Literacy Success for English Language Learners in Elementary Schools

1. Literacy Success for English Language Learners in Elementary Schools Dr. Gilda Del Risco Kean University of New Jersey October 27, 2004

2. “Probably nothing within a school has more impact on children, in terms of skills development, self-confidence, and classroom behavior, than the personal and professional growth of teachers. When teachers individually and collectively examine, question, reflect on their ideals, and develop new practices that lead toward those ideals, the school and its inhabitants are alive. When teachers stop growing, so do their students.” By Roland Barth Professional Development andIn Class Co-Teaching

3. Many English Language Learners: • Come from countries where they have received less than age appropriate education. • Some are illiterate in their native language. • Some have never attended school. • School has been interrupted by war or political reasons.

4. “The term sheltered indicates that such instruction provides refuge from the linguistic demands of mainstream instruction, which is beyond the comprehension of English-language learners.” (Echevarria & Graves 1998). Sheltered Instruction

5. Make your instructional talk more understandable by speaking clearly. Repeat key points Define essential vocabulary in context Pair your talk with nonverbal communication cues: objects, pictures, graphs, and gestures. Meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstration and visuals.

6. Verbal and nonverbal communication • When we pair these two communication channels, words and meanings become discernible to the learner.

7. Strategies • Try to make the information relevant to their lives - Learning occurs best when connections are made to existing knowledge. • Make the students a part of the situation. • Acknowledge their input – Positive feedback is a powerful influence on the brain’s chemistry. It is essential for the development of a good self-concept (Sylwester 1997).

8. Comprehensible Input • Language that is used in ways that make it understandable to the learner even though second language proficiency is still limited. • use visuals, realia, manipulatives, and other concrete materials • use gestures, facial expressions, and body language. • repeat, rephrase, and/or paraphrase key concepts, directions, etc. • build on what students already know. • be careful of idioms and slang.

9. Creating a literacy-rich classroom environment. Books, books, books… Daily routines: -morning message -wall dictionary Reading aloud to students Word Families Strategies to Promote Early Literacy

10. READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE • Classroom strategies for beginning readers: • Language-experience approach • Literacy Centers • Patterned books • Illustrating stories and poems • Shared reading with big books • Direct Listening-Thinking Activity (DL-TA) • Reader’s theater • Story map (NJCCS 3.1)

11. READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE • Classroom strategies for intermediate readers: • Cognitive mapping • Direct Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) (Fluency) • Literature response journals • Developing scripts for reader’s theater. (Fluency) • Adapting Stories into plays and scripts for film and videotape.) • Literacy Centers (NJCCCS 3.1)

12. Phonemic Awareness Recognizing that speech is made up of a series of sounds that can be manipulated. It Is not Phonics Phonics Is a means to decode printed word made up of sounds and is built on the child’s ability to understand Phonemic Awareness. Phonemic Awareness Preceds Phonics. (Rothman Barbara. BER) (NJCCCS 3.1)

13. The purpose of phonic instruction is to help students recognize words independently, not to have them state rules. Principles: -Provide ample time for students to read and write for meaningful purposes, allowing. students to develop their own understanding of sound/symbol correspondences -Teach phonics within a meaningful context. Enjoy the story or poem for meaning first, then teach the skill. -Remember that phonics and other word recognition strategies are a means to an end: comprehension. (NJCCCS 3.1) (Peregoy and Boyle, 2000) Phonics Instruction for English Language Learners

14. Using big books to teach sight words and phonics Poems and song lyrics written in large format on chart paper (to develop word recognition and phonics knowledge) Predictable books with repetitive patterns and phrases to teach or reinforce sound/symbol correspondences, including consonants, vowels, and letter sequences found in rhyming words. Ask the students to write their own stories following the pattern in predictable books that they have heard several times. This will provide a chance for the students to put their phonics and sight word knowledge into meaningful practice. Older students who are new to literacy – Same strategies. Short texts with age-appropriate content. Fortunately by Remy Charlip. Song lyrics and poems – Good sources of predictable texts. (NJCCCS 3.1) Recognizing Words Independently

15. First Language • “During the initial years of exposure to English, continuing cognitive and academic development in first language is considered to be a key variable for academic success in second language.” • (Garcia 1994; Tinajero & Ada, 1993. In Collier, 1995) • Later on, apply the techniques used to teach English as a second language. Yo quiero escribir en mi idioma.

16. Strategies to assist beginning writers: Oral discussion Partner stories using pictures and wordless books Personal journals Dialogue journals Buddy journals Free writing (NJCCCS 3.2) Writing in a Second Language

17. Strategies to assist intermediate writers • Show and not tell - Provides descriptive details about what the writer wants to convey. • Sentence combining • Sentence shortening • Sentence models • Process Writing: -Prewriting -Drafting -Revising -Editing -Publishing (NJCCCS 3.2)

18. Pre-reading Strategies Background Knowledge Necessary to construct meaningfrom text. Development of key vocabulary Background Knowledge – Teacher builds upon the language, culture and experiential background that students bring to the classroom and relate knowledge to new information provided in the text. (NJCCCS 3.1) Initial Strategies to Teach English Comprehension to English language Learners

19. Students may experience difficulties due to lack of prior knowledge on the particular topic to be read. Background knowledge can often be accomplished through a sharing of the groups’ knowledge. It may be recorded in a graphic format.

20. Use questions before and during the reading to help the students to get meaning from the reading. Hypothesizing or predicting questions. What do you think this story is about? What do you think will happen next? Data acquisition questions Summary questions Reading aloud – Teacher model predicting, inferring, and connecting mew text to prior knowledge. (NJCCC 3.1) Guided Reading Strategies

21. Retelling a story after reading - Offers a means for reinforcing and supporting comprehension. - Provides a means for integrating writing into the program. It can be done in cooperative learning groups, paired writing, or individually. Building on the knowledge gained through the prereading activities. More reading (NJCCCS 3.1) Post-Reading Strategies

22. Remedial classes and pullout programs have been found to slow down learning Accelerated Learning - Focus on enrichment rather than remediation. - Building on the strength that all students bring to the classroom. - Draw on students experiences and interest. At – Risk Students

23. Language Experience Approach - discussion bases on the content of the text - review vocabulary found in the reading - students summarize the reading or story for the teacher, who acts as a scribe and writes sentences on the board or chart paper. (NJCCCS 3.1, 3.2)

24. ERRORS • Teacher should take into consideration: • The student’s English language developmental level • The prevalence of the error type • The importance of the error type for communication • Teacher’s specific goals for the students in terms of English language development • Should be corrected in a non-threatening way • Repeat correctly what the student has said incorrectly

25. Portfolio Assessment Multiple Measures for Assessment - Do not assess only through written tests. If you do not assess the English language learners in many different ways, you will not find out what they really know. Observations - Anecdotal records - Check lists - Concrete materials. Opportunities to demonstrate that they understood the information. Assessment

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