Hunter College School of Education
Department of Curriculum and Teaching
CEDC704.01 Teaching Developmental Reading
Summer 2010 (July 6, 2010- July 29, 2010)
Mondays-Thursdays 1:15 pm- 3:45 pm
Room 412 (94th Street)
Instructor: Jennifer Tinkham Leventhal
E-mail: jetinkham7@yahoo.com
Office Hours: By appointment
Course Description:
704.01: The theoretical and practical aspects of literacy will be presented with particular emphasis on
teaching literacy to all types of learners. In addition, the role of family involvement and community
involvement and the use of technology for literacy development will be highlighted. The role of balanced
literacy in teaching reading and writing will be thoroughly explored. In addition, instructional approaches
and materials for teaching literacy will be investigated. Promoting a motivation and love of reading and
writing in and outside of the classroom for diverse populations will be discussed.
10 hours of observation/fieldwork in an elementary school (5 hours in lower grades, 1-3; 5 hours in
upper grades, 4-6) are required. Documentation of the observation/ fieldwork will be submitted
near the end of the course, on assigned date.
Expanded Description:
This course focuses on the reading and writing processes and on ways teachers can help students
in grades 1-9 acquire, expand, and deepen their ability to process and create texts effectively. The
overarching goal is to help teachers understand the complex processing systems related to effective
reading and writing, and develop a repertoire of instructional approaches that support the development of
these processing systems.
We will study important talking, reading, and writing behavior that serves as evidence of
processing. We will assess individual readers and writers and examine reading and writing behavior as it
changes over time. In addition, we will take an in-depth look at texts, learning how to analyze them as a
foundation for teaching. We will also examine teaching a range of reading and writing strategies in
whole-group, small-group, and individual settings. We will learn how to develop reading comprehension
strategies through interactive read-aloud/think-aloud, grand conversations, shared reading, guided
reading, and book clubs. We will explore using pre-reading activities, during reading activities and after
reading activities to deepen comprehension. We will also explore the use of the writing process to create
texts of various genres. We will create and use the Writer’s Notebook as a tool to collect and develop
ideas. An emphasis will be placed on teaching strategies that promote independent writing.
We will learn how to implement reading and writing workshops, which includes providing minilessons, conferring with individual readers and writers during independent work, conducting whole-group
share sessions, and providing small-group instruction in the form of guided reading, writing strategy
groups, and literature discussion. In all these contexts, we will emphasize developing fluency in reading,
expanding vocabulary, and learning to talk and write about reading.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, teacher candidates will be able to:
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Acquire knowledge with respect to the language acquisition skills and the emerging intellectual,
emotional and social needs of elementary school children.
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Recognize and design effective literacy experiences and culturally relevant, learner-centered
environments for diverse learners, including students who are English language learners and
those with special needs.
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Design, implement and assess lessons that are developmentally appropriate and instructionally
specific to individual needs in fluency, comprehension, and word-knowledge and writing.
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Incorporate technology, children’s trade books, materials and resources in the instructional design
and application of literacy lessons, as well as assessment procedures.
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Structure and facilitate a balanced literacy program in their classroom.
In addition, teacher candidates will be able to:
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Assess and analyze children’s reading and writing behavior in order to hypothesize about their
reading/writing abilities and to make instructional decisions.
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Use a gradient of text to match books to readers along a continuum of development.
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Identify the strong connections between reading, writing, and oral language in all instructional
contexts.
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Implement interactive read-alouds with intentional conversation to help students extend their
thinking about texts.
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Understand and use the power of written response to help students expand their understanding of
texts
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Understand the components of reading workshop (mini-lesson, independent reading, and sharing)
as ways to teach for comprehending.
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Understand the components of writing workshop
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Understand small-group guided reading instruction as a way to develop reading comprehension
and fluency.
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Understand the importance of connecting literacy (both reading and writing) across all content
areas (especially in middle and high school)
Hunter College School of Education Conceptual Framework:
This course will provide evidence of meeting expectations in the preparation of reflective,
knowledgeable, and highly effective teachers. It will specifically provide evidence of meeting
expectations in…
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Evidence–Based Practices through the created thematic
unit based on the teacher’s expertise in analyzing and
using assessment of student performance.
