This presentation is a summary of the teaching methods course I am taking for my Secondary English Language Arts teaching endorsement.

1. Teaching Writing for Adolescents
Course Summary
Utah Education Network
Melissa Edman

2. Course Specifics
 Teaching Writing for Adolescents is a core methods course required
for the Secondary (6th grade through 12th grade) English Language
Arts teacher endorsement in Utah.
 This course is offered entirely online through the Utah Education
Network (www.uen.org) in conjunction with Southern Utah
University. Each unit costs $21.
 The course spans 12 weeks. Weekly assignments are due on
Wednesdays by midnight.

3. Curriculum Covered
Week 1: Course Front-loading
Week 2: Why Teach Writing;
Writing Standards of the New
Utah Core
Week 3: Backward Design; Error
Analysis; Assessing Writing
Week 4:
Task/Purpose/Audience;
Planning & Organizing; Graphic
Organizers
Week 5: Text Structures 1
Week 6: Text Structures 2
Week 7: Mini Grammar Lessons;
Editing
Week 8: Revise/Rewrite
Week 9: Peer Response
Week 10: Publishing and
Technology
Week 11: Giving Feedback
Week 12: Student Reflection;
Course Reflection

4. Assignments Summary
 Each week, assignments generally include the following:
 Personal Reflection: Class members are asked to reflect on their
personal understanding and experience with whatever the weekly
topic(s) is/are and post that reflection on the class discussion board.
Occasionally, students are also expected to comment on other
classmates’ posts.
 Research Review: Academic articles are provided that students
must review. The newly acquired knowledge and understanding is
then applied to another assignment.
 Classroom Application: The culminating assignment each week is
to create a ready-to-use classroom resource or teacher tool
integrating the topics of the week.

5. Personal Experience
 Overall, my personal experience with this course has been very
positive, for the following reasons:
 Hard Deadlines: Knowing that assignments are due weekly makes
sure that I stay on top of things.
 Cost: $21 for a university credit ($63 for this 3-credit class) is
unheard of. It definitely makes continuing education accessible.
 Research: The current research reviewed in this class is current and
relevant to the classrooms and students teachers face today.
 Classroom Ready Lessons and Resources: Because each week’s
set of assignments includes creating a lesson/resource that applies
the week’s topic, each class member completes the course with a
personal library of classroom ready teaching manipulatives and
supplements.