The Top 10 Things I Learned About Literacy this Summer

10. Never fear, the Wiki is near!

The Wiki creates this openness of information and idea of distributed knowledge, where there are so many eyes looking at information on the web that the quality and preciseness is increased a million fold.

9. Step into the “Zone” for English Language Learners…the Challenge Zone, that is. English language learners need to be challenged to think creatively, engage in inquiry-oriented activities, and construct their own learning through substantive conversations. Teachers must provide the scaffolding and support needed for ELLs to be successful.

8.  Explicit is key in making a learner out of me!

For all learners, especially English Language learners, instruction should be explicit for children to learn specific content. The more precise language structure is through the use of visuals, gestures and concrete ideas, the easier it is for children to learn that particular content. Language is so important for students to develop meaning within a context.

7. Just when you thought a poem was a poem…NOT!

The poem is within the reader- It’s what happens in the reader's mind as the reader interacts with it, and images, emotions and concepts are formed. This can only take place during the act of reading. The words are on a page in the absence of the reader engaging are just print. The poem does not become a poem until interaction takes place.

6.  If at first you don’t succeed, just mushfake it!

This is what I did in this class to learn all this online business and reading theories. As I acquired this secondary Discourse, I used metaknowlege to analyze while advancing my knowledge, along with a “Mushfake Discourse” to make the best of it. Because it’s not my primary Discourse, it’s been some work; but I trucked along and have a pretty sound understanding now of the course’s content.

5.  The efferent is inherent, but the aesthetic is prophetic.

In Transactional theory (Rosenblatt), the reader who takes an efferent stance is searching for the information in a text, like understanding how the pieces fit together. The reader taking an aesthetic stance looks at the “experience” of the reading, including feelings evoked. These aren’t necessarily separate during the reading process, and may vary sometimes in different texts.

 

4.  To be a success and not a mess, use the Academic Literacies model to impress.

Academic Literacies take reading a step further than other theories, in that they pay particular attention to the relationships of power, authority, making meaning, and identity within institutional settings. When students can bring their own understanding to the reading table, they make more meaning out of reading.

 

3. An authentic place makes learning embraced.

In authentic work in school, students make connections between what they are learning and the real world, and their achievements actually influence others.” (Gibbons, 2009) A classroom atmosphere should be cooperative and engaging and learning should be “deep” where understanding goes beyond the regurgitation of isolated facts. 

2.  The transmission needs to be thrown out with the car.

Vygotsky (1978) speaks of “transmission” being the more traditional model of teaching where the teacher lectures and ‘transmits’ skills into students’ empty minds. This works against the central principals of language development because when acquiring language, interaction with others is so important to first and second language learning. Educators need to use a “progressive” approach, where learners construct their own knowledge and can be successful with scaffolded help.

1. Going through the big “D” isn’t as hard as going through the secondary one.

Going through the big “D”, and I don’t mean Dallas, is a person’s primary Discourse (Gee, that’s a nobrainer!). It is much easier to acquire than a secondary Discourse. A secondary Discourse must be acquired through active “apprenticeships” within social practices. This must happen through scaffolded and supported interaction with a “Master” of the discourse interacting with an “Apprentice”, enculturating the student into social practices.

Ways to support Academic Reading

Each approach to teaching reading values different aspects of literacy.  The phonics-based “Bottom-Up” programs, the Whole language “Top-Down” approach and Critical or Social approach to reading all differ in their philosophies.  Rather than looking at a one-sized fits all, the best approach is to use these methods together, like a jigsaw puzzle, to teach reading and all of its complexities. Activities that are most valuable within this mindset of the “jigsaw puzzle”, are activities that:

·      Support learners in gaining meaning from the particular text they are reading. 

·      Model generic reading strategies that help learners read subsequent texts. 

Reading tasks consist of three types: Before reading, during reading, and after-reading activities.

Before reading activities give students an opportunity to find out what the text is about before they read it. These activities prepare learners for conceptual difficulties and also activate their prior knowledge. Here are a few:

·      Predict using pictures, diagrams, other visuals, title, first sentence, or key words

·      Students write personal narratives about a similar topic

·      Create a semantic web of what you elicit from students

·      Write down 3 or 4 questions students think the text might answer

·      Sequence illustrations (if using an illustrated text)

·      Produce a skeleton text-one that has key pieces of information missing, but can be presumed based on the information left (such as the conclusion paragraph etc.)

