Week 8: Blog Reflections

Hello Everyone,
I like learning new things and switching things up!  This was a great experience for me.  It is a bit more troublesome to "read up" on everyone, but I'm glad we did it!  There are more things I would like to learn about the design features.  I really liked some of your designs but didn't know how to go about doing them.  The comments were all thought provoking and it is always helpful to collaborate with other teachers in other districts/schools!  I can see using a Blog for other things too.  I would like to use Kid Blog too, something I need to investigate a bit more.  Best wishes to you all and thank you for sharing your expertise!
Anna

Week 6: Supports and Challenges (Entry #9)

Fiction:	Feature:	Supports:	Challenges:
The Cinnamon Bun Mystery By Susan Markowitz Meredith Level J Leveled Reader (End of 1st grade)	Illustration	The illustrations support the text.  The illustrations of this story will help the reader with picture clues.
	Dialogue		I think understanding the dialogue back and forth between the daughter and father may be confusing.  I find that using different people to “read the parts” can be helpful, but this will still be a challenge.
	Vocabulary	Pre-teaching vocabulary will be necessary and would help support.	The vocabulary in this story could be a challenge.  Words like “bakery, cinnamon bun, polka-dot” may be unknown and will need introduced before reading the story.
	Phrasing:  “I want the usual…”		This may not be a familiar phrase and will require explanation.
	Sequence	The sequence of events is logical and students will be able to follow what is happening.  One event clearly leads to the next of this mystery.
	Plot		The idea of following someone to get a cinnamon roll is a bit of a silly idea.  So, the overall plot of the story may be difficult to grasp.
Non-Fiction:
True or False Mammals By Melvin and Gilda Berger	Photographs	This book has photographs that support the factual information and show the various animals in their natural habitats.
	Format	The physical layout and nature of this book is a fun, game like way to learn about different mammals.  It poses a statement like, “All mammals live on land.”  “True or False” – turning the page to reveal the answer with an explanation and a support picture.
	Facts	Most of the facts have a relevant photo to help support.
	Vocabulary		“Carnivores, Herbivores, Omnivores” and some of the names of mammals may result in students having trouble understanding the text.  Again, pre-teaching of  the key vocabulary will be important.
	Index	The index is a quick way to go back and find specific information.  I think this is helpful for referencing and for students to recheck information.

Week 5: Sheltered Literacy Lesson (Entry #8)

Here are my thoughts and observations on the sheltered literacy lesson.

Before Reading - 
       During this stage of the lesson, the teacher gives very explicit objectives on what the students will learn in the lesson.  She gives the objective orally as well as visually.  This way the students are able to hear and see what is expected of them. 
       In addition, the teacher goes through vocabulary that the students may encounter in the reading.  She engages them in their ideas of what the words may mean, and encourages their answers as she restates them in another way. She provides photographs to help them understand the new vocabulary as well.
     Before reading the text, the teacher gives a brief summary of what the students are about to read.  This gives them a bit of background and basis to help them understand the reading.  She allows the students to share any background or cultural experiences that may relate to the story; thus, building more background for the students.

During Reading -
      During this section of the lesson, the teacher  provides clear pronunciation of the reading as she clearly reads the text and has students either follow her in their own book or on the display on the overhead.  I like that she displayed it for the students to see and follow along as she is able to point out specific words and phrases that she wishes to further explore with her students on the overhead (so she creates a visual again).  While she reads, she stops to review and model strategies and have her students infer and restate what is happening.
       An important part of getting students to engage in the reading is by giving them plenty of "wait time."  As seen, this teacher allows that time and her students are able to formulate a response and effectively communicate with the class.  The teacher refers to earlier lessons and discussions helping the students make these connections for understanding.
     The teacher also asks a question of the them and their culture that may be unfamiliar to her, giving her students to share in their native language.  These connections allow students to use their background knowledge and connect to the new text.  

After Reading -
    This is where the teacher brings it all together and has the students active in restating various pieces that fit within the beginning objective.  She guides students to look at the board and find an example of each of the previously discussed objectives.  Through the use of Post-It notes, students can jot their answers down to be put on a visual diary to refer to at a later time in the reading.  This teacher constantly reviews different ideas, vocabulary words and concepts; thus, supporting the fact that repetition and review in this manner help student engagement and understanding.

Reflections - 
     As with any lesson, it is important for teachers to debrief.  What was the success of the lesson?  What could be done differently to help my students understand and connect to the text.

This video provided a great model of sheltering the lesson.  Although, this is meant for ELL students, many of these ideas I also use in helping my lower comprehension kids make sense of the text.  This video was a great resource to support the reading this week.

