CONT925: Reading and Literacy in the Primary Grades
This course will give you a thorough understanding of the key components of literacy learning and associated instructional strategies. Throughout the multifaceted structure of the course, you’ll explore the foundational reading skills students need that are developed through a comprehensive and rich literacy program. Such a program includes joyful and play-based learning aligned with the early learning framework, the First People’s literacy knowledge and structures, and research-based practices that focus on developing the literacy skills and strategies that all students need to be successful.
Beginning with your own experience with literacy, you’ll discover how to help students develop a powerful and confident literacy identity by mastering basic skills and applying them in authentic literacy experiences. Good literacy instruction is based on knowledge, a vision for your students, and a plan to get you there. This course will give you the roadmap you need to begin.
Learning Outcomes
What You Will Learn and Do
In this course you’ll have the opportunity to
- explore skill-based and meaning-based instruction to teach all students how to read
- assess students and implement specific skill-based and strategy-based instruction depending on assessed needs
- explore how to teach and implement aspects of all literacies (oral language, writing, print) to ensure holistic and strong literacy development for all students
- integrate playful and intentional literacy opportunities into your teaching
- create a lesson and series of lessons to demonstrate an understanding of how students learn to read and write
- design or support the creation of an inquiry question in a subject area to allow students to use literacy skills in the inquiry process
- develop a long-range plan to incorporate all aspects of literacy and integrate one other curricular area into the plan
Assessments
Module 1
Peeling Back the Layers of Literacy
Module 2
Reading Instruction
Progress Update 1
Module 3
Spelling Development
Module 4
Small Group Reading Instruction
Formative Assessment
Module 5
Supporting Literacies and Teaching Structures
Progress Update 2
Module 6
Writing Instruction
Module 7
Literacy Assessment and Planning
Module 8
Long-Range Literacy Overview
Summative Assessment