Teaching English

The English Teaching program provides content knowledge, pedagogy, and professional experiences required for teaching literacy in a democratic society. Based on current research and best practices, the English Teaching program integrates the study of language, literature, and media, creating learning communities and supporting teachers as critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, and reflective practitioners. Students who successfully complete this option and the requirements from the College of Education receive both a B.A. in English teaching and a secondary teaching license (grades 5-12) in English. At the graduate level, the English Teaching program offers advanced theory and pedagogy courses, culminating in an M.A. in teaching. The English Teaching Program is also the home of the Montana Writing Project, which is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of writing at all grade levels and offers a special focus on meeting the state-mandated Indian Education for All.

Individuals interested in teaching in K-12 schools must complete a degree in the content area they want to teach plus the teacher preparation program through the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Individuals must complete the teaching major/teaching track within that degree program, which may contain different course requirements than the academic major since the sequence of courses is designed to meet state standards. Upon completion of the degree program with the teaching track and the secondary licensure program, one will be eligible for a standard Montana teaching license in this content area.

Bachelor of Arts - English; English Teaching Option

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2014-2015

Degree Specific Credits: 45

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0

Note: Upon successful completion of the Pre-English requirements, students must declare the English major and choose a degree option. English majors with the option in English Teaching must earn 45 of their total credits in Department of English courses and 128 credits overall. English Teaching students must also complete Secondary Licensure Requirements. Please refer to the Teaching Licensure Degree Level for requirements. A major GPA of 2.75 is required to be eligible for student teaching.

Pre-English Core Courses

Rule: Complete four courses (12 credits) including a poetry emphasis and British and American Literature surveys.

Minimum Required Grade: C
12 Total Credits Required

Poetry emphasis

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description CRWR 211A - Intro Poetry Workshop
Offered intermittently. Prereq., WRIT 101 or consent of instr. This beginning writing workshop focuses on the reading, discussion, and revision of students' poems. Students will study and use models of poetic techniques. No prior experience in writing poetry required.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 120L - Poetry
Offered every term. An introduction to the techniques of reading and writing about poetry with emphasis on the lyric and other shorter forms.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 201 - Intro to Literary Studies
Offered every term. Introduction to the field of literary studies, to the conventions of literary analysis, and to the literature option for English majors. Reading, writing, and research skills will be stressed, along with interpretative approaches to major genres within the field.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C 3 Total Credits Required

Early British Literature survey

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

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Show Description LIT 220L - Brit Lit: Med to Renaissance
Offered every term. Representative texts from the Anglo-Saxon period through the Renaissance.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 221L - Brit Lit: Enlightenment to Rom
Offered every term. Representative texts from the seventeenth through the eighteenth century.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C 3 Total Credits Required

Late British Literature and American Literature survey

Rule: Complete two courses (6 credits).

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Show Description LIT 210L - American Lit I
Offered every term. Representative texts from the pre-colonial period through the Civil War.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 211L - American Lit II
Offered every term. Representative texts from the Civil War to the present.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 222L - Brit Lit: Victorian to Contemp
Offered every term. Representative texts from the early nineteenth century to the present.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C 6 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Requirements

Rule: Complete two courses (6 credits).

Note: ENLI/LING 465 and ENT 439 do not carry pre-requisites.

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Show Description ENLI 465 - Structure of Eng for Tchrs
Offered intermittently. Same as LING 465. The development of the English language from a historical perspective contrasted with the phonological and grammatical structure of English from a modern linguistic point of view, specifically designed for teachers.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENT 439 - Studies in Young Adult Lit
Offered autumn. Reading of representative texts covering the history, genres, authors, and themes of literature for students in middle school and high school.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 6 Total Credits Required

English Teaching methods courses

Rule: Complete three courses (9 credits).

Note: Students must be admitted to the Teacher Education program prior to enrolling in ENT 440, 441, and 442. Other EDU pre-/co-requisites also apply to ENT 440, 441, and 442.

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Show Description ENT 440 - Teaching Writing
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq./co-req., EDU 220 and admission to Teacher Education Program. Emphasis on teaching writing in grades 5-12. Research about development and maturity of writers, overview of schools of writing/history of writing instruction, strategies for teaching writing as a process, elements of writing craft, criteria for assessing and responding to writing, peer-coaching methods, writing/reading workshops, the role of grammar in improving writing, writing/reading connections, assignment characteristics, and grading practices. Required of students pursuing secondary English major and minor teaching certificates.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENT 441 - Tchg Rdng & Literature
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq./Coreq., ENT 439, EDU 395, admission to Teacher Education Program, and consent of instr. Emphasis on various approaches to teaching reading and literature in grades 5-12. Research about the development and maturity of readers, strategies for teaching reading comprehension and vocabulary, strategies for diagnosing reading abilities and criteria for reading assessment, reading workshops/literature circles. Emphasis on various approaches to teaching literature: genre, inquiry, thematic, chronological and interdisciplinary. Includes techniques for developing responses to fiction, nonfiction, prose, poetry, film and other media. Focus on the design of lesson plans and curriculum using traditional/classic, contemporary, young adult, and multicultural literature in grades 5-12. Required of students pursuing secondary English major and minor teaching certificates.
 3 Credits
Show Description ENT 442 - Tchg Oral Lang & Media Lit
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq./co-req., LING 465, EDU 395, admission to Teacher Education Program, and consent of instr. Emphasis on preparation, implementation, and evaluation of teaching strategies and materials in grades 5-12. Includes learning objectives, teaching styles, unit plans, print and non-print media, and creative drama. Explores student-centered curriculum, with emphasis on developmental abilities in speaking, listening and viewing, and multigenre/multimodal communication. Teaching majors and minors in areas other than English should enroll in ENT 440.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 9 Total Credits Required

