Inquiry question # 2

What are good educational strategies that promote the literacy of students learning English?

First of all, teachers should know their students. We should not stamp all ELLs with the same stamp of limited language proficiency: they all have diverse backgrounds, languages, educational experiences, interests, etc. Just like native speakers, ELLs can have various levels of cognitive abilities. Oftentimes, when students struggle with schoolwork, it is attributed to limited background knowledge rather than intellectual ability.  This is why it is important to assess students' background knowledge prior to introducing  new material. Students are a lot more likely to be interested, get more engaged in a topic that they have some knowledge of rather than in something completely unfamiliar to them e.g. baseball, social problems in the US, space exploration, etc. If students turn out to have no or little background knowledge, it is teacher's task to build it, give the students some foundation for the lesson that they can add on to. New knowledge is proven to be internalized better when it is linked to students' existing knowledge. This is supported by brain-based theory of learning. This is why it is important not to underestimate the importance of background knowledge when teaching literacy to ELLs.


Another successful strategy based in many years of educational research is SIOP model - lesson planning and instructional model of sheltered instruction. Building background knowledge is one of the key eight components of the model along with preparation, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice/application, lesson delivery, and assessment.  The SIOP model suggests the following strategies that can help teachers promote literacy among ELLs. First, as the students of limited language proficiency learn the language while learning content, it is important for the teacher to identify the language demands of the content course and ensure that the language aspect of the lesson is reasonably within the students' abilities. Teachers need to make sure the students have the tool - the language - that will help them master the content. Second, teachers need to make language objectives of the lesson clear to the students. That would include stating objectives related to the key vocabulary and language structures, reading or writing skills, listening or speaking tasks. Third, educators need to emphasize the development of academic vocabulary during their lessons, as academic language proficiency takes much longer to develop than communicative proficiency, and it is a lot more important for school success. However, it takes a lot more effort on students' part to retain academic vocabulary and to use it skillfully. Unfortunately, the lanugage component often gets overlooked by educators, who often expect the students to succeed without giving them the means to reach that much needed academic success.



Echevarria, J. & Short, D. (2005). Teacher Skills to Support Language Learners.

            Educational Leadership, 62, 8-13. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from

           http://www.kckps.org/teach_learn/pdf/group2/t_l9_teacher.pdf

Website #2

http://www.starfall.com/


This is an interactive website geared to improve reading skills of students in kindergarten through grade 2. The content of the website focuses on five essential componenets of reading: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

The website has four levels: ABC's, Learn to Read, It is Fun to Read, and I am Reading. The levels will allow you to differentiate instruction according to the needs of emergent readers. Level 1 contains basic reading activities geared towards developing grapho-phonemic awareness. Whereas Level 4 provides a variety of reading pieces of different genre (play, comics, fiction, non-fiction, fables, etc.) for more advanced readers. The reader on the website sounds out and blends the sounds as they are highlighted in the word. I find it extremely useful for young learners who are still developing letter-sound awareness. I also like how the website combines literacy instruction and content are instruction in Science and  Social Studies. The website is phenomenal: very visually stimulating and engaging. It is also very easy for a child to navigate, as the icons show and tell the children exactly what to do. Using this website is a great way to incorporate a technology piece into the lesson for the little ones.

I would use this website to supplement literacy instruction to emergent ESL readers of beginning levels, as well as a reteaching/reinforcing tool for a bit older struggling readers. I would need to have a computer available for student use in the classroom. I would allow time for all students to be able to participate in this activity, however, I would have to select the piece that they would be working on according to their proficiency level and identified areas of struggle.

Website #1

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

I have actually used this website to teach my 4th grade ELL students a unit on Forces of Nature: Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes. I used a variety of text forms for this unit. A part of the plan was to expose the students to electronic text.  I would need to arrange some time in the computer lab, so my students can have 30 minutes or so to read the identified selection and familiarize themselves with illustrations and animations.

This website contains texts that provide the main points that my students need to know about a weather phenomenon. The reading selections are succinct and straight to the point. The text is easy to navigate as it is broken down into sections, that pose a question. E.g. What is  lightning? What causes lightning?  Such organization really calls for forming expert groups and doign jigsaw activity.
I am fan of this website because it presents content in the manner accessible to ELLs - the terminology is not very complicated and definitions of the terms are provided in "Know The Lingo" section. There are plenty of visuals that, in my opinion, greatly aid comprehension. I particularly like the animated ones that show how the natural phenomenon occurs. E.g. How hurricanes develop. How lake-effect snow forms.

The website also provides lesson plans, suggestions for experiments,  and a ton of resources that will help the student to understand the content.

Inquiry group work

Roles:

• Factors that influence literacy development: Natalie
• Technology for ELLs: Charlotte
• Pre-reading activities/building background knowledge: Anna
• Differentiated Instruction: Maggie
• Bi-lingual Special Education: Shannon

Inquiry Project 1st question

What are the factors affecting literacy development for ELLs?

                                                                      

The rate at which English Language learners develop proficiency in English varies considerably among students, based on a variety of contextual and personal factors. Therefore, teachers will need to know and understand each student individually.

Personal variables influencing literacy development include the age when the language was learned, level of proficiency in the language, parents' proficiency in English, cultural norms for language use, background knowledge, exposure, motivation and attitudes toward the languages. Student's age and the age at which English was introduced are important factors to consider when designing literacy instruction for ELL's. The challenge is that educators are to select materials and activities that are age and level appropriate. Students who did not start learning English at a young age will be developing literacy a lot slower than those who started out young. Learning for older students is a lot more arduous. Another important factor is the literacy level in the native language. As linguists suggest, literacy transfers across languages. Learners who are literate in their native languages are not clean slates when it comes to learning to read and write in English. They are already familiar with the basic principles of reading applicable to most languages such as grapho-phonemic correspondence, word-concept relationship, chunking of the text into sentences, etc.

Student background knowledge and exposure are the factors that will influence the students' ability to construct the meaning, comprehend a variety of texts. Teachers will need to provide extra help to the students, who have had limited exposure, as building background knowledge is essential to meaningful learning.

Home literacy habits, parents' education level, attitudes towards literacy, perception of the function of literacy can also affect the learner's attitude, motivation and proficiency. Families' concept of literacy and their practices can be congruent or may be very different from the school's. For example, respect for the student's own language, even if it is not used for instruction, will favor learning because it reflects respect for the students themselves and their families.

One of the contextual factors that influence literacy development for ELLs is the native language characteristics. For example, Spanish is an efficient language to teach children to read. The writing system is similar enough to English to allow students to master reading within a few years. The situation will be different for Chinese students whose native language has a writing system quite different from English. Therefore, teachers will need to utilize different literacy instruction techniques in order for Hispanic and Asian students to achieve the same educational goals.

Brisk, M. & Harrington, M. (2000). Literacy and Bilingualism: A Handbook for

             All Teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Annotated Bibliography Prospectus

The unit on Immigration for sixth grade ESOL class will be supplemented by the following three books, which describe three different journeys to the United States and bittersweet experience in the country.  These are three different tales of determination and the power of the human spirit.
The books are selected for students of varying levels of English language proficinecy.


Glaser, L. (2005). Bridge to America. Boston, MA: Houton Mifflin Company.  510 L = Lexile, 3rd grade level

Jaramillo, A. (2006). La Linea. New Milford, CT: Roaring Book Press.   650L = Lexile, 4-5 grade level

Na, A. (2001). A Step from Heaven. Asheville, NC: Front Street.