·      Preview the text

The more time is spent in prereading activities, the better chance EL learners will have at comprehending the text.

 

During reading activities – aim to make explicit the unconscious processes and practices that fluent readers use, including understanding that reading is about by making meaning and constantly interacting with the text. Here are some during reading activities:

·      Scanning for information- teach students to skim how text is organized to see what information it contains.

·      Pause and predict- predict what will come next

·      Margin questions (questions presented in the margin)- use to teach to look for clues to what the text is about.

·      Scaffolding a detailed reading- provides explicit support on how to read a complex text. First, identify a sentence. Paraphrase the meaning using language the student will understand. Next, ask the student to locate and read the words in the text that represent the meaning of the paraphrase and underline them. (This can be used later to take notes). Last, elaborate on the meaning of the wording (expand on students responses). Discuss any significant phrases or words.

·      Identifying Paragraph Parts – Students learn to recognize parts of a paragraph (topic sentence, supporting and detail sentences, and conclusion). Different colored highlighters or pens are useful for this.

·      Reading Critically- recognizing how language works to create a particular view of reality.

·      Questioning the text- encourages students to take a critical perspective towards the text by asking questions such as “Whose perspective is represented in this text?”

·      Language Analysis – examine language “close-up” through the use of scaffolded questons.

 

After Reading Activities – serve these purposes: 1) focus on learners’ attention more deeply on the information from the text. 2) Use the language of the text as a model for further language study. 3) Allow for a creative or critical response to what has been read.

 

The following activities aim to help students focus more deeply on what they read:

·      True/false statements

·      Graphic Outlines- represent text as a graphic outline (such as timelines, diagrams, grids, cause and effect sequences etc.)

·      Summarizing the Text

·      Cloze Activities

·      Sentence Reconstruction- Cut up several sentences of the text into individual words and have students reassemble them. Give oral clues when they are doing this without saying the word, such as “find the words that mean ‘it is very dark’.

·      Jumbled Words – Cut up the letters to key words and have students reassemble them.

·      Innovating on the Text – Rewrite the text with a different content, but maintain the key structures of the text.

·      Cartoon or Cartoon Strips – Students turn text into a cartoon strip.

·      Readers Theatre – Students choose the dialogue of one character to read, while the other takes on the role of the narrator. This provides real purposes for reading aloud and is a good context for pronunciation and performance speaking skills.

 

Gibbons gives us many great ideas to incorporate in order to make reading successful for students! I hope this helps you as much as it did me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet More Language Activities

Here are some more language activities for EL learners:

8) Split Dictation-Make two versions of the same text relating to content area you are covering, omitting different words in each text. Partner up students and create a barrier so they cannot see each other’s text. Students work collaboratively to solve each text.

9) Barrier Crossword- This one seems fun. Work in pairs, and again create a barrier. One student has the words of the crossword puzzle that go down, the other has the across words. Students give clues to what their word is (without saying the word) and the other student fills in his/her word. Students take turns giving clues until they both have completed all the words on their list. For example, if one student has the word, “erosion”, the other student would give clues to the word, such as “cause by wind and rain” etc. This forces students to use specific academic vocabulary.

10) Cloze Exercises- made to use with a topic that students are familiar with after a unit has been taught. Create a text using academic language and delete various words from the text. Students should be able to predict and fill in the missing words. I’ve used this task many times before, sometimes for homework, but have found it helpful to provide a word bank.

11) Word Walls- a bank of words displayed on the wall of the classroom. This can be key words the student is learning, or words that are necessary for combining particular ideas.

12) Sentence Matching- is an activity that helps students match “more spoken” and “more written” meanings. Choose sentences that are relevant to a subject or topic. In one column write spoken words (everyday language). In the other column write the same definitions in academic language. In pairs, students should work together to discuss then match the definitions. For example students match these: “There was no food and many people died.” with “Famine caused mass starvation.” Another extension of this would be to nominalize verbs. Attract becomes attraction. Chose words that are relevant to the topic you are discussing. This will help ESL students recognize academic language in the content you are covering, as well as help them in their writing.

Supporting Academic Reading

In line with what I already believed to be true, Gibbons states, “Many approaches and mainstream reading programs do not take into account the needs of EL learners, since most are based on the assumption that learners are already familiar with the spoken form of the language.” Also, she mentions how traditional basal readers tend to follow an approach of carefully controlled grammar and repetition and focus on sight words and phonics. Meaning is almost always sacrificed for form, and is unlike any authentic spoken language with which students are familiar. These programs (phonics-driven) are a disadvantage for ESL students because they offer few links to what these students know about their own language. This means that teachers will have to deviate from scripted curriculums or basals in order to meet the needs of their ESL students. In my next blog I will review some ways to teach reading in a way that supports academic reading.

