*Print this out and use it as a checklist; take it with you to the library or wherever you look at your materials.*

If at any point you have questions, definitely ask me for help. That's what I'm here for!

These instructions have three parts:
1) Detailed project instructions.
2) Formatting instructions. You will lose points if you do not follow these instructions.
3) Editing/Proofreading instructions. You will lose points if you do not follow these instructions.


> MATERIALS YOU WILL USE

• A Teacher's Annotated Edition (TAE) of the Reading book (bound with coils) GRADE 1 OR 2 ONLY
• An associated Practice Book (8x10 paperback)
  
  Choose a theme in the TAE from the middle of the year (e.g., Theme 4). Explore the whole TAE, including what is in the front of the book and what is at the end -- usually various supplements such as teacher resources and an index. Sometimes the index is helpful, and sometimes it just gives a long list of page numbers for a topic. MAKE USE OF THE INDEX IF IT IS HELPFUL.
  
  You may work with one of these publishers (no others):
  
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
  • Harcourt
  • SRA McGraw-Hill
  • Holt
  • Houghton-Mifflin (pronounced 'hoe-ton')

> TASKS

1. PART I OF YOUR PAPER: Describe the parts that most of the lessons have in common -- not a particular, single lesson or week of lessons. Look for:

• Pre-reading material: How does a lesson start? What kinds of activities are done before the reading selection is started? (Don't describe these in painful detail; give general descriptions in a sentence or two).
• The reading selection: this is usually the centerpiece of a lesson. Sometimes a reading is split up into several segments. Briefly describe the material around the picture of the story, in the margins.
• Post-reading material: Include all of this, even if it is not related to the story content or if it focuses on grammar, writing, or vocabulary. Describe some of the activities set out for each skill.
• Describe very briefly 1 or 2 activities from each of these parts (e.g., phonics, vocabulary, grammar, etc.). INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS OF YOUR EXAMPLES.
  

2. PARTS II & III OF YOUR PAPER: MAIN TASK: To compare the literacy-teaching practices employed in the materials to the recommendations for sound instruction given in class and in the course readings. You will concern yourself with only two aspects of instruction: phonemic awareness and phonics. For each of these two subjects, you will do the following:

• Describe 3-4 particular lessons: What word parts  (syllables, rhymes, etc.) or individual sounds does each lesson focus on? What are the activities? You needn't give a full, blow-by-blow description of the lesson; don't write more than about 2-3 sentences per activity. Then ...
• ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:
  • Which particular literacy/spelling skills does each type of activity support? These are given in this document: Phonological Awareness Skills and Spelling Skills.
  • Do the activities match what linguists have discovered about how children understand the phonological structure of words, their developmental progress in recognizing parts of a word, and their developmental stages of using the alphabet? How will the practices in the materials benefit students? It's not enough just to say "this helps children master the alphabet" or "this helps children progress towards learning to read." Relate each lesson example to a particular skill.
  • If your materials do not use or conform to the recommended practices, what kinds of harm could result? What might be future consequences for the child?
  • To answer these questions, refer to the arguments given in class and in the readings. YOU MUST refer to and CITE our readings/lectures more than just a few times.
  • THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PAPER. If your paper does not evaluate the materials in this way, or in sufficient detail, it will not receive a grade above D.
• Provide photocopies of TWO (only) lessons or worksheets for phonemic awareness, and two for phonics (four total). Put these in the body of the paper, not at the end.
  • Important: do not limit your description to the photocopies only. Use them as the main examples to describe, but you must also describe a few other activities.
1. NOTE: Distinguish carefully among pure phonemic-awareness lessons, phonics lessons, and mixed lessons. Pure phonemic-awareness lessons make no reference to letters at all. Written letters may be present to tell the teacher what to work on, but the lesson will not require children to look at, write, or name letters. Phonics lessons involve letters, and have little to no phonemic awareness practice. Mixed lessons have both -- for example, a lesson might ask children to listen for a particular sound in a word, then practice writing the letter for the sound.
2. NOTE: You don't need to comment on other aspects of the lessons, e.g., whether they would be enjoyable or whether they appeal to various learning styles, etc. Those are important aspects of teaching materials, but you don't have space for such commentary here. Focus on the linguistic topics only.

