LRC 312 C Fall 2010

Fall 2010, Tuesday 4 – 6:45, Rm. 530

LRC 312c: Early Language Acquisition and Literacy Development (3 units)

College of Education

COURSE SYLLABUS

(Information in this syllabus may be subject to change or expansion with reasonable advance notice as deemed appropriate by the instructor.)

Instructor:

Iliana Reyes, Ph.D.

Address:

Language, Reading, & Culture Program

College of Education, University of Arizona

1430 E. Second Street, Rm. 505

Tucson, AZ 85721

Office Ph

520-621-4087

Dept. Ph:

520-621-1311 (you can leave messages here for me)

Email:

[email protected]

Office hrs:

T 1:00 pm-3:00pm and by appointment

Description This course focuses on theories of language and emergent literacy development and how these theories inform practice in early childhood education, particularly as they apply to children birth through age 8. The acquisition of the sounds, syntax and meanings of language (both lexical and pragmatic) as well as the relation between oral language development and concepts of print, emergent literacy, family and community contexts are examined along with issues stemming from language diversity. Also covered is the body of research in basic science and pedagogy, which undergirds both the knowledge of early childhood development as well as designing effective curriculum and instruction in a variety of early childhood and primary classroom settings.

Expanded Course Description

LRC 312c focuses on several theories of language development and early literacy and how these theories inform practice in early childhood education for children birth through age 8. Specifically, we will study the acquisition of the sounds of language, the syntax and meanings of language (both lexical and pragmatic), the relation between oral language development, concepts of print, and emergent literacy within the contexts of home, family, community and school. In addition, this particular semester we will examine issues stemming from language diversity in both private and public schools including English literacy, native-language literacy, biliteracy, and the impact of language educational policies and programs on young language minority students and their families. The relationship between language and literacy and characteristics of effective curriculum and instruction will be examined based on current educational research and teachers' action research in various early childhood and classroom settings.

Course Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of LRC 312c is to provide students with the knowledge and critical thinking to explore and understand different aspects of children’s language development, emergent literacy, developmentally appropriate assessment practices, and research-based design principles that guide curriculum development and instruction.

The following are the course objectives and Arizona and NAEYC professional standard to which they are linked:

♦ Students will understand the process of oral and written language acquisition and development in early childhood (AZ Standards for Teaching 8.4; NAEYC Standard 1; AZ Early Learning Standard Language & Literacy Development, strands 1-3).

♦ Students will understand the process of oral and written language socialization in early childhood (AZ Standards for Teaching 5 & 7.4; NAEYC Standard 4; AZ Early Learning Standards: Social & Emotional Development, strands 1-4; Language & Literacy Development, strands 1-3; Social Studies Development, strand 4).

♦ Students will explore the relationship between language and literacy with particular reference to young English language learners (AZ Standards for Teaching 8.6; NAEYC Standards 1 & 4; AZ Early Learning Standard: Language & Literacy Development--strands 1-3).

♦ Students will use performance assessment strategies to evaluate young children’s language and literacy knowledge (AZ Standards for Teaching 2.1 4.2, 4.3, & 4.5; NAEYC Standards 3 & 4).

♦ Students will understand the influence of cultural, social, and political factors on the development of early language and literacy (AZ Standards for Teaching 1.4,1.5 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, & 2.4; NAEYC Standards 1 & 4; AZ Early Learning Standards: Social Emotional Development, strand 1-4; Social Studies Development, strand 4).

♦ Students will understand the relationship of theory to practices affecting young language learners (AZ Standards for Teaching 1.7, 1.8, 1.12, 2.9, & 2.10; NAEYC Standards 1, 3, & 4; AZ Early Learning Standard: Language & Literacy, strands 1 & 2).

Website Links to Professional Standards

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC):

http://www.naeyc.org/faculty/pdf/2001.pdf

Arizona Early Learning Standards:

http://www.ade.state.az.us/earlychildhood/download /EarlyLearningStandards.pdf

Arizona Professional Teacher Standards:

http://www.ade.state.az.us/certification/downloads/Teacherstandards.pdf

Required Texts

1. Otto, B. (2009). Language development in early childhood (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

2. Otto, B. (2008). Literacy development in early childhood: Reflective teaching for birth to age 8. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

3. Owocki, G., & Goodman, Y. (2002). Kidwatching: Documenting children’s literacy development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Recommended Texts

Edwards,Carolyn, .Gandini, Lella & Forman, George (1998) (Eds.) The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach – Advanced Reflections (2nd ed.) Wesport, CT: Ablex (Greenwood).

