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COURSE SYLLABUS: COMD 7308 001

Preliteracy Development
Spring 2008

Class Time: Wednesday, 1 – 3:45 PM

Location: Callier J.204
Instructor: Dr. Anne van Kleeck
e-mail: annevk@utdallas.edu
Phone: 214-905-3147
Office: Callier-Dallas A101
Office hours: Monday, 3:30 – 4:50 PM, Callier Dallas Room A 101
Other times by appointment

PRE-REQUISITES: None

COURSE DESCRIPTION: A great deal of research now documents that preschoolers with language delays, those from
low socio-economic backgrounds, and those from non-mainstream cultural and linguistic backgrounds are at risk for
exhibiting reading difficulties when they enter school. From nearly two decades of intensive research and from recent
developments in educational and clinical practice, it has become clear that a great deal can be done to prepare
preschoolers to help them make a smoother transition to later learning how to read and using language for academic
purposes more generally. This course will focus on the preliteracy skills that lay the foundations for later reading
achievement, their course of development, ways to assess them and to use evidence-based practices to effectively
foster their development. Emphasis will be placed on historical and cultural (including socio-economic) variability in
literacy values, beliefs, and practices, and how this information might be best used in working with families and children
from diverse backgrounds.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This course has been designed to ensure that students demonstrate required knowledge and skill as outlined in the
Standards and Implementation Guidelines for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology. The
specific standards addressed in this class are: III-B, III-C, III-D, III-F, III-G, and IV-G

Students will be able to:

1. Define preliteracy and categorize and list the skills it entails (Std. III-B).
2. Differentiate the various purposes of preliteracy and early literacy assessment and recall state guidelines for
approved assessments and schedules for administering them (Std. III-D, III-F).
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3. Interpret how the preliteracy and literacy content areas the SLP is responsible for fostering according to ASHA
relate to the areas of reading instruction mandated in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation (Std.
III-G).
4. Compare and contrast theories and models of preschool predictors of later reading and explain how they relate to
different categories of later reading disabilities (Std. III–C).
5. Recall the developmental sequence of the various preliteracy skills.
6. Describe levels of evidence in evidence-based practice and analyze how this relates to controversies regarding
preliteracy and early literacy teaching and intervention (Std. III-F, IV-G).
7. Analyze, evaluate, and compare and contrast strategies and tools to assess preliteracy skills (Std. III-C, III-D).
8. Analyze rationales and support for different treatment approaches to preliteracy, including skills-oriented,
meaning-oriented, and combination approaches (Std. III-C, III-D, IV-G)
9. Understand the historical fluctuations in mainstream culture beliefs about education in the preschool period of
child development and the institutions and practices these beliefs spawned. Compare and contrast these
historical fluctuations with current differences in beliefs among various non-mainstream cultural groups in the
United States today (Std. III-G).
10. Debate the issues regarding how cultural values and practices of families might impact both family and school-
based literacy teaching and interventions (Std. III-G, IV-G.).
11. Describe the nature of the “literate discourse” (“school talk”) pattern of language use that preschoolers with
educated parents become quite conversant in prior to entry into kindergarten, compare and contrast the different
kinds of socialization that children from other cultural backgrounds might receive that can be quite different from
this formal schooling pattern of language use, and be able to identify instances of such language use in ongoing
interactions with preschoolers (Std. III-B. III-D, III-F, III-G, IV-G).
12. Construct a series of lesson plans for a specific preliteracy skills area (phonological awareness) and explain how
all aspects of it are based on research evidence or expert recommendations in the literature (Std. III-D, III-F, IV-
G).
13. List the Texas state mandated guidelines for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten content knowledge in the area of
reading and writing and in other relevant aspects of language arts (Std. III-G).

REQUIRED READINGS AND MATERIALS

1. Some of your readings will be available to you to download from the UTD library; others will be made
available at Off Campus Books.

2. The text for this class is available at the UTD bookstore and at Off Campus Books (561 W. Campbell Road,
Suite 210):

van Kleeck, A. (Ed.) (2006). Sharing books and stories to promote language and literacy. San Diego: Plural
Publishing.
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Course Topics, Readings, and Assignments

Date Class Topics Readings Due Other Assignments
(Home works to be announced)
Jan. 9 An introduction to preliteracy
development

Jan. 16 Texas Implementation of NCLB: van Kleeck, A. & Littlewood, L. (in
Reading First & Early Reading press). Fostering form and meaning
First in emerging literacy using
evidence-based practice. In M.
Mody & E. R. Silliman (Eds.),
Language impairment and reading
disability: Interactions among
brain, behavior, and experience.
New York: Guilford Press.
Turn in Study Guide for van Kleeck &
Littlewood (in press) by uploading
on WebCT prior to class.
Visit and explore this website:
http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-
bin/pfr/search.cgi

ASHA and the roles,
responsibilities, knowledge, and
skills of SLPs in fostering literacy
American Speech-Language- Turn in Study Guide for ASHA Roles
Hearing Association. (2000). and Responsibilities.
Roles and responsibilities of
speech-language pathologists with
respect to reading and writing in
children and adolescents
(guidelines). Rockville, MD: Author.
File name: 6ASHA00

Text Chapter 1 van Kleeck (2006). Turn in Chapter 1 Study Guide.