Integrated Clinical Experiences through working during
the fieldwork experience with students from the New
York City public and private schools.
Educating a Diverse Student Population through the
design of reading activities and mini lessons tailored to
meet the individual needs of children with a wide range
of backgrounds, cultures, abilities and prior knowledge.
Use of Technology to Enhance Learning through the
teacher’s integration of educational software and Internet
sites that are geared for a broad spectrum of learners. In
addition, through discussion board forums on
Blackboard that will enhance communication across
classmates.
Academic Honesty:
Hunter College regards acts of dishonesty (e.g. plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair
advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of
intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and
will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.
Any deliberate borrowing of the ideas, terms, statements, or knowledge of others without clear and
specific acknowledgment of the source is intellectual theft and is called plagiarism. It is not plagiarism
to borrow the ideas, terms, or knowledge of others if the source is clearly and specifically acknowledged.
Students who consult such critical material and wish to include some of the insights, terms or statements
encountered must provide full citations in an appropriate form.
Access and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
We recommend that all HC students with disabilities explore the support services and register with the
Office for Access and Accommodations. HC students with disabilities are protected by the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires that they be provided equal access to education and
reasonable accommodations. In compliance with the ADA and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act, Hunter is committed to ensuring this educational access and accommodations. For information and
assistance, contact the Office for Access and Accommodations in room E1124 or call 212-772-4857 or
TTY 212-650-3230.
Expectations for Written Proficiency:
Students must demonstrate consistently satisfactory written English in coursework. The Hunter College
Writing Center provides tutoring to students across the curriculum and at all academic levels. For more
information, see http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu or call (212-772-4212). In addition, The Teacher Placement
Office in the School of Education offers a writing workshop during the semester and a series of free
writing classes are offered to students who are need of additional support in honing their writing skills. In
both cases, stop by room 1000W for more information and dates of workshops.
No required text for this course. Course readings will be handouts/articles. There are several
suggested texts that I highly recommend you purchase this summer. See list below.
Recommended Textbooks:
1.
Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency by Fountas and Pinnell
2. Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement by
Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
3. Literature-Based Reading Activties by Ruth Helen Yopp and Hallie Kay Yopp
4. The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing by Judy Davis and Sharon Hill
5.
Revisiting the Reading Workshop: Management, Mini-Lessons, and Strategies by Frank Serafini
and Cyndi Giorgis
6.
Reading Aloud and Beyond: Fostering the Intellectual Life with Older Readers by Heinemann.
7. The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins
8. Spelling K-8 by Diane Snowball and Faye Bolton
9. How’s It Going? by Carl Anderson
10. Assessing Writers by Carl Anderson
11. A Fresh Approach to Teaching Punctuation by Janet Angelillo
12. The Power of Grammar by Mary Ehrenworth and Vicki Vinton
Additional Resources:
Electronic:
 International Reading Association (www.reading.org)
 International Society for Technology in Education (www.iste.org)
 National Council of Teachers of English (www.ncte.org)
 U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov)
 New York State Learning Standards for the English Language Arts for P – 12 students
(http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/elastandards/elamap.html)
Periodicals and other Publications:
 American Educational Research Journal
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Handbook of Reading Research
Journal of Literacy Research
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
Language Arts
Phi Delta Kappan
Reading Research Quarterly
The Reading Teacher
Educational Leadership
Free Download: National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) booklet entitled: Put reading first: The research
building blocks for teaching children to read- 56 pg. booklet (black and white PDF 640 KB)
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/PFRbookletBW.pdf
(or color PDF 1.25 MB) http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/PFRbooklet.pdf
Course Requirements and Due Dates:
1. Attendance, Punctuality, Participation and Interactive Journal (25 points)
It is my expectation that together we will create a “learning community” in which we learn together. As
professionals, you are expected to:
 attend and be punctual for each class and for the fieldwork sessions
 complete “at home” assignments
 respond to course readings
 come prepared to participate in class activities and discussions
 LEARN!
It is essential that you come to each class prepared and ready to actively participate, having completed the
required reading and other assignments. Class time will be devoted to lectures, discussion of issues that
arise from the readings, practicing related activities and strategies and sharing and working in small
groups. Please make post-it notes or other notes related to issues, strategies or questions that you might
want to bring up during our discussions.
