Foundations of Literacy Through Literature has MAT candidates use real, age-appropriate literary works as the vehicle for building reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
What D696 covers
The course delves into the role of varied and age-appropriate literary works in the science of reading to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities in learners. Students examine a broad range of genres to understand how different texts can be used to enhance vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking.
The curriculum emphasizes interactive and creative teaching strategies to engage learners effectively and integrate culture into their literacy instruction, with real-world examples for creating an inclusive environment that respects and celebrates different perspectives through quality text.
The D696 performance assessment
Expect a performance assessment requiring you to select and justify a set of literary texts for a given grade level and design instruction that builds literacy skills through those texts.
Key topics in D696
- Using literature to build literacy skills
- Genre study
- Culturally inclusive text selection
- Vocabulary and comprehension through literature
Writing tips for D696
Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line
WGU performance assessments for D696 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.
Ground every claim in a specific grade band and student population
MAT Elementary Education courses like D696 typically ask you to design instruction for a specific grade range and set of learner needs rather than write about teaching in the abstract. As a post-baccalaureate candidate, connecting your prior professional background to your instructional reasoning strengthens a response further.
Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission
There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D696 assessment as a real deadline.
Stuck on your D696 task?
Our writers know WGU's competency-based format and this course's performance assessment. Get an original, properly cited paper matched to your task instructions.
Why students seek help with D696
MAT candidates sometimes select texts without justifying their fit for the specific grade level, diversity of perspectives, or literacy goals — the rubric typically wants that text-selection reasoning made explicit.
How GradeEssays helps with D696
Share your grade level and rubric, and your writer will build a text selection and instructional plan with genuine, explicit justification for each choice.
Get Help With D696
Share your task instructions and rubric and we match you with a writer who knows this course and WGU's evaluation standards.
Place Your Order View All ServicesPrerequisites and program context
D696 has no listed additional prerequisites and is part of WGU's graduate (MAT) Elementary Education and Special Education teacher-licensure curriculum.
- Master of Arts in Teaching, Elementary Education
- Master of Arts in Teaching, Special Education
Related courses
Frequently asked questions
D696 is the graduate (MAT, post-baccalaureate) version of the same course content that undergraduate teacher-candidates complete as D688. The content and expectations mirror each other closely — the difference is the degree pathway and candidate population, not the classroom content itself.