Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Virtual Handout - Recommendations for Teachers of ELLs
Research Based Recommendations for Teachers of ELLs
“Such affective filters as low anxiety, positive motivation, and self-confidence have shown to be positively associated with second language acquisition.” Wrigley (2001)
Basic Skills for a Culturally Diverse Classroom
-Self-Awareness (of attitudes on multi-culturalism and strengths and weaknesses in working with people from different cultural backgrounds)
-An ability to communicate effectively (written, verbal, non-verbal)
-An ability to think critically, analytically, and creatively
-An ability to challenge and stimulate students to learn and apply critical thinking skills
-A sensitivity to and appreciation of individual differences
-A positive attitude
-A willingness to integrate multi-cultural perspective into the classroom and curriculum
-A willingness to strengthen curriculum bridges among home, school, and community
Irvine and Armento (2001)
Practices of Successful Teachers of Language Minority Students
-Use a variety of activities and learning opportunities for students (e.g., visuals, physical activity, and nonverbal cues).
-Encourage students to use their native languages as needed to facilitate learning and participation.
-Modify the complexity and content of the English you use so that students can understand and can participate in classroom activities.
-Encourage interaction among students; bring in older and younger, more proficient and less proficient students from other classes; and involve paraprofessionals and community members in classroom activities.
-Encourage authentic and meaningful communication and interaction about course content among students and between yourself and students.
-Hold high expectations of all students, challenging them to tackle complex concepts and requiring them to think critically, rather than eliciting one-word responses to factual questions that do not require higher order thinking.
-Build English language development into instruction, but maintain the focus of instruction and assessment on the content itself, not on English.
-Recognize student success overtly and frequently.
Wrigley (2001)
“In cooperative teams, students with lower levels of proficiency can dialogue with students with higher levels in order to negotiate the meaning of the content in a lesson.”
Cooperative Learning Includes the Following Basic Elements
-Heterogeneous groups of students with assigned roles to perform
-Lessons structured for positive interdependence among group members
-Identification and practice of specific social behaviors
-Evaluation through whole-class wrap up, individual testing, and group recognition
Wrigley (2001)
Critical Elements That Support Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
1. Culture is a powerful variable that influences teaching and learning processes.
2. The effective teaching research is compatible with and supportive of the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy.
3. Teacher knowledge and reflection are important considerations when designing and implementing a culturally responsive lesson.
4. High standards and high expectations are important components of culturally responsive pedagogy.
“It is important that teachers understand the goal of culturally responsive pedagogy is student achievement of high academic standards. Some teachers believe that their goal is simply to celebrate their students’ diverse cultural traditions. Although the celebration of diversity is a welcomed and laudatory goal, teachers must always place student achievement as the primary and essential goal.” Irvine and Armento (2001)
Ways to Help ESL Students Survive in the Content Area Classroom
Through Listening
-Record lectures on tape as you teach and give ESL students copies so they can listen to the presentation more than once. Better yet, make lessons into podcasts so they can be accessed from the internet.
-Use “advance organizers” to help students know the lesson’s focus in advance. Recap important ideas at the end of your talk.
-As you lecture, write key words so ESL students can both see and hear what you are saying.
-Use video that has English captioning or subtitles to help improve the acquisition of English reading vocabulary.
Through Speaking
-Read aloud selected passages and ask ESL students to summarize what was read. Re-read the passage to verify accuracy and details.
-Plan activities where ESL students are placed in small groups with native English speakers.
-Ask ESL students to explain how content area information will be useful in their lives.
-Set up specific purposes prior to reading text. Discuss the purpose after the material is read.
Through Reading
-Use culturally familiar texts, emphasize fluency and word recognition skills, and teach students how to resolve unknown vocabulary, ask questions, make inferences, as well as using bilingual strategies such as searching for cognates, translating, and transferring knowledge from one language to another.
-Chose native-speaking students who take effective comprehensible notes and provide them to your ESL students as study aides.
-Encourage students to use bilingual dictionaries. Introduce them to a thesaurus.
-Request content-area books be ordered for the library in students’ native languages.
-Pictures, charts, and timelines make material more “user friendly.”
