TE 638 Balanced Literacy Instruction
A Road Map to On-line Resources
Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State University
Attention TE
638 Students!
Click here to go to MoraModules
Index to select from the many web pages related to literacy instruction.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to guide the student-practitioner in an examination of current issues and questions in literacy education from multiple perspectives based on academic polemics, published qualitative and quantitative research, and public media debate. The report will focus on the extent to which academic perspectives, public opinion and educational policy are congruent or incongruent with the students' own professional knowledge base and experiences in effective instruction and program design from his/her own academic preparation and classroom experiences.
Resources
The graduate student will consult various sources of research data and discussion of a selected issue or question that affect policy decisions and school practices in literacy teaching and learning. There are links to many of these resources provided through the on-line syllabus for this course. You will reference one article from any five of these categories in your report. These resources include the following:
- Scholarly books
- Academic journal research articles
- Public policy documents published by government agencies
- On-line publications and research articles
- On-line discussion forums and e-mail listserv discussions sponsored by language/literacy organizations
- Magazines, newspaper editorials, & other popular media
- Legal provisions & regulations, court decisions, court testimony from expert witnesses, and public policy reports and analysis stemming from changes in education law
- Literacy histories or reflections on teaching/learning from colleagues or students that are available on-line or in a print media.
Using on-line resources is most convenient to begin your investigation, since Internet sources are often very current and up-to-date. You can find the Phi Delta Kappan, Education Week, Rethinking Schools, Reading OnLine and other journals available on-line. The TE 639 on-line syllabus has many relevant links. However, some journals are not yet available on-line, so you may need to plan a trip to the library. An example of reviews of books on educational issues can be found on this website: Learning to Read Language Arts & Reading Research. A number of relevant scholarly books are also available at the SDSU Love Library, although the most popular ones are usually checked out. Consult the professor if you cannot find a copy of the one you of greatest interest to you or relevance to your topic. A bibliography of many of the most current and widely discussed scholarly books will be provided. A summary or excerpts available on-line are acceptable.
Many newspapers have research and reporting on a certain topic, such as the Los Angeles Times series Reading by 9. Other on-line newspapers are designed for a general audience, but also publish scholarly analysis of educational issues, such as this article on phonemic awareness in Education News. Also, several websites for organizations provide links to news articles related to their particular topic. Some of these represent articles selected to promote a particular ideology or point of view. Others are comprehensive lists that do not pre-screen the articles they post on the site. . In either case, these sites are a time-saver since they compile media articles for easy access. These sources will provide the public policy and popular media perspective.
Below are some questions to guide your analysis of the resources you consult as you research your topic:
Educational Research
Click here for an
example of a treatise of the state of the art in literacy theory and research published in
Reading On Line titled Further
Notes on the Four Resources Model.
Here
is a list of on-line literacy resources from the University
of Seattle
Here
is a list of reports on literacy education available on-line from the Center
on English Learning and Achievement
Academic Polemics
Click here for an
example of how an academic literacy research organization will summarize research into a
body of principles for literacy development and instruction. This is the CIERA
organization at the University of Virginia College of Education.
Legislation
and Public Policy
Here
is an excellent analysis of the effects of policy
decisions on literacy instruction by Richard Allington
Literacy
Websites & On-line Resources
Several literacy organizations for children and
adults are linked below:
International Reading Association Reading Online
Literacy Volunteers of America
United States Department of Education America Reads
National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE)
National Institute for Literacy
Learning to Read Language Arts & Reading Research
Click below for wonderful CHILDREN'S
LITERATURE links:
Carol Hurst' Children's Literature Site
Kay Vandergrift on Children's Literature
Kay Vandergrift on Hispanic Images
Author's link for Anna Grossnicke Hines
Author's link for Aaron Shepard
Cri-Cri El Grillito Cantor Children's Songs in Spanish
Webpages and
Articles on Selected Topics
Testing and Standards-based Instruction
Opposition to the Standards Movement
Phonemic Awareness (Teacher Friendly Website)
The Reading Wars & State Government Reading Instruction Policies
Equal Educational Opportunities for Hispanic Students
Hispanic Literacy Publications
Teacher/Student Interaction in Biliteracy Instruction
Second-language (ESL) Literacy for Young Children: Guidelines for Teachers
Effective Teaching Practices for L2 Learners (Includes literacy instruction)
To Navigate Dr. Mora's CLAD Website:
This page was last updated on 07/26/02