ED3380-501

Curriculum and Instruction in English

2006 Spring

Contact Information

Ms. Lynne Weber, Instructor

Daytime Phone: 214-346-8126 (my office and voice
mail number)
E-Mail: hagarl@utdallas.edu
Class Hours: Wednesday, 7-9:45 P.M
Office Hours: by appointment

Course Description
ED 3380 is a methods course designed to prepare English teachers to become practiced in the
knowledge and skills required of effective professionals in English education on the secondary level.
Students in this course will research and practice strategies pertinent to curriculum, methods of
teaching, and classroom management.

Required Texts

Maxwell and Meiser, Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools

Grammar handbook of your choice
Photocopied handouts (keep these in a small ring binder or folder) to be distributed in class

Suggested Resources

Barton and Hudson: A Contemporary Guide to Literary

Terms
Hacker, Diana: A Writer’s Reference

Attendance Requirements
Regular attendance (13 of the 15 class meetings, including the two “virtual” classes on February 1
and March 15) and punctuality are required in order for students to receive a passing grade in the
course. Late arrival counts as ½ an absence. If you must be absent, please e-mail me any
assignment that may have been due that evening. Those students with perfect attendance will receive
an extra “A” test/essay/project grade.

Late Assignments

Assignments that are turned in late without the instructor’s permission carry a penalty of ten points
per day.
 Grade Structure
Tests and Major Papers: 70%

• Thematic unit (double weight)

• Grammar and literary terminology tests. Students must achieve a grade of at least 80% on
both tests to receive a passing grade in the course.
• Lesson Plans (2)
• “Philosophy of Teaching” essay
• Field observation papers (2)

Discussion: 15%

• Discussion of reading assignments (weekly)

• Reading reflections (journals)

Final Examination: 15%

Please note: grammar and punctuation errors will lower grades on all assignments. Strive for
elegance, accuracy, and excellence in your writing and speaking!

20 hours of field-based observation hours are required of you as a condition of your

certification. Failure to complete and properly document such observation will result in failure of the
course.

University guidelines require a grade of “A” or “B” in ED 3380/ED 5300 before a student is
permitted to enroll in student teaching.
 Required Papers, Projects, and Assignments:

All assignments should be submitted in typed, double-spaced form, using a standard

12-point font.

Philosophy of Teaching Essay…

(3-5 pages in length) in which you explore your own ideas about what teaching is and how a teacher
should “be.”

Two lesson plans…

You must provide paper copies of your lesson plans, including all handouts and auxiliary materials,
for each member of the class, plus one copy for the instructor. Before you write the lessons, you will
receive templates for each type of lesson, plus a rubric which will be used to evaluate these
assignments.

One thematic six-week unit…

This assignment must be done on a computer so that students can e-mail copies of the unit to me. I
will then provide them to the other students in a group e-mail.

Reading: Assigned reading must be highlighted and annotated and will be checked for a grade.

Reading reflections (journals) as assigned

Discussion of the reading assignments

Two field observation papers: papers reflecting on the instructional methods used by the
teachers you observed and the effect of these methods on their students.

You must also turn in the log of class hours signed by the teachers you observe.

Students who are exempt from field observation because they are full-time teachers or
subs must observe two other teachers in their building for at least one period each and
must write each of the two field observation papers.
 Course Content by Week

Jan. 11 Course orientation and introductions

In-class discussion: “What Do English Teachers Do…and Why?”
Short Lecture: “What Should English Teachers Know—and Why?”
Introduction to skill-based planning
Hand out Gatto article

Reading Assignment for Jan. 18 : Harper’s Magazine article (Gatto, John.

“Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why.” Harper’s
Magazine, September 2003, pp. 33-38.)

Before Next Class: Write a 1- page journal entry reflecting on the Gatto piece

Jan. 18 Grammar and literary terminology diagnostic tests

Discussion of Harper’s article (small group activity)
Turn in journal entries.

Reading Assignment for Jan. 25: M & M pp. 30-70

.
Jan. 25 Lesson planning and assessment—a vital connection
Discussion of reading
Demonstration of lesson planning techniques
Class lesson planning/assessment activity
Distribution of guidelines and scoring rubric for first lesson plan assignment

Reading Assignment for next time: M&M pp. 1-28 (This reading assignment
will help you do your “Philosophy of Education” paper)

Feb. 1 Out of Class assignment

Write “Philosophy of Teaching” paper (3-5 pages) outside of class. You should
e-mail the paper to hagarl@utdallas.edu by 9 P.M. that evening. Receipt of your
paper will document your attendance at this “virtual” class meeting.

Reading Assignment for next time: M & M pp.102-107, 241-252, 260-266.

Write a one-page reflection on the reading assignment.
.
Feb. 8 Discussion of reading assignment
Return and review of diagnostic grammar test
Intensive grammar review/discussion of teaching grammar through composition
Syntax and Wordplay

Reading Assignment for next time: M & M pp. 181-238

Feb. 15 Grammar Test (It’s the Real Thing)

Discussion of reading assignments about composition
Teaching Composition
Explanation of lesson planning process

Before Next Time: Write your skill-based composition, grammar, or close

reading lesson. Make copies of the lesson for all class members.

Feb. 22 Skill-Based composition, grammar, or close reading lesson due

 Presentation of lessons
Literary terms review activity/ Literary terms test

Reading Assignment for next week: M & M pp. 348-391 and 135-143
Before Next Time: Revise your Philosophy of Teaching paper

March 1 Discussion of reading assignment

Revised draft of Philosophy of Teaching paper due
Close reading and literary analysis techniques
Seminar and questioning techniques

March 8 UTD Spring Break

March 15 LIBRARY DAY: Read an entire current (2005-06) issue of English Journal
(available in the UTD library) and write a bulleted list of techniques and ideas that you
found in it. At the end of the list, document the issue’s date and publication information in
MLA format. We will not meet in the classroom tonight—you will be working independently
in the library.

For Next Time: Read M & M pp. 393-423

March 22 Workshop on planning PAT lessons

Assessment and Rubrics
Distribution of templates and rubrics for PAT lesson

Reading Assignment for next week: M & M pp. 424-467

For next time: Complete your PAT lesson and make copies for
the class.

March 29 Putting It All Together lesson due

Presentation of lessons
Discussion of criteria for thematic units and brainstorming session

Before Next Time: Write Field Observation #1

Reading Assignment for next week: M & M pp. 393-422

April 5 Discussion of field observation experiences

First two-page paper on field observation due; in-class check of progress on field
observation hours. Bring your documentation sheet to class.
Workshop session on creating the thematic unit. Bring the resources you will need
to work on your unit.

Before Next Time: Complete your thematic unit. E-mail it to

hagarl@utdallas.edu. Make transparencies for your classroom presentation.

April 12 Presentations of thematic units (using transparencies)

April 19 Final Exam Review

Before Next Time: Write your second field observation paper and make sure
all of your observation hours have been completed. Bring documentation of your
observation hours to class on April 26.
April 26 Final Examination/Course Evaluation
Documentation of field observation hours due
Second two-page paper on field observation due
Check of text highlighting and annotation

May 3 Grades Due