1.
a.
i. Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of
communication
1. Language is comprised of 5 subsystems:
Phonology- sound system
Morphology- word parts
Semantics- lexicon discourse
Syntax- sentences
Pragmatics- social use
Children’s language is different than that of an adult
ii. Literacy- the ability to read and write
b. In order for the growing child to interact with the world around him/her, language is
necessary. “A lot of what we know and learn about the world, we have learned from
reading” and we are able to express it through writing.
c. As a teacher, I will create a space full of print rich materials, emphasize cooperation and
collaboration, and integrating reading and writing in all areas,
2.
a. 21st century learners- They are students who are shaped by the environment containing
media rich materials that are immediate, fast, engaging, dynamic and instant. It’s electronic and digital
becoming a communication medium with instant gratification.
b.
1. Benefits: The computer or i-pad is a wonderful tool instead of handwriting to aid
students who need spelling or handwriting assistance. Many repetitive word games can help a
student practice vocabulary, and reading skills. Devices such as spell check can instantly correct
a misspelled word. Students who have troubled reading can use audio books as an alternative.
2. Challenges: Emphasis on handwriting skills has decreased, and typing has become
typical. Students then become dependent on technology for their grammar, spelling, and writing
skills. E- books can take the place of regular books.
c.
1.
1. Parents should be encouraged to use and develop children’s home language; early
childhood educators should respect children’s linguistic and cultural backgrounds and their
diverse learning styles.
Some children may experience a silent period (of six or more months) while they acquire
English; other children may practice their knowledge by mixing or combining languages; still
other children may seem to have acquired English-language skills (appropriate accent, use of
vernacular, vocabulary, and grammatical rules) but are not truly proficient; yet some children
will quickly acquire English-language proficiency. Each child’s way of learning a new language
should be viewed as acceptable, logical, and part of the ongoing development and learning of
any new language.
Refugee students- Identify with a certain culture. This culture may have been taken
from them but they may still identify with it.
Native born studentsDon’t assume they identify with their native culture and give them the
opportunity to explain who they are and how they’d like to be identified.
“Language is a reflection of culture.”
d. Understanding ELL learners
i. Sociocultural theory:
1. From this perspective, mental functioning of the individual is not simply
derived from social interaction; rather, the specific structures and
processes revealed by individuals can be traced to their interactions
with others.
2. “Because knowledge is not internalized directly but through the use of
psychological tools, the task of childhood is to discover, acquire, and recreate tools of meaning makers form the preceding generations.”
ii. SLA—second language acquistion
1. Comprehension phase
a. Comprehension precedes production (pre-Bics)- Basic
interpersonal communication skills)
b. Silent period
2. Early speech
a. Production must be able to emerge in stages (bics)
i.
3. Speech emergence
a. Curriculum needs- based on communicative goals (calps)
i. Not a push for grammar,
4. Towards full production
a. Classroom activities are designed to lower the affective filter
e.
1. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
2. Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968
3. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare - May 25
Memorandum (1970)
4. Supreme Court - Lau v. Nichols (1974)
5. Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974
6. Fifth Circuit Court - Castañeda v. Pickard (1981)
7. Supreme Court - Plyler v. Doe (1981)
8. Congress - Civil Rights Restoration (1988)
9. Office for Civil Rights - Enforcement Policy of 1991
10. Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons With
Limited English Proficiency (2000)
11. Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act of 2001 - No Child
Left Behind
f.
i. The primary goal of bilingual education is not necessarily to teach English or a
second language, but to teach children concepts, knowledge, and skills through
the language they know best and reinforce this information through the second
language.
ii. It preserves the students culture
iii. When schools provide children quality education in their primary language, they
give them two things: knowledge and literacy. The knowledge that children get
through their first language helps make the English they hear and read more
comprehensible. Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the
second language. The reason is simple: Because we learn to read by reading –
that is, by making sense of what is on the page (Smith, 1994) – it is easier to
learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language,
we can read in general.
1. “It’s predicted that in 202 a quarter of US school children will speak a
language other than English.”
2. “It’s suggested by 2050 the number of Latino students will surpass their
non-Hispanic European American peers.
g.
i. Specialist have an area of specialty that they may exceed the classroom teacher
on and can work one on one with individuals getting different and further
insight on specific students
ii.
1. It is important to collaborate with the specialist to gain new insights and
perspectives on students.
2. By establishing consistent meeting times, specialists and classroom
teachers can share their insights and together come up with a
curriculum that incorporates both of the teacher’s ideas.
