TE 845 Language Diversity and Literacy Instruction Summer, 1997
Readings: Course Pack (Required) The course pack is available at the College Store at 4790 S. Haggadorn Road in the Hannah Plaza, (517) 333-0505. If they run out of course pack copies, you will need to request a copy from Paper Image which next to the College Store (517) 351-4321. Books (Required) There are four required texts for the course: Daily Fare: Essays form the multicultural experience. Aguero, Kathleen. Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Choi, Sook Nyul.* Morning Girl. Dorris, Michael My Place. Wheatley, Nadia & Rawlins, Donnna.* Books (Optional) Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia girls lost their accents, 1991 Bolden, Tonya Rites of passage: Stories about growing up black by black writers from around the world, 1994 Dorros, Arthur Abuela, 1991 Ringgold, Faith Tar beach, 1991 Say, Allen Grandfather's journey, 1993 Spier, Peter People, 1980 Taylor, Mildred Roll of thunder, hear my cry, 1976 TE 845 Language Diversity and Literacy Instruction is a course which addresses issues of literacy instruction for students with diverse language backgrounds, including minority students, English as second language learners, and students with special needs. We will (1) explore the relationship between language, culture, and ethnicity, (2) explore our own cultures, ethnicity's, and language practices, (3) reflect on how cultural practices and beliefs influence our literacy instruction as teachers, (4) explore the role that narrative and talk about narrative can play in helping teachers and students to develop literacy skills and understanding of culture, ethnicity, and language use. To accomplish these objectives, we will read and discuss literature written for children, adolescents, and adults that reflects concerns of cultural and ethnic identity. Narratives will be supplemented with academic readings on literacy instruction and cultural concerns. Large and small group discussions of narratives and academic readings will provide a model for literacy instruction and a site for us to consider the social nature of literacy and the role of culture. This will be a graded course, and no deferred grades will be given. Grades will be based on a total of 100 points for course assignments and activities. Assignments & Graded Activities (1) Class Participation & Learning Logs (30 pts) (2) Assignment #1 (20 pts) Due Monday, June 17 (3) Assignment #2 (20 pts) Due Thursday, June 19 or Friday, June 20 (4) Assignment #3 (30 pts) Due Thursday, June 27 (Grades: 92-100 pts.= 4.0, 85-91 pts.= 3.5, 78-84 pts.= 3.0, 70-77 pts.= 2.5, 62-69= 2.0) (1) Class Participation and Learning/Reading Logs Class participation is thought of in terms of attendance, relevant questions and comments to stimulate discussion, willingness to listen and respond to others thoughtfully, and Learning Logs. Learning or Reading Logs are short reflections on both narrative and academic readings, materials presented in class, or class discussions. These can include your own ideas or beliefs about the topic at hand, responses (both positive and negative), questions, etc. The purpose of these is to assist students in reflective and active learning and to provide a starting place for class discussions. The log will also provide an opportunity for me to see what you are thinking and to engage in individual interaction with you as course participants. Students are encouraged to write in their logs after each set of readings. Throughout the course will take class time to expand upon this writing and reflect over particular issues. (2) Assignment #1-- Narrative Sketch In narrative form share an experience that reflects the role of language diversity and/or culture in literacy or learning. This can be a personal experience or the experience of a student, friend, or someone else. You might choose events or experiences that reflect a time when someone tried to enter a new social arena and what resulted or an experience where knowledge of particular cultural or language practices hindered or helped an individual. After completing your narrative sketch, reflect on the questions this causes you to consider. (You may want to relate these to discussions or readings we have done for class.) End your assignment with a brief description or proposal of a course project that relates to your questions. On Monday we will take some class time for you to share your narrative with others and to talk about course projects. (Length: 2-3+ pages typed) (3) Assignment #2 -- Overview for Final Project Building on Assignment #1, provide a general overview of what you plan to do for