Assignments, Grading, and Classroom Decorum

Basic Classroom Policies

• Policy on Absences— In addition to religious holidays, students occasionally have business trips and/or family obligations that require them to miss class. I would appreciate the courtesy of informing me when you will miss a class; even so, it is expected that you will obtain notes and information about class assignments from other students so that you will be prepared for the next class. (If you have specific group responsibilities, you should notify your group members as a courtesy.) Students who are absent from class for the observance of a religious holiday will be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time frame after the absence. Notification must be made in writing and delivered in person to instructor.

However, missing too many classes suggests it may not be possible for you to achieve the course objectives—which include a substantial small group work and class discussion. Students who have to miss more than two classes are advised to drop the course. For the most part, students missing 2 classes without an excused absence should not expect to receive a grade higher than a B. In general, absences are excused under the following conditions: (a) all holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that religion; and (b) absences approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean’s designee) will be honored.

• Class participation—Students are expected to arrive in class on time, prepared and ready to participate. Participation means actively contributing to discussions that will occur in class by listening to others, asking questions and taking part in whole class and small group discussion. Regular attendance means coming on time, staying for the entire class session and attending outside-of-class activities (when assigned). Students who are frequently unprepared may receive a lower grade in the class. Class participation is essential for the success of this course. If you feel that you are not comfortable with participation in group discussions, make an appointment to see me so we can consider Fall 2010, Tuesday 4 – 6:45, Rm. 530 4 this dilemma.

• Assignments—Late Projects. While “life happens” or computers crash when we least expect it, good time management of your work in this class is critical to successful course completion. As a result, some flexibility is built into the assignment of project/paper due dates. You are expected, however, to turn in projects on the date due unless you have been granted permission by the course instructor well in advance of the due date (no less than 2 days). Papers or assignments that are not delivered on the due date where no allowance has been made will be reduced by one-third of a letter grade for each day the product is late. (One third of a letter grade represents, for example, moving from an A- to a B+). NOTE: There are computers and printers available in the computer lab (4th floor), therefore, in general, computer/ printer failure is not an excuse for late assignments.

• Students with Disabilities. If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu; 1224 E. Lowell Street) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then plan how best to coordinate them. NOTE: Instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided.

• Policy on Cell Phones. Please turn off cell phones and beepers so as not to disturb others during class time. Advise the instructor when personal circumstances require any different communication access.

• Format for written papers. All written assignments must be typed and double-spaced on a 12” font with 1” margins following the style guidelines of the 5th Edition of the American Psychological Association (APA). This style manual is available online through a website at Purdue University (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/) or in paperback for purchase in the bookstore. Assignments are due at the beginning of class period, on the dates indicated in the course outline. Assignments not meeting the above criteria will not receive credit.

Evaluation Process

There are three major assignments that students will complete to demonstrate mastery of course competencies and content. Each assignment will be given a letter grade based on percentage (A, A-, B+, B, etc.) The letter grade point value (4.0, 3.7, 3.3, 3.0) will be multiplied by its percentage weight, then summed along with the participation grade (10%) to determine the final grade in the course.

1. Attendance, Reading and Class Participation (10%).

Students are expected to do the reading BEFORE class, so that you can contribute meaningfully to class discussion.

2. Language Observation Assessment and Socio-cultural Family knowledge Interview (30%).

Part a. Language Observation Assessment. Audio-tape an infant or toddler verbalizing in his or her home language for a total of 10 minutes. You may need to tape multiple episodes. Analyze the vocalizations for specific words and their relation to the child’s home environment. For example, if the child is at the telegraphic speech stage, analyze the verbalizations for the syntactic-semantic-patterns discussed in your textbook (Language Development in Early Childhood, chapters 4 & 5).