2.
a.
i. A fund of knowledge is knowledge that students already possess that has been
acquire through culture, books, etc..
ii. CLD students have come from many different experiences, backgrounds and
cultures that sometimes challenge the norm.
1. “Our ability to recognize the bi-literate potential of all k-12 children as
an untapped source of national strength, security and pride.”
b.
i. Sheltered instruction/scaffolding:
1. A teaching style founded on the concept of providing meaningful
instruction in the content areas for transitioning Limited English
Proficient (LEP) students towards higher academic achievement while
they reach English fluency.
2. Instead of providing watered down curriculum for LEP student,
sheltered instruction allows for the content to be equal to that of native
English speakers while improving their grasp of the language. The
teacher provides varied methods of instruction that allow students to
create meaning of multifaceted content in classroom discussion,
activities, reading and writing. Teachers’ scaffold- calling on a number of
different instruction methods such as the use of socialization practices
to allow the content to be more accessible.
ii. Features of inclusive lesson plans
1.
a. Provide equity for each student by acknowledging who they are
and what and how they need to learn successfully.
b. Fostering a sense of acceptance and openness in the classroom
towards all students and the students towards each other
c. Making them feel part of the room.. Posters, maps, so they can
see themselves in the classroom.
d. Embrace the diversity.. Weekly share day
e. Make conscious choices about the books read and try to avoid
stereotypical portraits of a culture.
i. Scaffold book choices
f. Use different modalities to teachg. Peer-partner to assist
iii. How they will positively impact students
1.
a. They will feel supported in their learning
b. They will see the diversity in the classroom.
c. Generate a community feeling
c.
i. Parents/guardians are the CLD students’ first teachers.
1. Students’ observe and learn how to behave from their caregivers.
2. Caregivers become role-models for the babies.
3. Teach them basic life skills.
ii. Work together
a. “Many families from diverse backgrounds are not taught the
school cultural of communication and collaboration and
therefore these families feel unsure of how to actively
participate in their children’s education at the school site.”
i. Create clear ways for participation
2. Parents know their children best and see their good/bad
3. Parents have a major influence on their child’s impression of school and
learning
3.
a. Mentee/Tutee:
i. Who: Joendry- a 3rd grade boy from Dominican Republic with little English
ii. What: working with Joendry one-on-one using read aloud, and games to
facilitate his learning
iii. Where: BJM
iv. When: In the mornings on Monday, and Wednesday of July 2013
v. Why: To learn to see where each student is during their second language
acquisition and understand their needs as a learner.
vi. How: Using books, games and in-class discussion
b.
i. I learned that establishing a trust and openness with this student, gave him the
confidence to take risks in acquiring the English language.
ii. I also learned that the work needed to encapsulate his own interest and
personality or he would lose interest.
c.
i. I need to take into consideration who each student is by identifying their
individual interests and background.
ii. Using various modalities to teach and to assess students showed pivotal when I
incorporated drawing and games; a love of my mentee.
4.
a. The physical environment
i. I will arrange my classroom
1. Desks together in groups
2. Circle area for morning meetings/Dual reading area
a. Books categorized around the room by reading level/topic
3. Sensory play area/science—water, rice, play dough, blocks
a. Words around the area
b. Tools- measuring cups, funnels, measuring tape, timer, scale,
microscope, magnified glass, white boards
4. Art space
a. Easel, Pencils, markers, letters, clipboards,
5. Computer area
6. Physical space- balls, bean bags
ii.
1. Physical tools
a. Computers, measuring cups, funnels, measuring tape, timer,
scale, microscope, magnified glass, white boards, clock
2. Psychological tools
a. Self-control, social engaged, perseverance, curiosity,
acceptance, respect
iii. Texts and resources
1. Picture books (Caldecott winners)
a. The Girl Who Love Horses By Paul Goble
b. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
c. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pickney
d. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
e. A Chair for my mother by Vera B. Williams
2. Easy readers series
a. Little Bear
b. Henry and Mudge
c. Frog and Toad
d. Dr. Suess
3. Novel (Newbury winners)
a. Shiloh
b. Julie of the Wolves
c. The Giver
d. The tale of Desperauesx By Kate Dicamillo
e. Hatchett
4. Poetry
a. Shel Silverstein
b. Maya Angelou
c. Poems to learn by Heart- Caroline Kennedy
5. Plays
a. Readers theatre
i. Multi-cultural tales
ii. Tall tales
6. Epics, Legends & Myths
a. D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths By: Ingri d'Aulaire
b. The book of nature myths
7. Songs
a. Frog Trouble By Sandra Boyton
b. The Great Big Book of Children’s Songs
c. Rise up Singing
8. Magazines
a. Ask
b. Kids Discover
c. Faces
d. Ranger Rick
9. Newspapers
a. Time for Kids
10. Reference books
a. The New Way things Work by David MacAulay
b. Nat Geo Kids Almanac
11. Informational books
a.
