Graduate-Level Credit / Non-Credit Hours
3 Semester Credits or 45 Clock Hours
Course Description
This course is designed to provide K-12 educators an understanding of the ELA Common Core Standards in the disciplines: History/Social Science, Science, and Technical (HST). Participants of this course will learn what the ELA HST standards are, what it means to be “literate” in each of the disciplines, and how to create such literacies. Most significantly, participants will learn teaching strategies to embrace the new HST ELA standards.
Global Goals of the Course
To deepen and/or apply the content and skills of the teacher’s existing professional knowledge base by meeting the following global goals of this course:
1. To understand the definition of “Disciplinary Literacy” and its relationship with the ELA Common Core Standards in History/Social Science, Science, and Technical Subjects (NBPTS 2,4; InTASC 4,7,9)
2. To explore the literacies most natural, and most commonly used, to create meaning in each discipline (NBPTS 1,2; InTASC 1,3,4,9)
3. To study the ELA HST Common Core standards, developing an understanding of the meaning and context of each standard in grades six through twelve (NBPTS 2; InTASC 4,7,9)
4. To understand how to teach students to closely read, including the different factors considered in reading like a historian vs. reading like a scientist (NBPTS 1,2,3; InTASC 1,2,4,5,7,8)
5. To gain knowledge of academic vocabulary, including understanding the difference between general academic vs. domain specific vocabulary (NBPTS 1,2,3; InTASC 1,2,4,8)
6. To explore the significance of using visual representations - both being able to read such and using such representations to convey and organize information in the disciplines (NBPTS 2,3; InTASC 1,4,5,8)
7. To learn how to utilize primary sources in the disciplines to strengthen reading and understanding of disciplinary principles (NBPTS 2; InTASC 4,5)
8. To understand and differentiate credible sources for building disciplinary understanding (NBPTS 2,3; InTASC 1,4,5,8)
9. To explore the critical thinking skills necessary in each of the disciplines (NBPTS 1,2,3; InTASC 1,4,5,8)
10. To gain knowledge of approaches to encourage writing from sources in all types of media, to use research in the writing process, and to learn to write argument in disciplinary writing (NBPTS 1,2,3; InTASC 2,4,5,8)
11. To explore the use of technology in teaching and enhancing disciplinary literacy (NBPTS 1,2,3,5; InTASC 1,2,4,5,7,8)
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