"Homework provides students with opportunities to practice, review, and apply knowledge"(Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 77).
The purpose of homework is for students to have an extended time to practice what they learned in class. Homework should be done independently or with minimal support from parents. It should allow students to feel successful and not frustrated. The purpose of homework is to have students practice skills for an appropriate amount of time for their grade level. As the student gets older, they will receive more homework. For ELL students, homework can be scaffolded for understanding with visuals or graphic organizers. If students do need additional support at home with homework, the directions can be sent home in the native language so families know what is expected. Students should understand why they are receiving homework and what the objective of the lesson is.
Feedback should always be given to students after they receive homework. This helps students understand why the homework was given and the importance of doing it. Students can check their work with each other, the teacher can go over the work with the class and they can see examples of proficiency. It is important to show students exemplars of proficient work so they know what is expected of them.
Technology can be useful for students to use at home for homework. Other than reading at home, there are websites that help students with phonics, decoding words and reading online. I give my students a list of links for them to look at to help with these skills if a computer is available for them. Also, Lexia, a reading program implemented at my school, is all done online. It helps individual students with the skills they need for reading. This program can also be done at home with a log in and password.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
#9 BoscoS_Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Reading nonfiction texts, there are a few things that can be confusing or difficult for ELL students. Text elements can be confusing for students if they are not taught how to use them. Sometimes nonfiction texts can seem hard to read and can be overwhelming to look at, especially for students who are learning the language. Text elements need to be directly taught for students to know how to use them and what they mean. For example, students need to be taught what 'bold' words mean and what they are used for. Students need to be directly taught how to use a table of context. Another problem that might come up for ELL students is having background knowledge about the topic. If a student doesn't know anything about the topic, they could have a hard time making connections. Even with the help of pictures, students may need help building background knowledge and vocabulary. Vocabulary should be directly taught before reading the text.
Reading nonfiction texts for ELLs can be beneficial because of the real pictures that they can look at to deepen their understanding. These visuals can help build background knowledge and makes it easier to relate to the text. Nonfiction is concrete so it is easier for students to understand and eliminates inferring and guessing about any elements in the text.
Reading fiction can also be difficult for ELL students to understand. If students lack background knowledge a fiction story would be very hard to follow. Fiction is difficult because it could be a real story or made up and the characters can be hard to follow. Because fiction stories are sequenced in a specific order, it could confusing for students to follow the order of the story. In fiction stories it is also harder to relate or make connections. For example, after learning about apples, students read the story The Apple Pie Family. It was confusing for students because the characters in the story had machines that helped them make apple pies. Because they have never seen these machines it was hard for them to relate to the story.
Reading fiction can be beneficial because it helps students learn how to organize and sequence events in a story. It helps students learn how to use reading strategies to comprehend the story. It can help students infer and make connections to the story.
Monday, November 21, 2011
#8 BoscoS_Running Record Analysis
Running records are used to asses a student's reading performance. They can be a great tool for checking fluency and to see what kind of mistakes they are making when reading a text and why they are making that mistake. When educators grade running records, they analyze the errors that were made and see if they were based on meaning, syntax or visual. This helps us understand if the student is reading for meaning and what kind of clues they are using when they are reading a text. This provides next teaching steps.
I conducted running records on two first grade students. Both of the students are ELL students and do not speak English at home. Even though English is not used at home, but of these students are able to speak fluently in English in the classroom. The first student, Ximena, speaks Spanish at home. Jonathan, the second student, speaks Hmong at home. Both of these students are on grade level.
Ximena read a first grade text with a 103 words with no picture support. She read fluently and with expression. However, Ximena made mistakes in the text that showed me that she was not reading for meaning. For example, the text said "I had so much fun." Ximena said, "I had a much fun." Her mistake was structural, as she replaced an article for an article. Further down the text said "I was afraid of the big slide." She said, "I was after of the big slide." Again, this showed me that Ximena was not reading this passage for meaning but she used visual cues when replacing a word that began with 'af' with a different word that began with 'af.' When she didn't know the word "thought" she said "thogger" which also tells me that she was trying to use the initial sound to come up with a word with the correct diagraph that she already knew. Ximena also replaced the word "bring" for "birds." She self corrected one error out of the 9 errors she made throughout the passage.
This running record showed me a lot about Ximena as a reader. It definitely makes sense that she is an ELL learner and does not speak the language at home. Even though she did not read for meaning, she had good reading strategies and knew a lot about sounds. She knew diagraphs and was able to read the passage with expression and sounded very fluent while she read. She did use visual clues for decoding words and syntax clues sometimes during her reading. However, Ximena was not aware of her errors and did not notice her mistakes. Next steps for teaching will be working on comprehension strategies. I will prompt her by stopping her after a miscue and asking her what the story was about so far or asking if that sentence made sense. This will take time and a lot of practice learning more vocabulary. Ximena also needs to learn how to check for understanding as she is reading. She has great strategies that she can use if she would focus on meaning as well.
The second running record that was conducted was with another first grader, Jonathan. Jonathan's native language is Hmong but he is reading at a first grade level. He read this 103 word passage fluently and was very cautious of making errors. The mistakes he made did not affect meaning for the most part. He self corrected four times after he read the sentence. One of his errors was he added the word 'and' in the beginning of a new sentence. If you were to read the sentence it would have still made sentence because it was connected to the previous sentence. Later, the text said "Then we went down the slide." Jonathan said, "Then I went down the slide." Again, this shows me that he was reading for meaning and that it would still make sense if the story said that. He substituted a pronoun for a pronoun so he used syntax clues while he was reading. When he read the sentence "My mom and dad went on it," he added "My mom and my dad went on it." Again, the sentence would still make sense if you add that word in the sentence. When the word didn't make sense in the passage, like when he said 'I' for 'it," he quickly corrected his mistake.