English electives

Rule: Complete two additional English courses

Note: Students may choose electives from ENIR (200-level or above), WRIT (above 101-level), LING (100-level or above), LIT (100-level or above), CRWR (100-level or above), or FILM (100-level or above).

Minimum Required Grade: C-
6 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Literature Electives

Rule: Complete two courses (6 credits)

Note: Please note that most of these courses carry pre-requisites.

Minimum Required Grade: C-
6 Total Credits Required

D Designation: Diversity

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits)

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description LIT 304 - U.S. Writers of Color
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Selected readings from African American, Asian American, Chicano/a, Latino/a, and Native American literatures.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 305 - Lit by & About Native Amer
Offered autumn. Prereq., three credits of lower-division LIT courses and NASX 105H or 235X. Same as NASX 340. Selected readings from Native American literature with special emphasis on the literature of writers from the Rocky Mountain west.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 335 - Women & Lit
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Same as WGS 336. Study of the work of women writers through a progression of 19th century literary forms: the cautionary seduction novel, the sentimental and domestic novel, realism, naturalism, and utopianism.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 343 - African American Lit
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Selected works by African-American authors. Course may define a narrowed focus such as poetry, women writers, etc.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 378L - Gay and Lesbian Studies
Offered alternate years. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Review of the history of the gay and lesbian movement in the twentieth century as a basis for understanding the political, social, and sexual issues that influenced homoerotic cultural representation in plays, films, and novels.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 379L - Gender & Sexuality in Eng. Fic
Offered alternate years. Same as LSH 327L. Major 20th century novels and short stories written in English in different parts of the world and how these texts explore changing concepts of gender and sexuality.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

American literature focus

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits)

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description LIT 304 - U.S. Writers of Color
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Selected readings from African American, Asian American, Chicano/a, Latino/a, and Native American literatures.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 305 - Lit by & About Native Amer
Offered autumn. Prereq., three credits of lower-division LIT courses and NASX 105H or 235X. Same as NASX 340. Selected readings from Native American literature with special emphasis on the literature of writers from the Rocky Mountain west.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 314 - The American Novel
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 210L or 211L and prereq. or co-req., LIT 300. Examination of a selection of American novels in their historical, cultural, and literary contexts. Exploration of literary movements such as realism, naturalism, modernism, and postmodernism. Discussion of critical theories and application to the texts.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 315 - Voices of the Am Renaissance
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 210L or 211L and LIT 300 or consent of instr. Perspectives on antebellum Native American, African American, and gender issues. Study of the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson in light of these three perspectives.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 342L - Montana Writers
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 210L or 211L. Examination of poems, stories, and novels by or about Montanans and the treatment and representation of race, place, class, gender, sexuality, and identity in Montana. Exploration of the myths and realities of Montana and the American West.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 343 - African American Lit
Offered intermittently. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Selected works by African-American authors. Course may define a narrowed focus such as poetry, women writers, etc.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 363 - Modern Poetry
Offered alternate years. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. Survey of modern poetry in English beginning with Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman and moving toward the present, centering on modernist poets.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 373L - Lit & Environment
Offered alternate years. Prereq., LIT 210L or 211L and LIT 300 or consent of instr. Study of major texts and issues in American nature writing.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Writing Courses

Rule: Complete two courses (6 credits).

Note: LIT 300 is open only to English majors who have completed the Pre-English curriculum and have declared a major option.

Note: LIT 300 is the pre-requisite for most other 300- and 400-level LIT courses, including LIT 327. FILM 320 Shakespeare and Film substitutes for LIT 327 Shakespeare.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description LIT 300 - Literary Criticism
Offered every term. Prereq. or coreq., 12 credits of lower-division English courses. Study of various literary theories and their application to literary texts.
 3 Credits
Show Description LIT 327 - Shakespeare
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., LIT 300 or consent of instr. A survey of selected Shakespeare plays emphasizing close reading of the texts and consideration of their dramatic possibilities.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 6 Total Credits Required

Teaching Licensure Requirements

Note: Students must be formally admitted to the Teacher Education Program and complete all of the professional education licensure requirements. See the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education and Human Sciences for more information.

Note: Students must be formally admitted to the Teacher Education Program and complete all of the professional education licensure requirements. See the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education and Human Sciences for more information.