Developing Language Skills

Catalog description

Corequisite: ECE 407 , EED 339 , and RDG 342 . This course is required by all students enrolled in the undergraduate Early Childhood/Elementary Education program. EED 344 provides teacher candidates with knowledge and understanding of concepts, principles, theories, and research related to the language development of early childhood children, explicit and systematic learning opportunities that support individual students’ language and writing development, acquisition of vocabulary, and motivation. Through knowledge of children’s oral language development and high level of competence in the use of English language arts, teacher candidates will gain knowledge and understanding of a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate concepts to teach writing, viewing, and thinking skills. Following explicit modeling of a variety of systematic strategies, teacher candidates will learn strategies for helping children apply developing skills to many different situations, materials, and ideas. This course is designed to provide explicit, systematic instruction in Science of Reading methods through training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) Units 5 - 8. Literacy components included in this course: vocabulary, comprehension, and composition. Candidates will develop an understanding of explicit Tier 2 vocabulary instruction, identifying/analyzing morphemes, and a variety of strategies to increase vocabulary acquisition (vocabulary). Candidates will identify/analyze sentence structure and how it impacts understanding (comprehension). Candidates will demonstrate the understanding of the complexity of the writing task and will develop strategies for instructing students at a variety of levels (composition). Lessons developed in EED 344 will be applied in a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade classroom as part of EED 339 , Integrating Theory and Practice Practicum. Requires Teacher Education Program eligibility. To ensure students are provided the best quality instruction in Science of Reading, the JSU Teacher Education Program has adopted Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) for reading methods courses. Throughout matriculation of the program, candidates will receive training in this quality research and content to help them prepare for literacy instruction in their future classrooms.