ED+482+Methods+of+Teaching+Writing



Bush Grant Meeting: Feb. 20, 2010

Course Description: This is a professional education course for English majors who plan to teach secondary English; the 682 component of the class is for graduate students and/or practicing teachers of English who wish to deepen and broaden their practice of teaching writing. Students will plan and present lessons on various aspects of composition, reflect on course assignments, engage in a field experience teaching writing, and add to their professional portfolios. EDUC 482 Purpose Statement

The purpose of this course is to prepare English education students to teach the process of writing academically and rhetorically, with emphasis on, but not limited to, research writing and how to prepare students for state assessments. Students will learn how to norm and assess a variety of genres of writing, with an emphasis on rubric creation and 6-traits which addresses ideas/content, organization, voice, sentence structure, word choice grammar, and writing conventions. Students will be trained in current methods of research and media’s effect on writing.

EDUC 482 Objectives

Pre-service teachers will -be well ground ed in their understanding of writing process theory understand how to assess writing and how to give different kinds of feedback (formative and summative) -transform knowledge learned in grammar class into effective lesson plans - know the different modes of writing, with an increasing emphasis on analytical and argumentative writing as secondary students near graduation -understand how to put together a writing unit in which students develop the discrete skills needed for success on the final product –demonstrate differentiated instruction –be able to problem-solve (in regards to?) –know how to teach grammar in context with the goal of improving writing -Integrate speaking skills into writing units -know strategies for motivating students to write. -have a robust understanding of how to teach research and keep up with the changing role of technology in writing. -be able to contribute writing strategies to IEP meetings -know the procedures in schools, such as grading programs and e-mail writing. (Does this fit here?)

Possible Course Activities
 * 1) Demonstrate the professional dispositions expected of a prospective teacher specified in the NCTE/NCATE and SOE standards.
 * 2) Interact with assigned readings in written reflections, apply methods and materials in assignments, and lead and participate in class discussions (daily).
 * 3) Create a TaskStream portfolio to demonstrate INTASC Standard One: knowledge of your content area (English). Include writing samples to demonstrate your knowledge of literature, language, and composition.
 * 4) Collaborate with your classmates to research a writing genre, collect samples to demonstrate the genre, create a unit for grades 9, 10, or 11, including lessons on the five rhetorical considerations: genre conventions, audience, purpose, style, and social context. Give a PowerPoint presentation of the unit to our class.
 * 5) As a member of a teaching team, create an information literacy unit to teach seniors in high school how to access, evaluate, summarize, paraphrase, quote, integrate, and cite reliable print and electronic sources. (invaluable, but for seniors only?)
 * 6) Create and present a mini-lesson on select concepts of grammar, usage, syntax, and punctuation.
 * 7) Prepare a major, writing-intensive unit on a Young Adult Novel that demonstrates your ability to sequence lesson plans and integrate concepts learned about the teaching of writing and language, as well as the incorporation of source material.

Critical Assessments
 * 1)  At least 2 unit plans, one collaboratively created and one individually created, for different writing genres and grade levels, including differentiated lessons (at least one of which should be based on national, state, and/or district writing scores), a grammar in context lesson(s), instruction in research, and teaching writing as a process. The units should include rubric creation based upon 6-Traits, and create speech-related assessment. One of the units should be posted as an artifact for INTASC standard 1.
 * 2) Conduct two micro-teachings based upon unit lessons in the classroom and post one lesson plan and RAM reflection for INTASC standard 9.
 * 3) Draft or revise philosophy of education.
 * 4) Teach at least one lesson to secondary students during a field experience.
 * 5)  Read NCTE resource for professional development and present findings to class.

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