A matter of emphasis: different
ways to share books and stories to
foster different language and
literacy skills.

Jan. 23 Domains of Preliteracy Text Chapter 2: Price & Ruscher
Development: Phonological (2006) Fostering phonological
Awareness awareness using shared book
reading and an embedded explicit
approach.
Turn in Study Guide for Chapter 2.
Homework: PA Lesson Plan using
concepts from Chapter 2.

Jan. 30 Domains of Preliteracy
Development: Print Awareness &
Letter Knowledge
Feb. 6 Domains of Preliteracy
Development: General Language
& Vocabulary Skills
Feb. 13 Domains of Preliteracy
Development: Inferencing
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Text Chapter 3: McGinty, Sofka, Turn in Chapter 3 Study Guide.
Sutton, & Justice (2006) Fostering
print awareness through interactive
shared reading.
Text Chapter 4: van Kleeck (2006) Turn in Chapter 4 Study Guide.
Fostering letter knowledge in
prereaders during book sharing:
New perspectives and cultural
issues
Text Chapter 5: Huebner (2006) Turn in Chapter 5 Study Guide.
Optimizing the effects of shared
reading on early language skills
Text Chapter 7: Hindman & Wasik Turn in Chapter 7 Study Guide.
(2006) Optimizing book reading
experiences to develop vocabulary
in young children
Text Chapter 8: van Kleeck (2006) Turn in Chapter 8 Study Guide.
Fostering inferential language
during book sharing with
prereaders: A foundation for later
text comprehension strategies
van Kleeck, A., & Vander Woude, J. Turn in van Kleeck & Vander Woude
(2003). Book-sharing with Study Guide.
preschoolers with language delays.
In A. van Kleeck, S. Stahl, & E.
Bauer (Eds.), On reading books to
children: Parents and teachers (pp.
58 - 92). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
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Feb. 20 Domains of Preliteracy van Kleeck (in press) Providing TBA

Development: Narrative Skills
& School Talk
preschool foundations for later
reading comprehension: The
importance of and ideas for
targeting inferencing in book-
sharing interventions. Psychology in
the Schools.

Text Chapter 9: Finestack et al. Turn in Chapter 9 Study Guide.

(2006). Fostering narrative and
grammatical skills with “syntax
stories”
Feb. 27 MIDTERM EXAM

March 5 Informal and Formal TBA TBA

Assessment

March 12 SPRING BREAK

March 19 Cultural Perspectives Text Chapters 6: van Kleeck Turn in Chapter 6 Study Guide.
(2006) Cultural issues in promoting
interactive book sharing in the
families of preschoolers

March 26 Historical perspectives and van Kleeck, A. (in preparation). TBA

current controversies Historical perspectives on literacy in
early childhood.

April 2 Broad Intervention Programs: TBA TBA

DIBELS & High/Scope

April 9 - Projects TBA TBA

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April 30 FINAL CUMULATIVE EXAM

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GRADES WILL BE BASED ON:

Study Guides/Homework turned in on time and completed at graduate level of quality 10%
Thoughtful class participation 10%
Midterm Exam 30%
Projects 10%
Cumulative Final Exam April 30 40%

GRADING POLICY

A – 89.5 – 100%
B – 79.5 – 89.44
C – 69.5 – 79.44

Grades are non-negotiable. While I know that nearly everyone strives for an A, please remember that a grade of B is a
very respectable grade. A grade of C is allowed on your graduate transcript as long as it is balanced out by an A – in
other words, you must maintain an overall B (3.0) average in your graduate courses to remain in Academic Good
Standing (unless you are a Fast Track student, in which case a grade of C will not earn credit toward your graduate
degree).

ASHA STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THIS CLASS (including how knowledge will be conveyed and how
knowledge and skill acquisition will be demonstrated)

Standard III-B: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of basic human communication and swallowing
processes, including their biological, neurological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and
cultural bases.

Specific knowledge will be demonstrated in this class in the area of normal preliteracy development, including the impact
of cultural and linguistic diversity on preliteracy socialization and development.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, on-line resources, videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will
be demonstrated via class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.
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Standard III-C: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the nature of speech, language, hearing, and
communication disorders and differences and swallowing disorders, including the etiologies, characteristics,
anatomical/physiological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural correlates.

Some of the specific knowledge in this course will be focussed on the normal sequence of development in the various
skill domains that lay important foundations for later literacy development, including phonological awareness, print
awareness, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary development, inferential language skills, and narrative skills. This
knowledge provides the foundation for the informal assessment techniques that will be covered, and the sequencing of
goals in intervention.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will be demonstrated via
class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.

