Accelerated and Enriched Instruction → Staff Resources → Continuing Professional Development  → Extending and Enriching Reading Language Arts Instruction

RD-40: Extending and Enriching Reading Language Arts Instruction

Description

The 2-credit course is designed to support teachers as they guide all students to reach high performance standards in reading/language arts. Participants learn ways to integrate best practices from research-based programs like Junior Great Books and William and Mary into the balanced literacy classroom.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the ten weeks, participants will have:

• Developed an understanding of rigor and its implications for reading/language arts planning and instruction.
• Explored ways to integrate best practices from Junior Great Books, William and Mary and other research-based programs to increase rigorous instruction that challenges all students.

Session Topics Include

• Breadth and Depth of Reading
• Oral and Written Response to Reading
• Exploring Fiction and Nonfiction Reading and Writing
• Questioning and Discussion Models
• Inquiry Learning
• Planning – The Backwards Design Process
• Critical Thinking in the Language Arts

Course Texts

• Awakening the Genius in the Classroom by Thomas Harvey
• Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey
• Listen to This: Developing an Ear for Expository by Marcia S. Freeman
• Lives of the Writers by Kathleen Krull
• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin
• Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin
• Wondrous Words by Katie Wood Ray

Class Project

Participants select a lesson from the Reading/Writing/Language Arts Instructional Guide and extend it to provide further challenge. Participants implement the revised lesson with students and share resulting work samples.