English 493: Teaching Literature to Adolescents
Fall
2016--M/W 3:00pm-5:20pm
Sean W. Agriss, PhD
Office Hours: M/W 1-3pm or by appointment
Office: Patterson 211t
Course Description:
The course involves
the study and analysis of adolescent literature and of methods for teaching
literature to various grade levels. It is designed primarily for those who will
be teaching and dealing with adolescent responses to literature.
Course Competencies
(from 2013 PESB E/LA Endorsement Competencies—please see http://program.pesb.wa.gov/standards/list/ela for additional detail):
1.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of the English Language, Language Development, and its
Diversity
2.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of Reading Processes
3.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of Writing Processes
4.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of Literary Texts
5.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of Informational and Persuasive Texts
6.0 Knowledge
and Understanding of Speaking and Listening Communications
7.0 Instructional
Methodology
Required Texts:
Gallagher, Kelly.
"Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do
About It." Stenhouse Publishers, 2009.
Tovani, Chris. I
Read It, But I Don’t Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers. Stenhouse
Publishers, 2000.
The literary texts
selected for class include literature written specifically for young adults, as
well as classic and contemporary literature written for general audiences. As a
teacher of adolescents, you will want to familiarize yourself with as much
literature as possible that speaks to a younger reading audience.
Alexie, Sherman. The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Little, Brown, and
Company, 2007.
Kick, Russ. The Graphic Canon. Seven Stories Press,
2012.
Poe, Edgar
Allan. Complete Tales and Poems. Castle Books, 2002.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Hill and Wang, 1958.
An additional young
adult text of your choice--As a teacher you need to know what your students'
interests in reading are, and what their individual abilities are, when it
comes to reading and analyzing a text. Then you can build on this knowledge,
perhaps even helping to expand their interests as you assist in building their
reading skills. Note that many literature texts address sensitive issues and
that the authors expect the readers to be mature enough to handle them.
Consider these texts carefully, avoiding dismissal just because they address an
issue differently than you would. Consider, always, the merits of the
text and the maturity of the students you are working with.
Course Requirements:
Blog Postings
25% of final grade
Mini-Lesson on
Literary Text
20% of final grade
Book Talk of Young
Adult Text
10% of final grade
Literature Unit Plan
40%
of final grade
Learning Letter
5% of final grade
Brief Description of
Course Requirements (extensive instructions to follow):
Blog Postings: Throughout the course you will be asked to respond in
writing to texts that we are reading in class. Each student will create a blog
(we’ll look at this together in class). Completion of these blog postings is
essential to your success, and your colleagues’ success, in this course. These
responses are intended to give you an opportunity to think and reflect on the
content and to prepare you for what will happen in class on the day that they
are due. Also, you will be able to access your colleagues’ blog postings to
read and comment on if you wish. Please be sure to title each of your blog
posting with the title of the reading that you are responding to. Credit for
blog postings will be earned on a complete or incomplete basis. Because the
purpose of these assignments is to prepare for the day’s activities, no partial
credit will be given for incomplete work and no late assignments will be
accepted. Blog postings are to be a minimum of 300 words are
worth 25% of the final grade for the course.
Mini-Lesson on
Literary Text: All students will have
the opportunity to teach a lesson using one of our course texts. Students will select
which of the five texts to use. Each student will be responsible for teaching a
mini-lesson focused on one aspect of the text. You will consider your 493 classmates
as your students, and we’ll be respectful secondary students at your request.
Each student will provide the class with a TPA lesson plan for his/her
mini-lesson (we’ll review these requirements together in class). Following each
lesson, the class will participate in a feedback session designed to help us
all consider what worked well and what can be improved. Additionally, each
student will complete a self-evaluation after reflecting on his/her teaching.
Note: All students are responsible to know every text presented. The presenters
need your participation to grow as teachers, and you will depend on their
participation as well. Consequently, the class is not only responsible for
reading the texts, but also for participating in the lesson and the discussion
following the lesson. The mini-lesson on a literary text is worth 20% of the
final grade for the course.