Standard III-D: The applicant must possess knowledge of the principles and methods of prevention,
assessment, and intervention for people with communication and swallowing disorders, including
consideration of anatomical/physiological, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural
correlates of the disorders.

Informal and formal (including norm and criterion referenced) preliteracy assessment techniques will be discussed,
demonstrated, and some will be applied by students. Various interventions will be discussed, including the research base
for them, the controversies surrounding them, the historical evolution of them, and the skills areas that are not well-
covered because it is hard to conduct solid

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, on-line resources, discussion, and practice in
implementing as assessment tool and in developing an intervention lesson plan. Acquisition will be demonstrated via
class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.

Standard III-F: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of processes used in research and the
integration of research principles into evidence-based clinical practice.

Nearly every reading in this course will directly discuss the research that informs practice. Also covered will the the
content areas that receive less attention because high quality intervention research is much more difficult to conduct
with them.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, on-line resources, discussion, and practice in
implementing as assessment tool and in developing an intervention lesson plan. Acquisition will be demonstrated via
class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.
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Standard III-G: The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of contemporary professional issues.

A professional issue that has become increasingly important, and will only continue to do so, relates to having as much
information as possible about cultural issues that impact communication. Because communication is so very culturally
shaped, we will be continually exploring the role of culture in all dimensions of preliteracy socialization, development,
assessment, intervention/education, and public policy.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will be demonstrated via
class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.

STANDARD IV-G: The applicant for certification must complete a program of study that includes supervised
clinical experiences sufficient in breadth and depth to achieve the skills outcomes [related to evaluation,
intervention, and interaction and personal qualities].

In addition to clinical experiences, skills may be demonstrated through successful performance on academic coursework
and examinations, independent projects or other appropriate alternative methods. In this class, one assessment and
one lesson plan project will provide direct clinical application and experience.

Knowledge will be conveyed via class readings, lectures, videotapes, and discussion. Acquisition will be demonstrated via
class discussion, study guides, homework, projects, and exams.

COURSE & INSTRUCTOR POLICIES/SPECIFIC COURSE GUIDELINES

• Since this class meets only once per week, class attendance is critically important. Attendance requires arriving
on time and staying until the scheduled ending time of class.
• Please remember to turn off cell phones. If you know you may need to be reached in an emergency, please use
the silent options on your phone and leave the classroom to answer the call. I would appreciate it if you would let
me know prior to the start of class time that you will need to have your phone on.
• Assignments are due at the BEGINNING of class. In cases of illnesses and/or emergencies, contact me before
class and arrange to have any assignments due turned in by a classmate.
• Make up quizzes will not be given.
• Be sure to use APA style in your writing (see for example, how to cite references, and the specific ways to avoid
using sexist language). Some possibly helpful websites include: http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/apa4b.htm;
http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/index.htm; http://www.psychwww.com/resource/apacrib.htm.
• Please keep a copy of all study guides and homework turned in. You will see your grades, but I will keep the
copy turned in.
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• If you do not understand the reason you received a specific grade on any assignment, I definitely want you to
talk with me about it. If you believe a grade should be reconsidered, take time to review my comments about
your work and follow these instructions:
1. Please wait at least 24 hours after you received the grade, but no more than one week to respond to me
in writing about it.
2. Submit to me your carefully reasoned written explanation (minimum of one page, and maximum of two
pages) of why you believe you deserve more credit than you received on a particular assignment (why
your response was a valid one), including cited references where relevant. Please specify the amount of
credit you think you deserve. Attach the original evaluation to your memo.
3. I will carefully consider your request, and will contact you via e-mail within one week with my decision
about your request. You may, of course, also come and speak to me in person about the matter after you
have received my decision.
• Please feel free to drop in during office hours to ask questions, or discuss any concerns regarding the class. If
the posted times are not possible for you, other meeting times can be scheduled by appointment. The easiest
way to reach me is probably by e-mail, which I usually check at least once a day. If you’d like to make an
appointment at a time other than posted office hours, please e-mail several options of times you might be
available.

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University policies and procedures
regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website
address http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm. Additional information is available from the office
of the school dean. There are no travel and/or risk-related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient
conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the
rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is
contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and established due
process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas
System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students,
where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
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A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey
federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are
subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil
or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic
degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student
demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the
award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic
dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and
will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources
of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

E-Mail Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students
through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an
email exchange. The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas
email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account.
This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security
of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication
with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their
U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. These dates and times are
published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to
handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the
proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once
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you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it
is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator,
or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must
be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the
written response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is
not resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate
Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is
final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are
available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if
70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day
of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not
submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of their non-
disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
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Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate
discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape
recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be
substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled
students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to
provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an accommodation. Disability Services
provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs
accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the travel to and observance of
a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas
Code Annotated.
The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in
advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a
reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who
notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails
to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day]
or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed
assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC
51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.

Study Skill Support

Students who need help with study skills, or additional help with basic writing skills are encouraged to seek assistance at
the UTD Learning Resources Center: http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/ugraddean/lrc.html

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.