ACT-Houston
Houston 832-200-0552
Dallas 214-267-2222Austin 1-877-286-0024
Alternative Certification for Teachers
English Language Arts and Reading (Grades 8-12) Teacher Certification
The criteria for obtaining an alternative teaching certification for English language arts and reading for upper middle school through high school involves a diverse knowledge of literature combined with core education instruction courses. A solid education in diverse literature is expected in subjects such as early American literature, contemporary literature and multi-cultural literature topics. Traditional literature topics are also necessary such as Shakespeare and British literature.
The ability to teach various literature types is also widely expected, such as plays, short stories, essays, compositions and even poetry. Local literature and authors can also be a preferred topic to explore. The ability to engage upper middle school and high school students with topics that do not readily seem applicable to them can be an extremely difficult task. Ultimately it is important to teach a student the ability to effectively communicate followed by the ability to comprehend, analyze and interpret the written word. Using creative methods and activities to connect concepts will be critical to being a successful language arts teacher.
Despite the best of efforts, students still arrive to the latter part of their education under prepared. Specific learning disabilities are discovered at all stages of the learning process and it is important to be able to recognize these issues. The ability to improve reading skills for students who may feel inhibited by their lack of proficiency can be the critical link to their future success as adults.
Student teaching and/or field work internships will be required of alternative teaching certification candidates. This firsthand experience allows teaching candidates the opportunity to engage with students as well as create lesson plans and design creative learning activities. As a language arts and reading educator, it will also be critical to understand the necessary skills that students must acquire to reach satisfactory levels according to district and state testing standards.