This course provides teachers with strategies to improve student reading comprehension and analytical writing skills. The state standards (English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills; English Language Proficiency Standards; College and Career Readiness Standards) provide a framework for designing effective instruction that prepares students for success in high school coursework, college, and careers. In this course, we will focus on providing instruction that includes daily reading and writing activities that increase student knowledge and skills on a range of expository reading and writing activities.

• Describe the focus areas of the assessment related to expository text and what students need to know to succeed
• Increase students’ vocabulary and reading comprehension with a variety of before-reading strategies to analyze and evaluate expository text
• Explicitly teach strategies for analyzing and evaluating expository text to improve students’ comprehension and writing skills
• Effectively use rubrics to improve student writing within a peer-conferencing framework

• English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills K–12 Vertical Alignment and Glossary
  
• College and Career Readiness Standards: English/Language Arts and Cross-Disciplinary Standards
• English Language Proficiency Standards

• Participate in online discussions, following discussion board guidelines
• Complete all course assignments on time

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Micah Jendian and secondary teachers in California. This course is based on a series of workshops that culminated in a body of work called, “Teaching Expository Texts in the High School Classroom.” California Professional Development Institutes (CPDI) / Collaborative Academic Preparation Initiatives (CAPI) Reading Institute. CAPI/CPDI Statewide Leadership, Los Angeles, CA, January 26, 2002.