Please contact me and another class member to make up missed work if an in-class absence is
unavoidable. More than one unexcused absence will result in lowering your grade. Please also make sure
that you are punctual; frequent lateness will also result in a lowered grade.
All assignments should be completed and turned in on time. Work received after the due date cannot be
accepted for the same grade as those submitted on time, unless I have agreed to the exception in advance.
Summer courses run on a quicker pace; be aware of this and plan accordingly. Please see me if you are
concerned about any assignment.
*Interactive Journal Each Week* (Due each Thursday- 1 to 2 pages typed (double-spaced))
 3 important ideas/components you learned either in class or during fieldwork
 2 ideas that will help you in your teaching practice
 1 question or comment you have about a topic that was discussed/observed during fieldwork
Completing the journal is a requirement for this class and will help facilitate class discussions. It will also
help you digest the information collected from the readings.
2. Teaching Video Response/Reflection (Due July 15) 15 Points
It is important to see examples of model lessons. You will be observing many lessons this summer at
your summer school placement but I also would like you to go online and find a teaching lesson that
you will be required to analyze. You can find teaching videos online at teachertube.com or on
youtube.com. One example of a guided reading lesson online is at the following website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txC-Qo_8GiU&feature=related
Once you have watched the short clip/video, you will be required to turn in a 2 page reflection
including the following:
1.The website where you found the video.
2.The lesson and grade that was being taught in the video. Include specific skills that were being
taught.
3.Write about what you noticed the teacher doing, what the student or students were doing, what
worked and what may not have worked for that lesson.
4. Write about what you learned about that particular topic and how you will incorporate that into
your classroom.
3. Writer’s Notebook Refelction (Due July 26) 15 Points
During the course of the class, you will be expected to keep a Writer’s Notebook. In creating this
notebook, you will have the experience of writing on a daily basis- something that we expect our
students to do. In addition, you will have a model of your own writing that you can use during minilessons in your classroom. You will be expected to reflect on this experience, in a 2-3 page typed,
double-spaced paper, responding to the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What did you learn about yourself as a writer in keeping the Writer’s Notebook?
What did you struggle with in keeping this notebook?
What do you expect that students may struggle with when expected to write everyday?
What strategies did you find most helpful in generating ideas for your notebook?
How will you use your Writer’s Notebook as a teaching tool in your classroom?
You will be graded on how thoughtfully you respond to the above questions in your reflection.
4. Read Aloud Presentation (Due on the day you are assigned to present) 15 Points
A huge component of balanced literacy is the Read Aloud which we will be learning about in class. I
will model how to do a Read Aloud during class. You will also learn about Interactive-Read-Alouds
and how to keep kids engaged and challenged during a Read Aloud. For this assignment, you will be
required to choose a book that you will read aloud to the class modeling some of the skills and
strategies you learn. We will be choosing dates for these presentations during the first week.
5. Read Aloud Lesson Plan (Due July 28) 15 Points
You will have to type up a one page lesson plan for a Read Aloud you can do with a class. You can
choose the grade level and the book. You must include the following in your lesson plan based on
what we will be learning in class: Pre-Reading Activities or questions, During-Reading questions, and
Post-Reading Activities or questions. We will go over this format more in class.
6. In-Class Final Exam (July 29) 15 Points
The final exam will consist of two parts. In part I, you will be given a scenario of a struggling
reader in your classroom. You will be expected to identify this student’s strengths and weaknesses
and create an instructional plan for this student. This instructional plan should include 3 strategies
that you will use to help the student make progress in reading. The strategies could address fluency,
vocabulary development, comprehension skills, decoding or reading behaviors.
In part II of the exam, you will be given a piece of student writing to analyze. You will be
expected to identify the student’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer and to create an instructional
plan for this student. The instructional plan should include 3 goals that you have for this student as a
writer, as well as strategies you will teach the student in order to achieve these goals.
The final will be “open book”, so you will be able to use any class materials to help you complete
it. A rubric for this assignment will be provided for you.
Projected Schedule
(Schedule is subject to change by the Instructor. More specific details and outlines for assignments as
well as grading rubrics will be provided and discussed in class.)