Part b. Socio-Cultural Knowledge and Family Interview. Prepare the appropriate surveys and interview questions (in the heritage language if needed) following the guidelines in Kidwatching, chapter 2 and discussion with your classmate and instructor . Then, select a preschool aged child who is just becoming aware of print, interview the parents or other family members to learn about the language and literacy environment and funds of knowledge that this child is expose to at home and in her community.

Summarize your findings from the family interview and child language observation in a 4-5 page, double-spaced paper. Share what you learned from this experience, including the following:

♦ Write a description of the child, including their age, sex, past experience with books and literacy environment, and relationship with you;

♦ What did you learn from your interview with the child’s family?

♦ What happened during your home visit?

♦ What did you learn about the child’s home environment?

♦ What did you learn about the child’s community and neighborhood?

3. Journal article review (20%).

In addition to class readings, students are required to analyze, critique and summarize one article from a major early childhood journal (e.g., Child Development, Early Childhood Development and Care; Early Childhood Research Quarterly; First Language; Future of Children; Journal of Early Childhood Literacy;).

4. Language and Literacy Development Case Study Paper & Presentation

—Signature Assignment (40%). For this particular project, you will choose three of the four remaining activities in Kidwatching (i.e., Books and Book Handling; Talk: Oral Reading and Miscues; Writing) and conduct an in-depth case study where you will observe and assess the child’s language and literacy milestones during classroom instruction with a teacher and peers, or, if applicable, in other contexts such as home, park, or community activities.

Identify and select a preschool aged child (if possible follow the same child from language obersvation assignment) who is just becoming aware of print, survey the parents or other caregivers, and carry out the interview and tasks with the child. You and your class partner will analyze and type a report of what you learned from this experience. Guidelines for this Child and Family Case Study assignment will be distributed in the next couple of weeks.

Experience about learning from Child and Family funds of knowledge:

♦ Write a description of the child, including their age, sex, past experience with books, and relationship with you;

♦ Describe her classroom environment and her family home environment.

Experience about literacy tasks with child

♦ What happened at each stage of the task with the different aids

♦ What conclusions have you made about what young children believe about reading and the support that the different features of text give to readers (e.g. color, language, familiarity with the product)?

As part of your final paper, you are expected to reflect on the observations made throughout the semester by making connections of what you learned about the target child with findings from readings in the language and literacy field. Students are expected to do a literature review on a specific aspect related to language and literacy development and provide examples from their case study to illustrate the main points in their paper (15 double-spaced pages max./10-12 references). Paper topics should be approved in advance by the instructor. (Arizona Professional Teaching Standards: 1.1, 1.12, 3.3, 3.5, 4.2, 4.5, 7.5, 8.4, & 8.6; NAEYC Standards: 1, 2, 4, & 5; AZ Early Learning Standard: Language & Literacy, strands 1 & 2).

NOTE: My personal philosophy on academic reading in general is that it is better to read more slowly and deeply—particularly with intellectually challenging material—than quickly and widely just to cover a broad range of diverse work. However, one can cover a great deal of ground by reading “deeply” on a regular basis—in other words, daily reading adds up to a substantial amount in a very few years and over a lifetime.

So—read slowly, take notes, make marginal glosses, define the new terms you encounter, and write summaries to yourself regarding key points in each chapter. If you highlight—make a small note as to why this passage deserves such special distinction. Don’t wait until the last minute to do the reading since it may take several hours of reflection as well as two or three times through each chapter before you feel confident to talk about it—and you will be required to do this. In short, give yourself time to absorb the concepts and be patient with your initial rate of learning and understanding. It will increase over the semester as you will see.

Student Polices, Procedures and Codes - Last Updated 04.19.04 All University of Arizona students should familiarize themselves with the UA codes, policies and procedures. The Dean of Student's Office has developed this information to provide guidance for students attending UA. It includes information about policies, procedures, rights and responsibilities that should be followed by students.

Since the student codes, policies and procedures may be revised semester to semester, it is the responsibility of the student to view revisions.

For more information, please contact the Dean of Students Office.

Please review these websites regarding University of Arizona student policies:

Academic Conduct:

http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/

Disruptive behavior:

http://web.arizona.edu/~policy/disruptive.pdf

Threatening behavior:

http://policy.web.arizona.edu/threatening.pdf

Student Disabilities Center:

http://drc.arizona.edu/teach/syllabus-statement.html.