Week 4: Running Record/Miscue Analysis (Entry #7)

     In conducting the running records this week, I found that a child's first language plays a part but more due to vocabulary and the lack of background knowledge.  
     The first child I had read to me was a kindergartener.  This student speaks Turkish at home; however, he is pretty fluent in English and reads at a mid to end of year first grade reading level.   He read a book called Grasshopper's Gross Lunch (DRA 14).  He read this book with 94% accuracy at a 1:16 error rate and a 1:12 self-correction rate.  He had trouble with different tenses of the word "graze." In these instances, I saw the errors as "Meaning" and "Syntax."  He pronounced the "a" as a short vowel.  This seems to be a word he was not familiar with, so preteaching vocabulary would be a useful strategy.  
     Another, interesting error happened near the end of the story.  He had been reading the word "Grasshopper" just fine up until the end he said, "Grass-shopper."  To which he commented, "Ha, that's funny a grass-shopper."  Thus, he didn't realize it was the same "grasshopper" he had been reading all along.  In speaking with this young reader, I asked him how he learned to read.  He said he taught himself to read.  Verifying with the teacher, the parents expressed to her that in fact one day when they were looking at books he started to read.  This student has not yet been taught digraphs, and for him to read the "sh" is quite interesting.  A teaching point for this student would be to look at compound words and syllables.  I would also review digraphs.  Although he is reading at a first grade instructional level, he is missing some key foundational phonic principles. These concepts still need to be taught to him to give him a strong base for future reading.
     The second running record was on a Spanish speaking kindergarten girl.  She read two books to me from her "Book Bag."  The first she was pretty familiar with and read at a 90% accuracy rate.  The miscues made were on the proper name, "Mark" and she read "cars" for "carts" and "be/p/p" for "pass."  To help with this confusion, this student could still use practice with letter recognition, especially "b,p,d."  
      I had her read another story that she wasn't so familiar with that she read at a 77% accuracy rate.  This was a 1:4 error rate with zero self corrections.  Most of the miscues on this read were for "Meaning" and "Syntax."  She did well with getting the first sound of the words she missed but seemed to guess or wanted to give up on the rest of the word.  For example, she read: "time" for "team,"  "names" for "needs," "ch/ee" for "they," and "bi/bits/bit" for "boat." She would consistently go back and reread to try to help her figure out the word, but didn't seem to notice that it didn't make sense.  Her next teaching point would be to read through the word she doesn't know to see if by "leap frog" she can figure it out.  I would want to teach her to stop and ask herself, "Did that make sense?"  I would also continue to work with double vowels, as in the Spanish language this concept doesn't exist.  So, teaching her these rules would help as she seemed to get stuck every time two vowels were present.  Thus, I would count this as a "Visual" cue as well.  This would help as she clearly got stuck and wanted to give up after getting the first sound of these words. Knowing this about the Spanish language is definitely beneficial to the teacher as the "Visual" miscue may be overlooked.
     I think that it is important that the background knowledge is given for our ELL students and younger students.  Words that we take for granted may not be known words.  It is important to be constantly checking for understanding and helping our students build the vocabulary needed to comprehend the text.  I think an extra challenge for ELL students is also syntax, because if they are not used to speaking the language, they are unaware if something "sounds right" or not.  We cannot fix what we don't realize is wrong.  To help with this I think conversing and reading aloud are the best ways to combat this problem; thus, giving students as much exposure as possible.

Week 3: Learning vs. Acquisition (Entry #6)

Learning vs. Acquisition Survey:

The Students:
L -look up words in the dictionary to write definitions
A -make a Venn diagram to compare two stories
L -practice sounding out words
L -read in round-robin fashion
L -correct peers when they make a mistake during reading
A -identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound
A -group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter
L/A -write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound
L -ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know
A -read a language experience story they have created with the teacher
A -work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences
L -divide words into syllables
L -on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound
A -make alphabet books on different topics

The Teacher:
L -pre-teaches vocabulary
A -does a shared reading with a big book
L -makes sure that students read only books that fit their level
L -has students segment words into phonemes
A -writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words
A -asks students to look around the room and find words with a certain letter
L -uses decodable texts
A -sets aside time for SSR each day
L -teaches Latin and Greek roots
L -has students meet in literature circles
L -conducts phonics drills
L -chooses predictable texts
L/A -teaches students different comprehension strategies
L -does a picture walk of a new book
L -uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills


I completed this activity on the basis of whether the individual activity would be more "skill and drill" or more "hands-on."  Some activities I could see the students more involved in talking with each other and being engaged in the activity; thus, they are putting what they know into action and  trying to understand and really submerge themselves in the activity/language.  The other activities (what I viewed as learned) I viewed as the teacher giving explicit, direct and systematic instruction.

Freeman, D. &. (2004). Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach: reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, grammar. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Week 2: Book Review (Entry #5)

    The first book I chose to review is called My Teacher's My Friend by P.K. Hallinan.  This is a cute rhyming story about how a teacher helps the students throughout the day. It details the variety of roles she facilitates and the activities the students participate in throughout the day, like singing songs, saying the pledge of allegiance, painting with sponges, and consoling teary students.

      The obstacles to comprehension for an ELL student would be:

1. Word Choice:  The word "chimes" is used in reference to the teacher joining in on their singing.  This word is most likely unknown or if it is known, the student would be visualizing musical chimes (the instrument).  

