SYLLABUS
English 4773
Teaching of English

Carolyn Lindsey Kinslow                                                                                                                                                             Phone: 581-5524 (office)
Nance-Boyer 2035                                                                                                                                                                                 357-3473 (home)
carolynk@cameron.edu
Office Hrs. M-TH 9:00 -11:00
        or by appointment
 

Course Description
The purpose of this course is to familiarize potential Language Arts teachers with both the practical and theoretical aspects of their discipline as applied to the classroom experiences they will encounter as English teachers.

Course Objectives
Students who complete this course will become familiar with
     1. Current methods of teaching reading skills, oral and written language skills, and literature
     2. Planning and evaluation strategies
     3. Curriculum issues
     4. Issues of gender, culture, race, and exceptionality as they apply to instruction
     5. Professional issues such as ethics, legal and political considerations, collegiality, and so forth.

Required Texts
         Burke, Jim. The English Teacher’s Companion. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999. (Hereafter referred to as JB)
         Maxwell, Rhoda and Mary Jordan Meiser. Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall,
                2001. (Hereafter referred to as M&M)

Requirements and Evaluation
Note bene. Just as you will not be allowed to turn in lesson plans or teach late, you will not be allowed to turn in any course work late except in the most extreme circumstances.

 Unit Proposal Papers — One typed page for each major section of the teaching unit as noted in the course calendar, 50 pts. each                 350 pts.
 Responses to Unit Presentations — One typed page for each unit, 10 pts. each                                                                                            100 pts.
 Unit Plan                                                                                                                                                                                                      200 pts.
 Unit Presentation                                                                                                                                                                                          200 pts.
 Field Observation Reports 5 during the semester, 30 pts. each                                                                                                                      150 pts.
 Center for Writers Practicum   15 hours during the semester                                                                                                                          150 pts.
 Final Exam                                                                                                                                                                                                   150 pts.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Total          1200 pts.

Grading Scale

 1080 - 1200 pts. — A
   960 - 1079 pts. — B
    840 - 959  pts. — C
    720 - 839 pts.  — D
    719 or below   — F

Class Attendance and Participation
 This is a professional course in which you will be expected to model the kind of behavior you will exhibit in the workplace. Thus, you will be expected to attend class unless you experience the kind of emergency that would require you to miss a day of teaching. In such a case, you will need to contact me as quickly as possible to explain why you will be (or were) absent.
 In relation to class participation, one expectation is that you will voice your ideas, attitudes, interests, and other information in relation to the course objectives and content. Obviously, this aspect of the course obligates you to do the assigned reading before class. Another expectation is that we will listen and respond to each other in a civilized and genteel fashion, even if we disagree with some of the ideas and content being discussed or taught.

Disability Statement
 If you believe you have a disability and think you need special assistance, please advise me immediately.  I will work with you and Cameron’s Office of Multicultural and Disabled Service to provide reasonable accommodations.

Plagiarism
 Please make sure you understand what plagiarism entails and avoid it.  Read pages 574 - 579 in Hodges Harbrace Handbook, for a thorough discussion.  A copy is available in the Writing Center.

Children in Class
 Because of liability problems, Cameron University policy prohibits children from being in classrooms.  Please understand that exceptions to this policy cannot be made.

Course Calendar

Aug, 21 Overview of course and discussion of policies. Chps. 2 & 22, JB

Aug. 23 Chps. 1 & 2, M&M; Chp. 25, JB

Aug. 28 Chp. 3 & pp. 74-79, 83, and 86-94, M&M – curriculum

Aug. 30 Chp. 13 & pp. 84-86, M&M; Chps. 10 & 25, JB – planning

Sept. 4 Chp. 7, M&M; Chp. 9 JB – writing to learn, teaching thinking

Sept. 6 Chp 12, M&M – language acquisition

Sept. 11 Chp. 6, M&M; Chp. 7, JB – composition

Sept. 13 Composition continued; Proposal paper for unit section due

Sept. 18 Chp. 10, M&M; Chp. 6, JB – grammar

Sept. 20 Grammar continued; Proposal paper for unit section due

Sept. 25 Chp. 4, JB – reading

Sept. 27 Reading continued; Proposal paper for unit section due

Oct. 2  Chps. 8 & 9, M&M, except pp. 243-244 – literature

Oct. 4  Literature continued; Proposal paper for unit section due

Oct. 9  Chp. 5, M&M; Chp. 8, JB – speaking and listening

Oct. 11 Speaking and listening continued; Proposal paper for unit section due

Oct. 16 PP. 243-244 M&M; Chps. 12, 13, & 14, JB – technology

Oct. 18 FALL BREAK

Oct. 23 Chp. 11, M&M; Chp. 11, Burke – evaluation; Proposal paper for unit section due

Oct. 25 PP. 80-81, M&M; Chps. 16, 17, 18, JB – Gender, culture, exceptionality; Proposal paper for unit section due

Oct. 30 Chp. 14, M&M; Chps. 19, 21, 22, 23, 27, & 28, JB – ethics, law, etc.

Nov. 1  Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 6  Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 8  Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 13 Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 14 LAST DAY TO DROP WITH AUTOMATIC W

Nov. 15 Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 20 Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 21 THANKSGIVING

Nov. 27 Unit presentation and feedback

Nov. 29 Unit presentation and feedback

Dec. 4  Unit presentation and feedback

Dec. 6  Unit presentation and feedback

Dec. 15 Final Exam

Field observation reports will be due as you complete the observations.