ENGL682: SEMINAR
IN TEACHING ENGLISH I (ARTC VERSION)
OPTION A
Joan DelFattore
831-2987 (office)
737-7124 (home and fax)
jdel@udel.edu
www.english.udel.edu/jdel
Description
This class encourages students in the Alternative Routes to Certification
(ARTC) program to refine their skills in teaching writing to secondary-school
classes. In particular, it reflects the need to help secondary-school
students acquire the writing skills assessed by the Delaware State Testing
Program (DSTP), such as critical thinking, creative expression, effective
presentation of arguments, good organization, and accurate mechanics.
Option A includes a series of readings that offer a solid grounding in research-based
instructional techniques and methodologies. The short writing assignments
that accompany the readings are intended primarily to allow students to demonstrate
how they would apply those techniques and methodologies to the secondary-school
classes they are presently teaching. In addition, the course includes
a major project in which students will design writing instruction that incorporates
the body of research-based material they have learned and practiced in the
course. The ARTC version of this course will be conducted in a distance-learning
format in which participants will share and discuss their work online.
Objectives
* Participants will develop lesson plans using a variety of research-based
approaches.
Emphasis will be placed on serving secondary school students who come from
varied backgrounds, live in a pluralistic culture, and exhibit different learning
styles. These lesson plans, which will be keyed to the Delaware State
Content Standards and the Delaware Professional Teaching Standards, will
include the following elements: long-term goals and specific behavioral
objectives designed for diverse learners; motivational activities aimed at
stimulating pupil interest and emphasizing the relevance of the lesson to
the pupils’ own lives; varied instructional strategies focusing on student-centered
approaches to whole-class, small-group, and individual learning; skills-based
as well as content-based learning; the use of technology, non-print media,
and community resources; and multiple types of assessments. Participants
in the ARTC course will also explain how the motivational activities, instructional
strategies, pupil assignments, and assessments in each of their lesson plans
relate to each other and accomplish the objectives of the lesson.
* Participants will develop lessons and units that will help secondary-school
students to
apply their real-life experiences to oral and written composition; develop
listening skills;
speak and write for a variety of audiences and purposes; use the writing
process,
including prewriting, writing, revising, editing and evaluating; participate
in cooperative
and collaborative learning environments; experience a variety of individual,
small-group,
and whole-class approaches to instruction geared toward diverse cultures
and learning
styles; apply knowledge of grammar and usage to oral and written composition;
and write
accurately, colorfully, and expressively in response to DSTP-style prompts.
* Participants will develop plans for using a variety of descriptive,
diagnostic, formative,
and summative evaluation strategies, such as portfolios, contracts, self-evaluation,
AV
presentations, observations, and tests. They will also develop appropriate
evaluation instruments and evaluate the effectiveness of particular assessment
strategies in different kinds of situations and with diverse learners.
On lesson plans written after discussing this material, participants will
state explicitly how their proposed assessment procedures relate to the lesson’s
objectives, motivational activities, class activities, assignments, and target
state standards.
* As the culminating activity of the course, participants will develop a
coherent plan for teaching a writing unit incorporating all the
elements and standards defined above.
* In addition to reading research-based printed materials,
participants will access
appropriate Internet sites, such as teacher-posted suggestions for teaching
various kinds of writing, chat rooms and online discussion groups for
teachers, and homepages of textbook publishers and professional organizations.
Texts
Nancie Atwell, In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing,
Reading, and Learning, 2d
edition (Boynton/Cook, 1998).
Joseph Callahan, Leonard Clark, Richard Kellough, Teaching in the Middle
and Secondary
Schools, 7th edition (Prentice Hall, 2002).
Delaware English Language Arts Content Standards
http://www.doe.state.de.us/Standards/English/ELA_toc.html;
print the following
sections: Definition; Standards One through Four, Grades 6-8 and 9-10.
Delaware Professional Teaching Standards
http://www.doe.state.de.us/DPIServices/teacher.htm#standards;
print entire document
“The Five-Paragraph Essay,” http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/
“Outline of the Five Paragraph Essay,” http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/essay/
“Research Papers Handbook,” http://www.research-papers-handbook.com/
“The Writing Process,” http://www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html
“Writing a Research Paper,”
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/index.html
Grading
The class portfolio, which is made up of all the written
assignments (original and revised versions) except for the final project,
counts as 60% of the final grade. The final project counts as 40%.
SCHEDULE
AND ASSIGNMENTS
NOTES:
Because people’s computers differ, it would be better to avoid sending short
assignments as attachments. Either type the material right into an e-mail
message or do it in a word processing program, copy it, and paste it into
an e-mail message.
For purposes of these assignments, a page of writing means the e-mail equivalent
of a typed, double-spaced page of hard copy (approximately 300 words).
