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.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI think you make some great points in your review of children's books. I agree with your comment,"Another component that may be hard in this story are the pictures." I think that sometimes educators we wrongly assume that pictures are easy to understand no matter what the language or culture of the individual. As you point out pictures/illustrations can often times be difficult for students to understand if they do not have a context for the image. I think your idea of bringing in realia of a "banjo," highlights how teachers can build a student's background knowledge. I think when we read with students, "Students should be making connections to their own background and talk about what they learned to deepen understanding." If we do this we open a door for learning that swings both ways, inviting a student into the English language and cultural, as well as learning about a new culture and language.