Course Goals

As a Language Arts major I have spent a lot of time in various literature based courses as well as courses on Language Learning. I am also working on an endorsement in TESOL so I have an understanding of the difficulties of the English language that many native speakers do not notice. Through these experience I have gained an appreciation for diverse literature as well as the challenges language learning.

One thing that I have thought about as I approach this semester and the anticipated teaching of literacy, is the impact that literacy has on the lives of students. Literacy is the basis for every other subject. When students struggle with literacy, it can weaken their achievement in other subject areas. Not only is literacy a crucial component of education but it is also an area where students are at vastly different levels. What concerns me about entering this course is how I am going to adapt literacy lessons to students in my fourth grade class that cover reading levels from below kindergarten to middle school.

In thinking about an urban setting I am reminded about the role that dialect plays in English. I have to be understanding of the fact that the way students learn a language at home may be quite different than the way they are expected to use language in the classroom. Exposure to language is an important factor on how students learn a language and it is often difficult for them to replace internalized habits. This is something I can potentially see as a challenge for me as a teacher in an urban setting but I know that the key to succeeding through the challenge is patience and perseverance.

My hope is that this course will provide me with the tools to create diverse and entertaining lessons in literacy and language arts. I want language arts to be fun for students but also to be portrayed as a major importance in their education. I have ideas for language arts lesson already in my head, however I hope this course will help me develop ways to adapt those lessons to meet the needs of all of the students in my classroom without taking away from the goal of what the lessons were created to accomplish. I really hope that I will find new and innovative ways to present language arts to students of various backgrounds.