Task 2: Readings – Freeman & Freeman Chapter 8 & 9
Pre-Posting – Read both of these chapers (8-How Should We Teach Reading to Emergent Bilinguals? & 9-How Can Teacher Help Ells Develop Academic Language?) and consider what they confirm or add to your knowledge of working well with English language learners.
Posting – Review the applications section at the end of each chapter p. 223 & p. 256) identify 2 you would like to try/explore in the future. Please explain why you chose it, what its relevance is for you personally, and your plan for the application you chose. Clarify what you see as the key to English language learners
The first key point that I will discuss is that teachers should use books that have the characteristics of texts that support reading. This is an area that I am not as knowledgeable about and haven't had experience with. With math, it is hard to have students read books or find the correct book for them to read because math reading is so different than other subject's reading. From our last online reading, I found that it is important to choose the right book for the students to read and that math is different because we read proofs, graphs, tables, etc. The chapter kept bringing up that we need to engage our readers, try to find books that they can relate too and are interested in. The chapter also kept bringing up that it is important to give students many opportunities to read and practice. I really liked the checklist that the chapter provided. It will help me know if I am choosing a text that supports reading. So I would like to try to incorporate the first application, engagement is key to reading success. I would like to find a reading that could interest the students and will support what we are discussing in class. I will use the checklist to make sure it is a good book to use and I will use the rubric to help see what the students thought of the reading. I will need to do research before I choose the book I will use. Another Idea is I could have students pick a book that they think would relate to a math topic, they then would read the book and summarize the book. They would also describe why they think it relates to the math topic and how reading the book helped them in our classroom. This would give them practice with reading, but also allow them to choose what they read and see how it can relate to math. It may help them enjoy math more knowing that it relates to something they are interested in. I chose this application because I don't have a ton of experience of reading in math, except reading tables, graphs etc. So I would like to see if I could incorporate reading that will interest the students and help them relate it to math.
ReplyDeleteSara,
DeleteI really, really like the book idea you described in this post. I think it would be a fantastic exercise to get students to think creatively and abstractly about math, and also allow them to personalize the content to their own interests. I really hope you incorporate this idea into your classroom someday. It sounds like a lot of fun to me!
This "application idea" was my third choice for this discussion post! Again, I can see so many similarities between our posts, thoughts and opinions. I can definitely see myself using this lesson idea in my science classroom much like you in your math classroom. Although it will take some time to research and find the right text, this idea would really help connect our content areas to academic language and engagement through reading.
DeleteThanks!
The second application I would like to use in the future is teachers should teach the different levels of academic language: word, sentence, paragraph, and text. In math, the majority of the time we are solving equations or for unknown values. Many times students get into the habit of just solving for x and not thinking about what we solved for means. So I would like to incorporate words, sentences, paragraphs into the classroom. Have the students write their answer out in a sentence or even a paragraph. There are many vocab words in math and many of the words are within other definitions so it is important for students to understand the vocab words. I may have them have a vocab folder, in this folder they write down the definition of the word but also write the definition in their own words. This way all the words are in one location and easy to find and go from word to word. I think writing the word in your own words would really help ELL students understand the vocab words. Having the students write out the answer in a sentence helps them get familiar with how sentences are formed in math and helps them fully understand what they solved for. They see the meaning behind what they did. I chose this application because I want the students to be able to communicate and explain what they did and what their answer means, this can be done through writing sentences or paragraphs. I hope through this, students will understand what they are learning and how they can apply it to the real world. Many examples are related to the real world and we can then write a sentence or paragraph on what that means for us.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Sara, you bring up a great point about reading related to your content area. I really like your idea in your first discussion point about asking students to find texts they think are related to math. That activity would really bridge what seems like two separate learning domains: reading and math. In your second point, I think reading and math are very related, especially when it comes to solving word problems. Like you say, students often get into the habit of "just solving for x," but if the equation is embedded in a word problem, students aren't able to do that. This is both positive and negative because it forces kids to read the problem and decide what to do, thereby making them engage with their math problem. However, this runs the risk of excluding some students, especially those who struggle with reading and/or ELLs. I just had a conversation about this the other day-- sometimes math word problems are written to be culturally relevant. This is especially hard for ELL students because they may well know how to do the math, but they can't figure out in the "mess" of words just what to do. For this reason, I can see how important it is for math teachers to help ELL students through the process by teaching them about math texts and how to read them specifically in your content area.
DeleteChapt. 8, Question 2
ReplyDeleteI worked with elementary level ELL students for two years and from that experience, I can absolutely see how they (and all elementary students for that matter) can become word callers. In early elementary school there is so much emphasis placed on decoding and fluency. For example, teachers or Title I/Reading Corps Paras administer DIBELS fluency tests very often (once a week or month? I can’t quite remember the frequency), which are tests that only measure a student’s fluency in reading. No comprehension questions are asked. Therefore, if a student can easily recite all the sounds and words s/he sees on the page, they can get top scores, yet these same students might not understand a word they read. ELLs are an especially vulnerable population to become word callers because they simply do not have the background information or vocabulary knowledge to even make sense out of a word they sound out, like native speakers might. The ELL teacher I worked with rarely administered these DIBELS tests because, frankly, they are inappropriate measures to gauge an ELL student’s reading ability.
