ARC 005: Early Childhood Language and Literacy

Course Description

This course is designed as part of a professional education program for teachers of children from infancy to kindergarten. Students will examine and practice the skills necessary to teach and evaluate the processes of emergent literacy and language arts in early childhood, focusing on both typical and atypical development.

Prerequisite

Acceptance into the program.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Articulate and use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning approaches, effective strategies and tools, including appropriate uses of technology, to support early childhood language and literacy development.
Reflect on their own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child.
Articulate strategies to support the development of reading and writing throughout the curriculum.
Develop environments that support language and literacy learning.
Use general knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curricula for each child.
Develop responsive practices that address a full range of diversity, including approaches for children with special needs and culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Course Activities and Grading

Assignments	Weight
Discussions (25 pts. each, Weeks 1-8, 9 Discussions)	37.5%
Written Assignments (25 pts. each, Weeks 1-7)	29.2%
Persona Doll Project (Week 8)	33.3%
Total	100%

Required Text(s):

Vukelich, Carol, James Christie and Billie Jean Enz. Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy: Birth through Kindergarten. 5th ed. Pearson Publishing, 2020. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-661573-6

Additional Resources

Recent research articles will be listed in the Course Content area of the course.

Course Schedule

Week	SLOs	Readings and Exercises	Assignment(s)
1	2	Topics: Families and Foundations of Language and Literacy Textbook: Chapters 1 & 3 Article: The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3	Read assigned chapters and article Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Literacy Biography Assignment
2	3	Topics: Oral Language Development Textbook: Chapter 2 Article: Communication Development Domain	Read assigned chapter and article Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Motor, Neural, Language Development Child Adults Interactions Assignment
3	6	Topics: Dual Language Learners Articles: Language Acquisition: An Overview Strategies for Supporting All Dual Language Learners Early Dual Language Learners PreK-3rd Challenging Common Myths About Dual Language Learners	Read assigned articles Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Watch Videos Submit Dual Language Learners Resource for Teachers Assignment
4	3	Topic: Early Reading Skills Textbook: Chapters 6 & 7 Articles: What Teachers Need to Know about Language by Lily Wong Fillmore What Elementary Teachers Need to Know about Language Lily Wong Fillmore Children's Access to Print Material and Education Related Outcomes	Read assigned chapters and articles Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Literacy Experiences Assignment
5	3,4	Topic: Supporting the Development of Writing Textbook: Chapter 8 Articles: Developmental Writing: What Does it Look Like and How Can It Be Supported in Preschool? Invented Spelling and Spelling Development Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and Reading Fluency: Implications for Understanding and Treatment of Reading Disabilities Elizabeth S. Norton and Maryanne Wolf	Read assigned chapter and articles Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Writing Experiences Assignment
6	5	Topics: Literacy Rich Classroom Environments and Special Teacher Skills Textbook: Chapters 4 & 5 Articles: Creating Literacy Rich Environments Policy Brief: Developing and Supporting Literacy-Rich Environments for Children (located in the Course Documents section of course) Resources for Teaching and Learning About Literacy Literacy Environments	Read assigned chapters and articles Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Literacy Environment Assessment
7	6	Topics: Supportive Interactions and Interventions Textbook: Chapter 9 Articles: Red Flags - For Children Birth to Siz Years Extensive Reading Inventions in Grades K-3	Read assigned chapter and articles Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Research and Practice Assignment
8	1	Topic: Digital Literacy Textbook: None Articles: The Touch-Screen Generation (located in the Course Documents section of course) Facing the Screen Dilemma (located in the Course Documents section of course) NAEYC Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs (located in the Course Documents section of course) Resources for Technology and Young Children – New Tools and Strategies for Teachers and Learners (located in the Course Documents section of course)	Participate in the Discussions Review the Lecture material Submit Persona Doll Project

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.