Through Writing
-Have students keep a vocabulary book or glossary for each content area class. Words and their meanings should be added to this book as they are introduced.
-Dictate sentences from your content area incorporating vocabulary being studied for students to write.
-Alternate difficult activities with easier ones to all ESL students to experience early success.
-Use the cloze procedure to check ESL student’s comprehension of the content. Provide them with a passage that they have studied and leave out every fifth word. Ask students to write in the words that belong in the spaces.
-Give students opportunities to label diagrams (maps, body parts, parts of a leaf, etc.) Labeling helps students become familiar with the parts of an object as well as learning their names.
-Written exercises should be focused on the recall level of learning – for example, using who, what, when, and where. Interpretive and evaluative level questions (why and how) can be incorporated as ESL students become more proficient in English.
Wrigley (2001)
Making Language Arts Comprehensible to the English Language Learner
Respect Student Diversity
National ELA standards require a focus on the importance of native language development and promoting an understanding of, and respect for, diversity in language usage.
Select Appropriate Texts
Research into reading indicates that students use past experiences and background knowledge to make sense out of unfamiliar texts. Literature that is relevant to the life experiences and cultures of ELLs, including folk tales or myths from their first culture, can facilitate cognitive and language development. Short stories written by minority authors are also beneficial because they tend to contain themes and characters with which students from the respective cultures of these authors are familiar. Moreover, these works allow students from the majority culture the opportunity to learn from perspectives that may differ from their own.
Make Literature More Comprehensible
Give students the tools to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate a wide range of texts. Adopt instructional approaches which help make literary material more comprehensible to students and actively teach strategies that will support them in their endeavors to unlock meaning in works of literature.
Into, Through, and Beyond
Present literature in three stages: Into, Through, and Beyond.
Into – stage that occurs before reading begins. Interest students in the text and elicit prior knowledge that may be useful in interpreting the work. Use anticipation guides, introduce reading through simulation activities, or elicit predictions from students about the content and outcome of their work.
Through – students either read the text silently or listen to the reading of selected portions read aloud. By hearing the text Ells get a better sense of inflection, pronunciation, rhythm, and stress, which can aid understanding. Use of a story map graphic organizer can help students with the complexities of theme, character, and plot.
Beyond – involves students in activities that refine their thoughts and deepen their comprehension of text. Comparing a book with its film version, researching issues raised in reading and discussion, or responding through poetry or song are examples of how teachers can further student involvement with a literary work.
Wrigley (2001)
References
Irvine, Jacqueline Jordan, and Beverly Jeanne Armento. Culturally responsive teaching: lesson planning for elementary and middle grades. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print.
Wrigley, Pamela. Help! Kit: a resource guide for secondary teachers of migrant English language learners.. Oneonta, N.Y.: ESCORT, 2001. Print.
“Such affective filters as low anxiety, positive motivation, and self-confidence have shown to be positively associated with second language acquisition.” Wrigley (2001)
Basic Skills for a Culturally Diverse Classroom
-Self-Awareness (of attitudes on multi-culturalism and strengths and weaknesses in working with people from different cultural backgrounds)
-An ability to communicate effectively (written, verbal, non-verbal)
-An ability to think critically, analytically, and creatively
-An ability to challenge and stimulate students to learn and apply critical thinking skills
-A sensitivity to and appreciation of individual differences
-A positive attitude
-A willingness to integrate multi-cultural perspective into the classroom and curriculum
-A willingness to strengthen curriculum bridges among home, school, and community
Irvine and Armento (2001)
Practices of Successful Teachers of Language Minority Students
-Use a variety of activities and learning opportunities for students (e.g., visuals, physical activity, and nonverbal cues).
-Encourage students to use their native languages as needed to facilitate learning and participation.
-Modify the complexity and content of the English you use so that students can understand and can participate in classroom activities.
-Encourage interaction among students; bring in older and younger, more proficient and less proficient students from other classes; and involve paraprofessionals and community members in classroom activities.
-Encourage authentic and meaningful communication and interaction about course content among students and between yourself and students.
-Hold high expectations of all students, challenging them to tackle complex concepts and requiring them to think critically, rather than eliciting one-word responses to factual questions that do not require higher order thinking.