Since English teachers are open to severe criticism from parents, students,
and principals if our own writing contains mechanical errors, all written
work in this course must be correct in spelling, punctuation, usage, and so
forth. Take the time to proofread your work, and if necessary
consult the online grammar guides linked to the Writing Center website (www.english.udel.edu/wc/resource/index.html),
the Writing Center itself, or your notes and materials from ENGL 183 for help
with grammar questions.
I have not written “e-mail by the due date” after each writing assignment,
but it applies to all of them. All written assignments are to be e-mailed
to the instructor and to the class by the due date indicated at the top of
each module. E-mail addresses will be shared in the first class meeting.
By September 20:
Read Callahan, Clark, and Kellough (hereafter CCK), Module 2, “Middle and
Secondary School Students: Meeting the Challenge.” Pay particular
attention to the sections entitled “Styles of Learning and Implications for
Teaching,” pp. 37-41; and “Instructional Practices That Provide for Student
Differences: General Guidelines,” pp. 41-42. It is not necessary
to complete the exercises or end-of-chapter activities in CCK unless you are
specifically asked to do so.
Read Atwell Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
Write approximately one to two typed, double-spaced page of notes on the
CCK readings and one page on the Atwell readings reflecting what you consider
most important about the material provided there.
By Oct. 10:
Read CCK, Module 3, “Selecting Content and Preparing Objectives.”
Pay particular attention to the sections headed “Aims, Goals, and Objectives:
A Clarification,” pp. 87-90; and “Clarifying Instructional Objectives,” pp.
95-99.
Do Exercise 3.11, “Preparing My Own Instructional Objectives,” p. 101, for
a lesson on a business letter, a persuasive essay, or a research paper.
Read CCK, pp. 133-40, 147-52.
Complete Exercise 4.5, “Analysis of a Lesson That Failed,” p. 153.
Read CCK, Module 6, “Student-Centered Instructional Strategies.”
Read CCK, Module 7, “Teacher-Centered Instructional Strategies.”
By Oct. 20:
Read all sections of “The Five-Paragraph Essay,”
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/
Read all sections of “Outline of the Five Paragraph Essay,”
http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/essay/
Using the structure described in the readings, write your own five-paragraph
essay
on the topic, “Why I Like (Or Do Not Like) Teaching the Five-Paragraph Essay.”
Your essay should be approximately two typed, double-spaced pages long.
Read the information about the DSTP at http://www.doe.state.de.us/AAB/DSTP_intro.html.
Go to http://www.doe.state.de.us/AAB/writing_report2002.pdf
and scroll down to
page 19 of the document, where you will find the rubric for scoring the
writing portion of the DSTP. Print that page if you don’t already have
a copy of the rubric.
Scroll down to page 31. Beginning on that page and continuing for
the rest of the document, read the sample papers by eighth-grade and tenth-grade
students.
Write approximately one or two pages explaining what you infer, from the
description of the test and the scores given to the sample papers, you should
be working on with your own classes.
By Nov. 1:
Read Atwell, Chapter 4, “Getting Ready”; and Chapter 5, “Getting Started.”
Pay particular attention to the sections entitled “Establishing Expectations,”
pp. 110-14; “Rules for a Workshop,” pp. 114-17; and “Writing Territories,”
pp. 120-32.
Write approximately two pages on the following issues: Does
Atwell’s approach resemble the way you yourself were taught writing as a
high school and college student? Is Atwell’s approach attractive to
you as a teacher? Why or why not?
Using Atwell’s guidelines, prepare a list of your own writing territories.
In writing, identify one way in which you anticipate using the personal
interests underlying your list of writing territories to the benefit of your
students, and one way in which you will have to be careful not to allow your
own interests to dominate your teaching to the detriment of some of your
students.
By Nov. 10:
Read Atwell, Chapter 6, “Minilessons.”
Using the lesson plan format from CCK, write plans for two mini-lessons
(no more
than five minutes each). One of the mini-lessons should be based on
“Lessons About Conventions of Writing,” pp. 184-201. The other may deal
with any other suggestion in the chapter.
By Dec. 5:
Read Atwell, Chapter 7, “Responding to Writers and Writing.”
Using the five-paragraph essay you wrote earlier, do “Having a Writing
Conference with Yourself,” pp. 247-49.
Revise your essay and write approximately one page summarizing what you
learned or concluded about your own writing based on the Atwell chapter.
Apply Atwell’s writing conference ideas to one of your own classes, either
by holding actual conferences or by using the principles she lays out as the
basis for your written comments on student papers. Then write a one
or two-page essay indicating how you used her material with your class and
assessing how well you think it worked.
