Curriculum Constructs and Assessment: Reading Methods
Course Description
This course focuses on the most current research, theory, and methods of teaching reading. Various instructional and assessment techniques are modeled. A practical application project is incorporated into the course requirements.
Topics and Objectives
Content Area Literacy
- Define literacy
- Examine trends in literacy
- Generate a rationale for content area literacy
Pre-Reading Strategies
- Assess the importance of prior knowledge in the reading process
- Use pre-reading strategies such as anticipation guides, graphic organizers,
- Pre-P, and K-W-L charts
Vocabulary
- Analyze methods for teaching content area vocabulary
National Standards
- Examine language arts standards
- Examine content area standards
Guided Reading Strategies
- Use guided reading strategies such as DR-TA, Re-Quest, K-W-L charts,
- Question-Answer Relationships (QAR), note-taking, reciprocal teaching, and SQ3R
Post-Reading and Study Strategies
- Use post-reading and study strategies such as semantic mapping, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, outlining, and summaries
Assessment
- Examine informal assessment procedures such as the Content Reading
- Inventory and the Cloze procedure
- Examine formal assessment procedures such as standardized reading tests
Textbook Difficulty
- Determine the readability of a textbook using the Fry Graph
Considerations for Textbook Choice
- Analyze the organization and content of a textbook to determine its classroom suitability
Writing in the Content Areas
- Examine the writing process
- Use holistic and analytic trait scoring
Supplementary Resources in the Content Areas
- Evaluate supplementary resources appropriate to chosen content, such as the Internet, trade books, periodicals, software, and multimedia