Course Structure
The class used 2 movies and 8 picture books as the main teaching materials throughout
the semester. The selected books dealt primarily with self-exploration and social issues, because
the researcher (the instructor of this course) believed that the target students would find them to
be interesting or have relevance to their lives. For each book that was introduced, students in
small groups were responsible for leading a pre-reading activity as well as bringing in one
additional article that was about the same subject. Thus, students not only had to preview the
selected reading of the week, but they needed to reflect on the theme of the book in order to
locate appropriate articles that could successfully pique their peers’ interest in the story. This was
the researcher’s effort to ensure that all of the students were active participants in the class.
After each book was read, the researcher would review key vocabulary and phrases with
the class, followed by using different literacy practices in which students would engage in
discussions or perform certain tasks. The end-of-the-semester project required students to put on
a group performance based on the storybook “Willy the Wimp.” The following table summarizes
the basic course design.