your final project. To assist you in this exercise, you may want to also consider: What are your reasons for pursuing this project? What is your objective? What are the theoretical and practical concerns raised or addressed by your project? What dilemmas are you encountering? What questions or concerns do you have? and so on. (Length: 3-6+ pages typed) (4) Assignment #3 -- Final Project Bring a one page summary of your project to class on the last night. Provide enough photocopies for other students to have one. Be sure to list an address or phone number where they can contact you if they wish to learn more about your project. The final project may take many different formats depending upon what you have chosen to do. It should be the culmination of the first two projects. (Length: 10-15+ pages typed.) Options for final project (1) Read additional fiction or autobiography written for children or adults that reflects cultural or ethnic concerns. (You could also view films.) Consider questions that such narratives prompt regarding literacy development, culture, ethnicity, etc. Consider how such narratives might support or refute research you have read or class discussions you have experienced. (2) Write a narrative (or series of narratives) based on your own life. Consider how issues of language, literacy, and culture are reflected in your experiences. Ethnicity, gender, social class, family culture, etc. are also areas you may want to reflect upon. (3) Using autobiographical or fictional narratives, develop a curricular unit for use in your classroom. Provide descriptions of what you will do and what literature you will use as well as a theoretical and practical rationale. Also feel free to include other practical concerns for you as a teacher, e.g. assessment. (4) Write a children's book that could be used in a classroom to convey a particular idea about diversity of language, culture, ethnicity, social class, gender, etc. Provide a rationale for why you have chosen to present your topic this way and the objective you intend to accomplish. (Drawing on readings and class discussions will assist you in developing a rationale.) You may also wish to suggest some possible uses for your book. (5) Write up a case study based on a past or present student or an adult. Describe the individuals literacy experiences. Consider the role that the individual's culture, ethnicity, social class, or gender, etc. have played in these literacy experiences. What questions does the case study cause you to consider? What could others learn from this case? (6) Develop a teacher research project centered around diverse learners that you could carry out in your school setting. Research questions should pertain to literacy instruction/ and or culture. Describe the project and its theoretical and practical rationale. (7) Propose an alternative project. Syllabus TE 845: Language Diversity & Literacy Instruction (Summer, 1997) Brief Course Overview (Readings are listed on the following pages) WEEK ONE Monday, June 16 Introduction Tuesday, June 17 The Need for stories: community, culture, and literacy Wednesday, June 18 Literacy & Discourse (Cultures of Power) Presentation: Visual Literacy & Culture Thursday, June 19 Literacy & Discourse (Cultures of Power) Project discussions
Monday, June 23 Culture & Multiculturalism (Assign #1 Due) Tuesday, June 24 Multicultural or Multiethnic Literature Presentation: Multiethnic Literature & the Classroom Wednesday, June 25 Creating Communities with talk My Place, reading, discussion, application Thursday, June 26 Families & Home-School Connections (Assign #2 Due Thursday or Friday) Presentation: Book Exchange WEEK THREE Monday, June 30 Special Education Overview McDermott & Varenne Film Clips: Avalon & Educating Rita Tuesday, July 1 English for Speakers of Other Languages Presentation: Working With Students of Diverse Language Backgrounds Project Discussions Wednesday, July 2 Assessment Workshop-- Using Narratives WEEK FOUR Monday, July 7 (Presentation of Final Project, Final Projects Due) No readings. Class presentations & final course wrap up. Course Readings by Day Tuesday, June 17 (CP: 1-28) The Need for stories: community,
culture, and literacy Greene, M. (1994). Multiculturalism, community, and the arts. In Dyson, A. H. & Genishi, C. (Eds.) The need for story: cultural diversity in classroom and community, Urbana: NCTE. 11-27. Bruner, J. (1994). Life as narrative. In Dyson, A. H. & Genishi, C. (Eds.) The need for story: cultural diversity in classroom and community, Urbana: NCTE. 28-37. Abt-Perkins, D. & Gomez, M.L. (1993). A good place to begin--Examining our personal perspectives. Language Arts, Vol. 70, March, 193-202. Wednesday, June 18 (CP: 29-52) Literacy & Discourse
