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Time/Room:
Instructor:
Dr. Johanna Rubba
Sec. 01 - MWF 9:30 - 10:40 am 22-311
Office: 47-35B
Sec. 02 - MWF 10:50 am - noon 22-311
Office phone: 756-2184
Dept. phone & fax: 756-2596
fax 756-6374 E-mail address: jrubba@ca lpoly.edu
Prerequisites: ENGL 215, 218 or equiv.
Office Hours: TBA
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This course considers the implications of what linguists know about children's language for teaching 'language arts' in elementary and high schools. Coverage of each of the topics listed below will include an introduction to the linguistic facts about the focused aspect of language, consideration of how children acquire knowledge of it, and how best to treat it in school. This is a very intensive course in reading load, workload, and amount of material covered. If you are carrying a heavy unit load this quarter, I recommend that you reduce your unit load or take this class in a later quarter.
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Hours 1 & 2 Course logistics. Class discussion about the goals
of language arts teaching. General facts about language, language acquisition
in children, and linguistic diversity.
UNIT 1: SOUND, SPELLING, WRITING
Weeks 1-3 Overview of the English sound system, the English spelling
system, how children acquire sound and spelling/writing, and wisdom on
how best to teach spelling/writing.
UNIT 2: WORDS: FORM AND MEANING
Weeks 4-5 Overview of how words are built in English and broad patterns
of meaning, and how children acquire these two aspects of words; discussion
of how best to teach vocabulary.
UNIT 3: CONNECTED LANGUAGE: TEXTS,
SENTENCES Weeks 6-8
Consideration of how words are combined
to make larger units of communication: texts and sentences. Discussion
of different types of texts and their structure; elements of sentence structure;
and f unction of sentences within texts and texts within language use.
Stages of acquisition of text and sentence structure; discussion of grammar
teaching.
UNIT 4: LANGUAGE DIVERSITY, LANGUAGE
BIAS, AND LANGUAGE ARTS Weeks 9, 10, 11 (week 10 consists of
one day, due to Thanksgiving break) An examination of linguistic diversity
in America, especially dialect diversity; the linguistic wisdom on this
diversity; correction of popular myths about 'good' and 'bad' English;
how best to accommodate nonstandard-dialect speakers and non-English speaking
children in school.
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Texts: Required:
•The Structure of English, by Michael
Newby. Cambridge U. Press, 1987.
• Children’s Language and Learning, by
Judith Wells Lindfors, 2nd edition, Allyn & Bacon 1991.
• Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict
in the Classroom, by Lisa Delpit, The New Press, 1995.
• 391 Course Reading Packet, Second Edition.
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Course requirements:
• Attendance: Attendance is monitored
and will affect your grade. Please see my webpage Attendance
Policy. (http://www.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/att.pol.html)
• Assignments: Course readings
are required. There will also be homework,
which will be collected and marked on a completed/not completed basis.
• Tests:There will be three tests:
two midterms and a comprehensive final.
•
Project:
Students will prepare a term project consisting of collection and analysis
of real linguistic data. For details, click on the word 'Project' at the
beginning of this entry.
FOR PROJECT GUIDELINES, CLICK HERE.
Point value of course requirements:
Your course grade consists of whatever
percentage you earn of 300 points. These points are distributed as follows:
Homework:
30 points = 10%
Midterm exams:
45 points ea. = 30%
Final exam:
90 points = 30%
Project:
90 points =
20%
TOTAL:
300 points = 100%
Letter/number grade conversion guide
(Applied to all graded work)
A+ = 98-100%
B+ = 87-89% C+ = 77-79%
D+ = 67-69%
A = 94-97%
B = 84-86%
C = 74-76%
D = 64-66%
A- = 90-93%
B- = 80-83%
C- = 70-73% D- = 60-63%
F = 0-59%
Still to come: Full reading schedule for the course; course objectives for the course