Purpose of the task As a teacher it is important that you know how to read and interpret academic material relevant to your work. This includes research papers, book chapters and other material written for teachers that is based on educational research. It is also important that you can write clearly and concisely about topics relating to language and literacy education, using the conventions of academic writing. At the Master of Teaching level, you are required to demonstrate academic as well as practical skills throughout your course of study. These skills – of reading and writing about educational topics – will serve you well, not only for your studies, but also as you continue with professional learning throughout your teaching career. In this assignment, we ask you to do some reading, and to use that reading to expand your thinking about your role as teacher of language and literacy in the primary years Task instructions Read the following two readings (both can be downloaded from the EDEE328 Reading List) Reading 1 Adam, H. (2021). Building a diverse book collection. In Transforming practice: Transforming lives through diverse children’s literature. (pp. 41- 60). Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA). Reading 2 Mantei, J., & Kervin, L. (2019). What’s your system? Thinking about what we mean by being ‘systematic’ in our teaching about letter-sound relationships in context. Practical Literacy 24(2), 14-17. Present your assignment in two parts 1. Summaries/overviews of the two readings Present an overview of the purpose or focus of each reading, and identify and explain the key ideas (about 400 words per reading) 2. Critical evaluation of the readings Critically evaluate the two readings in relation to your role as a teacher of language and literacy in the primary years (about 700 words). In your discussion: • describe and reflect on the key elements of a primary language and literacy program; • draw on relevant theoretical ideas from Topics 1-5 of EDEE328; • draw on other relevant readings from Topics 1-5 of EDEE328; When writing your assignment, imagine that you are helping someone else to understand and engage with the readings, and to understand how the readings relate to your work as a teacher. Referencing For each review: • cite the article or chapter that you are reviewing at the top of your review; • include in-text references (use these referencing guidelines) for any articles or other sources that you refer to; • include a full reference list at the end of the review, again using the guidelines for the APA 7th edition style of referencing. You do not need to include in-text references for the text being reviewed (see model review for an example). • Use double-spacing. This makes it much easier for the markers to read and write comments on your work • There are no strict requirements about font, but use a font that is both professional-looking, and easy on the eye, such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
