SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
PLC 931 : Teaching Reading to Bilingual Students
Thursdays 7:00pm-9:40pm
COURSE SYLLABUS: SPRING 2014
Instructor:
Eileen Moreno
Email:
moreno24@rohan.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Before class and by appointment
Classroom: GMCS 305
CLASS DESCRIPTION (from the Graduate Bulletin)
Teaching reading in English, including methods, strategies, assessment, materials, and
techniques of transition for implementing reading programs in the bilingual classroom.
COURSE OVERVIEW
The purpose of this course is to examine literacy in the elementary bilingual classroom. This
course focuses on theoretical foundations of reading and writing as well as emphasize the
development of academic language for English Learners in order to meet the demands of the
California Common Core State Standards and the California English Language Development
standards. PLC 931 explores some of the theories that guide instructional decision-making in
literacy and presents research-based methods for assessment and instruction.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES
Candidates will be able to:
a. Teach effective strategies for building reading comprehension and writing for diverse
learners. TPEs 1A, 4, 6, 7, 9
b. Align reading and writing instruction with the California Common Core State Standards
and the California English Language Development Standards. TPEs 1A, 9
c. Recognize how children make sense of text, and the various ways a teacher can support
their comprehension as they dialogue with the teacher and each other. TPEs 1A, 2, 4
d. Facilitate text discussions that are oriented toward making student sense-making central
to the conversation. TPEs 1A, 4, 5, 6
e. Locate aspects of text that might pose a challenge to diverse learners, as well as knowing
means of supporting students in working through these challenges. TPEs 4, 6, 9
f. Utilize effective and flexible grouping patterns that maximize opportunities for
interaction, communication, and collaboration among diverse learners. TPEs 5, 6, 9
g. Use (develop or select) formal and informal assessment data to plan instruction for
diverse learners. TPEs 1A, 2, 3, 4, 8
h. Maintain a classroom with high engagement that nurtures curiosity and a love of learning.
TPEs 5, 11
i. Create a positive, responsive literacy environment through learning about their students
and interacting thoughtfully with students. TPEs 8, 11
j. Demonstrate a commitment to life-long learning. TPEs 12, 13.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
“Americans with Disabilities Act (DA) Accommodation: The University is committed to
providing reasonable academic accommodation to students with disabilities. The Student
Disability Services Office provides university academic support services and specialized
assistance to students with disabilities. Individuals with physical, perceptual, or learning
disabilities as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact Student Disability
Services for information regarding accommodations. Please notify your instructor so that
reasonable efforts can be made to accommodate you. If you expect accommodation through the
Act, contact the Student Disability Services Office at Calpulli Center, Suite 3101
(http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/dss/dss_home.html) or (619) 594-6473.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work by
the use of dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Plagiarism is defined as the act of
incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or
otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the university as one’s own work to fulfill academic
requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Cheating and plagiarism may
warrant two separate and distinct courses of disciplinary action that may be applied concurrently
in response to a violation of this policy:
a. academic sanctions, such as grade modifications; and
b. punitive sanctions, such as probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Academic sanctions are concerned with the student's grades and are the responsibility of the
instructor involved. Punitive sanctions are concerned with the student's records and status on
campus and shall be the responsibility of the university president or designated
representative.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Frey, Nancy & Fisher, Doug. (2013) Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending
Complex Texts. Corwin Press.
Beck, Isabel L., McKeown, Margaret G. & Kucan, Linda. (2013) Bringing Words to Life, Second
Edition: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. The Guilford Press.
GRADING POLICY
All assignments:
 should be typed
 require correct grammar and spelling
 should reflect graduate level of professional writing
 should be turned in on the established due date (late assignments will be marked down)
GRADING SCALE
90% or above
80% - 89%
70% - 79%
60% - 69%
59% or lower
A (100-94% = A; 93-90% = A-)
B (89-87% = B+; 86-84% = B; 83-80% = B-)
C ( 79-77% = C+; 76-74% = C; 73-70% = C-)
D
F
ASSIGNMENTS – All assignments with * should be turned in via Blackboard
Attendance and Active Class Participation (5 points per class)
If you are going to be absent, please inform the instructor.
Exit slips (5 points each)
At the end of each class, you will complete an exit slip which is meant to demonstrate your
understandings, reflections, and questions.
*Text Complexity Placemat (10 points)
Complete a text complexity placemat to justify the grade level band of a piece of text.
*Writing Mini-lesson (10 points)
Using the template provided, create one writing mini-lesson around one of the six traits using a
mentor text.
*Close Reading Lesson (20 points)
 Using the template provided, create a close reading lesson.
 Implement the lesson in your classroom
 Write a reflection (max 500 words):
o What went well and why?
o What was challenging and why?
o What will you do differently next time you do a close read?
*Differentiation (20 points) – No more than 500 words which is about 2 double spaced pages
 Select a student in your classroom who is a struggling reader/writer (not one with learning
disability IEP)
 Give some background information about the areas where this child struggles and how you
know that they struggle in these areas (i.e. assessments, observation)
 Describe some ways you would differentiate the learning for this child so that s/he can make
appropriate progress and why you feel these are appropriate steps to take (i.e. from the
article, think about and address this in terms of the process by which students learn, the
product of their learning, the environment in which they learn, and the content they are
learning)
*Case Study Analysis (20 points)
 You will be given several pieces of information about a student.
o Identify at least three of the student’s strengths and needs;
o Describe two specific instructional strategies and/or activities designed to foster the
student’s literacy development by addressing the needs and/or building on the
strengths you identified; and
o Explain how each strategy/activity you describe would promote the student’s reading
proficiency.
Topics
1/23/14 
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1/30/14 
2/6/14
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2/13/14 
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2/20/14 
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Readings
Assignments
Due date for following TBD:
 Close Reading Lesson
 Differentiation Task
 Writing mini-lesson
EdTPA
Comprehension Strategy
(QAR)
Purpose in teaching and
reading
Text Complexity
Comprehension Strategy
(Read, Write, Pair, Share)
Text Dependent Questions
Close Reading
Comprehension Strategy
(Questioning the Author)
Differentiation
Designing/Choosing
Assessments