Jonathan did skip the word 'thought' and 'air' because he said he didn't know it.
This running record showed me a lot about Jonathan's reading strategies and comprehension skills. He read for meaning and was able to reread and correct words that didn't sound right in a sentence. The errors he did make did not affect meaning and the sentence still made sense. Next steps for Jonathan would be exposure to a lot of different texts and building up his vocabulary. Because he doesn't speak English at home, his academic vocabulary is limited but he has great reading strategies and knows how to read for meaning.
I conducted running records on two first grade students. Both of the students are ELL students and do not speak English at home. Even though English is not used at home, but of these students are able to speak fluently in English in the classroom. The first student, Ximena, speaks Spanish at home. Jonathan, the second student, speaks Hmong at home. Both of these students are on grade level.
Ximena read a first grade text with a 103 words with no picture support. She read fluently and with expression. However, Ximena made mistakes in the text that showed me that she was not reading for meaning. For example, the text said "I had so much fun." Ximena said, "I had a much fun." Her mistake was structural, as she replaced an article for an article. Further down the text said "I was afraid of the big slide." She said, "I was after of the big slide." Again, this showed me that Ximena was not reading this passage for meaning but she used visual cues when replacing a word that began with 'af' with a different word that began with 'af.' When she didn't know the word "thought" she said "thogger" which also tells me that she was trying to use the initial sound to come up with a word with the correct diagraph that she already knew. Ximena also replaced the word "bring" for "birds." She self corrected one error out of the 9 errors she made throughout the passage.
This running record showed me a lot about Ximena as a reader. It definitely makes sense that she is an ELL learner and does not speak the language at home. Even though she did not read for meaning, she had good reading strategies and knew a lot about sounds. She knew diagraphs and was able to read the passage with expression and sounded very fluent while she read. She did use visual clues for decoding words and syntax clues sometimes during her reading. However, Ximena was not aware of her errors and did not notice her mistakes. Next steps for teaching will be working on comprehension strategies. I will prompt her by stopping her after a miscue and asking her what the story was about so far or asking if that sentence made sense. This will take time and a lot of practice learning more vocabulary. Ximena also needs to learn how to check for understanding as she is reading. She has great strategies that she can use if she would focus on meaning as well.
The second running record that was conducted was with another first grader, Jonathan. Jonathan's native language is Hmong but he is reading at a first grade level. He read this 103 word passage fluently and was very cautious of making errors. The mistakes he made did not affect meaning for the most part. He self corrected four times after he read the sentence. One of his errors was he added the word 'and' in the beginning of a new sentence. If you were to read the sentence it would have still made sentence because it was connected to the previous sentence. Later, the text said "Then we went down the slide." Jonathan said, "Then I went down the slide." Again, this shows me that he was reading for meaning and that it would still make sense if the story said that. He substituted a pronoun for a pronoun so he used syntax clues while he was reading. When he read the sentence "My mom and dad went on it," he added "My mom and my dad went on it." Again, the sentence would still make sense if you add that word in the sentence. When the word didn't make sense in the passage, like when he said 'I' for 'it," he quickly corrected his mistake.
Jonathan did skip the word 'thought' and 'air' because he said he didn't know it.
This running record showed me a lot about Jonathan's reading strategies and comprehension skills. He read for meaning and was able to reread and correct words that didn't sound right in a sentence. The errors he did make did not affect meaning and the sentence still made sense. Next steps for Jonathan would be exposure to a lot of different texts and building up his vocabulary. Because he doesn't speak English at home, his academic vocabulary is limited but he has great reading strategies and knows how to read for meaning.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
#7 BoscoS_English Words and Their History_LT 4
1. Year (noun)- "A period of 365 or 366 days, in the Gregorian calendar, divided into 12 calendar months, now reckoned as beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 21 (calendar year)."
According to Dictionary.com, the word 'year' originated before 900. In Middle English the word was pronounced yeer, and in Old English it was gēar.
2. From (preposition)- specify a starting place in spatial movement.
According to pause.wcu.edu, from came from fro as in to and fro. This is very similar to the definition we have now because it shows direction. Fro is most similar to from, the world that we have today. The sounds are all the same except we added the consonant 'm' to to the end of the word. The meaning stayed the same, but adding the 'm to the end of the word changed how we pronounce the word.
Origin: before 950, also a variant of fram. Old English fram, originally "forward movement, advancement,"evolving into sense of "movement away."
3. Courage (noun)- "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to facedifficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery."
According to pause.wcu.com, in Middle English courage was spelled corage. That is pronounced co-rage, which is why in Modern English we added a 'u' to make it a more complete vowel sound.
Origin: 1250-1300, the Middle English word corage came from the Old French word cuer, which means heart. This makes sense because the definition of courage is having a strong heart.
4. Conceal (verb)- "to hide; withdraw or remove from observation; cover or keep from sight."
According to dictionary.com, the word conceal came form the Middle English word concelen which came from the Anglo French word conceler, which meant 'to hide.' This makes sense because the word conceal means to remove to withdraw (to hide).
