Optional Literacy Emphasis

Graduate students in the Elementary Education program have the opportunity to earn an emphasis in Literacy as part of their master’s degree. In order to earn the Literacy emphasis, students would take two additional courses during a summer term, CRIN R07 Language Acquisition and English Language Learners and CRIN R21 Diverse Children’s Literature. These additional 6 credit hours, plus the 6 credits that elementary students already take in the area of reading during the Elementary program complete the requirements for the emphasis.

Research indicates that better prepared teachers of reading:

• produce higher student reading achievement
• are more successful and confident than other beginning teachers in making the transition into the teaching profession
• are so well grounded in their vision of literacy and their ability to teach reading that they are more comfortable finessing the system, enriching the program, and drawing from a repertoire of strategies to help struggling readers
• are perceived by principals and other supervisors as more able to hit the ground running when they start teaching than more experienced teachers in reading instruction within their first three years of teaching.

Advantages for students completing an area of emphasis in literacy:

• They will be better prepared to meet the needs of their students when they start teaching.
• They will be more competitive for shrinking teaching positions when competing with applicants from other teacher preparation programs/alternative preparation programs.
• They will have earned six hours that can be applied to an endorsement as a reading specialist.

 

Eastern Virginia Writing Project

The Eastern Virginia Writing Project (EVWP) is one of over 100 sites of the National Writing Project in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Each summer the EVWP sponsors a five-week institute for teachers who are interested in writing, to help students become better writers, and to assist other teacher’s teaching writing.

 

Reading Recovery Training

Through an arrangement with the Williamsburg-James City County School Division, the Literacy Leadership Program offers training for experienced teachers in the Reading Recovery Program.