(Cultures of Power) Reyes, maria de la Luz. (1992). Challenging venerable assumptions: Literacy instruction for linguistically diverse students. Harvard Educational Review 62(4). 427-447. Kameenui, E. J. (1993). Diverse learners and the tyranny of time: Don't fix blame; fix the leaky roof. The Reading Teacher (45) 5. 376-383. Daily Fare: Essays from the multicultural experience, Preface & pages 20-46. Thursday, June 18 (CP: 53-70) Literacy & Discourse
(Cultures of Power) Daily Fare: Essays from the multicultural experience, pp. 47-78. And Choose One: Scribner, S. (1984). Literacy in three metaphors. American Journal of Education, November. 6-21. OR Delpit, L. D. (1988). The Silenced Dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people's children. Harvard Educational Review, 58, (3). 280-298. NOTE: On Monday & Tuesday, we will discuss Morning Girl & The Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Monday, June 21 (CP: 71-112) Culture & Multiculturalism Required: Morning Girl Eisenhart & Cutts-Dougherty (1991) Social and cultural constraints on students' access to school knowledge. In Hiebert, E. H. (Ed.) Literacy for a diverse society: perspectives, practices, and policies. NY: Teachers College, 28-43. And Rodriguez, R. (1992). "Asians." In days of oblication: An argument with my Mexican father. NY: Penguin. 158-174. And Choose One: Brown, D. H. (1992). Sociocultural factors in teaching language minority students. In Richard-Amato & Snow (Eds.) The multicultural classroom: Readings for content-area teachers. NY: Longman. 73-92. OR Heath, S. B. (1992). Sociocultural contexts of language development: Implications for the classroom. In Richard-Amato & Snow (Eds.) The multicultural classroom: Readings for content-area teachers. NY: Longman. 102-125. Tuesday, June 22 (CP: 113-143) Multicultural or Multiethnic Literature Required: The Year of Impossible Goodbyes Rasinkski, T.V. & Padak, N.D. (1990). Multicultural learning through children's literature. Language Arts, 67(6), 576-580. Walker-Dalhouse, D. (1992). Using African-American literature to increase ethnic understanding. The Reading Teacher, 45(6), 416-422. And Choose One: Cai, M. & Bishop, R. (1994) Multicultural literature for children: Towards a clarification of the concept" In Dyson, A. H. & Genishi, C. (Eds.) The need for story: cultural diversity in classroom and community, Urbana: NCTE. 57- 71. OR Au, K. (1993). Multiethnic literature and the valuing of diversity. In Literacy Instruction in Multicultural Settings. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace. 175-190. Wednesday, June 23 (CP: 145-178) Creating Communities with talk Required: Henson, J. (199 ). The tie that binds: The role of talk in defining community. In Pierce, K.M. & Gilles, C. J. (Eds.) Cycles of Meaning: Exploring the potential of talk in learning communities. 37-57. Daily Fare: Essays From the Multicultural Experience, pp. 157-196 And Choose One: Pfannenstiel, V. (1993). Liberating inner voices and accessing inner visions through dialogue. In Pierce, K.M. & Gilles, C.J. (Eds.) Cycles of Meaning: Exploring the potential of talk in learning communities. OR Palincsar, A.S. & David, Y.M. (1991). Promoting literacy through classroom dialogue. In Hiebert, E. H. (Ed.) Literacy for a diverse society: perspectives, practices, and policies. NY: Teachers College, 122-140. Thursday, June 24 (CP: 179-228) Families & Home-School Connections Required: Edwards, P.A., Fear, K.L. & Gallego, M.A. (1995). Role of parents in responding to issues of linguistic and cultural diversity. In Garcia, E. & McLaughlin (Eds.) Meeting the challenge of linguistic and cultural diversity in early childhood education. 141-153. Carger, C. (1996). Of Borders and Dreams: A Mexican-American Experience of Urban Education, NY: Teachers College. pp. 1-25, 52-59. And Choose One: Freedman, D. & Freedman, Y. (1994). How can schools involve parents? In Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 292-307. Edwards, P.A. (1991). Fostering early literacy through parent coaching. In Hiebert, E. H. (Ed.) Literacy for a diverse society: perspectives, practices, and policies. NY: Teachers College, 199-213. Monday, June 30 (CP: 287-353) Special Education Goatley, Brock, & Raphael (1995). Diverse learners participating in regular education "Book Clubs". Reading Research Quarterly 30 (3), 352-380. (NOTE: Also for Tuesday) Englert, C.S., Tarrant, K. L., Mariage, T.V., and Oxer, T. (1994). Lesson talk as the work of reading groups: The effectiveness of two interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 3(27). 