 

 

 

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8) Split Dictation-Make two versions of the same text relating to content area you are covering, omitting different words in each text. Partner up students and create a barrier so they cannot see each other’s text. Students work collaboratively to solve each text.

 

9) Barrier Crossword- This one seems fun. Work in pairs, and again create a barrier. One student has the words of the crossword puzzle that go down, the other has the across words. Students give clues to what their word is (without saying the word) and the other student fills in his/her word. Students take turns giving clues until they both have completed all the words on their list. For example, if one student has the word, “erosion”, the other student would give clues to the word, such as “cause by wind and rain” etc. This forces students to use specific academic vocabulary.

 

10) Cloze Exercises- made to use with a topic that students are familiar with after a unit has been taught. Create a text using academic language and delete various words from the text. Students should be able to predict and fill in the missing words. I’ve used this task many times before, sometimes for homework, but have found it helpful to provide a word bank.

 

11) Word Walls- a bank of words displayed on the wall of the classroom. This can be key words the student is learning, or words that are necessary for combining particular ideas.

 

12) Sentence Matching- is an activity that helps students match “more spoken” and “more written” meanings. Choose sentences that are relevant to a subject or topic. In one column write spoken words (everyday language). In the other column write the same definitions in academic language. In pairs, students should work together to discuss then match the definitions. For example students match these: “There was no food and many people died.” With “Famine caused mass starvation.” Another extension of this would be to nominalize verbs. Attract becomes attraction. Chose words that are relevant to the topic you are discussing. This will help ESL students recognize academic language in the content you are covering, as well as help them in their writing.

 

Supporting Academic Reading

In line with what I already believed to be true, Gibbons states, “Many approaches and mainstream reading programs do not take into account the needs of EL learners, since most are based on the assumption that learners are already familiar with the spoken form of the language.” Also, she mentions how traditional basal readers tend to follow an approach of carefully controlled grammar and repetition and focus on sight words and phonics. Meaning is almost always sacrificed for form, and is unlike any authentic spoken language with which students are familiar. These programs (phonics-driven) are a disadvantage for ESL students because they offer few links to what these students know about their own language. This means that teachers will have to deviate from scripted curriculums or basals in order to meet the needs of their ESL students. In my next blog I will review some ways to teach reading in a way that supports academic reading.

 

 

 

More Language Activities

More activities to integrate language into content teaching (continued):

 3) Semantic Web/Concept Map- a useful way of collecting, recording and organizing information. Write the key word relevant to topic in the middle of a large piece of paper. Students contribute what they already know about the topic. After all students have added to the web, look for information and ideas that connect with one another. These clusters can be highlighted and form a new web. Keep this map displayed as a visual summary of key concepts and words related to the topic.

**Alhough I’ve never heard of this or tried it, this next one is my favorite:

*4) Dictogloss- is useful for providing models of academic language as well as to help them reflect upon and clarify language. So, students should listen while you read an important text at normal speed for one minute. Read again a second time. The third reading, students should write down the main points from the text that they remember. (This is usually fragmented). Then, in pairs, students work together to improve what they wrote individually. After 5 minutes, students join pairs to work in fours, again collaborating to improve upon what they were able to produce in pairs. The final version does not have to be identical to the original, but should contain the key information from the text. Display all the texts around the room, then show the original. Invite students to talk about any differences between the original and their own text. Apparently this is a very successful exercise. I’m anxious to try it in my own classroom! 

5) Joint construction- Is valuable for focusing students’ attention on how written language is structured. In this activity, the teacher acts as a scribe as she guides students in composing a piece of writing. (This is essentially shared writing.) By using this model, she helps students reshape the wording of their initial words. For example, a student says, “There was a bad witch who…” The teacher would say (as she’s scribing), what other word could we use for “bad”? Then she or other students suggest, “evil”, a better choice of words. She can also do the same for sentence structure.