Chapt 9: Question 4
In order to teach students to write cohesive paragraphs, the teacher must first teach students strategies for how cohesive paragraphs are written by reading sample paragraphs. Taking a sample paragraph, for example, and breaking each sentence down to point out different patterns would be step one. The first thing I would point out to students is the topic/comment idea of each sentence. We know that new information is usually presented in the latter half of a sentence, and that new information often becomes old information at the beginning of the following paragraph. If students know that pattern, they will be able to identify what the “starting” topic is in their paragraph, and follow the old and new information throughout each sentence in the paragraph, which makes it cohesive. The next thing I would point out to students is that the way new information at the end of one sentence becomes old information at the beginning of the following sentences can vary. Most authors do not use the exact same words to refer to old information (otherwise the text would be repetitive). Therefore, it is important to show students how synonyms and antonyms are used to substitute (called reference in linguistics)the original word that was used. This is the derived topic idea presented in the chapter. Finally, I would show students how to use connecting words or phrases to link their ideas together. These can be words such as however, therefore, or consequently, or phrases such as as a result, for that reason, or on the contrary. These words not only help the paragraph flow, but they also help the reader make sense of the author’s argument (by allowing them to see how the author feels about what they are writing).
Rachael,
DeleteI love your description of how you would break down the paragraph! IT makes a lot of sense and so detailed! This would be beneficial to all students I feel. This was a great review for me! The tests you talked about don't seem that they are beneficial or that we wouldn't be able to draw valuable results from them. I'm sure the students don't enjoy being tested all the time either!
Rachael,
DeleteYour paragraph breakdown is quite interesting! I've actually never had old/new information in a sentence explained that way before. I also really like that you make it a point to show ELL students that it is common for writers to use substitutions for previous words in paragraphs to avoid sounding repetitive. Knowing that this technique exists and is common may make confusing paragraphs less overwhelming for ELL students.
You bring up great points, Rachael. Thank you!
I absolutely loved reading your post! You created such a great description of how you would break down a paragraph. Again, even though I thought of expanding on Ch. 8 #2 as well, it was so nice to read your thoughts and expansions of this application question. It's awesome to hear thoughts of teachers in other content areas.
DeleteThank you!
I’d like to do this post as it relates to Spanish Language Learners because in the classrooms that my students are in, we strive to stay in the Spanish language rather than discuss the Spanish language using English. Obviously not all Spanish classrooms are this way, but my goal is to use as little English in mine as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe first application that I would like to take up comes from chapter nine and involves teaching students academic vocabulary. One of the strategies for getting students accustomed to the academic language within our content areas is to begin by teaching them individual words. This strategy suggests focusing only on a few words each week and to have students become heavily involved with them. I chose this application and strategy because it reminds me of linguistics courses in which we would break up sentence and word structures into trees. For word structures, this involves finding the ‘root’ of the word, and then identifying all prefixes and suffixes that surround it. After they have been identified, academic language can be taught by discussing what each of the prefixes of suffixes means. This is a good strategy to use from time to time in the Spanish classroom because learners are often intimidated by long words that they are unfamiliar with. One way I have implemented this in my classroom is to show how these common prefixes and suffixes in English translate into Spanish. Students then break apart big spanish words into the different prefixes and suffixes (or verb endings) and talk about what each part means and how it changes the ‘root’ word. In the text they suggested having students make word charts in which they take one vocabulary word, define it and use it in their own sample sentences and contexts. This vocabulary-learning strategy is quite simple and could be easily used within any subject area.
The second application also comes from chapter nine and is application four: helping students learn to write cohesive paragraphs. This is an essential portion of a Spanish classroom because sentence structures in Spanish are slightly different than they are in English. One strategy that I have used is to give students all of the basic ‘tools’ they need to write sentences at the beginning stages of the course. That means, students are taught how to use common aspects of written language such as: 1) organizational connectors such as “first, second, third, finally” 2) words that express cause and consequence such as “since, due to, because, so” and 3) clarifying and example-introducing language such as “for example, like, that is, such as, in other words”. Students learn these things at the same time as they learn the most basic vocabulary and sentence structures of the language (verb conjugation and adjective agreement) so that they can easily use their basic vocabulary in seemingly more complex structures early on. They are also provided with a multitude of examples of each of these ‘tools’ used in authentic texts so that they can see what their ‘goal’ is for becoming proficient writers (and in turn, proficient speakers).