165-185. Cousin, P., Aragon, E., Rojas, R. (1993). Creating new conversations about literacy: Working with special needs students in a middle-school classroom. Learning disability Quarterly (16). 282-298. Tuesday, July 1 (CP: 287-313 & 354 -419) English for Speakers of Other Languages Goatley, Brock, & Raphael (1995). Diverse learners participating in regular education "Book Clubs". Reading Research Quarterly 30 (3), 352-380. McKeon, D. (1994). When meeting a "common" standard is uncommonly difficult. Educational Leadership, May. 45-49. Guild, P. (1994). The culture/learning style connection. Educational Leadership. 18-21. Daily Fare: Essays from the Multicultural Experience, pp. 205-227 And Choose One: Freedman, D. & Freedman, Y. (1994). Who are our English language learners, and what factors influence their academic performance? In Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 292-307. Freedman, D. & Freedman, Y. (1994). How do explorer teachers celebrate students' first languages and cultures? In Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 165-197. Wednesday, July 2 (CP: 229-286) Assessment Carger, C. (1996). Doubting Hearts. In Of Borders and Dreams, NY: Teachers College. pp. 82-91. Garcia, G.E. & Pearson, P.D. (1991). The role of assessment in a diverse society. In Hiebert, E. H. (Ed.) Literacy for a diverse society: perspectives, practices, and policies. NY: Teachers College, 253-278. Gillespie, C.S., Ford, K.L., Gillespie, R.D., Leavell, A.G. (1996). Portfolio assessment: Some questions, some answers, some recommendations. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 39(6). 480-491. And Choose One: Wolf, S.A. & Gearhart, M. (1994). Writing what you read: Narrative assessment as a learning event. Language Arts, 71, October, 424-444. Dix, T. (1993). Cycles of professional growth: Evaluating literature discussion groups. In Pierce, K.M. & Gilles, C.J. (Eds.) Cycles of Meaning: Exploring the potential of talk in learning communities. 315-329. Monday, July 7 No readings. Class presentations & final course wrap up. Project Related Readings (CP: 421-505) Vascellaro, S. & Genishi, C. (1994). All the things that mattered: Stories written by teachers for children. In Dyson, A. H. & Genishi, C. (Eds.) The need for story: cultural diversity in classroom and community, Urbana: NCTE. 172-198 Topping, K. (1989). Peer tutoring and paired reading: Combining two powerful techniques. The Reading Teacher (42) 7, pp. 488-494. Zarnowski, M. (1988). Learning about fictionalized biographies: A reading and writing approach. The Reading Teacher, 42(2). 136-141. Raphael, T.E. & Englert, C.S. (1990). Writing and reading: Partners in constructing meaning. The Reading Teacher 43(6). 388-400. Reutzel, D.R. & Parker, P.C. (1989). Using a literature webbing strategy lesson with predictable books. The Reading Teacher, (43) 3. pp. 208-215. Keegan, S. & Shrake, K. (1991). Literature study groups: An alternative to ability grouping. The Reading Teacher 44(8). 542-547. Freedman, D. & Freedman, Y. (1994). How can teachers improve their practice through classroom-based research? In Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. Portsmouth: Heinemann. Syllabus TE 845: Language Diversity & Literacy Instruction (Summer, 1997) Brief Course Overview Monday, June 16 Introduction • Course expectations • Film: Mississippi Masala • Syllabus & Assignments Tuesday, June 17 The Need for stories: community, culture, and literacy • Grumet • Readings • Film: Mississippi Masala Wednesday, June 18 Literacy & Discourse (Cultures of Power) • Readings • Presentation: Visual Literacy & Culture Thursday, June 19 Literacy & Discourse (Cultures of Power) • Readings • Project discussions Monday, June 23 (Assign #1 Due) Culture & Multiculturalism • Multiculturalism overview • Readings (including Morning Girl) • Narrative Sketches Tuesday, June 24 Multicultural or Multiethnic Literature • Readings (including Year of Impossible Goodbyes) • Presentation: Multiethnic Literature & the Classroom Wednesday, June 25 Creating Communities with talk • Readings • My Place, reading, discussion, application Thursday, June 26 (Assign #2 Due or Friday) Families & Home-School Connections • Readings • Presentation: Book Exchange Monday, July 1 Special Education • Overview McDermott & Varenne • Readings • Film Clips: Avalon Tuesday, July 2 English for Speakers of Other Languages Readings Presentation: Working With Students of Diverse Language Backgrounds Projects Wednesday, July 3 Assessment Monday, July 7 No readings. Class presentations & final course wrap up.
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