6) The Last Word-is similar to a group discussion and is based on a text that students have read on a topic they’re familiar with. The best type is the most contentious. First, students should underline one sentence that is significant to him/her. Students should be prepared to speak for about one minute without interruption. (This encourages them to use extended language and make what they say as clear as possible.) What’s important here is that each student has something to say. Number each student 1-4. #1 reads his sentence. Students comment on what the number before them said (2 comments on 1 etc.). Finally, #1 comments on his/her sentence incorporating others’ ideas and his or her original ideas. The rule here is that there is no cross-discussion. At the end, students have an informal unstructured discussion about the topic. Gibbons recommends practicing this beforehand and debriefing after the activity the first few times trying it out.

7) Thinking sheets- is a structured way of having students make their reasoning explicit while they are engaged in cognitive tasks. It requires them to make their reasoning visible by talking through their thinking out loud. A thinking sheet is assigned to a group of 4 students and might have questions such as: 1) What are the key words in this question?  2) Write down another way of saying the same thing.   3) What mathematical processes will you need to use: _____________?  Solve this problem in a group. Write down the steps you followed as you were finding the answer. A recorder in the group should record the answers, then a reporter will share out.

As you can see, this type of learning process as shown in these examples, is much different than one dominated by teacher-directed explanation. In my next blog I will list the last of the suggested language activities.

 

 

Integrating Language Activities with Content Teaching

My previous blog shared one feature of academic language. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the other feature of academic language: Nominal Groups, as well as some language activities useful to integrate within the content.

             A Nominal Group is an extended group of words referring to a noun. An easy way to recognize a nominal group is if a group of words is easily identifiable as a pronoun, such as it, she, he, they, etc.  For example, a beast, is extended to a fearsome beast is extended to a fearsome beast with a beak…then…a fearsome beast with an 18cm beak…then…a fearsome beast with an 18cm beak, powerful wings, and a chunky neck. Etc. etc. Nominal groups create very dense pieces of language. The combination of nomianilization and nominal groups create very dense language for students.

            It’s important to help students understand and master these two features of language because:

1)   They create abstract and technical terms

2)   They “condense” information in texts thus making the information more condense and concise

3)   Allow us to talk about a general concept or phenomenon rather than the individual people and processes around an event.

By helping students to move from their “everyday” language towards becoming more literate in more complex and bigger ideas, we help students master the complexity of language.

            With that information, we can now move into classroom activities  that engage students in academic literacies. Here are some important points to remember:

·      Explicit teaching of academic language and literacy, when modeled and practiced enhances learning.

·      ELLs and other students learn best when the organization of the class includes a mix of direct instruction as well as varios groupings, like pairs, small group work, individual and student-centered work.

·      Find out what students already know and have experienced (prior knowledge).

·      Move towards complex text, don’t begin with them (as mentioned earlier).

·      Model appropriate academic language in your teaching and responses. For example, when a student says, “…it doesn’t’ stick, but when we turned the other one around, it sticks together.” You respond, “So when the magnets were facing one way, you felt the magnets attract and stick together. When you turned one of the magnets around you felt it repelling, or pushing away.”

·      Develop a metalanguage with students. (You should know this one- where students use language to talk about language.)

·      Integrate language activities with content teaching, like specific language activities within context of using language.

Here are a couple of activities that can be integrated into regular content teaching:

1)   Progressive brainstorm- a way for students to show what they already know about a topic at the beginning of a unit. It also helps build shared knowledge. Divide class into 4-5 groups. Each group has a different colored pen. Give a large piece of paper with a statement written in a circle in the middle of the paper. As a group, work together to form a semantic web. After a few minutes, rotate groups.  After rotation is complete, students should discuss what’s now written on their original paper. Each group briefly reports out. Display papers on wall for future access.

2)   Wallpapering- another way of brainstorming. Form groups of students. Give each group small pieces of paper to write one thing they know about the given topic. Papers are anonymous. Hang papers on wall. Students walk around and read and evaluate one another’s ideas. Students find at least 3 papers to comment on. Later, they share out to whole group.  

Stay tuned for my next blog with even more ideas on how to integrate language ideas into teaching content.

 

A Look into Academic Language

What has historically happened to ELL’s is that they are placed in remedial classes according to their low language abilities. According to research by Jim Cummins (1984), teachers in a Canadian study had placed many ESL students in special education classes, thinking that their academic difficulties they experienced had to do with cognitive rather than linguistic factors. Cummins argued that these students had developed conversational fluency (BICS- basic interpersonal communicative skills), which are much easier to master in everyday conversations, but had not yet developed CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency), which is the command of the academic language and register of the school. He suggests that just because L2 students can carry on a conversation in English, does not mean that they have the specific language needed to understand or be successful in school related tasks (reading, writing, vocabulary development). This study is important to recognize that ESL students’ lack of vocabulary is not indicative of level of intelligence, and they need to be challenged as much as their EO counterparts.