By Dec. 15:
Read “Research Papers Handbook,” http://www.research-papers-handbook.com/
“The Writing Process,” http://www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html
Read “Writing a Research Paper,” http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/index.html
Picture yourself preparing to teach a unit on the research paper based on
the
material you read, and answer the following questions in writing:
1. How much time will you allow for working on the research paper, from
the day you first introduce that unit to the day the students hand in their
final drafts? Will you have your students work on the research paper
full-
time during that period, or will you intersperse it with other activities?
2. Make a numbered list showing the class periods you will teach during
the
time the students are working on their research papers. Next to each
number, write a few words indicating what will go on during that class
period (e.g., “Work in the school library on data collection” or “Hand
in
index cards.” If you plan to do other things while the students are
working on their research papers, just write “Nothing on the research
paper” to indicate class periods that will be entirely spent on other things.
3. How will you handle the selection of topics for the research paper?
If
you will give the students a list of topics from which to choose, how will
you go about selecting the topics to put on the list? If you will allow
the
students to choose their own topics, what guidelines will you give them?
4. Will each student write his/her own research paper, or will students
be
allowed/encouraged/required to work in groups? If each student works
alone, what guidelines will you give the students regarding permissible
interactions? In other words, will they be allowed to talk to each other
at all about their papers?
By Jan. 2:
In CCK, Module 9, “Assessing and Reporting Student Achievement,” read pp.
337-47. Be sure that you understand Figure 9.2 (p. 342).
Examine the rubric for scoring research papers (CCK pp. 366-67).
Read the sample rubric for scoring persuasive writing that appears at
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/oipd/mspap/writing/SRubWTP.pdf
Read the sample rubric for scoring expository writing that appears at
http://www.online2.org/lessons/writing-rubic.htm
Read Atwell, Chapter 9, “Valuing and Evaluating.”
Review the rubric for scoring the DSTP to next week’s class.
Write approximately two pages identifying the different philosophical bases
for the various rubrics and discussing how you would use them with your own
students. What does each rubric appear to emphasize or value?
Which appeals to you the most, and which the least, in terms of their usefulness
with your classes? Explain your choices.
By the last week of January:
Complete the major project for the course according to the attached instructions.
Prepare a 15-minute presentation to share your work with the other students
in the class at a class meeting (exact time and date to be determined by mutual
consent).
By the first week of February:
Complete any revisions you chose to make in light of the class discussion
and hand in the final project.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FINAL PROJECT
This assignment is your chance to demonstrate your ability
to incorporate all the elements you worked on this semester – goals and objectives,
classroom activities, evaluations, and so forth -- into a coherent design
for teaching a particular type of writing. Because of the emphasis that
today’s schools place on state testing programs, you are being asked to focus
on writing that directly addresses the relevant skills: the five-paragraph
essay, the memoir (see Atwell, Chapter 11), or the research paper.
Choose one of these three types of writing as the subject of your final project.
After choosing your topic, complete the following steps:
1. Find at least three websites that offer effective help in planning
your unit. Students who elect the memoir may use the Atwell chapter
and at least one website that is not related to Atwell. Students who
elect the five-paragraph essay or the research paper should not use the websites
we discussed in class. The material you print out from the websites
should be included with your final project.
2. Complete the Unit Description Form (attached).
3. Write lesson plans for two weeks of your unit, following the Directions
for Lesson Plans sheet (attached).
CRITERIA FOR GRADING THE FINAL PROJECT
* Includes all the elements listed in the instructions.
* Relates to the secondary-school students’ interests
and experiences.
* Takes diverse learners and varied learning styles
into account.
* Includes a variety of teacher-centered and student-centered
activities.
* Includes class discussions that are not limited
to recitations of factual material
or to question-and-answer
interactions between teacher and students.
* Uses a variety of methods to assess whether students
have met the objectives.
RUBRIC FOR GRADING THE FINAL PROJECT
Do It Again: Fails to meet one or more of the criteria listed above.
Is, in whole or in part, inadequate for use in a secondary-school
class.
Contains significant or numerous mechanical errors.
Is sloppy or disorganized.
B: Meets all the criteria at a level that is adequate
for classroom use.
Contains few, if any, mechanical errors and is neat and well-organized.
A: Meets all the criteria at a level that is adequate
for classroom use.
Includes particularly creative, varied instruction/assessment.
Is exemplary in its organization and completeness.
UNIT DESCRIPTION FORM
This form is available online at www.english.udel.edu/jdel;
click on ENGL682 Option A and scroll down to this point of the syllabus.
You can copy this form from there into your word processing program, or you
can simply type in the various headings. You are welcome to take as
much space as you need to complete each item.
Please fill out this form for the secondary-school class to which you will
teach the unit you are designing. Even if you plan to use the unit with
more than one class, select one of them for purposes of this class project.
