Overview
This course is designed for secondary teachers, instructional aides, and tutors who desire to learn more about best instructional practices for teaching in the modern English/Language Arts classroom. Because the ways we teach writing, reading, and grammar have changed in the past 25 years, keeping up-to-date with effective strategies can enhance student success and growth in your classroom.
This course will help both new and experienced English educators expand their repertoire of pedagogical approaches and highlight new ways to approach teaching the key components of an English language curriculum. Topics such as grading, scaffolding, and differentiating instruction will also be discussed and modeled to enhance understanding of these critical classroom practices.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Implement best practices related to teaching reading and writing in the English/Language Arts classroom.
- Differentiate instruction for different student populations.
- Scaffold your teaching to support students with varying ability levels.
- Design creative assessments to measure student learning
- Approach evaluation of student writing with a variety of strategies
This course is part of a teaching series intended for high school educators. The other courses available in this series are:
This teaching series is made possible through a generous grant from The Minchin Family Foundation.
About the Course Author
Dr. Dawn Lewis dreamed of becoming a secondary teacher as a young elementary student. In 1991, she began her teaching career in the Capistrano Unified School District as a middle school English teacher and has spent more than twenty-five years as a high school teacher. She has a heart for students with special needs and helping them achieve success in their learning experiences. Dawn Lewis also worked as the AVID Site Coordinator at her high school for ten years, encouraging students to perform to high standards to prepare for and succeed at the college level.
Dawn Lewis also taught composition courses as an adjunct professor at Saddleback College. She currently serves as the co-chair of the South Orange County English Professional Learning Council, seeking to bridge the gap between high school and college performance.
At Biola, she teaches courses in both the English Department and School of Education while also serving as a mentor in the Induction program and as a Student Teaching Supervisor. Her goal is to see K-12 classrooms filled with teachers who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and who are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for educating students in today’s complex classroom settings.
About Biola University's School of Education
The School of Education exists to train up those who desire to make an impact as educators in classrooms, administration buildings, homeschools, the mission field and beyond. Our wide selection of rigorous, biblically centered academic offerings — ranging from undergraduate and graduate programs to teaching credentials and certificates, as well as K–12 as well as homeschool education through our Eight-Week Clinic Courses for grades 1 through 6 — makes the School of Education the premier institution for advancing your knowledge in the field of education.
Whether you’re an aspiring teacher, an experienced educator or current teacher looking to advance in your career, our unique blend of academic excellence and thoughtful mentorship will be sure to guide you to your goals. Throughout your studies, you’ll benefit from engaging with our fully doctored, full-time faculty and different learning opportunities available to you through our strong relationships in the field, making your journey at the School of Education one full of meaning, growth and impact.
Course FAQ
Each lesson is designed to take approximately 2-4 hours, depending on how deeply you engage the assignments. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete it. Be sure to download the practice activities contained in this course, so that you have all the course materials. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you’re free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topics.
Since this course is designed as a completely self-paced experience, you will not have any interaction with the professor during the course.
This course is designed for secondary teachers, instructional aides, and tutors who desire to learn more about best instructional practices for teaching in the modern English/Language Arts classroom. Because the ways we teach writing, reading, and grammar have changed in the past 25 years, keeping up-to-date with effective strategies can enhance student success and growth in your classroom.
This course will help both new and experienced English educators expand their repertoire of pedagogical approaches and highlight new ways to approach teaching the key components of an English language curriculum. Topics such as grading, scaffolding, and differentiating instruction will also be discussed and modeled to enhance understanding of these critical classroom practices.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Implement best practices related to teaching reading and writing in the English/Language Arts classroom.
- Differentiate instruction for different student populations.
- Scaffold your teaching to support students with varying ability levels.
- Design creative assessments to measure student learning
- Approach evaluation of student writing with a variety of strategies
This course is part of a teaching series intended for high school educators. The other courses available in this series are:
This teaching series is made possible through a generous grant from The Minchin Family Foundation.