Supporting Cummin’s findings, Pauline Gibbons (2009) suggests that ELLs achieve at higher levels when they participate in an intellectually stimulating and challenging curriculum. Many times ELLs are not given opportunities where they are given cognitively stimulating curriculum or age appropriate content due to their lack of oral language proficiency.  To achieve higher levels, ELLs should be mainstreamed and not separated into ESL classes. Content and language cannot be separated. “…concepts and knowledge on the one hand, and subject-specific language, literacy, and vocabulary on the other, are interdependent.” (Gibbons, p.10)

            There are two features of Academic Language that make it distinctly different from the everyday face-to-face language that learners are familiar with. One feature is nominalization, which is the process of changing verbs to nouns. For example destroy becomes destruction. Pollute becomes pollution. Extinct becomes extinction, etc. The use of nominalization allows the reader/writer to focus more on key concepts or big ideas, rather than things. A sentence that reads, “When people clear the land for houses and roads they change the environment.” A nominalized sentence would read, “Clearing and development of land often results in the destruction of the natural habitat of many local species.” Nominalization can also mean changing other parts of speech to nouns. For example, “The resources were very scarce so the school closed.” as opposed to, “The scarcity of resources resulted in the closure of the school.” (p.52).

The ability to nominalize does not develop in children until about age 12 or 13 years old. You can see how this difference from the spoken to the written word can trip up ELL’s. Here are a few helpful tips relevant to all students, but most importantly for ELL’s.

·      Go from familiar and concrete to subject specific, unfamiliar and abstract.

·      Use concrete and familiar examples that link students’ personal experiences.

·      Use familiar language to talk about experiences before moving to specialized subject language.

·      Sequence your teaching and learning activities in a way that you move toward specialized language of written texts that you know the student will read, rather than having them read them at the beginning of introducing a concept.

Stay tuned for our next episode where we will take a look at another way academic language is packaged: Nominal Groups.

           

 

Literacy in the Curriculum

Moving right along…Gibbons explains the challenges teachers have in making language explicit. She gives the analogy of us teachers being the fish, and language being the ocean, and presents the idea that fish don’t recognize the water they’re swimming in. This means when we are teaching in a content area, we are not aware of making the language (the water) explicit. This usually happens in an actual language class, not in the teaching of a subject area.

            Another metaphor useful in looking at language seeing language as a window. For an English language speaker, language is transparent during instruction. For an ELL, if language is not made explicit, the window is frosted, foggy, and hazy and not easy to see through. We as teachers need to hold up our windows to the light and understand that it’s not transparent for every student. We need to remember, no matter what subject we teach, to think of ourselves as a teacher of language.

It is important to recognize the differences between spoken and written language because language varies according to the context (situational or cultural) in which it is used. The way we use language in these contexts is determined by contextual factors. Halliday and Hasan (1985) refer to these contextual factors as field, the topic of the text, tenor, the relationship between the speaker and listener, and mode, the channel of communication. Together, these constitute the “register” of the text. When children developmentally learn their first language, they are able to vary the context or register of their language depending on what situation they are in. At first children learn language from things happening in their immediate environment. As they grow older, they gradually learn the more abstract way to refer to things around them and are able to control an increasing range of registers. The registers of everyday language differ from the more difficult academic registers of the school.

The registers related to academic learning take between five and seven years for the learner to develop at a level equal to a competent native speaker of the same age.  This would mean a second language learner could be well spoken in conversational language, but develop the register associated with academic learning at a much slower rate. Referring to second language learners, Gibbons (2002) states “…they are expected not only to learn a second language but to learn in it as well, it is hardly surprising that without focused English language support they may start to fall behind their peers who are operating in a language they have been familiar with since birth.” (p. 5) This information not only solidifies the situation I see with my ESL students in the classroom, but also makes me more aware of the struggle ELLs face as they acquire vocabulary. It also reinforces the point that ,“…the less shared knowledge there is between speaker and listener (or writer and reader), the more explicit language must become.” (Gibbons, p. 48) When there is a lot of shared information, the speaker and listener share visual contact. When there are no cues for visual context, more and more information must be given through language.

Hopefully this information will help us in our teaching of ESL students!