledge of reading theories and how these translate into effective practices;

(3) apply reading research studies and articulate how these studies impact reading instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school levels;

(4) understand the physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive development of children, preadolescents, and adolescents as it pertains to reading instruction;

(5) understand the progression of reading development (emergent, beginning, transitional, intermediate, and advanced) and the variations related to cultural and linguistic diversity with a heightened awareness to the needs of struggling readers;

(6) describe developmental progress in oral language and its relationship to reading. 

These standards are introduced in this course but assessed in others. 

(7) teach and foster emergent reading skills such as phonemic awareness, alphabet recognition, and understanding that printed words convey meaning

(8) teach and foster word recognition skills including phonics, structural analysis, and contextual analysis

(9) foster the development of an initial sight vocabulary and an increasingly larger and more complex vocabulary, mastering word-learning strategies such as the use of context and structural analysis, and developing word consciousness

(10) teach and foster fluency and automaticity in both oral and silent reading

(11) teach and foster comprehension and appreciation of a wide range of children’s and adolescent literature

(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.

D. A teacher of reading must be able to create a literate environment that fosters reading by integrating foundational knowledge, use of instructional practices, approaches and methods, curriculum materials, and the appropriate use of assessments including:

(1) use students’ interests, reading abilities, and backgrounds as foundations for the reading program and provide authentic reasons to read and write

(3) develop and implement classroom and schoolwide organizational structures that include explicit instruction, guided practice, independent reading, interactive talk, opportunities for response, and reading and writing across the curriculum.