-Build English language development into instruction, but maintain the focus of instruction and assessment on the content itself, not on English.
-Recognize student success overtly and frequently.
Wrigley (2001)
“In cooperative teams, students with lower levels of proficiency can dialogue with students with higher levels in order to negotiate the meaning of the content in a lesson.”
Cooperative Learning Includes the Following Basic Elements
-Heterogeneous groups of students with assigned roles to perform
-Lessons structured for positive interdependence among group members
-Identification and practice of specific social behaviors
-Evaluation through whole-class wrap up, individual testing, and group recognition
Wrigley (2001)
Critical Elements That Support Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
1. Culture is a powerful variable that influences teaching and learning processes.
2. The effective teaching research is compatible with and supportive of the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy.
3. Teacher knowledge and reflection are important considerations when designing and implementing a culturally responsive lesson.
4. High standards and high expectations are important components of culturally responsive pedagogy.
“It is important that teachers understand the goal of culturally responsive pedagogy is student achievement of high academic standards. Some teachers believe that their goal is simply to celebrate their students’ diverse cultural traditions. Although the celebration of diversity is a welcomed and laudatory goal, teachers must always place student achievement as the primary and essential goal.” Irvine and Armento (2001)
Ways to Help ESL Students Survive in the Content Area Classroom
Through Listening
-Record lectures on tape as you teach and give ESL students copies so they can listen to the presentation more than once. Better yet, make lessons into podcasts so they can be accessed from the internet.
-Use “advance organizers” to help students know the lesson’s focus in advance. Recap important ideas at the end of your talk.
-As you lecture, write key words so ESL students can both see and hear what you are saying.
-Use video that has English captioning or subtitles to help improve the acquisition of English reading vocabulary.
Through Speaking
-Read aloud selected passages and ask ESL students to summarize what was read. Re-read the passage to verify accuracy and details.
-Plan activities where ESL students are placed in small groups with native English speakers.
-Ask ESL students to explain how content area information will be useful in their lives.
-Set up specific purposes prior to reading text. Discuss the purpose after the material is read.
Through Reading
-Use culturally familiar texts, emphasize fluency and word recognition skills, and teach students how to resolve unknown vocabulary, ask questions, make inferences, as well as using bilingual strategies such as searching for cognates, translating, and transferring knowledge from one language to another.
-Chose native-speaking students who take effective comprehensible notes and provide them to your ESL students as study aides.
-Encourage students to use bilingual dictionaries. Introduce them to a thesaurus.
-Request content-area books be ordered for the library in students’ native languages.
-Pictures, charts, and timelines make material more “user friendly.”
Through Writing
-Have students keep a vocabulary book or glossary for each content area class. Words and their meanings should be added to this book as they are introduced.
-Dictate sentences from your content area incorporating vocabulary being studied for students to write.
-Alternate difficult activities with easier ones to all ESL students to experience early success.
-Use the cloze procedure to check ESL student’s comprehension of the content. Provide them with a passage that they have studied and leave out every fifth word. Ask students to write in the words that belong in the spaces.
-Give students opportunities to label diagrams (maps, body parts, parts of a leaf, etc.) Labeling helps students become familiar with the parts of an object as well as learning their names.
-Written exercises should be focused on the recall level of learning – for example, using who, what, when, and where. Interpretive and evaluative level questions (why and how) can be incorporated as ESL students become more proficient in English.
Wrigley (2001)
Making Language Arts Comprehensible to the English Language Learner
Respect Student Diversity
National ELA standards require a focus on the importance of native language development and promoting an understanding of, and respect for, diversity in language usage.
Select Appropriate Texts
Research into reading indicates that students use past experiences and background knowledge to make sense out of unfamiliar texts. Literature that is relevant to the life experiences and cultures of ELLs, including folk tales or myths from their first culture, can facilitate cognitive and language development. Short stories written by minority authors are also beneficial because they tend to contain themes and characters with which students from the respective cultures of these authors are familiar. Moreover, these works allow students from the majority culture the opportunity to learn from perspectives that may differ from their own.
Make Literature More Comprehensible
Give students the tools to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate a wide range of texts. Adopt instructional approaches which help make literary material more comprehensible to students and actively teach strategies that will support them in their endeavors to unlock meaning in works of literature.
