The major goal of this course is to prepare and encourage
you to become a reflective practitioner who can effectively assess the
abilities and needs of students and implement appropriate strategies for
teaching reading and other literacy skills in the classroom. This purpose
is supported by the following California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
standards:
Course Objectives (as they relate to the requirements of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing)
1. The linguistic and cognitive basis for reading/language development and environmental factors that influence the desire and ability to read.
Course Objective #1 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
2. Effective approaches, materials and technology for teaching systematic, explicit skills that promote fluent reading and wiring including: phonemic awareness; direct systematic, explicit phonics; and decoding skills including spelling patterns, sound/symbol codes (orthography), and extensive practice in reading and writing connected text. **
Course Objectives #2 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #28
See Proposed Reading Factors to Consider
3. Effective approaches, materials and technology for teaching reading and listening comprehension, including literal/interpretive comprehension, critical/evaluative comprehension, and reference/study skills.
Course Objective #3 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #28
4. Effective approaches, materials and technology for developing concepts and word meanings and teaching a wide variety of word recognition strategies.
Course Objective #4 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #28
5. Approaches for teaching students to appreciate and enjoy reading and to develop lifelong reading habits.
Course Objectives #5 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29
6. Approaches for teaching students to view writing as a process and to use writing both to communicate and as a tool for learning.
Course Objectives #6 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #28, #29
7. The significance of a variety of assessment procedures and the use of assessment results to organize classrooms for effective instruction, select effective teaching and learning approaches, and equitably instruct special populations of students: i.e. differing gender, ethnicity, race, primary language, handicapping conditions and special reading/language arts needs.
Course Objectives #7 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
#14, #15, #17, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28
8. Ways to maintain and refine classroom reading language/arts programs through interaction with other professionals, parents and the community, curriculum development, self-development and research.
Course Objectives #8 Cover Sheet
California Teaching Credential Standards
These objectives reflect basic competencies of teacher education in reading as recommended in the Guidelines for the Specialized Preparation of Reading Professionals, International Reading Association, 1986 and the California Commission of Teacher Credentialing, 1988.
*The numbers in parentheses refer to standards approved
by the California Commission of Teacher Credentialing. **This objective
incorporates new material currently under consideration by the CTC.
RICA
Recent legislation has mandated the California Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) which is under development. RICA guidelines currently specify that each Multiple Subject candidate demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities in the following ten areas related to teaching reading:
2. Concepts about print and letter recognition
3. Systematic, explicit phonics and other word recognition strategies
7. Student individual reading and its relationship to improved reading performance
8. Relationship among reading, writing, and oral language
9. Diagnosis and reading development: The use of assessment and evaluation information
10.
Structure of the English language
1. I will look for evidence that you understand what the reading process involves, the role of prior knowledge and language competency in the reading process, the role of schema theory and metacognition in reading and learning, the role of the teacher in reading instruction, and how the instructional context within the classroom and the cultural context outside of the classroom may influence students' attitudes toward reading.
2. I will look for evidence that you are aware of the functions involved in effective reading comprehension, know about a variety of strategies which will assist students prior, during, and after reading a selection, including lesson frameworks, discussion and questioning strategies that will require students to use differing levels of comprehension, and can plan lessons which provide direct instruction and modeling of these strategies (for both narrative and expository text) and can lead students to apply these strategies independently.
3. I will look for evidence that you are aware of the relationship between word recognition and comprehension, can identify a variety of ways to teach, extend and reinforce concepts and vocabulary, understand the process of word identification, are aware of the different word identification strategies, and can plan lessons which provide direct instruction and modeling of these strategies and can lead students to apply these strategies independently.
4. I will look for evidence that you are aware of approaches and materials you can use that will encourage students to read on their own for purposes of enjoyment and personal growth throughout their lives.
5. I will look for evidence that you are aware of the value of writing as a tool for communication and learning, ways to incorporate writing in your lessons, ways to help students view writing as a process, and can plan lessons which provide direct instruction and modeling of these strategies and lead students to apply these strategies independently.
6. I will look for evidence that you are aware of ways that you can use observational, informal, and ongoing assessment procedures to determine students' background knowledge, attitudes, interests, self-perceptions, and interactions with reading and writing tasks, how you can evaluate texts and other instructional materials and methods, how you can use these procedures to plan student learning, and the kinds of strategies you can use which are particularly necessary (and effective) with special populations of students and why.
7. I will look for evidence that you are aware of ways you can continue to grow and refine your teaching abilities as related to reading/language arts instruction, and that you recognize the value of communicating with other staff members, parents and the community to improve your classroom program.
Copyright 1999 by Carla Hagen Piper