Welcome to ENGL 4800!
This methods course, designed for pre-service secondary English teachers, will immerse students in pedagocical theory about the teaching of literature while engaging and applying best practices. We will explore a variety of strategies for engaging students in literature analysis, discussion, and response as well as building a librarary of both classic and contemporary texts to use in the classroom.
Course Syllabus
English 4800
Instructor: Christy Doherty-McDowell
Email:[email protected]
Course Materials:
1. Blau, Sheridan. The Literature Workshop. Portsmouth: Heinemman, 2003.
2. Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, Second Edition. New York: Teachers College Press, 2009.
3. Beers, Kylene et al. Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice. Portsmouth: Heinemman, 2007.
Course Description (from the Western Michigan University Undergraduate Catalog): A study of techniques and theories of teaching literature to young adults. Does not count as credit toward the major. Prerequisites & Corequisites: Prerequisites: ED 3020 Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School and two 3000-level English courses that count toward the major. Credits: 4 hours
Course Objectives:
· Students will become familiar with a range of works of literary theory and criticism and an understanding of their effect on reading and interpretive approaches
· Students will identify numerous works specifically written for older children and younger adults incorporating a variety of genres
· Students will distinguish between classic and contemporary texts and the merits of both
· Students will analyze readings for context and rhetorical devices
· Students will examine how students compose and respond to text and make adjustments in their teaching as appropriate
· Students will engage in critical analysis of different media and communications technologies and their effect on learning
· Students will integrate a wide variety of strategies to interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts and assess the effectiveness of such strategies in promoting learning
· Students will use a variety of approaches for to construct meaning from media and nonprint texts
Students will explore the integration of experiences that promote composing and responding to texts
Course Outline
Below is a breakdown of the grade distribution. Major projects are in bold.
1. Persuasive Argument: Banned Book 15%
2. Book Club Presentation 30%
3. Multigenre Literacy Project 20%
3. Final Reflection 15%
4. Class Blog 10%
5. Participation 10%
Grading will be based on the following percentages: A=93-100%, B/A=88-92.9%, B=83-87.9%, C/B=78-82.9%, C=73-77.9%
Papers are due electronically via email by 9:00pm on the day they are due. I will send you a confirmation emai upon receiving your papers.
Course Schedule
AL=Adolescent Literacy CE=Critical Encounters LW=Literature Workshop
Week One: Establish Community
Introductions, Literacy Timeline, Syllabus, First Write
Readings: Unfamiliar Genre article, AL ch. 1
Week Two: Discovering students
AL ch. 2, 3, and 4
Sign up for Book Club
Online Discussion: Interlude 1 (AL)
Week Three: Meeting our students
AL ch. 5 and 6
Week Four: Intro to Theory
CE ch. 1 and 2
Online Discussion: Interlude 2 (AL)
Week Five: Sharpening the Tools
CE ch. 3; AL Ch. 7
Week Six: Teaching the Web-figuratively
AL ch. 11, 12, 13
Week Seven: Teaching the Web-literally
AL ch. 10 and 14
Marxist theory presentation (CE ch. 4)
Online Discussion: Interlude 3 (AL)
Week Eight: Lifting our Students Up
AL: 9 and 16
Feminist theory presentation (CE ch. 5)
Book Club Readings Due
Week Nine: Assessment
AL ch. 17
Deconstruction theory presentation (CE ch. 6)
Online Discussion: Interlude 4 (AL)
Week Ten: Teaching and Learning Literature
LW Ch. 1 and 2
Poststructuralist theory presentation (CE ch. 7)
Week Eleven: How readers and texts make meaning
LW Ch. 3 and 4
Online Discussion: Interlude 5 (AL)
Week Twelve: How to talk and write about literature
LW Ch. 5 and 6
Week Thirteen: Writing Assignments in Literature Classes
LW: Ch. 7 and 8
Week Fourteen: Foundations of Literary Knowledge
LW Ch. 9 and 10
Final Exam: Literary Celebration!
Book Club Presentations
Potluck
Instructor: Christy Doherty-McDowell
Email:[email protected]
Course Materials:
1. Blau, Sheridan. The Literature Workshop. Portsmouth: Heinemman, 2003.
2. Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, Second Edition. New York: Teachers College Press, 2009.
3. Beers, Kylene et al. Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice. Portsmouth: Heinemman, 2007.
Course Description (from the Western Michigan University Undergraduate Catalog): A study of techniques and theories of teaching literature to young adults. Does not count as credit toward the major. Prerequisites & Corequisites: Prerequisites: ED 3020 Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School and two 3000-level English courses that count toward the major. Credits: 4 hours
Course Objectives:
· Students will become familiar with a range of works of literary theory and criticism and an understanding of their effect on reading and interpretive approaches
· Students will identify numerous works specifically written for older children and younger adults incorporating a variety of genres
· Students will distinguish between classic and contemporary texts and the merits of both
· Students will analyze readings for context and rhetorical devices
· Students will examine how students compose and respond to text and make adjustments in their teaching as appropriate
· Students will engage in critical analysis of different media and communications technologies and their effect on learning
· Students will integrate a wide variety of strategies to interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts and assess the effectiveness of such strategies in promoting learning
· Students will use a variety of approaches for to construct meaning from media and nonprint texts
Students will explore the integration of experiences that promote composing and responding to texts
Course Outline
Below is a breakdown of the grade distribution. Major projects are in bold.
1. Persuasive Argument: Banned Book 15%
2. Book Club Presentation 30%
3. Multigenre Literacy Project 20%
3. Final Reflection 15%
4. Class Blog 10%
5. Participation 10%
Grading will be based on the following percentages: A=93-100%, B/A=88-92.9%, B=83-87.9%, C/B=78-82.9%, C=73-77.9%
Papers are due electronically via email by 9:00pm on the day they are due. I will send you a confirmation emai upon receiving your papers.
Course Schedule
AL=Adolescent Literacy CE=Critical Encounters LW=Literature Workshop
Week One: Establish Community
Introductions, Literacy Timeline, Syllabus, First Write
Readings: Unfamiliar Genre article, AL ch. 1
Week Two: Discovering students
AL ch. 2, 3, and 4
Sign up for Book Club
Online Discussion: Interlude 1 (AL)
Week Three: Meeting our students
AL ch. 5 and 6
Week Four: Intro to Theory
CE ch. 1 and 2
Online Discussion: Interlude 2 (AL)
Week Five: Sharpening the Tools
CE ch. 3; AL Ch. 7
Week Six: Teaching the Web-figuratively
AL ch. 11, 12, 13
Week Seven: Teaching the Web-literally
AL ch. 10 and 14
Marxist theory presentation (CE ch. 4)
Online Discussion: Interlude 3 (AL)
Week Eight: Lifting our Students Up
AL: 9 and 16
Feminist theory presentation (CE ch. 5)
Book Club Readings Due
Week Nine: Assessment
AL ch. 17
Deconstruction theory presentation (CE ch. 6)
Online Discussion: Interlude 4 (AL)
Week Ten: Teaching and Learning Literature
LW Ch. 1 and 2
Poststructuralist theory presentation (CE ch. 7)
Week Eleven: How readers and texts make meaning
LW Ch. 3 and 4
Online Discussion: Interlude 5 (AL)
Week Twelve: How to talk and write about literature
LW Ch. 5 and 6
Week Thirteen: Writing Assignments in Literature Classes
LW: Ch. 7 and 8
Week Fourteen: Foundations of Literary Knowledge
LW Ch. 9 and 10
Final Exam: Literary Celebration!
Book Club Presentations
Potluck