Rigorous Reading – Chapter 1 and 2
Task 1 – Rubric 1


Rigorous Reading- Chapter 3
“Close Reading in Elementary
Schools” on Blackboard
Task 2 – Rubric 8


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Sample Performance Tasks
GR ASPS
“Differentiated Instruction” on
Blackboard
Comprehension Strategy
(Someone, Wanted, But, So—
for retell of problem)
Academic Language:
Vocab
Syntax
Discourse
Fluency
Comprehension Strategy
(Reciprocal Teaching)
Creating a challenging
environment:
Accountable Talk
Struggle

Bringing Words to Life – Chapters
1,2,3,9

“Why Reading Fluency should be
Hot” on Blackboard


NPR Interview on Struggle
Accountable Talk Sourcebook (on
BB)
Rigorous Reading – Chapter 4

Due Today via Blackboard:
Text Complexity Placemat
Task 1 – Rubric 2, 3
and 5
Task 2 – Rubric 10
Task 1 – Rubric 4
Task 3 – Rubric 14
Task 2 – Rubric 6, 7, 8
Task 3 – Rubric 14
2/27/14 
3/6/14
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3/13/14 
Comprehension Strategy
(SMART)
Six Comprehension strategies
Book Clubs/Literature Circles
Comprehension Strategy
(Wordle Predictions)
Providing Feedback to Guide
Further Learning
Student Use of Feedback
See Readings on Blackboard
Task 2 – Rubric 7, 9

“How to Give Effective Feedback”
on Blackboard
Task 3 – Rubric 12 &
13
Using Assessment to Inform
Instruction

See readings on Blackboard
Task 1 – Rubric 3
Task 2 – Rubric 10
Task 3 – Rubric 11 &
15
Task 2 – Rubric 7, 9
3/20/14 Writing Strategy-Community
Story
 The Writing Workshop
o Reading-Writing
Connection
o Writing Process
3/27/14 Writing Strategy-Zooming In-Out
(details)
 Writing Workshop continued
o Lessons
o Structures
Blackboard:
 “Welcome to Writer’s Workshop”
 “Read like a reader, read like a
writer”
 “The Writing Process”

4/3/14
4/10/14 Writing Strategy-RAFT
 Six Traits of Writing
4/17/14 Writing Strategy-Alternatives to
Said
 Feedback/Conferring
 Recognizing effective writing
Task 2 – Rubric 7, 9
Bringing Words to Life – Chapter 8
Spring Break



“6 + 1 Traits of Writing” on
Blackboard
“What is Good Writing” on
Blackboard
AchievetheCore.org writing
samples
Due:
Writing mini-lesson
Task 3 – Rubric 11
4/24/14 Word Study Strategy: Playing with
Words
 Word Study in the upper
grades
5/1/14 Writing Strategy – Adding voice
 Literacy environment
5/8/14 TBD (no class)
5/15/14 Final Exam and Case Study

See readings on Blackboard
Task 2 – Rubric 9

Rigorous Reading –Chapter 5
Task 2 – Rubric 6
Due:
Case Study