• During reading of this book, it would be important to demonstrate the two different meanings of this word and explain that in this case it means to "join in."  I would bring a set of chimes in as well and let the students play them, because chances are this word as a whole would be unknown.  I would demonstrate the 2 meanings:  One, by playing the instrument and two, by asking who would want to "chime in" while I sang the ABC song.

         Word Choice:  Another word that is used that has a double meaning is "observe."

• For this word, I would have two volunteers from the class come up and I would dress them up to look like a pilgrim or Indian.  I would have the children say what holiday are they celebrating if they were to dress in this way.  I would explain that they are "observing" the holiday we call Thanksgiving.  I would draw their attention to the picture on this page and say, "These children are also observing or celebrating a special day."

     2.  Cultural Ideas:  This book mentions, "We pledge our allegiance with our hands on our  hearts."    Assuming this would be a beginning of the year read aloud, ELL students would not yet be familiar with saying the pledge.   "Thanksgiving" would also be a concept.

• This concept would be modeled daily as part of the morning routine.  I would partner an ELL student with an English speaking student so they could help lead by example as the whole class learns this procedure.

     3.  General Ideas:  "We paint pictures with sponges of all different shapes."  Using a sponge for another purpose my be a new concept as one normally paints with a brush.

• I would have a normal sponge to pass around.  I would pass it around and have the students feel this.  I would ask if they have seen a sponge used in their house before.  Next, I would pass around a sponge in a different shape.  I would ask how that kind of sponge could be used.  I would like to have a painting activity later in the day that would include this activity.  I would model how to paint with the sponge and refer back to the book.

     4.   Expressions:  "But then it's our 'busy bee' time of the day, when everyone goes there own separate way."  Expressions like "busy bee" would be unknown.

•  Explain that just like bees, they have different jobs to be assigned.  I would show a clip of working bees and show how "busy" they are.  In relation to the various jobs, I would assign partners in the beginning until the jobs are learned.  Once it is understood, they could do their "busy bee" job on their own.

My second book choice is The Statue of Liberty by Lucille Recht Penner. This is a non-fiction story about the Statue of Liberty.

     1.  Geographical Terms:  "A lady stands in New York Harbor."

• I would use pictures and maps to show where New York is in comparison to Colorado. 

      2.  Word Choice:  "She is as tall as a skyscraper."

•  I would show photos of skyscrapers.  I would have them stand up and stretch to the sky standing on their tiptoes to reach the sky.  Starting low to the ground we would grow taller and taller as we say,  "Skyscrapers reach high, high up to the sky."  We would do this several times to demonstrate this. 

     3.  Different Meaning:  "lady" in reference to statue.

• Students may know the word lady but may be confused by the reference to the statue.  I would refer to the students in the class that may have a nickname.  Using this as an example, I would explain the Lady Liberty is a nickname for the Statue of Liberty.  Sometimes there is more than one way to say the same thing.

     4.   Idea:  That people traveled in crowded conditions for a better life.

• I would have a small area taped out on the floor.  During this portion of the book I would have students all gather in the space and explain that they are "crowded" together.  As an extension, this could be made into a game by using smaller areas of space and eliminating children who no longer "fit" when the space shrinks. 

In reviewing these two books, there are many ideas, words and concepts that would hinder the comprehension of an ELL student.  This is important to be aware of as we plan our lessons.  More explanation, more visual aids and more time are some important considerations to help these students.

Week 2: Let's Decode an Unfamiliar Text (Entry 4)

     In trying to decide what text to review, the first thing that came to mind was the multiple number of dual language manuals we receive.  I received a Nuwave oven for Christmas and remember seeing in the instruction manual a section in Spanish - recipes and all!  So, I decided to give reading Spanish a try.  Trying to read this section of the manual proved to be very difficult considering my extent of Spanish is counting (from one to ten) and saying "good night" and "good bye."  In my attempt to make meaning, I could identify a few words that were close to English.  Words like:  "importantes,"  "instrucciones," "producto," and "electrocucion." I could assume these words meant important, instructions, product and electrocution or shock respectively.  But, even though I could pick out a few words here and there, I could not fully understand this text.  There are pictures and diagrams throughout the text and this helps immensely in understanding the main idea of the page.  For example, there is a special instruction page (see below) about making  a pizza and through the photos and the few words I am able to understand, I think I have an adequate understanding of this page.

     
     However, without the photos I would be at a loss.  In sum, the strategies I used to try to decipher the text were as follows:

• find similar words that are familiar to English
• use diagrams or photos
• ask for help (my daughters are almost fluent in Spanish) 

     I can see where without some direct/guided instruction it is difficult to "make sense" of another unfamiliar language.  This experiment made clear that when students are in the Pre-production or Early Production stage, teachers must rely on pointing, circling and using pictures.  (Hill, 2006)  This text also makes clear the importance of knowing the child's stage of acquisition in order to provide appropriate teaching methods.  Knowing the strategies is key to helping these students become successful.

Bibliography:
   

Hill, J. &. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with english language learners. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

     On a side note:  In completing this assignment and in speaking with my colleagues, I have found a few more charts that I find useful.  I will attach them to the Regis discussion forum for anyone interested.