12. Movies
a. Nat Geo
13. Art work
a. Picasso
b. Kahlo
c. Riveria
d. Goldsworthy
e. Bearden
14. Educational games
a. Boggle
b. Zingo
c. Silly sentences
b. The social-emotional motivational context:
i. Rules I’ll implement to create an inclusive, safe, supportive, and communal
environment:
1. Embrace student differences- student and teacher
a. I love how Jamie writes long descriptive sentences and Tami is
clear and direct.
2. Meet students where they are with their learning and give them
appropriate tasks.
3. Give students praise and things to work on
4. Have books that represent student interests and also act like a mirror to
the students and/or a window into other ways of life
5. Be a role-model to the students and how they need to treat each other
6. Collaboration
7. Feel accepted by their teachers and peers.
8. Feel a sense of safety and order because academic expectations,
instructions, and purpose for assignments are clear.
9. Feel confident in their ability to complete tasks successfully.
10. See value in the learning activities.
c.
i.
ii. Balanced approach to reading:
1. Balanced Reading Approach includes the components of
a. Read Aloud,
b. Shared Reading,
c. Guided Reading,
d.
e.
Literacy Work Stations,
Independent Reading.
iii.
1. Balanced Writing approach
a. Shared Writing
b. Interactive Writing
c. Guided writing
d. Writing Workshop
e. Independent writing
iv. Exhibit and nurture cultural sensitivity and literacy for your students
1. Appropriate books,
v. Content area literacy
1. "Content area literacy is a cognitive and social practice involving the
ability and desire to read, comprehend, critique and write about
multiple forms of print.
2.
a. Carry books/newspaper/etc. in the given content area
b. Word walls
c. Think a louds
d. Graphic organizers
vi.
1. Common Core- Common Core State Standards are standards that
address the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality
education. It should be clear to every student, parent, and teacher what
the standards of success are in every school.
2.
a. Reading literature
b. Reading informational text
c. Reading; foundational skills
i. These standards are directed toward fostering students’
understanding and working knowledge of concepts of
print, the alphabetic principle, and other basic
conventions of the English writing system. These
foundational skills are not an end in and of themselves;
rather, they are necessary and important components
of an effective, comprehensive reading program
designed to develop proficient readers with the capacity
to comprehend texts across a range of types and
disciplines
d. The Reading Process:
i. What is the nature of the reading process?
1. Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the text and the
reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences,
attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially
situated. The reading process requires continuous practice,
development, and refinement.
ii. What competencies are drawn on in this complex psycho-sociolinguistic
activity?
1.
Building the Literacy Foundation
a. Building blocks of reading
i. 1.Phonemic Awareness: the ability to hear, identify, and
manipulate the individual sounds or phonemes in
spoken words
ii. 2.Phonics: the understanding that there is a predictable
relationship between phonemes (the sounds of spoken
language) and graphemes (the letters and spellings that
represent those sounds in written language)
iii. 3.Fluency: the word for being able to read quickly and
accurately
iv. Fluent readers recognize words automatically.
v. 4.Vocabulary: the name for the words we must know in
order to listen, speak, read, and write effectively
vi. 5.Comprehension: understanding what we read
b. Needs of the beginning reader
i. To become phonemically aware
ii. Understand phonics
iii. Become fluent
iv. Learn vocab
v. Comprehend texts
1. “Children who are going to become readers
must view reading as its own reward.”
c. Activities
i. Making a sandwich
ii. Word wall
iii. Rhyming
iv. Guess the covered word
Words, Words, Words
a. You have to know what words sound like and what they mean to become fluent and
therefore comprehend reading
b. By hearing them, and reading them many times (word wall)
a. Recognizing
b. Saying
c. writing
c.
a. Lexical elements and words make up the English language
i. Consonant
ii. Consonant blends
iii. Short vowels/long vowels
iv. Diagraphs
b. Crack the code and develop fluency
i. Sight words
ii. Fifty nifty
iii. Tricks
1. Silent e is a ninja
d. Strategies for unknown words
i. Finding rhyming words of known words
ii. Produce a pronunciation that matches that of a real word that is
known
iii. Search mental word bank for similar letter patterns and sounds
associated with them.