Into, Through, and Beyond
Present literature in three stages: Into, Through, and Beyond.
Into – stage that occurs before reading begins. Interest students in the text and elicit prior knowledge that may be useful in interpreting the work. Use anticipation guides, introduce reading through simulation activities, or elicit predictions from students about the content and outcome of their work.
Through – students either read the text silently or listen to the reading of selected portions read aloud. By hearing the text Ells get a better sense of inflection, pronunciation, rhythm, and stress, which can aid understanding. Use of a story map graphic organizer can help students with the complexities of theme, character, and plot.
Beyond – involves students in activities that refine their thoughts and deepen their comprehension of text. Comparing a book with its film version, researching issues raised in reading and discussion, or responding through poetry or song are examples of how teachers can further student involvement with a literary work.
Wrigley (2001)
References
Irvine, Jacqueline Jordan, and Beverly Jeanne Armento. Culturally responsive teaching: lesson planning for elementary and middle grades. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print.
Wrigley, Pamela. Help! Kit: a resource guide for secondary teachers of migrant English language learners.. Oneonta, N.Y.: ESCORT, 2001. Print.
Corrupt El Paso Superintendent
During his time in power, El Paso Public Schools superintendent Lorenzo Garcia sought to identify struggling students who hurt the district’s ratings and then worked to push them out of the system.
At a time when efforts to reverse the dismal high school graduation rates of Latino students is a national education discussion, Garcia was actively pursuing the opposite agenda. In 2011, about 83 percent of El Paso students were Latino. The former Texas superintendent recently pleaded guilty to fraud and now possibly faces several years of jail time, reports The Associated Press.
He resorted to practices including having staff photograph students crossing the border from Mexico to attend the school district, and then seeking to remove those who were not performing well. He used assessments to identify freshmen at risk of failing state exams. He also held back high school freshmen who were limited English proficient, had attendance issues or had bad grades. Students were urged to leave school or transfer to charter schools.
Once the students were gone, test scores rose because the most at-risk students were gone and no longer able to impact the ratings. As a result, the district’s rating improved from “Academically Acceptable” to a “Recognized” rating. The district also became eligible for more federal funding.
Former Texas State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh was the one who finally brought attention to the practices after hearing complaints from parents. The El Paso Times newspaper also played a key role by requesting correspondence between the school district and federal officials, which exposed the scandal.
Former student Roger Avalos, one of the dropouts, is happy to see Garcia facing prison time. He is taking classes to earn his GED while working at a cowboy boot factory.
“Justice would be getting my high school diploma, a picture with the cap and gown,” said the now 21-year-old.
Have you heard of school officials urging students at risk of failing accountability exams to transfer to charter schools? Do school officials find struggling students worth helping, or do they give up on them and instead focus on helping more borderline students?
Related Links:
- “El Paso school district seeks to rebuild after fraudulent testing practices by administrators.” The Associated Press.
- “Eliot Shapleigh: Former EPISD superintendent deserves harsh sentence.” El Paso Times.
Retrieved from http://latinoedbeat.org/tag/el-paso/
At a time when efforts to reverse the dismal high school graduation rates of Latino students is a national education discussion, Garcia was actively pursuing the opposite agenda. In 2011, about 83 percent of El Paso students were Latino. The former Texas superintendent recently pleaded guilty to fraud and now possibly faces several years of jail time, reports The Associated Press.
He resorted to practices including having staff photograph students crossing the border from Mexico to attend the school district, and then seeking to remove those who were not performing well. He used assessments to identify freshmen at risk of failing state exams. He also held back high school freshmen who were limited English proficient, had attendance issues or had bad grades. Students were urged to leave school or transfer to charter schools.
Once the students were gone, test scores rose because the most at-risk students were gone and no longer able to impact the ratings. As a result, the district’s rating improved from “Academically Acceptable” to a “Recognized” rating. The district also became eligible for more federal funding.
Former Texas State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh was the one who finally brought attention to the practices after hearing complaints from parents. The El Paso Times newspaper also played a key role by requesting correspondence between the school district and federal officials, which exposed the scandal.
