Home - ACU (The Australian Catholic University)

Site Navigation

ADLA204 Literacy Education 1

10 cp

This unit focuses on the literacy development of children in the pre-school and early years of schooling. It will develop in preservice and primary educators an understanding of the processes of reading and writing, as well as how children learn to read and write. The teaching of reading will be developed through knowledge of the processes of reading, as well as through a range of pedagogical approaches. The preservice educators will learn that the teaching of writing requires knowledge of text structures, English grammar, drafting and editing processes and spelling awareness. These approaches include the ability to motivate, develop and extend childrens responses to literary, factual and multimodal texts; to introduce higher-order thinking strategies through critical and analytical tasks appropriate for K2 children; to understand graphological and phonological knowledge. Literacy teaching and assessment practices will be developed from this strong basis of understanding current literacy research and will draw on the discipline knowledge developed in previous units. Preservice early childhood and primary educators will consider how mainstream classrooms incorporate children of diverse language, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, thereby deepening their understanding of the contextual socio-political and historical factors influencing education, as well as their understanding of the social world, and issues of inclusivity and Catholic social teaching. The unit will introduce the notion of teaching and learning as socially embedded, together with recognition of the complex contexts of teaching practice and curriculum design. Underpinning the learning in the unit is a fundamental concern for justice and equity, and the dignity of all human beings. The unit provides preservice early childhood and primary educators with knowledge about research on emergent and developing literacy and the interdependence of talking, listening, reading, writing and viewing. It will encourage preservice early childhood and primary educators to be reflective, independent and flexible thinkers who are open to new ideas and ways of learning, and will demonstrate, practise and exemplify a commitment to lifelong learning.