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Student: Amber Kordes Course: LTM621

Instructor: Pamela J. Lucas Date: Fall 2013

Course Description: Students study the nature and process of literacy development, including
objectives, methods, materials, and techniques for teaching literacy in adolescence, recognizing
the range of student needs they may encounter, including those for whom English is a new
language. Becoming aware of the key role of literacy in content area learning, they develop a
range of strategies to support students' reading skills, especially with regard to comprehension. In
addition, they develop approaches to the integration of language arts across the curriculum.
Students learn to interpret standardized assessment information as well as to develop meaningful
informal classroom assessments of literacy.

Objectives

1. Clearly articulate an understanding of the modes of communication central to the development
of literacy: speaking, listening, writing, reading, viewing, and representing (Conceptualization)
2. By providing explicit instruction, modeling and guided practice, demonstrate the ability to
effectively teach adolescents of varied backgrounds and developmental levels to use reading
strategies effectively (Diagnosis/Coordination)
3. Effectively incorporate a range of reading and other literacy strategies to support student
learning in the content areas (Diagnosis/Coordination)
4. Thoughtfully design, select, modify and evaluate print and non-print materials for individuals
and groups of students including those for whom English is a new language
(Diagnosis/Coordination)
5. Design meaningful performance assessments that engage students in literacy and the content
area (Coordination/Integrative Interaction)
6. Develop clear explanations for adolescent students and their parents of the results of
standardized literacy assessments and the implementation of instructional plans
(Diagnosis/Coordination)
7. Thoughtfully apply an understanding of linguistic, cognitive, psychological, social, and
cultural factors that influence literacy development in planning for individual and group needs
(Diagnosis)
8. Effectively use technology to enhance literacy instruction in the content area
(Coordination/Communication)
9. Clearly articulate how cultural beliefs and expectations shape the learning needs and goals for
students, including those for whom English is a new language
(Conceptualization/Diagnosis/Communication)

Major Projects
1. Assessment Project As a group, students analyzed data pertaining to a small group of
students and determined their needs, their strengths and weaknesses
2. Your Classroom Literacy Plan Students designed a plan using the multi-genre format
strategy to describe how they would meet the literacy needs of a select group of students.
3. Young Adult Literature References Students created a bibliography that lists ten to
twelve books of young adult literature that they could use as part of their classroom
literacy plan.
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Student:

Analysis of Ambers assessments (Assessment Project, Classroom Literacy Plan and Young
Adult Literature References, field experiences and class participation suggests that she possesses
the skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to marry literacy strategies to content within her
classroom. Her assessments were very well done. She has developed a purposeful definition of
literacy related to the six modes of communication. Amber is well able to integrate theory into
practice. Overall, Amber is performing as a master.

Amber has demonstrated that she is a master in all of the criteria that emerges from the course
objectives. Amber identifies 2-3 strategies for teaching vocabulary, reading comprehension, and
teaching writing; articulates how to select literacy strategies from a range of content area literacy
strategies to support learning; provides examples of how to design, select and modify print and
non-print materials for instruction; designs meaningful performance assessments to engage
students in content area literacy development; provides students and their parents with
comprehendible standardized test results related to instructional plans; states a clear link between
the linguistic, cognitive, psychological, and social influencing literacy development in planning
for group and individual needs; identifies and explains ways to apply technology to enhance
literacy instruction; applies content and literacy standards to instructional practice; and knowing
how cultural beliefs and theories affect learning.