Former student Roger Avalos, one of the dropouts, is happy to see Garcia facing prison time. He is taking classes to earn his GED while working at a cowboy boot factory.
“Justice would be getting my high school diploma, a picture with the cap and gown,” said the now 21-year-old.
Have you heard of school officials urging students at risk of failing accountability exams to transfer to charter schools? Do school officials find struggling students worth helping, or do they give up on them and instead focus on helping more borderline students?
Related Links:
- “El Paso school district seeks to rebuild after fraudulent testing practices by administrators.” The Associated Press.
- “Eliot Shapleigh: Former EPISD superintendent deserves harsh sentence.” El Paso Times.
Retrieved from http://latinoedbeat.org/tag/el-paso/
Monday, October 1, 2012
Making Language Arts Comprehensible to the English Language Learner
Making Language Arts Comprehensible to the English Language Learner
Respect Student Diversity
National ELA standards require a focus on the importance of native language development and promoting an understanding of, and respect for, diversity in language usage.
Select Appropriate Texts
Research into reading indicates that students use past experiences and background knowledge to make sense out of unfamiliar texts. Literature that is relevant to the life experiences and cultures of ELLs, including folk tales or myths from their first culture, can facilitate cognitive and language development. Short stories written by minority authors are also beneficial because they tend to contain themes and characters with which students from the respective cultures of these authors are familiar. Moreover, these works allow students from the majority culture the opportunity to learn from perspectives that may differ from their own.
Make Literature More Comprehensible
Give students the tools to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate a wide range of texts. Adopt instructional approaches which help make literary material more comprehensible to students and actively teach strategies that will support them in their endeavors to unlock meaning in works of literature.
Into, Through, and Beyond
Present literature in three stages: Into, Through, and Beyond.
Into – stage that occurs before reading begins. Interest students in the text and elicit prior knowledge that may be useful in interpreting the work. Use anticipation guides, introduce reading through simulation activities, or elicit predictions from students about the content and outcome of their work.
Through – students either read the text silently or listen to the reading of selected portions read aloud. By hearing the text Ells get a better sense of inflection, pronunciation, rhythm, and stress, which can aid understanding. Use of a story map graphic organizer can help students with the complexities of theme, character, and plot.
Beyond – involves students in activities that refine their thoughts and deepen their comprehension of text. Comparing a book with its film version, researching issues raised in reading and discussion, or responding through poetry or song are examples of how teachers can further student involvement with a literary work.
Summarized from: The Help! Kit: A Resource Guide for Secondary Teachers of Migrant English Language Learners
Respect Student Diversity
National ELA standards require a focus on the importance of native language development and promoting an understanding of, and respect for, diversity in language usage.
Select Appropriate Texts
Research into reading indicates that students use past experiences and background knowledge to make sense out of unfamiliar texts. Literature that is relevant to the life experiences and cultures of ELLs, including folk tales or myths from their first culture, can facilitate cognitive and language development. Short stories written by minority authors are also beneficial because they tend to contain themes and characters with which students from the respective cultures of these authors are familiar. Moreover, these works allow students from the majority culture the opportunity to learn from perspectives that may differ from their own.
Make Literature More Comprehensible
Give students the tools to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate a wide range of texts. Adopt instructional approaches which help make literary material more comprehensible to students and actively teach strategies that will support them in their endeavors to unlock meaning in works of literature.
Into, Through, and Beyond
Present literature in three stages: Into, Through, and Beyond.
Into – stage that occurs before reading begins. Interest students in the text and elicit prior knowledge that may be useful in interpreting the work. Use anticipation guides, introduce reading through simulation activities, or elicit predictions from students about the content and outcome of their work.
Through – students either read the text silently or listen to the reading of selected portions read aloud. By hearing the text Ells get a better sense of inflection, pronunciation, rhythm, and stress, which can aid understanding. Use of a story map graphic organizer can help students with the complexities of theme, character, and plot.
Beyond – involves students in activities that refine their thoughts and deepen their comprehension of text. Comparing a book with its film version, researching issues raised in reading and discussion, or responding through poetry or song are examples of how teachers can further student involvement with a literary work.
Summarized from: The Help! Kit: A Resource Guide for Secondary Teachers of Migrant English Language Learners
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