I enjoyed reading the "spotlight on . . . " sections of chapter four. I was impressed by Ms. McCloskey and how she provides reading and writing activities for all of her first grade students. From the text, it seems she has a wide range of learners in her classroom, including many English Language Learners (ELLs).
In my first grade classroom I have six students out of 21 in my reading class who are ELLs. They are classified as Level 2 ESOL students in Montgomery County. They vary in ethnicity. Two are Latino; two are Vietnamese; one is Brazilian and one is Asian Pacific. They have all progressed well since kindergarten, but I am dealing with their varying learning needs and the needs of my reading class as a whole. I have four other students who speak another language at home, but are not classified as ESOL students. It is a challenge to provide my students with activities that they can complete independently during literacy center time, so that I can meet with small groups during guided reading. Starting writer's workshop time has been frustrating for me because of the varying levels in my class. I like the strategy mentioned on p. 121 with the student named Caroline. Ms. McCloskey gave her a ring for cards. Caroline chooses new words to add to her ring, and Ms. McCloskey writes them on the cards. Then, Caroline can use the ring any time for her reading and writing. I thought about one of my students as I read this; I want to start using a card ring with him immediately!
After doing some searching with the JHU education library online, I found an interesting article about helping ELLs become better readers by using a "narrow reading" approach. This approach focuses on a single subject or author and uses easy to understand texts to enrich but not overwhelm ELLs. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790eb09556d0224b245f4c0f8887f432db2cd7b897caa8d57161346a8bddb6595daa&fmt=H
Hadaway, N. L. A Narrow Bridge to Academic Reading [Part of a special issue entitled Supporting English language learners]. Educational Leadership v. 66 no. 7 (April 2009) p. 38-41
This article offers alot of ideas for instruction. It stresses how academic vocabulary can be frustrating for ELLs. I found this particularly interesting because I always hear about how ELLs born in the U.S. know "slang English" but have difficulty understanding the academic language teachers use at school (i.e. alliteration, inquiry, data, analyze, traits). For this reason, I've always been led to believe that it's important to always use academic vocabulary with ELLs - to expose them and have them "learn" the terms. Perhaps I need to be careful not to overwhelm my ELLs with too much academic vocabulary.
Sources:
Tompkins, Gail (2010). Literacy for the 21st Century A Balanced Approach. Boston, MA:
Allyn & Bacon.
Eve, I am glad you raised this issue!
ReplyDeleteI am not yet in the classroom and am interested in how ELL students become literate while also learning the language. I am curious and a bit nervous as to how to differentiate instruction, learning centers, etc. I think “narrow language” sounds like a potentially effective approach for early readers and ELL students. A common thread through what the student is reading will obviously help by building on prior knowledge and familiar information.
The New York Times Magazine on Sunday, September 19th focused on education issues. Teaching language skills to ELL students is addressed in an article titled “Chunking.” This focuses on groups of words that are often used together in the English language. Some experts advocate this technique in helping students to become more fluent speakers. Although, I do not think this approach can be used on its own, it does seem to be helpful in both speaking and reading. It might help readers avoid confusion when they encounter slang phrases or common idioms by teaching them directly. The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19FOB-OnLanguage-Zimmer.html?ref=magazine.
Hi Eve,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post on teaching to a wide variety of students especially interesting. How exciting that you are teaching while taking coursework. You have the opportunity to immediately put ideas to the test in a real classroom! Although I will not be teaching until next fall, I do understand - from a parent’s point of view (I have a 5th grader and a 1st grader) – what you are saying about the challenges involved in dealing with varying ability levels. Properly meeting the needs of so many children at once in my future classroom represents a major concern of mine. I am eager to figure out which strategies work best. I’m sure you have many recommendations! Anyway, while volunteering in my son’s kindergarten classroom, I witnessed many aspects of what you discuss in your blog entry. I witnessed how struggling readers consumed a greater percentage of the teacher’s time and attention. In addition, many parents who volunteer have talked to me about how difficult it is to have younger students work independently at reading stations - even with volunteers in the classroom.
While reading your post, the often neglected needs of advanced readers came to mind. Last year, my son and two or three other students in his class were reading 5th grade level books and more or less had to settle for the standard kindergarten reading fare. My husband and I continued with the advanced reading instruction we have provided at home in order to ensure that our son continued to progress at his own pace. If I may offer a suggestion that might help your advanced readers: simply give them the freedom to read books that challenge and interest them. If the behavior situation allows, let your advanced students work together. If your school has the resources, perhaps your advanced readers/writers can be “pulled out” for language arts instruction. ….An idea that would benefit all of your students – use parents! The right parent volunteers can be a tremendous help in supervising reading stations, etc. Do many parents have the time to volunteer in your classroom? And one final thought - my daughter’s second grade teacher asked parents to turn in a signed sheet documenting that they had read to their children 20 minutes per night for the week. Think of how the progress students could make if their parents would just spend those 20 minutes with them each day… I am sure you are doing an excellent job, and I look forward to chatting with you some time about your opinions on what really works!