Welcome to EDUC 337 Summer 2020

Language Arts is the most basic and widely taught subject in our schools today.  In EDUC 337 at Columbia College, we will look at teaching English Language Arts in five basic categories, reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.  We will look carefully at the science of teaching ELA through the use of our textbook, Language Arts: Process, Product, and Assessment for Diverse Classrooms, 6th Edition by Pamela Farris, et al. 

We will discuss the historical overview of the Language Arts through the 21st century, and then begin to build a literacy culture in our classrooms. We will learn about emergent literacy and how students begin to read and write.

We will look at working with works, writing, writing genres, reading approaches, children's literature (my favorite!) oral language, speaking with expression, listening, and visually representing. The ultimate goal will be the integration of all these pieces in the unit plan that the students will develop.

While our class is for both elementary and middle school, we will look at the differences and commonalities of each to learn when doors open for learning on these unique skills.

We will look at Balanced Literacy and Structured Literacy, and examine the differences.  We will learn the science and the application of science into our lessons and units.

Throughout the class we will tell stories!  Yes, stories!  We will explore our own backgrounds of learning to read and write. We will honor those experiences and learn more about each other through the process.

In addition, we will participate in 15 minutes of Sustained Silent Reading every week.  Do you remember SSR?  We will explore those best practices and look for ways to incorporate them into our daily work.

Buckle up, and get ready for the ELA ride of your life!