iv. Look for familiar morphemes, and chunk the word by putting letters
together that usually work together
Activities for word making or vocab building
b. Yarn- use vocabulary words to spin tales.
c. Word cards
d. Read my mind
e.
a. Content Vocabulary development is essential to reading and writing
because it promotes comprehension of the material. If the student is able to
understand what he or she is reading, they will want to read and write more
because it will become easier and more enjoyable.
b. Anticipation guide- guess yes or no, ten important words,
preview/predict/confirm
5. Comprehension and Meaning Making
a. reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you are reading.
b. Factors influence children’s understanding of text?
i. calling up and connecting relevant prior knowledge
ii. Predicting what will happen
iii. Visualizing what the experiences will look like/feel like
iv. Determining the most important ideas/events
v. Drawing conclusions based on the text
vi. Evaluating and making judgments on what was read
vii. Monitoring comprehension and using fix up strategies
c.
i. key features of fictional text structures
1. characters
2. setting
3. problem
4. attempts to resolve
5. resolutions
ii. key features of non-fictional structures
1. description
2. sequence
3. comparison/contrast
4. cause/effect
5. problem/solution
d. Students should be able to understand the structure of a text in order to comprehend it
while also understanding the author’s structural choices. Students should be able to
relate sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text to one another and the
whole.
i. Sequence chain-this works on placing things in chronological or sequential order
using bubbles and arrows to show the steps.
e. Pre-Reading Strategies
i. Preview the book on your own
ii. Activate or build background knowledge/life experiences
iii. Set objectives/purposes
iv. Examine paralinguistic features of text
v. Solicit predictions
f. During Reading strategies:
Standard 4- students are expected to analyze and interpret the author’s choice of words and
phrases that bring meaning to the text. Students need to analyze author’s vocabulary, style of
expression, type of language and tone.
An activity to facilitate this standard would be sensory synonyms and antonyms. Students begin
by choosing a sensory word and then finding a synonym and antonym. These words can be
posted on a class chart to be used in discussions and writing
Anchor 1- involves reading text closely and citing textual evidence to get students in the habit of
discovering and exploring text in an analytical sense.
The activity that would help facilitates this standare would be the Read-head-said graphic
organizer which helps students use citing textual evidence when close reading. Students choose
a small passage and record it under Read, next they work on inferring the passage recording it
under Head and then finally their text support to back up their inference under Said.
Anchor 2- Determining central ideas and themes in both informational and fictional text.
Students need to be able to find the main idea in text because it is essential to understanding
the course material.
An activity that would go with this standard would be the Draw and Label Retelling. Students
answer the following questions about the reading: Who? Where? What happened? And How did
it end? In four separate drawings with a caption at the bottom of each picture.
F. Post-Reading
Standard 6:
Standard 3: concerning individual, event and idea development. Students need to be able to
analyze how characters, events, and ideas grow and how all these components interact, in order
to understand the text deeply.
An activity that would facilitate this standard would be the Character, Trait and Quote Map.
Students choose a character and put him/her inside a bubble in the middle and then students
find that characters characteristics and branch them off the character bubble. Lastly, they find
supported text that can back up the characteristic and put the text next to the characteristic
bubble.
Standard 8:
Standard 9:
G. Fluency
1.
a. Fluency is the ability to read words quickly, accurately and with appropriate
expression.
b. It is measured by how often you pause between words and if your phrasing
and expression is smooth.
2. How will you facilitate the fluency of your students?
1. Echo reading- this strategy is to help the students hear the fluent way text should be
read. A fluent reader (teacher, adult, or student) reads a sentence first and then the learning
student echoes back word for word.
2. Choral reading- this is a strategy where multiple readers read out loud at the same
time. The pressure is off of individual readers during choral readings so a non-fluent reader may
feel more comfortable and therefore take risks with their fluency.
3. Recorded reading- using recorded books to model appropriate fluency is a greal tool
for beginning readers. A teacher can start recording books and create a large library for students
to pic from.
4. Fluency development lessons
a. read a short passage aloud modeling fluency
b. choral reading
c. paired up-take turns reading
d. group individual read aloud
e. choose 2-3 words for their word bank
f. take home to read the passage
g. next day the passage is read again.
3. . tips to teach children to use when reading informational text
1.encourgae students to try and make sense of the related pictures
2. Have the students form questions based on their inference from the title and heading
3. Aid students in finding the bolded words on the page and then find their meanings in the back
of the book.