Book Talk of Young
Adult Text: Each student is
required to choose a young adult text and prepare a short talk to introduce the
text to the class. As a teacher of adolescents, you will want to familiarize
yourself with as much literature as possible that speaks to a younger reading
audience. These book talks will assist you in becoming familiar with the text
that you choose, as well as the variety of texts that your classmates choose.
Each student will be asked to provide a detailed handout for his/her
classmates. The book talk of a young adult text is worth 10% of the final grade
for the course.
Literature Unit
Plan: Each student will
prepare a three-week unit plan. Preparing this unit will help you in a variety
of ways. You will get feedback on the feasibility of your lessons working in
the classroom and on your methods of evaluation. You may be developing
materials for a text/texts already used in the curriculum that you may/will
encounter again in your own teaching. You may be developing materials for a
text/texts that you can make the case for why it should be included in the
curriculum. Or you may be developing materials that include English Language
Arts instruction in a different content area. Whichever option you choose, you
will gain experience in planning a meaningful unit for your future students.
This will be a very detailed project. I will provide you with much more detail
early in the quarter. The literature unit plan is worth 40% of the final grade
for the course.
Learning Letter: At the end of the course, each student will be required to
complete a course reflection in the form of a learning letter to me. The
process of reflecting on the work you’ve completed in the course and on the
ideas discussed in the course is essential to your growth as a teacher. The
learning letter is worth 5% of the final grade for the course.
Evaluation:
A
Range
96-100%
4.0 B
Range
89%
3.6
94-95
3.9 88
3.5
92-93
3.8
87
3.4
90-91
3.7
86
3.3
85
3.2
84
3.1
83
3.0
82
2.9
81
2.8
80
2.7
C
Range
79%
2.6
D Range
69%
1.6
78
2.5
68
1.5
77
2.4
67
1.4
76
2.3
66
1.3
75
2.2
65
1.2
74
2.1
64
1.1
73
2.0
63
1.0
72
1.9
62
0.9
71
1.8
61
0.8
70
1.7
60
0.7
F
0-59%
0.0
Please remember the
3.0 grade point average requirement for this class.
Attendance Policy:
If a student
misses more than one day of a two-day-a-week course, the instructor
has the option of reducing a student’s final grade by 0.5 for each subsequent
absence.
Be aware that there is
a point at which a student cannot satisfactorily complete the course
assignments because of absences; should this occur, the instructor has the
option of failing a student during the second half of the quarter. All holidays
or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those who
show affiliation with that particular religion.
All students are
expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not interfere with an
instructor’s ability to teach or a student’s ability to learn, as outlined in
the EWU Code of Student Conduct: http://www.ewu.edu/x4708.xml. Any violation of the Code of Student Conduct may result in the
student being asked to leave for a single class session and/or the instructor
pursuing disciplinary proceedings through the Dean of Students office and could
result in sanctions such as suspension or dismissal from the University.
Examples of disruptive behavior include
disrespectful
and/or hostile language, posturing, or gestures that interfere with the
instructor’s ability to teach and/or a student’s ability to learn
using
cell phones, mp3 players, portable games, laptops, or other electronic devices
for purposes unrelated to the class
talking
while other students and/or the instructor is talking
arriving
late or leaving early
Academic Integrity
Policy:
Eastern Washington
University students are responsible for upholding the Code of Academic
Integrity, available through the office of the Dean of Students’ office and
online at http://www.ewu.edu/x4319.xml. Any question of Academic Integrity will be handled as stated
in the EWU Academic Integrity policy.
Students with
Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for students with
documented disabilities. If you have a documented disability and need
accommodations for this class, contact the Disabilities Support Services
Office for assistance. The office is located in Tawanka 121; students are
welcome to stop by or phone 509-359-6871.
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