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Course Number:
Population:
Communication: smadarpe@bezeqint.net
O507-7769223 only between:20:30-21:30.
Teaching Literacy
Instructor: Dr. Smadar Falk-Peretz
Course Description
Literacy is typically described as the ability to read and write. It is a large-scale term
which concerns various populations. This course provides an overview of L2 reading
instruction: from theory to practice, methods, materials and learning strategies,
focusing specifically on primary school learners and non-readers in intermediate
grades.
Course objectives:
1. Students will learn and evaluate different approaches to teaching beginning
reading.
2. Students will become familiar with L2 textbooks currently in use in Israel.
3. Students will become familiar with different theoretical topics concerning the
acquisition of reading in L2, and will learn to translate theory to practice.
4. Students will evaluate already developed reading lesson plans and programs,
and learn to develop lesson plans of their own.
Course of Study:
Week 1: What is reading?-introduction
Topics: Basic definitions, reading and the communication process, the Israeli scene
Week 2-4: Approaches to teaching beginning reading.
Topics: Global approaches, phonic approaches, balanced approaches: integrating
skills, whole language approach, bottom-up vs. top-down strategies
Week 5: The role of background knowledge in reading
Topics: Schema theory-application to pre-reading activities.
Week 6: Word recognition
Topics: Learning to read words by sight, associating words, word recognition and
reading comprehension.
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Week 6-7: Reading comprehension for young learners:
Relevant reading for beginners, authentic reading materials
Week 8-9: Vocabulary knowledge and the reading process.
Topics: Incidental vs. explicit vocabulary learning, vocabulary learning strategies
Week 10: Selecting texts.
Topics: Textbooks and their evaluation
Week-11-12: Planning reading lessons.
Topics: skills based vs. text-based lessons, reading aloud activities, guidance while
reading, pre-reading activities/ post-reading activities
Week13: Extensive reading vs. intensive reading.
Topics: Planning an extensive reading program, intensive reading activities
Week 14: The challenge of non readers in intermediate grades
Topics: The heterogeneous class, choosing textbooks, recommended topics,
methodology
Course requirements and evaluation:
1. Full and active participation which includes completion of all class assignment:
reading, discussions, written exercises, -20%.
2. Preparing two lesson plans+ two teaching demonstrations -40%
Students are expected to complete all assignments on time (due dates will be notified during class sessions). All out-of-class
assignments should be typewritten, unless otherwise stated.
3. Final exam-40%
Required Reading:
1. Stahl, Steven A. and William E. Nagy. Teaching Word Meanings. Mahwah, New
Jersey and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2006, pp. 137-151,
157-169.
2. Students will work in pairs or small groups to prepare and present an article's
summary in class, emphasizing theory and pedagogical practice (articles will be
distributed by the instructor). Accompanying the demonstration will be a handout
with a short summary (to be distributed to all class members).
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Bibliography:
1. Armbruster, Bonnie B Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for
Teaching Children to Read- Kindergarten through Grade 3. National Institute for
Literacy, 2006. www.nifl.gov/publications/pdf/PRFbooklet.pdf
2. Birch, Barbara M. English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
3. Celce-Murcia, Marianne. ed. Teaching English as a second or foreign language
Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2009..
4. Feuerstein ,Tamar etc. Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Young
Learners-The Oral-Aural Stage: A Handbook for Teacher Trainers. Tel-Aviv:
Misrad ha-hinukh veha-tarbut, Gaf le-hakhsharat ovde hora’ah, Mofet Institute, 1996.
5. Day, Richard R., ed.. New Ways in Teaching Reading Alexandria, VA: TESOL,
1993.
6. Nation, I. S. Paul, Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. . New York:
Routledge, 2009.
7. Nutall, Christine. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. Oxford:
Macmillan Heinemann, 1996.
8. Stahl, Steven A. and William E. Nagy. Teaching Word Meanings. Mahwah, New
Jersey and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2006.
9. Thomas S. C. Farrell. Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: A Reflective
Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2009.
10. Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1996. pp. 60-75 , 138-150, 159-176.
11. ZhaoHong Han and Neil J. Anderson (Eds.). .Second Language Reading
Research and Instruction: Crossing the Boundaries. Ann Arbor, MI: University of
Michigan Press, 2009.
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