Date
Topic
Readings/Assignments Due
July 6
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July 7
 Read Aloud; Overview; Interactive Read-Aloud-ThinkAloud
 Asking questions before, during, and after a Read-Aloud
 Create our Writer’s Notebooks
 What is a Writer’s Notebook?
 Introduction to Genres for Reading and Writing
Bring a notebook and some
items/pictures to decorate
July 8
 Reading Workshop- Structure and Effective Mini-Lessons
 Implementing Reading Workshop Across the Content
Areas
 Generating Ideas in our Writer’s Notebook
 Overview of Comprehension Strategies
**Bring in a written reflection
about a conversation you had
with a student about reading
July 12
 Reading Assessments: Using running records and reading
records to assess behaviors
 Miscue Analysis- MSV
 Differentiation- Instructional modifications
 Phonological Awareness
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Writing Workshop- Structure and Effective Mini-Lessons
 The Writing Process
July 13
Course Introduction- Review syllabus and assignments
Autobiography of yourself as a reader, writer, and speller
Independent Reading Survey
Overview of a Comprehensive Reading ProgramComponents of the Balanced Literacy Framework
 Classroom Environment that supports Balanced Literacy
July 14
July 15
July 19
July 20
July 21
July 22
July 26
July 27
July 28
July 29
 Developing A Reading Community- Establishing Reading
Partnerships and Book Clubs
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Reading Conferences and Record Keeping
 Gradient of Texts- Matching Leveled Books to Readers
 5 Major Areas of Focus When Teaching Writing
 Read Aloud Presentations
 The Demands of Different Genres in Reading and Writing
 Immersion- Using Mentor Texts in Writing
 Analyzing Student Writing I
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Guided Reading- Structure, Book Introductions, and
Strategies
 Selecting a Seed Idea and Transitioning out of the Writer’s
Notebook
 Making a Plan: Using Graphic Organizers to Support
Student Writers
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Fluency in Reading
 Analyzing Student Writing II and Writing Assessment
 Drafting and Revision Strategies
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Shared Reading and Performance Reading
 Editing Strategies
 Incorporating Grammar and Spelling Instruction into the
Writing Workshop
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Reading/Writing Connection- Writing About Reading
 Using Writing Checklists and Self and Peer Assessments Establishing a Community of Writers
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Pre-Reading Activities
 Writing Conferences and Teacher Record Keeping
 Writing Strategy Groups
 Read Aloud Presentations
 During Reading Activities
 Keeping a Reading Notebook
 Reading and Writing on Statewide Exams- Instructional
Implications
 Read Aloud Presentations
 After Reading Activities
 Genre Studies- Challenges and Instructional Implications
 Read Aloud Presentations
 In-class Final Exam
 Read Aloud Presentations
 Course & Learning Reflections
**Bring in a written reflection
about your noticings while
listening to a child read
Teacher Video
Response/Reflection Due
**Bring in a sample of student
writing
Writer’s Notebook
Reflection Due
Final Literacy Project: Read
Aloud Plan Due
Format for Fieldwork:
(Link to access the graduate fieldwork handbook online will be emailed. Print a copy for yourself.)
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Students will select a school site in which to complete the (5) hours in Grades 1-3 and (5) hours
in Grades 4-6. The Fieldworker Handbook states how the fieldwork experience is to be
implemented, as well as listing schools which might be able to help students fulfill the
requirements. Students may opt to choose their own school site with the approval of the instructor
and the school administrator.
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Students will keep a time record. This must be signed or initialed by the cooperating teacher
and/or the school administrator verifying your attendance and punctuality. At the conclusion of
the course, the hard copy is submitted to the instructor who reviews it for grading and verification
purposes.
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Students will be given a letter of introduction to the school administrator outlining their
attendance, punctuality, task and grade level requirements. The administrator will assign the
students to their respective cooperating teachers.
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School administrators and cooperating teachers will be given Hunter College School of
Education letters outlining the student’s requirements for the summer session.
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Students will attempt to apply knowledge from class discussions, texts and readings to the field
experience.
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Upon completion of the course, the cooperating teacher (s) will submit a signed Field
Experience Confirmation Form (s) confirming your participation in the 10 required hours of
fieldwork. All above assignments that relate to the fieldwork experience must also be completed.