About the Course Author
Dr. Dawn Lewis dreamed of becoming a secondary teacher as a young elementary student. In 1991, she began her teaching career in the Capistrano Unified School District as a middle school English teacher and has spent more than twenty-five years as a high school teacher. She has a heart for students with special needs and helping them achieve success in their learning experiences. Dawn Lewis also worked as the AVID Site Coordinator at her high school for ten years, encouraging students to perform to high standards to prepare for and succeed at the college level.
Dawn Lewis also taught composition courses as an adjunct professor at Saddleback College. She currently serves as the co-chair of the South Orange County English Professional Learning Council, seeking to bridge the gap between high school and college performance.
At Biola, she teaches courses in both the English Department and School of Education while also serving as a mentor in the Induction program and as a Student Teaching Supervisor. Her goal is to see K-12 classrooms filled with teachers who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and who are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for educating students in today’s complex classroom settings.
About Biola University's School of Education
The School of Education exists to train up those who desire to make an impact as educators in classrooms, administration buildings, homeschools, the mission field and beyond. Our wide selection of rigorous, biblically centered academic offerings — ranging from undergraduate and graduate programs to teaching credentials and certificates, as well as K–12 as well as homeschool education through our Eight-Week Clinic Courses for grades 1 through 6 — makes the School of Education the premier institution for advancing your knowledge in the field of education.
Whether you’re an aspiring teacher, an experienced educator or current teacher looking to advance in your career, our unique blend of academic excellence and thoughtful mentorship will be sure to guide you to your goals. Throughout your studies, you’ll benefit from engaging with our fully doctored, full-time faculty and different learning opportunities available to you through our strong relationships in the field, making your journey at the School of Education one full of meaning, growth and impact.
Syllabus
| Teaching reading is one of the essential... Overview |
|---|
| Essential Reading Strategies & Skills Video |
| Teaching Nonfiction Video |
| Classroom Demonstration: Close Reading Techniques Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Teaching Literature Video |
| Lesson 1 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 1 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Teaching Reading and Literature Resource |
| Teaching writing is challenging. Many students... Overview |
|---|
| Teaching Essay Writing Video |
| Classroom Demonstration: Introducing a Writing Task Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Teaching Grammar Video |
| Writing Activities Video |
| Lesson 2 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 2 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Teaching Writing Resource |
| Most students, even older students in the... Overview |
|---|
| The Importance of Scaffolding Video |
| Scaffolding Reading Video |
| Classroom Demonstration: Scaffolding the Reading Process Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Scaffolding Writing Video |
| Lesson 3 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 3 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Scaffolding Resource |
| Our classrooms are full of students with... Overview |
|---|
| Differentiating the Process Video |
| Differentiating the Content Video |
| Differentiating the Product Video |
| Class Demonstration: Differentiation through Student Choice Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Lesson 4 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 4 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Differentiation Resource |
| Assessing Student Learning Lesson 5 |
|---|
| One of the most important parts of being a... Overview |
|---|
| Checking for Understanding Video |
| Designing Assessments Video |
| Alternative Assessments Video |
| Classroom Demonstration: Checking for Understanding Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Lesson 5 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 5 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Assessment Resource |
| Evaluating Student Work Lesson 6 |
|---|
| One of the most difficult parts of being an... Overview |
|---|
| The Importance of Feedback Video |
| Types of Feedback Video |
| Grading Student Writing Video |
| Classroom Demonstration: Feedback on Grading Student Writing Video |
| Post-Video Questions Reflection |
| Lesson 6 Reflection Reflection |
| Lesson 6 Practice Resource |
| Additional Resources for Giving Feedback Resource |
| Recommended Resources Resource |
| Course Evaluation Resource |
Course FAQ
Each lesson is designed to take approximately 2-4 hours, depending on how deeply you engage the assignments. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete it. Be sure to download the practice activities contained in this course, so that you have all the course materials. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you’re free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topics.
Since this course is designed as a completely self-paced experience, you will not have any interaction with the professor during the course.