David,
DeleteI really like your strategy about teaching various word forms by breaking the word up into the root/prefix/suffix/endings. Have you ever used a bubble chart with the students to do this? I have used it before and the students found it really helpful. For example, your new or unknown word goes in the middle bubble, then in four off-shooting bubbles you write synonyms, antonyms, other forms of the word (adjective, adverb, noun, verb, etc.), and a definition. That way, they see in front of them several uses for the word rather than just a definition that they might forget.
Rachael,
DeleteNo, I haven't ever used bubble charts with students before, but I do like this idea. This would also be a great way to get them to feel comfortable creating (and playing) with words as they learn more and more of the language.
Thank you for the idea!
I can definitely remember trying to string sentences in Spanish together! This was so difficult! It's one thing to be able to express thoughts into one sentence, but it is a hard task to string these sentences into a cohesive paragraph. Your ideas for this application are great. It was nice to read through how you would help students get better at this skill.
DeleteThank you!
David,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the word charts. I remember when I was taking Spanish, we started out by learning all the different vocab words and then worked our way into building on that and looking at the prefixes and suffixes. In the future I want to incorporate something like the word charts. I would have the students define the word, then define the word in their own words to help them put it in their own words because they will remember it more easily. In math, we don't write in paragraphs as much, so they don't learn how to write paragraphs a lot. This is something that I want to work on in the future, having students write their answers out in sentences or paragraphs so they make meaning of the answer rather than just saying x=4.
Educating ELL students is one thing that frightens me about the road I have ahead of me as a Chemistry teacher. Honestly, I didn't realize how many other things go into the occupation of teaching, such as IEPs, 504s, ELL, ESL, etc. Don't get me wrong...I have learned so much through this program and I am more than comfortable to begin working with this world's diverse group of students, but sometimes I have to take a step back and think about what I can do to increase the success of this certain individual student. Again, these two chapters were good refreshers in working with diverse students. It was definitely good to read more about ELL students. In chapter 8, I would choose to do more work on Application number 2. This activity deals with ELL students and the trend that many of them tend to be "word callers". I can totally see this trend in the science classes I've been in. Many of these students recognize key words and assume meaning for the pieces of writing, rather than actually reading for comprehension. This can cause so much error in the science world. Even putting ELL students aside, so many students in chemistry classrooms skim through laboratory procedure instructions. These students think they know what their doing based on a few key words they read. Because they don't read the procedure for comprehension, mistakes can be made and safety could end up being an issue. Anyways, I thought this application activity would be a great one to work on. It's so important, yes that students understand key vocabulary, but also that they understand the big picture and can comprehend what they're reading!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, in chapter 9, I thought that application 5 would be a good activity to work on. This activity deals with thinking about all of the different genres you have taught and then breaking those genres down into different language features within. I feel that this activity goes back to our work with academic language, syntax, discourse, etc. It's such a great practice to get into, thinking about each specific language feature you are dealing with in your lesson. Identifying these can really help improve your lesson planning, as well as assistance of diversified students. How can you create the most effective lesson using this academic language and how is your lesson projected to students?
Thanks!
Dani,
DeleteWord calling is definitely a worry for ELL students, but I can see how this would be especially applicable in your content area for all students. I don't have a very strong background in the sciences, so I feel like I become a word caller when I'm working in that content area. I recognize the words, can pronounce them, and I *think* I know what they mean, but I can't be sure just because I don't have a lot of science background. How do you think you could ensure students actually understand some difficult science words/concepts?
Dani,
DeleteI couldn’t agree with you more that this program has changed us from thinking of a classroom being full of students, to a classroom being full of very different learners, from very different backgrounds, and with very different learning needs. It is no doubt that all of this can seem a bit overwhelming. I think it does make us better in the end though, because as we (stress) about how to accommodate all of these different types of learners, we do reflect on our own teaching practices and we often improve them. I’m glad that you’re comfortable admitting that all of this can seem a bit overwhelming. So am I! I’m really glad that we’re learning to take all of these factors into account at the beginning stage of our careers, though. It would be really hard to revise our teaching styles years down the road if we had gotten accustomed to teaching classrooms full of ‘students’ in general.
Dani,
DeleteI agree with you about the word calling. There are many times when students just pick out words rather than comprehending the whole picture and then they complete the task or misunderstand the topic because of it. The other day when I was observing in LeSueur, the teacher had the students do a activity and she wanted to see how well they could read and do what is being asked of them. She mentioned that there are so many times when they don't read thoroughly and understand what is being asked of them.
Rachael,
DeleteThe question you posed is definitely a difficult one. I think the only way we can ensure students understand the true meaning of vocabulary, procedures, scientific concepts, etc. is through small, VERY frequent knowledge checks throughout each class period. Not all of these, or even more than one, need to be graded, but our formative assessments should be tailored to tell us whether or not our students are absorbing the necessary vocab and facts.