483-113 Language and Literacy in the Classroom

Credit Points:

Coordinator:

Timetable:

Contact:

Objectives:

On completion of this subject students should be able to:

• demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between the form of texts and the social contexts in which they occur and the purposes which they serve;

• demonstrate their understanding that society demands multiple literacies of its members;

• demonstrate personal competence in a number of text forms or genres appropriate to their teaching interests;

• analyse the text forms used in their particular fields of knowledge, so as to be able to model and teach these effectively;

• demonstrate their understanding that class, gender and ethnicity are implicated in language use;

• demonstrate an awareness of the need for literacy to be taught across the curriculum; and

• apply as appropriate in their teaching some of the theories of language and literacy acquisition studies.

Content:

This subject will introduce students to the nature and development of language and literacy by examining the social nature of literacy, theories of language and literacy acquisition, the application of language and literacy teaching to all subject areas of the curriculum, issues related to texts (written, spoken, and visual) including their social construction and the ways in which readers make meaning from them, the nature and scope of text types used in classrooms, and the social and personal implications of the development and attainment of literacy proficiency.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Christie F (ed), Literacy for a Changing World, ACER Melbourne 1990.
• Derewianka B, Exploring How Texts Work, Primary English Teaching Association Sydney 1990.
• Gilbert P, Gender Literacy and the Classroom, Australian Reading Assoc) Adelaide 1989.
• Heath SB, Ways with Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms, Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1983.
• Meek M, How Texts Teach What Readers Learn, Thimble Press Stroud Gloucestershire 1988.
• Smith F, Understanding Reading, (2nd ed.) Holt Reinhart & Winston New York 1978.
• Unsworth L (ed), Literacy Learning and Teaching: Language as Social Practice in the Primary School, Macmillan Education Australia Melbourne 1993.
• Wickert R, No Single Measure, Sydney Faculty of Advanced Education Sydney 1990.