• _____  No cover page or report cover. IDENTIFY the publisher, GRADE LEVEL, and title of the materials AT THE CENTER TOP OF THE FIRST PAGE. This can be your paper title. Your name, major, our course number, and the date you hand the paper in should be in the upper left-hand corner of page 1. It's OK to number page 1.
• _____ Black ink.
• _____  Length: 10-12 pages, excluding photocopies.
• Format: The paper must be
  • _____  typed
  • _____  double-spaced (not 1.5; check your line spacing)
  • _____  you MUST number typed pages, and not by hand (photocopies may be left numberless)
  • _____ The only font I will accept is a 12-pt. Times font: Times, Times Roman or Times New Roman. If your paper is in a different font, I will hand it back to you to change the font and you will lose points.
  • _____ 1" or 1.25" margins all around.
  • If you do not know how to change these settings in your word processor, FIND OUT. Your paper will lose points if you do not conform to these requirements. Word processing programs such as Microsoft Word come with a Help  manual that gives decent instructions for most basic operations, such as setting margins, finding and replacing text, breaking to a  new page, etc. Take advantage of these.
• _____  Sections: Divide your paper into sections according to each part I-V above; do not make it one continuous essay. Put your subtitles in boldface; set them at the left margin (not centered). Skip ONE line (hit Return twice, then type) above and below the heading.
• _____  Do not skip a line between paragraphs within a section; indent paragraphs. Word processing programs allow you to set an indent for a single paragraph. It will continue to use that indent unless you format a paragraph in a different way (for instance, centering a long quotation). If you want to return to your normal indent, you have to once again format the next paragraph you start.
• _____ Watch out for very long paragraphs. A single paragraph should not take up half or more of a page. Break to a new paragraph and indent the new paragraph.
  
• _____  Avoid starting a new section at the very bottom of the page; if you have room only for a subtitle, break to a new page. Use the "Insert Page Break" command. Use your print preview feature (under "File" or "Print") to check pagination before you print out your final draft. In a word processor, a "manual page break" is one that you command the program to put in, instead of letting it decide where to break to a new page. Your print feature should also have a "preview" option that you can use to see exactly what the printed document will look like.
• _____  If you give examples of words in your discussion, italicize them, for example: "This activity directs students to build a word web of words that relate to the sea, such as fish, wave, current, ocean, seaweed, voyage, etc."
  

> PROOFREADING AND EDITING At whatever level you eventually teach or write in your career, you will be expected to conform to the current standards for formal grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraph formatting, etc. Expectations are particularly high for language arts and English teachers. College professors vary a great deal in their expectations in this regard, but the state standards for both teachers and schoolchildren expect full compliance. I also expect full compliance.

• Use the spell-check function of your word processor. However, do not follow its instructions regarding hyphens ( - ). If you are unsure of a hyphen, check a dictionary. Do not use the grammar checker; 50% of its recommendations are likely to be wrong.
  
• Consult my  Editing Tips page for help with typical grammar, word choice, and punctuation problems. If I find the problems described on the Editing Tips page in your papers, you will definitely lose points.  Concentrate on the following:
  • Hyphen vs. dash
  • Punctuation around citations of works you are referring to.
  • Punctuation around however.
  • Use of colon (:), not semicolon (;) before a list.
  • Overuse of the words within and prevalent. In 9 out of 10 cases, in serves the purpose; synonyms for prevalent include common, frequent, (is/are) found throughout ... , widespread, etc.
  • APOSTROPHES. Use them correctly.
  • The by problem: see the first item under "Grammar Snafus."
  • (Not on Editing Tips page yet) Commas and quotation marks. You DO NOT NEED a comma every time you use quotation marks. Commas are needed ONLY when the quotation follows a quoting verb, such as say, write. Even in the case of these verbs, if they are followed by that, no comma is needed after that. For example: On p. 62, Rubba writes that "correcting young children's language is, nine times out of ten, a waste of time."
  • GET STARTED LOOKING AT THESE AND PRACTICING THEM NOW. Your Reading Question responses are a great practice opportunity; you will notice that I make corrections on them (these don't count against your grade for the assignment, however).
• More guidance is available in usage guides such as the MLA style manual and numerous college writing manuals, and the Purdue sites listed above. You can also come to me or send a short e-mail if you have a question.
• Take advantage of our WRITING LAB, Bldg. 10 room 130, 756-6032. Tutors are there to help you remedy problems (NOT edit or proofread your paper). If you want their help, make an appointment, and go there with a draft with enough time to make revisions they recommend. The Writing Lab is there to help you and you will be welcome there! Their web address is http://www.calpoly.edu/~wrtskils/writlab/. Tutors from the Writing Lab are now holding hours in the Library, room 202B, Monday - Thursday - 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Your Reading Question responses give you a great opportunity to look over a short text with a tutor.

Back to top of page