General Information:
Name:
Secondary school:
Class year and level:
Number of class periods per week:
Length of each class period:
Class Description:
Number of students in the class:
Are there either mainstreamed special education students or gifted students
in the class? Explain.
Describe the class in terms of student diversity, such as gender, race,
background, academic motivation, divergent learning styles, and anything
else that should be considered in determining appropriate instruction.
Is there another instructor, such as a TAM instructor, in the room?
If so, what will be his/her role in this unit?
Unit Rationale:
What is the topic of your unit: the five-paragraph essay, the memoir,
or the research paper?
What are the goals of the unit? That is, when students have finished
the entire unit, what will they know, or what will they be able to do, that
they do not know or cannot do now? Please be specific. For instance,
“Students will improve their organization” would be too general, whereas “Students
will be able to formulate clear thesis statements that are relevant to the
assigned topic and sufficiently narrow to be covered in five paragraphs” would
be excellent.
What state content standards will the unit fulfill? Please do not
simply list them by number; write them out. The list will probably
be quite long, since it should include all the standards that will be met
anywhere in this unit, even if it is in only one lesson.
Identify the four standards that are most central to this unit: the
ones that will appear on almost every lesson plan. Mark these standards
by typing three asterisks at the beginning of each of them.
How will this unit help to prepare students for the DSTP?
How is this unit based on the approaches to teaching writing covered in
the course readings and in the material taken from the Internet? Be
specific.
Overall, what makes you think that this particular unit will meet the needs
of these particular students?
Unit Description:
What relevant instruction will this class have had before beginning this
unit? For instance, are you doing remedial or advanced work after the
students have already been taught the five-paragraph essay, the memoir, or
the research paper, or are you introducing it for the first time?
How long will this unit take?
Will the writing unit be the only thing students will do, or will they work
part-time on the writing project and do other things (such as reading literature)
in between? It is not necessary to identify exactly what else the class
will be working on; the purpose of this question is simply to impel you to
be precise about the amount of class time you are allotting to this unit.
Write a week-by-week summary of what the students will accomplish in this
unit. First, indicate how that week’s instruction will address one or
more of the unit goals, which you defined in the previous section. It
is understood that the students might not meet the goal completely by the
end of that week, but you should indicate clearly what progress the students
will make toward it. (Be sure that by the end of the entire unit, all
the goals have been met.) Second, briefly describe the types of class
activities the students will engage in and the assignments they will do for
homework that week. Be sure that all assignments and activities address
the goals of that week’s instruction -- that is, stay focused not on filling
a week’s worth of time but on making sure that the students are learning what
they are supposed to be learning. Third, indicate how you will know
whether the students have made the progress they were supposed to have made
toward fulfilling the goals of the unit. You should use a variety of
assessments, such as informal class polling (“Does everyone understand?”),
teacher-monitored small-group work, class recitations and discussions in which
students are called on at random, and journal entries as well as more traditional
evaluations, such as quizzes and graded homework.
Note: Your unit should include at least two instances in which your
students will use the Internet. (Assume that the school or the public
library has computers for the students to use if they do not have them at
home.) Those instances do not necessarily have to be in the lesson plans,
but student Internet work should appear somewhere in your discussion of what
the students will achieve in this unit.
DIRECTIONS FOR LESSON PLANS SHEET
1. Use the lesson plan form from CCK.
2. The length of each period and the number of periods in a week should
correspond to the schedule of the school in which you will student teach.
3. The plans you write do not have to be for the first week of the
unit, although they may be.
4. The lesson plans should follow the format in CCK.
5. The goal(s) for each lesson should be one or more of the unit goals
you defined in the unit outline (the form you filled out). The objectives
should show what portion of those broad goal(s) the students will master as
a result of today’s lesson.
6. Each day’s lesson plan should conclude with a listing of the Delaware
state standards it meets. Please do not simply give a number for each standard:
write it out. If you find that the lesson meets a huge number of standards
at least to some degree, choose the three or four that are most central to
it. If, for instance, your students will give some form of prepared
oral presentation as a major part of the class, you should include the relevant
Delaware state standard; but if the oral portion of the class will consist
of ordinary discussion and small-group work, omit that standard.
7. The first activity of each lesson plan should be a set induction.
8. If a major activity of the lesson is a discussion, include a few
sample questions
or topics. If it is small-group work, be sure that the instructions
for the group work are clear. Do not, for instance, simply say, “Students
will work on their papers in small groups.” What, exactly, will they
do?
9. It should be clear in each lesson plan what the students are meant
to get out of
that day’s lesson (objectives), how the activities will meet the objectives,
and how you will know whether they have done so. Each objective must
be met by at least one activity, and the lesson should include no activities
that are irrelevant to the objectives. Similarly, the evaluations should
correspond to the objectives and activities. (You may want to review
the CCK material and your class notes on sequencing of instruction.)