Syllabus

This course examines the ways in which thinking, reading, writing, and responding come together in classrooms for junior and senior high students. Our goal will be to understand literacy processes for our students and ourselves and how we can help our students see literacy activities as both pleasant and important in their lives inside and outside of school. In keeping with a socio-cultural framework, we will examine literacy issues influenced by language, race, class, and gender, seeking to understand which texts are valued, who struggles and succeeds with literacy and why, and what counts as literacy in secondary classrooms. Diversity in its many forms will frame our discussions as we focus on the ways that literacy is culturally situated within secondary classroom settings. Throughout this course we’ll explore the role teachers can play in creating learning environments where all students can experience success in their literacy learning, environments where “deep literacy” (Wolf, 1988) occurs.

All texts for this course may be found at the IMU Bookstore.

Schoenbach, R., Greenleaf, C., Cziko, C., & Hurwitz, L. (1999). Reading for understanding: A guide to improving reading in middle and high school classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Beers, K. (2003). When kids can’t read: What teachers can do. A guide for teachers 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Sturtevant, E. (2006).  Principled Practices for Adolescent Literacy.  A Framework for Instruction and Policy.     Mawah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.