College of Education & Human Services

Literacy Education

- Online Program

The Literacy Education Area of Specialization is designed to extend students' knowledge, skills and understanding of literature and language arts in the elementary and middle grades. This area focuses on major theories, current research, and practical classroom applications of strategies for supporting the development of oral and written language with children at the emergent through proficient levels of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This area of specialization includes the following components:

Core Requirements (12 SH)

EDS 500      Methods of Research (3 SH)

C&I 566        Recent Trends and Research in Elementary Education (3 SH)

C&I 574        Assessment and Differentiation (3 SH)

C&I 600        Graduate Seminar (3 SH)

Area of Specialization (12 SH)

One foundational course in reading (one of the following):

RDG 568       Foundations of Reading in the Middle and Secondary School

RDG 569       Ready in Early Childhood

RDG 570       Integrating Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Curriculum

One literacy course (one of the following):

LA 567          Teaching language Arts in the Elementary School

LA 577          Writing in the Elementary School

LA 578          Language Arts for Diverse Learners

Two additional online courses with a RDG, LA, and/or LLA prefix.
Courses include the following:

LLA 443G     Creative Uses of Literature for Children and Young Adults

LLA 525        Literature and the Reader

RDG 508      Phonics for Decoding and Spelling

RDG 553      Integrating Reading and Writing Through Inquiry

RDG 580      Reading in the Content Areas

RDG 584      Vocabulary Development K-12

RDG 586      Language Development and Reading

NOTE:  To meet the requirement of two additional courses, you may use offerings in the foundational and literacy categories that were not taken to meet the requirement for that category.

Electives (6 SH)

Candidates may select from any of the courses offered at the graduate level by the School of Education. Graduate-level courses in other departments at Western may also be used as electives with advisor approval. Consult your advisor as well as the Graduate Catalog and the course schedule/registration materials for each semester's offerings.