Origin: 1275–1325, According to pause.wcu.edu, the Middle English word conceal was spelled conseil. The word sounds the same but evolved into a different spelling. The word conceal is a hard word to teach to students because it is hard to sound out the sounds in the word. It made more sense when it had an 's' in the word.
5. Sorely (adverb): "in a painful manner."
According to Dictionary.com, the word sorely came from the Old English word sārlīce and the Middle English word sarely and soreli.
According to pause.wcu.edu, the word sorely came from the Middle English word sore and soore. The word we have now is very similar because the word sore is spelled the same we just added 'ly' to make it an adverb. This is an easier way to manipulate words to make them work with conventional language. The word soore focuses on the double o sound which is not the sound we use today to say the word sorely.
According to Dictionary.com, the word 'year' originated before 900. In Middle English the word was pronounced yeer, and in Old English it was gēar.
2. From (preposition)- specify a starting place in spatial movement.
According to pause.wcu.edu, from came from fro as in to and fro. This is very similar to the definition we have now because it shows direction. Fro is most similar to from, the world that we have today. The sounds are all the same except we added the consonant 'm' to to the end of the word. The meaning stayed the same, but adding the 'm to the end of the word changed how we pronounce the word.
Origin: before 950, also a variant of fram. Old English fram, originally "forward movement, advancement,"evolving into sense of "movement away."
3. Courage (noun)- "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to facedifficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery."
According to pause.wcu.com, in Middle English courage was spelled corage. That is pronounced co-rage, which is why in Modern English we added a 'u' to make it a more complete vowel sound.
Origin: 1250-1300, the Middle English word corage came from the Old French word cuer, which means heart. This makes sense because the definition of courage is having a strong heart.
4. Conceal (verb)- "to hide; withdraw or remove from observation; cover or keep from sight."
According to dictionary.com, the word conceal came form the Middle English word concelen which came from the Anglo French word conceler, which meant 'to hide.' This makes sense because the word conceal means to remove to withdraw (to hide).
Origin: 1275–1325, According to pause.wcu.edu, the Middle English word conceal was spelled conseil. The word sounds the same but evolved into a different spelling. The word conceal is a hard word to teach to students because it is hard to sound out the sounds in the word. It made more sense when it had an 's' in the word.
5. Sorely (adverb): "in a painful manner."
According to Dictionary.com, the word sorely came from the Old English word sārlīce and the Middle English word sarely and soreli.
According to pause.wcu.edu, the word sorely came from the Middle English word sore and soore. The word we have now is very similar because the word sore is spelled the same we just added 'ly' to make it an adverb. This is an easier way to manipulate words to make them work with conventional language. The word soore focuses on the double o sound which is not the sound we use today to say the word sorely.
Monday, November 7, 2011
# 6 BoscoS_Learning/word recognition vs. acquisition/ sociopsycholinguistics
According to Freeman and Freeman, there are two different views on how reading should be taught to our students. The first view word recognition, is "consistent with the belief that written language must be learned" (Freeman and Freeman, 2006, p. 24). People who believe in this view think that the most important part of learning to read is identifying words on the page. The second view, sociopsycholinguistic view claims that "the ability to use written language is to some degree innate and can be acquired" (Freeman and Freeman, 2006, p. 24). This approach focuses on the process of constructing meaning while reading.
Word Recognition View:
The word recognition view looks at reading as something that needs to be taught and that identifying words is the main goal. This view is "consistent with the belief that written language must be learned."
Goal:
- Help students learn how to identify words
- Word identification: recognizing words on paper by identifying them with oral language they already know (recoding)
- Understand the meaning of text
Method:
- Phonics activities to help sound out words
- Sight word memorization
The main method for helping students with this view is learning the phonics rules to help recognize and sound out words on paper. For longer words, teachers may tell students to look for words they already know within the bigger word to help sound out the word. Sight words would have to be learned through memorization (flash cards).
Classroom Activities:
- Go over vocabulary before reading a text. This will help students understand words that they probably won't be able to figure out by phonetically sounding out the word.
- Have students read aloud. This will help the teacher and students hear when a student pronounces a word wrong. The student can then be corrected to hear what the word should sound like.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sociopsycholinguistics View:
This view looks at reading as a process of constructing meaning and that readers acquire literacy.
Goal:
- Construct meaning, not focus on identifying individual words
- Students use background knowledge and cues from three linguistic systems: graphophonics, syntax and semantics.
- Looking through texts to make connections and predictions
- Allowing students to use their background knowledge and make connections to the story to help make construct meaning
Method:
- Using the graphophonic system as well as background knowledge to make meaning of the story.
- Learn to look at the big picture of the story and sound information to create meaning.
Classroom Activities:
- Students should read a lot to 'acquire' vocabulary.
- Students should read silently most of the time to work on reading strategies independently.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Even though these views are very different, they both have the same ultimate goal for our students: comprehension.
Word Recognition View:
The word recognition view looks at reading as something that needs to be taught and that identifying words is the main goal. This view is "consistent with the belief that written language must be learned."
Goal:
- Help students learn how to identify words
- Word identification: recognizing words on paper by identifying them with oral language they already know (recoding)
- Understand the meaning of text
Method:
- Phonics activities to help sound out words
- Sight word memorization
The main method for helping students with this view is learning the phonics rules to help recognize and sound out words on paper. For longer words, teachers may tell students to look for words they already know within the bigger word to help sound out the word. Sight words would have to be learned through memorization (flash cards).
Classroom Activities:
- Go over vocabulary before reading a text. This will help students understand words that they probably won't be able to figure out by phonetically sounding out the word.
- Have students read aloud. This will help the teacher and students hear when a student pronounces a word wrong. The student can then be corrected to hear what the word should sound like.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sociopsycholinguistics View:
This view looks at reading as a process of constructing meaning and that readers acquire literacy.
Goal:
- Construct meaning, not focus on identifying individual words
- Students use background knowledge and cues from three linguistic systems: graphophonics, syntax and semantics.
- Looking through texts to make connections and predictions
- Allowing students to use their background knowledge and make connections to the story to help make construct meaning
Method:
- Using the graphophonic system as well as background knowledge to make meaning of the story.
- Learn to look at the big picture of the story and sound information to create meaning.
Classroom Activities:
- Students should read a lot to 'acquire' vocabulary.
- Students should read silently most of the time to work on reading strategies independently.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Even though these views are very different, they both have the same ultimate goal for our students: comprehension.
BoscoS_Writing Instruction_LT 3
Many experiences throughout the years have affected my journey to becoming the writer I am today. Starting from when I was in elementary school, I have received the support and guidance that I needed to help me succeed in school and make writing enjoyable. My family has always been a great support system and has held high expectations for me since the day I started school. Writing has not always been easy and they have been times where I have struggled, but the most important that is that I still enjoy reading and writing today.
Before I started school, I would always want to help my mom and try to replicate what she was doing around the house. If I saw her writing the grocery list, I wanted to help her write it. Before even starting school, I was always intrigued by reading and writing. Because my mom was a former teacher, she would sit down with me and we would write the letters of the alphabet and she would read to me every night before bed. By the time I started school, I was even more excited about writing in the classroom.
In elementary school, I enjoyed writing and I liked learning about new words and writing my own stories. I remember having spelling tests every week and working on vocabulary words, but we would always have time to write about what we wanted to write about in our journals. This was the time that I enjoyed the most. We also had writing projects where we would work on the same piece of writing for a few weeks and it would be displayed either in the classroom or hallway. I remember always being so proud of my published work that we got to share with the class and our parents. This was when writing was fun and made me feel successful as a writer and a student.
However, around third grade is when I noticed that writing was no longer fun. We started to learn cursive and I wasn't very good at cursive. It took me a long time to write the letters and I felt like it was never formally taught to me. Because we had to write everything in cursive, it would frustrate me while I was writing a story. I felt like it was very hard for me to get my ideas down on paper and writing in school was a time I was never excited for. However, because of the great support system I have at home, my mom and dad started helping me at home and made me find writing more enjoyable again.
As I went through high school and college, writing became more enjoyable and I was able to take writing classes that were taught in a way that I understood. Some of the instruction that I received in high school and college made me like writing more and really helped me become a better writer and teacher today.
The view that mostly corresponds with my writing experiences is the Traditional Writing Classroom. Even though I do feel like there was parts of instruction that could have fallen under the Process Writing view, I do think most of my learning was taught the traditional way. I felt like writing was taught in a very linear process; words, sentences, and then paragraphs. I also feel like I learned how to "produce a good piece of writing" (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p. 29).
As a learner I was taught how to correctly form my letters, write a generic multi paragraph paper and make a project and reports. It felt very formulated and our expectations were very clear for what the teacher wanted. It was good in some ways, but it was also frustrating when I had to memorize spelling words that were difficult to remember and be corrected on every spelling error and grammar error that I made. However, I did become very well informed and prepared on how to write papers and how to research information. This kind of instruction was most of what I remember writing to look like in the classroom, but there was also the fun activities that I could be creative with my writing and publish my work.
Writing hasn't always been easy for me, but it is something that I enjoy and am always striving to improve on. I can thank teachers and my family for supporting me with great instruction and support for becoming a successful student in school. Writing is something that I love teaching with my first graders. It makes me so excited when I see them get excited about writing. I do think it is important to teach from the view of the process classroom. Allowing students to read and write different genres, provide choice and learn the writing process is so important for student success and engagement. The most important goal for myself is to get students excited about writing.
Before I started school, I would always want to help my mom and try to replicate what she was doing around the house. If I saw her writing the grocery list, I wanted to help her write it. Before even starting school, I was always intrigued by reading and writing. Because my mom was a former teacher, she would sit down with me and we would write the letters of the alphabet and she would read to me every night before bed. By the time I started school, I was even more excited about writing in the classroom.
In elementary school, I enjoyed writing and I liked learning about new words and writing my own stories. I remember having spelling tests every week and working on vocabulary words, but we would always have time to write about what we wanted to write about in our journals. This was the time that I enjoyed the most. We also had writing projects where we would work on the same piece of writing for a few weeks and it would be displayed either in the classroom or hallway. I remember always being so proud of my published work that we got to share with the class and our parents. This was when writing was fun and made me feel successful as a writer and a student.
However, around third grade is when I noticed that writing was no longer fun. We started to learn cursive and I wasn't very good at cursive. It took me a long time to write the letters and I felt like it was never formally taught to me. Because we had to write everything in cursive, it would frustrate me while I was writing a story. I felt like it was very hard for me to get my ideas down on paper and writing in school was a time I was never excited for. However, because of the great support system I have at home, my mom and dad started helping me at home and made me find writing more enjoyable again.
As I went through high school and college, writing became more enjoyable and I was able to take writing classes that were taught in a way that I understood. Some of the instruction that I received in high school and college made me like writing more and really helped me become a better writer and teacher today.
The view that mostly corresponds with my writing experiences is the Traditional Writing Classroom. Even though I do feel like there was parts of instruction that could have fallen under the Process Writing view, I do think most of my learning was taught the traditional way. I felt like writing was taught in a very linear process; words, sentences, and then paragraphs. I also feel like I learned how to "produce a good piece of writing" (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p. 29).
As a learner I was taught how to correctly form my letters, write a generic multi paragraph paper and make a project and reports. It felt very formulated and our expectations were very clear for what the teacher wanted. It was good in some ways, but it was also frustrating when I had to memorize spelling words that were difficult to remember and be corrected on every spelling error and grammar error that I made. However, I did become very well informed and prepared on how to write papers and how to research information. This kind of instruction was most of what I remember writing to look like in the classroom, but there was also the fun activities that I could be creative with my writing and publish my work.
Writing hasn't always been easy for me, but it is something that I enjoy and am always striving to improve on. I can thank teachers and my family for supporting me with great instruction and support for becoming a successful student in school. Writing is something that I love teaching with my first graders. It makes me so excited when I see them get excited about writing. I do think it is important to teach from the view of the process classroom. Allowing students to read and write different genres, provide choice and learn the writing process is so important for student success and engagement. The most important goal for myself is to get students excited about writing.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
BoscoS_Children's book components_ LT 2
There are many components of a children's books that can affect students' comprehension. Students without some background knowledge of the story can have a very difficult time understanding the book. Sometimes as educators, we forget that not all of our students come from the same background and some students will need extra explaining on a topic compared to students who can easily relate to the story or concept. These misconceptions or difficulties could be based on historical events that students are not familiar with, language used in the story or events that a student may not be familiar with. Students from different cultures may need visuals to help them build schema or they may need to go over vocabulary words before reading the text. Educators need to be aware of these cultural differences in the classroom and may need to use scaffolding techniques to support these learners. One technique that works for ELL students is to provide visuals that go along with the text or story. As stated in the text Classroom Instruction that Works, "The use of nonlinguistic representations enhances students' ability to represent and elaborate on knowledge using mental images (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 7).
One story that I chose was The Relatives Came By: Cythia Rylant
This story is about a family who takes a vacation from Virginia to visit relatives. When the family gets there, they talk a lot with the family, have picnics and hang out together. The relatives are very excited to all be together in one place for a long time. After a long summer, the family packs up their car and drives back to Virginia. The family can't wait until next summer when the relatives will come out to Virginia to visit them.
In this story, ELL students may have a hard time with a few components of the story. First, they may not understand a lot of the vocabulary present in the story. For example, "They put an ice chest full of soda pop and some boxes of crackers and some bologna sandwiches and up they came- from Virginia" (Rylant, 1985, p. 3). Some ELL students may have a hard time understanding this vocabulary because of their own background knowledge. Because students may not be familiar with a word like 'bologna' it would be a good idea to go over what it is and ask students to make connections about what they do know. The technique "identifying similarities and differences" can help students "make connections, experience new insights, and correct misconceptions" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 12). This will help students understand the vocabulary words better and help them make a connection in their own life to deepen understanding. Some questions could be, 'what type of food would you pack if you were going on a trip with your family?'
Another component that may be hard for ELL students could be the pictures in the story. This book has all white people and it could be hard for ELL students to relate to. This could especially be a problem because of the traditional family setting present in the story. Students may not have relatives that they can visit or they may live with a lot of their extended family already. A lot of students can't afford to take a trip to visit family for a whole summer. This experience is also hard for students to understand because of their background knowledge. This could be another opportunity to talk with students about their own family experiences and vacation and how they are similar and different to the story. Allowing students to share a time that they spent with family will help them deepen their understanding of the story.
Second Story that I chose: Henry's Freedom Box By: Ellen Levine
This story is about a slave in the mid 1800s who found out his master was dying. Instead of being sold, Henry worked for the master's son until he found out that his family was being split up. He was tired of being a slave and wanted to live in a free state. So with the help of Dr. Smith, a white man who thought slavery was wrong, Henry decided to ship himself in a box to Philadelphia, a free state. So, after the long, hard ride to Philadelphia, Henry was free.
This book could be extremely hard for ELL students because of the historical context. They may not be familiar with slavery or the underground railroad. Before reading this story, the teacher would have to teach students about this time and give students background knowledge about the history behind this text. This would be a great way to introduce cooperative learning for students. "Cooperative learning techniques allow students to interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 9). After teaching students about this time and giving them some background knowledge about the text, students could have a time to talk about what they think about it and deepen their knowledge before reading the story together. Allowing students to work together and talk about the text can help students make sense of new knowledge.
Another component that could be difficult for students to understand is the vocabulary used in the story. Vocabulary should be explicitly taught and talked about before and during the story to help students comprehend the text better. Vocabulary words can be taught by having students act the word out or showing a visual representation of the word. It is also important for these students to hear the word used in a correct context. For example the word 'master' should be discussed and talked about in the context of the text. Students may need to hear a definition of 'master' in this context and be able to talk about it with a group for a deeper understanding. There are many other vocabulary words that will need to be explicitly taught in this story.
Another component that may be hard in this story are the pictures. Pictures may need to be discussed as a class and in small groups. Some of the illustrations in the book need to be explained to students for a deeper understanding. For example, one picture in the story shows Henry playing a banjo as his family listens. Students may not know what this is for or what a banjo is. This would need to be explained. For further understanding, a teacher could bring in the instrument to show students what they sound like.
Children's books can be difficult for students to understand without knowing the necessary background knowledge presented in the text. Educators need to be cautious about presenting a book that students may have a hard time understanding. Because students in the classroom consist of many different cultures and backgrounds, we need to provide knowledge and explanation to address concepts that may be hard for students to understand. Vocabulary words should be explicitly taught and students should be encouraged and asked to talk about what they learned. Students should be making connections to their own background and talk about what they learned to deepen understanding.
One story that I chose was The Relatives Came By: Cythia Rylant
This story is about a family who takes a vacation from Virginia to visit relatives. When the family gets there, they talk a lot with the family, have picnics and hang out together. The relatives are very excited to all be together in one place for a long time. After a long summer, the family packs up their car and drives back to Virginia. The family can't wait until next summer when the relatives will come out to Virginia to visit them.
In this story, ELL students may have a hard time with a few components of the story. First, they may not understand a lot of the vocabulary present in the story. For example, "They put an ice chest full of soda pop and some boxes of crackers and some bologna sandwiches and up they came- from Virginia" (Rylant, 1985, p. 3). Some ELL students may have a hard time understanding this vocabulary because of their own background knowledge. Because students may not be familiar with a word like 'bologna' it would be a good idea to go over what it is and ask students to make connections about what they do know. The technique "identifying similarities and differences" can help students "make connections, experience new insights, and correct misconceptions" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 12). This will help students understand the vocabulary words better and help them make a connection in their own life to deepen understanding. Some questions could be, 'what type of food would you pack if you were going on a trip with your family?'
Another component that may be hard for ELL students could be the pictures in the story. This book has all white people and it could be hard for ELL students to relate to. This could especially be a problem because of the traditional family setting present in the story. Students may not have relatives that they can visit or they may live with a lot of their extended family already. A lot of students can't afford to take a trip to visit family for a whole summer. This experience is also hard for students to understand because of their background knowledge. This could be another opportunity to talk with students about their own family experiences and vacation and how they are similar and different to the story. Allowing students to share a time that they spent with family will help them deepen their understanding of the story.
Second Story that I chose: Henry's Freedom Box By: Ellen Levine
This story is about a slave in the mid 1800s who found out his master was dying. Instead of being sold, Henry worked for the master's son until he found out that his family was being split up. He was tired of being a slave and wanted to live in a free state. So with the help of Dr. Smith, a white man who thought slavery was wrong, Henry decided to ship himself in a box to Philadelphia, a free state. So, after the long, hard ride to Philadelphia, Henry was free.
This book could be extremely hard for ELL students because of the historical context. They may not be familiar with slavery or the underground railroad. Before reading this story, the teacher would have to teach students about this time and give students background knowledge about the history behind this text. This would be a great way to introduce cooperative learning for students. "Cooperative learning techniques allow students to interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 9). After teaching students about this time and giving them some background knowledge about the text, students could have a time to talk about what they think about it and deepen their knowledge before reading the story together. Allowing students to work together and talk about the text can help students make sense of new knowledge.
Another component that could be difficult for students to understand is the vocabulary used in the story. Vocabulary should be explicitly taught and talked about before and during the story to help students comprehend the text better. Vocabulary words can be taught by having students act the word out or showing a visual representation of the word. It is also important for these students to hear the word used in a correct context. For example the word 'master' should be discussed and talked about in the context of the text. Students may need to hear a definition of 'master' in this context and be able to talk about it with a group for a deeper understanding. There are many other vocabulary words that will need to be explicitly taught in this story.
Another component that may be hard in this story are the pictures. Pictures may need to be discussed as a class and in small groups. Some of the illustrations in the book need to be explained to students for a deeper understanding. For example, one picture in the story shows Henry playing a banjo as his family listens. Students may not know what this is for or what a banjo is. This would need to be explained. For further understanding, a teacher could bring in the instrument to show students what they sound like.
Children's books can be difficult for students to understand without knowing the necessary background knowledge presented in the text. Educators need to be cautious about presenting a book that students may have a hard time understanding. Because students in the classroom consist of many different cultures and backgrounds, we need to provide knowledge and explanation to address concepts that may be hard for students to understand. Vocabulary words should be explicitly taught and students should be encouraged and asked to talk about what they learned. Students should be making connections to their own background and talk about what they learned to deepen understanding.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Boscos LT2 Text in Spanish
SOUFFLÉS DE CALABAZA
<< Volver
Tiempo de preparación: 20 minutos Time for preparation: 20 minutes
Tiempo de cocción: 15 a 20 minutos Time for cooking?
Rinde: 4 porciones 4 portions
Lo Que Necesita This is what you need
Azúcar para el plato 6 CLARAS DE HUEVO, a temperatura ambiente 6 large eggs, a mild? temperature 3/4 cucharadita de crema tártara cream? 1/2 taza de calabaza enlatada 6 YEMAS DE HUEVO 6 egg yolks? 1/2 taza de azúcar 1/2 cucharadita de especias para pie de calabaza
Cómo Prepararlo How you prepare
- CALIENTE el horno a 375ºF. CUBRA completamente y con azúcar, 4 recipientes para soufflé ligeramente engrasados, de 8 onzas. COLOQUE en una sartén para hornear de 13 x 9 x 2 pulgadas. HOT at 375 degrees. 4 ? for suoffle
- BATA a alta velocidad las claras de huevo y la crema tártara en un tazón para mezclar, hasta crear una textura esponjosa texture is spongy. Batir constantemente, AGREGUE1/2 taza de azúcar, 2 cucharadas al tiempo, batir cada adición hasta que el azúcar se disuelva, antes de agregar la siguiente. (Frote un poco a little de la mezcla con el dedo pulgar y el índice; se debe sentir completamente suave.) Continúe batiendo hasta que las claras estén brillantes y formen suaves picos.
- BATA las yemas de huevo en un tazón aparte, a alta velocidad, hasta que espese y tome el color del limón. VIERTA la calabaza y las especias para pie. Lentamente, INCORPORE la mezcla de yemas en las claras, hasta que no se observen vetas blancas. VIERTA en los recipientes para soufflé, dividiendo uniformemente. Separate the egg yolk and wait until he color is like lemon. Add the yolks in with no white showing.
- COLOQUE la sartén con los recipientes de soufflé en el centro de la parrilla del horno a 375ºF. VIERTA agua bien caliente en la sartén, que sobrepase los recipientes en 1/2 pulgada. HORNEE hasta que los soufflés estén esponjados y delicadamente dorados, 15 a 20 minutos. SERVIR INMEDIATAMENTE. Put all of the ingredients in the middle of the oven at 375 degrees. It is very hot. When you take out the souffles, cool for 15 to 29 minutes. Serve immediately.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
After looking up this recipe in Spanish, I realized how difficult and frustrating it can be to read a simple recipe without knowing any of the words. After scaling back the difficulty, I would say that reading this recipe was extremely difficult for me. Even with the very little spanish background that I have, I would not be able to successfully make this dessert. I felt tempted to look up the words in English and without doing that, I had to skip whole steps in the recipe. Especially in a recipe, it is important to know all of the steps. Knowing the ingredients and how to prepare the dessert was all very hard for me.As I was reading the recipe I did use a few strategies that ELL students use in the classroom. I used cues, questions and advance organizers, which is stated in the text Classroom Instruction that Works. This strategy helped me organize and remember what I already knew in spanish. "In other words, these techniques help activate prior knowledge" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 7). Another technique that I used while reading this recipe was generating and testing a hypothesis. As stated in Classroom Instruction that Works, "by explaining their thinking, students deepen their understanding of the principle they are applying" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 12). As I was reading the recipe I was able to make a hypothesis of what the step meant by activating my background knowledge about recipes and as much spanish as I could remember. When I saw a word that I recognized I tried to figure out what that ingredient could be used for in the recipe and then I looked at where it was in the sequence. If it was toward the end, I guessed that it could be adding the ingredients together or mixing ingredients together. This was challenging most of the time because I did not recognize many ingredients in the first place.After doing this assignment, I can understand how frustrating it can be to read in a second language. I especially know that it is important to scaffold lessons and support the students that need extra visuals and nonlinguistic representations while reading.
SOUFFLÉS DE CALABAZA | << Volver |
Tiempo de preparación: 20 minutos Time for preparation: 20 minutes Tiempo de cocción: 15 a 20 minutos Time for cooking? Rinde: 4 porciones 4 portions |
Lo Que Necesita This is what you need
Azúcar para el plato | |
6 | CLARAS DE HUEVO, a temperatura ambiente 6 large eggs, a mild? temperature |
3/4 | cucharadita de crema tártara cream? |
1/2 | taza de calabaza enlatada |
6 | YEMAS DE HUEVO 6 egg yolks? |
1/2 | taza de azúcar |
1/2 | cucharadita de especias para pie de calabaza |
Cómo Prepararlo How you prepare
- CALIENTE el horno a 375ºF. CUBRA completamente y con azúcar, 4 recipientes para soufflé ligeramente engrasados, de 8 onzas. COLOQUE en una sartén para hornear de 13 x 9 x 2 pulgadas. HOT at 375 degrees. 4 ? for suoffle
- BATA a alta velocidad las claras de huevo y la crema tártara en un tazón para mezclar, hasta crear una textura esponjosa texture is spongy. Batir constantemente, AGREGUE1/2 taza de azúcar, 2 cucharadas al tiempo, batir cada adición hasta que el azúcar se disuelva, antes de agregar la siguiente. (Frote un poco a little de la mezcla con el dedo pulgar y el índice; se debe sentir completamente suave.) Continúe batiendo hasta que las claras estén brillantes y formen suaves picos.
- BATA las yemas de huevo en un tazón aparte, a alta velocidad, hasta que espese y tome el color del limón. VIERTA la calabaza y las especias para pie. Lentamente, INCORPORE la mezcla de yemas en las claras, hasta que no se observen vetas blancas. VIERTA en los recipientes para soufflé, dividiendo uniformemente. Separate the egg yolk and wait until he color is like lemon. Add the yolks in with no white showing.
- COLOQUE la sartén con los recipientes de soufflé en el centro de la parrilla del horno a 375ºF. VIERTA agua bien caliente en la sartén, que sobrepase los recipientes en 1/2 pulgada. HORNEE hasta que los soufflés estén esponjados y delicadamente dorados, 15 a 20 minutos. SERVIR INMEDIATAMENTE. Put all of the ingredients in the middle of the oven at 375 degrees. It is very hot. When you take out the souffles, cool for 15 to 29 minutes. Serve immediately.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
After looking up this recipe in Spanish, I realized how difficult and frustrating it can be to read a simple recipe without knowing any of the words. After scaling back the difficulty, I would say that reading this recipe was extremely difficult for me. Even with the very little spanish background that I have, I would not be able to successfully make this dessert. I felt tempted to look up the words in English and without doing that, I had to skip whole steps in the recipe. Especially in a recipe, it is important to know all of the steps. Knowing the ingredients and how to prepare the dessert was all very hard for me.
As I was reading the recipe I did use a few strategies that ELL students use in the classroom. I used cues, questions and advance organizers, which is stated in the text Classroom Instruction that Works. This strategy helped me organize and remember what I already knew in spanish. "In other words, these techniques help activate prior knowledge" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 7). Another technique that I used while reading this recipe was generating and testing a hypothesis. As stated in Classroom Instruction that Works, "by explaining their thinking, students deepen their understanding of the principle they are applying" (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p. 12). As I was reading the recipe I was able to make a hypothesis of what the step meant by activating my background knowledge about recipes and as much spanish as I could remember. When I saw a word that I recognized I tried to figure out what that ingredient could be used for in the recipe and then I looked at where it was in the sequence. If it was toward the end, I guessed that it could be adding the ingredients together or mixing ingredients together. This was challenging most of the time because I did not recognize many ingredients in the first place.
After doing this assignment, I can understand how frustrating it can be to read in a second language. I especially know that it is important to scaffold lessons and support the students that need extra visuals and nonlinguistic representations while reading.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
BoscoS_Oral Language and the Reading Process_LT 1
There are many elements that must be taught in a literacy program for students to become successful readers and writers. Before students are able to read, they must learn phonemic awareness and regularly practice these skills in their early elementary years. Hearing the sounds and being able to repeat these sounds and blend the sounds together is the first step in phonemic awareness. After students understand that sounds make up words, they are taught phonics. Phonics is also important in the reading process. This is a skill that needs to be taught directly and practiced in the early elementary levels. This skill is important because it helps students understand how to decode words and will help them understand the relationship between letters and sounds to make words. Phonics can be used to help decode words, rhyming, substitution, deletion of sounds, etc. Phonics should be taught directly and explicitly for students in kindergarten and first grade. The next important element is fluency. Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. Without the background knowledge and practice of phonemic awareness and phonics, fluency would be impossible for students. Just like the other skills, fluency needs to be taught and modeled over and over by teachers. It is important that students hear what fluent reading should sound like. Fluency takes practice and it helps with comprehension, which is the ultimate goal of reading. Comprehension is when a student can tell you what they read about. Without the other steps, comprehension would be a very hard skill for students.
Oral language starts with phonemic awareness and ends with comprehension, the ultimate goal of reading. Without understanding the oral language piece, it would be difficult for a student to be successful with comprehending a story. All of these elements are linked to each other and are necessary for success.
BoscoS_Philosophy About Teaching LT 1
When I interviewed a kindergarten teacher about her philosophy of teaching, I realized that it was very similar to the way I feel about teaching literacy. As we talked, we both agreed that there are so many elements that are important in a balanced, effective literacy classroom. Joyce, the kindergarten teacher that I interviewed has strong opinions about this topic and has been teaching for over twenty years. She always tells me that in a Kindergarten classroom it is important to ensure students that writing is fun and is a way to be creative. She believes that students should be encouraged to think creatively and write about things that interest them. Students should be able to keep a journal about experiences and stories that they want to share. Journal writing should be what they want to write about and could be shared if the student has the desire. Joyce thinks this should be a time where the classroom is quite and students should be taught in Kindergarten that this is a time where they can be creative and write about anything they want. The teacher should share a piece of writing as well. This shows students that writing is important to the teacher and gives them more ideas of what to write about. She also mentioned that prompt writing can also be important but that students should carefully be corrected. She explained to me that especially in the primary graders, praise and excitement with student work should be done much more than correcting what the student did 'wrong.' The most important part of writing is to get students excited.
After talking with Joyce, I do agree with what she says about her writing philosophy. Even in first grade, I do think the most important goal with students is to get them excited about writing! I want students to get excited about writing and I always model writing in front of my class to show that I am a writer as well. As far as correcting student work, I feel the same way as Joyce. Of course it is important to conference with students and talk about their writing, but I always have positive feedback and suggestions for students. I also encourage students to phonetically sound out words when they are writing and stuck on a word. I do not want students to constantly worry about correct spelling, it takes the fun and fluency out of writing. I tell students to circle words that they are not sure about and we will discuss them together during conferences.
Joyce and I also have a very similar outlook on a reading philosophy. Just like in writing, she thinks that reading should be fun for all students. They should be able to read stories that they want, as well as books that are at their level. It is important for students to read at their level, but they also need time to explore books and just look at pictures. Joyce explains that not only is it important for students to be reading at their level and with books that interest them, but read alouds should be happening daily, more than once. She always says that teachers should teach 'thematically.' If we are learning about pumpkins, then you should have read alouds (fiction and nonfiction) about pumpkins, books should be out for students to look at during free time, etc. Again, the most important thing about reading and writing, is to get students excited about it.
After talking with Joyce about reading in the classroom, I felt the same way about a reading philosophy in the primary grades. I think that read alouds are so important and gets students excited about reading. My students love when I read a book that they are interested in. I also think it is important for students to have the opportunity to explore books and read what they are interested in, but it is also crucial that students are reading at their academic level. Reading should be fun for students and challenging.
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