4.Use the pronunciation guide to help students feel less intimated by the larger words.
4.
Standard 10 states that students should be proficient and independent in their ability to
comprehend and read complex literacy and non-fiction texts.
5.
Standard 7
The Writing Process:
2. Writers workshop
It is the process of students deciding their own topic and then writing, revising, editing and meeting with
peers and the teachers and then publishing their own piece. It should resemble an atmosphere that
shows students that indeed they are real “writers and authors.”
1. Do all my sentences make sense? Mode a nonsensical
sentence to the class and see if any of the students pick up
on it and if they do what should be added or changed.
2. Editor’s checklist- develop an appropriate list of questions
students can ask themselves or their peers while taking part
in the editing process and visually post.
3. Author’s chair- the students share their writing to the class
and receive praise, and suggestions for their work.
4. Revisions- using a special revision pen to help make the
experienced seem special, official and fun.
3. stages
Precommunicative phase (3+)
a. Random strings of letters, symbols
Semi-Phonic (4+)
a. Consonants are used more frequently
Phonic (5-7)
a. Spellings show the sequence of sounds in pronunciations
Transitional (6-11)
a. Vowels are placed in syllables
Correct
4. written genres-poetry, short stories, journal entries
5. writing strategies
a. cover and write method
b. make a model of the word with crayon etc.
c. eyes closed
6. writing needs to be purposeful
a. Art- write a story on an artist’s life and illustrate
b. science- compose a rap song introducing energy
c. pe- create a new game and write out the instructions.
Assessment
a. Assessment is collecting data to understand and interpret where students are and how
they’ve grown
a. Formative- monitor student learning throughout the lesson
b. Summative- evaluate student learning at the end of the lesson
c. Informal/authentic- a range of varying assessment types such as student portfolios,
journal entries, interview or student observation
d. Standardized- a test that assesses student learning
b. Determining student reading level
a. Assess the students reading level, by preforming a read aloud with each individual
student assessing their comprehension and their word recognition.
i. Once appropriate reading level is found, find the just right book for the
student that is both interesting and on the right reading level.
ii. Develop an awareness of the students who need assistance in
comprehension, by offering additional support during class assignments.
iii. Pushing a student further is appropriate as long as support is given
throughout the challenge.
b. Identifying Good Literacy Behaviors and Documenting Student Progress
c. Emergent literacy behavior
i. Assess the student’s literacy behavior
1. Performing check-ins with the student and noting if they are
performing the behavior consistently, erratically or inconsistently.
d. Word strategies
i. Assessing their development of fluency, sight words, decoding and spelling
strategies.
1. Assess how new vocabulary words are understood in reading and if
they spell the word correctly in writing.
2. Listen to how fluently they read, and how they use patterns, context
and other cues to find out unknown words during individual read
aloud.
3. Collect three artifacts of writing from the beginning, middle and end
and assess how students writing have improved over time.
e. Comprehension strategies
i. Assessing their comprehension of informational or non-fiction text.
1. Hold regular independent reading conferences with each child to
see how they comprehend.
a. Use check lists to capture student comprehensive thinking.
f. Writing
i. Asses their writing skills
1. Observe students writing by observing them working and using a
checklist to collect insight.
2. Have students write samples at the beginning, middle and end of
the year to chart their progress and growth.
a. It is easy to see where the students still need to work on
instead of the growth they’ve made.
3. Hold writing conferences with students.
g. Attitudes and interests
i. It is important to determine what students like to read and how they feel
about reading.
1. Have students bring in the best books, newspaper articles or
magazines they’ve read and share what the liked about it
throughout the year.
a. Note the similarities and then compile a chart of student
interests.
i. Note: If this is only done once, there isn’t a way to
see how students are evolving and changing their
tastes and interests
c. Assessment system:
d. My own thoughts on this
e.
Educating for Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice
a. Ultimately, I believe that all students are language learners and, as such, have
special needs as well as unique strengths that can and must be supported and
validated in their education. It is necessary that all students be able to read and
write in the present day America.
b. I believe I can achieve this by including parents as well as the school and local
communities in the education of the students that I work with.
c. My primary goal is to provide students opportunities for social learning and
interaction that challenges assumptions and to create an educational environment
in which students can take ownership of the process of learning. While teachers are
most often viewed by students as the primary source of knowledge in the
classroom, my experience has proved to me that we are merely facilitators of
learning. It is, then, my role to help students connect their own knowledge and
experiences to the content I teach in order to make their education participatory
and meaningful.