RLR 501 Teaching Beginning Literacy

This course introduces theoretical orientations to literacy processes as well as methods and materials for teaching beginning reading. The course emphasizes methods for assessing and teaching that capitalize on the spoken language competence and facets of early literacy children bring with them to school. Phonemic awareness and phonics are considered within the framework of a comprehensive, contextually-based approach to teaching reading. Oral language development, developmental spelling, stages of early writing, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary development are also considered. Differentiated instructional approaches for learners of diverse cultures, languages, and varied abilities are introduced, including guided reading. Pre-requisite(s): Basic reading methods course or permission of program faculty. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours