Entry #10 Rationale and Purpose for Homework

With increased accountability, a child's typical school day is packed. With the numerous assessments teachers are required to administer, instructional time during the school day continues to dwindle. Time during the day to get the adequate practice students need to master the skills we are teaching is not enough. Homework vital to help our students practice and acquire the skills necessary to be successful, particularly in disadvantaged and ELL populations.

Anderson, Willson, and Fielding (1988), found that, for second graders, the number of
books that students read is the best predictor for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and
reading speed. Students need to be reading books at their level, either aloud to a parent or older sibling or silently. Independent reading should be of high interest to a student and self-selected.

Homework should be based on class objectives, short, and focused. Students should not be expected to complete homework activities on concepts or content that have not been taught. Students' parents should also have had training or communication from the classroom teacher on the expectations for homework completion. The level of help a chid receives from a parent is also a contributing factor to the effectiveness of homework.

Language can be a barrier in the completion of homework in large ELL populations. Many curriculum companies provide Spanish versions of homework and letters in Spanish to improve the home-school connection. Students may be provided with leveled readers in Spanish that parents can read with them.

Many schools provide after-school homework and tutoring clubs when language is a barrier in homework completion. Many students may live in multiple-family dwellings and not have a quiet place to complete homework nor the adequate tools to do so.

Technology can be incorporated by communicating assignments to parents via blog or website. With disadvantaged populations, however, technology is not always accessible. Again, students may be provided time on the computer after school to complete assignments in a homework club. Study Island is a standards based program that is utilized by some parents and students at home to practice skills.

Corrective feedback on homework should be given expeditiously. Students will continue to make the same mistakes if not made aware of their mistakes. Teachers can use the homework to drive instruction, determining what skills to reteach if the majority of the class was low in that skill.

Homework continues to be a battle that teachers face. By providing clear expectations to parents, aligning assignments to specific skills that are being taught in classrooms, and being purposeful, homework can benefit all students.

Entry #6 Learning vs. Acquisition

The main difference between learning and acquiring language is that learning is a conscious process and we are aware of what we are learning. Acquiring a language means that we are not aware we are acquiring language and the process is subconscious.

Learning vocabulary and language is not a natural process and it usually involves explicit teaching of rules, morphology and syntax. Typically, students will do well on a test when learning a language but are unable to communicate with native speakers and understand the language in authentic situations.

Acquiring language is a subconscious process in which the student may not even be aware they are picking up the language. This is contributed comprehensible input. For example, when traveling in a foreign country or studying abroad, use of the language is essential for practical purposes such as going to the grocery store, communicating needs and wants, and just surviving in a foreign culture.

Krashen describes that language is acquired in a natural order. Language is very complex and researchers have been unable to pin down the exact order of acquisition to better help teachers use the order to drive instruction. Acquisition is unique to the learner and is dependent upon that individual's natural learning patterns and interaction with the language.

Examples of student activities that would involve learning:
-look up words in dictionary to write definitionss
-Venn diagram
-practice sounding out words
-identify words on a big book page that have same sound
-group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on first or last letter (can be acquisition as well)
-write rhyming poetry and discuss different spellings (could be acquisition)
-read a language experience story they have created with a teacher (can be acquistion)
-work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences (can be acquisition)
-divide words into syllables
-on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture
-make alphabet books on different topics (can be acquisition)
-preteaching vocabulary


Examples of teacher activities that involve acquisition
-Shared reading with a big book
-writes words the students dictate for a story
-makes sure students read only books that fit their level
-writes words the students dicatete for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words
-chooses predictable texts
-does a picture walk of a new book
 Learning
-preteaches vocabulary
-asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter
-sets aside time for SSR each day (can be acquisition)
-teaches Latin and Greek Roots
-conducts phonics drills
-teaches students different comprehension strategies
-does a a pictue walk of a new book (can be acquisition)
-uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills

#9 Features of Expository and Narrative Text

Expository: Playing it Safe by Elizabeth Austin	Folktale/Narrative: Robin Hood Wins the Sherriff’s Golden Arrow adapted by Karina Barrentine
Expository elements introduction, bold headings definitions visuals (diagrams, photos, charts) table of contents glossary captions Challenging Features content-area vocabulary text structure needs to be taught before reading amount of text covered may be difficult for ELL’s to decipher what is important and what is not important complex sentences extensive use of pronouns lack of experiences either due to poverty or culture may make it difficult for ELL’s to understand certain concepts Features that support language acquisition Expository text structure can be pre-taught so students can better categorize information so it is not so overwhelming organizational features (pictures, diagrams, tables, charts, timelines, etc…) can help students locate and understand information in the text Glossary available to define unfamiliar vocabulary Requires more literal comprehension rather than implicit which can be a challenge for ELL’s	Narrative elements characters plot  theme setting climax resolution Sub-genre Folktale elements Themes: Usually universal truths, lessons, and values related to people, their actions, and/or material goods that are valued by the group that creates the folktale. These tales tell what happens to those who do not obey the group’s traditions. Cross-cultural: most cultures usually have their own version of each folktale Time is usually in the past (long, long ago) Place is usually specific to the culture and region (humble cottage, magic kingdom) Characters are flat and characteristics are exaggerated Stories are possible but not probable Styles may include: Elements of magic, spells, enchantments, and supernatural beings (spell is broken and ______ turns into a ______). Running away from home (Gingerbread Man, The Bun-Russian, The Pancake-Norwegian) Cumulative: sequence of events or characters that accumulate. Repeat phrases, develop logic and sequential thinking (for preoperational children), and understanding for more sophisticated literature) Extraordinary animals, monster, or other animated things (Three Little Pigs, Shrek) Explain a natural phenomena or custom. How Rabbit Stole Fire, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in people's Ears, Tikki Tikki Temkbo. Good vs. evil Challenging Features Content is culture-bound Need to activate prior-knowledge; simply knowing vocabulary is not sufficient imagery and symbolism may be difficult idiomatic expressions Features that support language acquisition Different versions of folktales are present in most cultures Comparison’s between the student’s native language folktales and English folktales will help students see similarities and bridge the gap in understanding Folktales can be taught at a very young age and the storyline becomes familiar to ELL’s when presented with other folktales repeated phrases can develop logical and sequential thinking themes in folktales are universal so students can easily make connections

#8 Sheltered instruction video reflection

In the video, three phases of sheltered instruction were demonstrated:

1.  Pre-reading activities (Teacher-directed/Modeling/"I do")

• Explicitly explain instruction-orally and written
• review strategies kids will be using in the lesson
• Extract vocabulary that will be in the text to pre-teach
• pictures
• synonyms, kid-friendly language to make it comprehensible
• Create a chart/graphic organizer to activate background knowledge
• Put illustration/book cover on board

2.  During reading activities (student-centered/"we-do")

• Shelter directions (take out book...turn to page 8-12)
• Clarify and repeat directions as needed
• Slow down pace of speech when reading aloud and giving instructions
• Explicitly teach reading strategies
• Model think-alouds
• Repetition-reinforce while reading
• Text-to-self connections, text-to-world etc...
• allow wait time (3-5 seconds)
• Student output=student input

3.  Review ("you-do"/Student-centered)

• Save time in lesson to review the vocabulary, reading strategies
• Allow time for students to interact independently with text ("you-do")
• Hands-on activities and group work (post-its used by students when applying strategies posted on *diary board)
• Discussion, questions, connections

Comments
*Diary board hung on wall used throughout units to connect reading strategies students have worked on all year. Great anchor chart for ELL's to refer to for help! The diary board also included a section for "I'm confused" which provides ELL's an opportunity to ask questions if they are reluctant to verbalize them during class.  I loved this idea and will use it in my class. The students were engaged throughout the lesson and the teacher did a good job of scaffolding questions and assisted students when needed. The teacher probed the students for background knowledge and had students make connections from Esperanza Rising to their own lives such as the Mexican birthday song. She even had one of the students sing it in class. The students had multiple opportunities to demonstrate comprehension of text and applied strategies during the lesson. I've taught Esperanza Rising before and it is a great book for teaching the strategy of making connections, particularly with Spanish speaking students as the chapter titles are in Spanish and most students are familiar with the concepts in the book. Some suggestions to improve the lesson would to be to provide more visuals or pictures of vocabulary. This is a strategy we use in all of our classes at RECS. I would also provide the students with more multiple response strategies to help me know what students are getting it and what students are not. The teacher's pacing was swift and the group was obviously a higher ELL group. The pace of the class would have to be modified for students who have less English proficiency.

#7 Running Records

The first student I assessed is a 5th grade student who speaks Spanish as his native language. This student, whom I will call, "J" also receives special education services in reading and reads at approximately a 1st grade level. The readability level of the passage was 1.5 grade equivalent.

J mispronounced 18 of the 126 words he was scored on. J's error rate was 1:6 and accuracy was 83%. J read 15 words per minute and 12 words correct per minute. J did a lot of guessing based on the first sound or letter of the word, for example, he substituted organism for oxygen. This error was meaning changing but somewhat related to the text "What Comes from Plants". J dropped some suffixes which is a typical error for Spanish speaking students as Spanish words do not have suffixes. J's primary difficulty with the text was being able to decode the text. This text was not meant to be frustrating but it was good information for me to adapt the level of his independent and instructional level text even lower than it is currently.

The other student I assessed is a 2nd grade student who speaks Korean as his first language. I will refer to him as "A". A is a high-achieving student and read a passage about Mars. It was obvious that A enjoyed science and space and had a high level of background knowledge on this topic. A was able to read the symbol "F" as Fahrenheit even though the full word wasn't printed. His level of text structure was advanced. Some of the academic vocabulary was challenging as he had some miscues involving visual cue mistakes. A was proficient in decoding multisyllabic words and had very few syntax and visual cue errors. Clearly, A is an advanced reader and a high level of background knowledge definitely impacted his ability to read the text so accurately. Given a text on a topic he's more unfamiliar with, A probably wouldn't have been as successful. This reminds me as a teacher to insure to provide enough scaffolding and opportunities to activate background knowledge and I may need to use less scaffolding for topics students are familiar with.

Entry #5 Cultural Aspects of Children's Literature-Effects on Comprehension

Murdoch's Path by Juliette Horatia Ewing

In a second grade RTI large group class, we read an Irish folktale entitled Murdoch's Path by Juliette Horatia Ewing. The book was written at a 3rd grade level and the book was read aloud to the class. The book is a traditional Irish folktale about a boy who takes a wrong turn and ends up dancing with fairies and is richly rewarded for his good manners. A selfish shoemaker also goes down the path seeking riches and tries to trick the fairies which results in the shoemaker being tricked himself.

Most of the second grade students are of Hispanic descent and are from Mexico. The students were not very familiar with fairies but a few had seen the popular Disney version of "Peter Pan" and knew who Tinkerbell was. I built off of that schema and related the fairies in the folktale to Tinkerbell.

To further activate students' schema, I displayed pictures of the fairies from the story and explained how they are magic, can play tricks on people and cast spells. Students were not familiar with the words "spells" so I used the synonym tricks such as magic tricks. I then activated their schemas relating spells to witches. I knew the Spanish word for witch so I used the Spanish translation, "bruja". Students nodded heads and said, "oh yeah!". By that time I had activated the students' schema and created a picture of the concepts they would encounter in the text.

In order to give the students an idea of the setting, I showed them where Ireland was on a map. I explained that this is the country where St. Patrick's Day originated. I pulled up the history of St. Patrick's Day on the internet and gave a brief summary of why we celebrate it in the United States. I related it to Cinco de Mayo which is a Mexican holiday we celebrate here and St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday we celebrate because we have many people who immigrated from Ireland.

I also discussed the folktale genre and had students brainstorm other folktales. We talked about the elements of the genre and how there is always a lesson or "theme". The students were encouraged to try to figure out the lesson of the folktale at the end of the story.

We stopped to discuss unfamilar vocabulary and previewed words that might be difficult. I modeled vocabulary strategies such as word structure, apposition, and context clues. Previewing the text and anticipating concepts students may get confused with, as well as having knowledge of Mexican culture, helped me activate students' schema and insure students were comprehending the text.

Casey at the Bat

Written By Ernest Lawrence Thayer, circa 1888

Casey at the Bat is a famous poem that is one of the hallmark pieces of intermediate elementary and Jr. High language arts curriculum. The struggle with poetry for ELL's is the figurative and often archaic language that even native English speakers are unfamiliar with. With such antiquated idiomatic phrases such as, "springs eternal in the human breast;", "With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone", and "We'd put up even money now" English language learners struggle with poetry.

Explicit and direct vocabulary instruction prior to reading the poem is critical to insuring comprehension of text. All students benefit from learning what vocabulary such as visage, melancholy, and haughty mean. Some advanced students may be able to infer the meaning of these words but the level of effort it would take to decipher the text would not allow enough brain power to figure out the larger concepts of the poem.

Many of the students at my school are not familiar with baseball. The students primary sport of interest is soccer. To activate schema, I would play a short video of a baseball game showing a player up to bat. I would describe the basic elements of baseball and have students find pictures in sports magazines or use the internet to explore the concept of baseball.

Since the poem was written in 1888, I would show students pictures of baseball uniforms of that era and the type of clothing the fans might have worn. I would also bring realia such as a baseball mit, a baseball and bat to have the students touch and see. I might even take the kids outside to play an inning of baseball.

I would do extensive modeling and think-alouds as I scaffolded the language and vocabulary of the poem for my ELL's. I would have students draw pictures of what they are visualizing as I read the poem to assess understanding of the poem. Students would have access to thesauri, online dictionaries and Spanish-English dictionaries to clarify unfamiliar words.

There are many ways to extend the lesson depending on students' language levels and level of scaffolding necessary for the learners. Ultimately, if the students are able to visualize as they read poetry, they will comprehend it. So often ELL's get hung up on the figurative language but if the teacher models by thinking aloud, scaffolding, and clarifying prior to the lesson and during the lesson, students will activate schema and comprehend the text.

Entry #4 Making Meaning of Foreign Text

I attempted to read  an article given to me by my assistant pricipal that was written in Spanish. I have a little exposure to Spanish but cannot read it proficiently. In order to make the text comprehensible, I attempted to use knowledge of cognates to determine what words meant. The nouns were easier to understand than the verbs. I tried to use my knowledge of latin roots to access the general text meaning. Even when I translated a sentence, I had to decipher the syntax as Spanish syntax is different than English syntax. There were no picture cues in the article and my AP deleted the title so I wouldn't get any hints as to the meaning. I re-read and parused the article for any English words and I noticed the word UNICEF and Columbia so I gathered that the article was about UNICEF and Columbia. I activated my background knowledge and knew that UNICEF stands for United Nations Childrens Fund so I inferred that it was an article about children of Columbia in a warzone. I had to ask some Spanish speakers to help me with some of the words I didn't know which my students do in class. Translation is sometimes necessary to make text understandable to our newcomer ELL students. As a teacher I need to be cognizant of using non-linguistic representations which aren't always present with upper-grade level text. Primary-level text usually has picture cues which can help younger students understand the general meaning. The process of gleaning meaning from the text was frustrating and took me an extraordinary amount of time to get through it. This activity helped me empathize with ELL's and the frustration they experience not knowing a language and being expected to read academic text in a language that is foreign to them.

Entry #1 Philosphy of Teaching Reading

The teacher I interviewed in regard to her philosophy of reading responded that knowing her students well is first priority. The following were additional priorities in her philosophy of teaching reading:

1. Pre-assessing students so she knows what students know and don't know is essential.
2. Pre-teaching vocabulary, particularly with ELL's, is necessary in order to make information comprehensible and to activate background knowledge.
3. Frequent checks for understanding are also important to insure learners are getting it.
4. The teacher also uses total physical response to help ELL's and all learners to solidify understanding of vocabulary and concepts as well as keeps the students engaged.
5. Ultimately, we need to make learning fun and meaningful for students so they are engaged and take ownership of their learning.

Entry #2: Reflection of writing view that most corresponds with my experiences.

The whole-language approach was in full-swing as I was attending elementary school as a child. There were still teachers who taught phonics but as I reflect based on my knowledge of teaching today, many teachers were using whole-language to teach reading and writing. My brother is a product of whole language and is a horrific speller. I am grateful to have had a blend of whole language and phonics instruction.

I enjoyed writing as a child and do not recall explicit and direct instruction on the writing process. My mother mailed some writing from elementary school and if there was planning involved, it was not evident. I remember "creative writing". The teachers would allow us to journal about topics we selected and write stories. Expository writing was virutally non-existent, unlike in today's classroom in which that is typically the emphasis.

Over Christmas break this year, my mother mailed some of my writing from elementary school. Among the writing samples my mom sent me were poems, imaginative narritives about aliens, a fictional "chapter" story I wrote in 6th grade compiled in a class book. In the primary grades I had pieces of writing about what I'm thankful for on turkey paper, journal entries about field trips, dialogue with my teacher about daily happenings, and laminated stories with old-school typeset and crayon illustrations.

In hindsight, oral language development happened at home first. I was a curious kid and asked a lot of questions. My parents were the purveyors of vocabulary. I loved words and even though shy around others, I conversed with my parents at dinner every night and was spoken to as an equal, not talked down to as a child. Through the modeling of correct grammar, engagement in scaffolded language, my parents provided me with the foundation for reading and writing.

If I didn't know what words or concepts meant, my mother would explain them to me or refer me to a book to broaden my knowledge. I don't ever remember baby-talk being used in my family. I never had any articulation or language problems, nor did I use baby talk myself. My mother was a stay at home mom until I entered school. Then she began working at the public library which became my second home.

I attribute my oral language development and writing development to being immersed in books and surrounded with opportunities to use language. Sophisticated oral language was modeled by my college-educated parents. I attended preschool in which I was given opportunities to write at my developmental level. I was provided with games, rhymes, songs, and books that helped train my ear to recognize patterns in words and allowed me to play with language. I marched to songs and played with puppets. I used finger paint to form my first letters. I manipulated refrigerator magnets. I pretended to read the newspaper with my dad. I went on fieldtrips to farms. My preschool had eggs under heatlamps that I watched hatch into baby chicks. All of these experiences that we tend to negate with the push for accountability and rushing kids to learn how to read and write were essential to my oral language and writing development.

As an educator, I need to remember that children's language is not always developed through explicit instruction but through the power of modeling, hearing language in books, and opportunities to engage with the world around them in meaningful ways.

Entry #3 Relationship between oral language and the reading process

Students may not come to school able to read but most students have developed oral language. Typically, students' vocabulary is based on what is needed to communicate in their home and the world around them. Not all students, however, are exposed to a wide range of books and academic vocabulary necessary to be successful in the classroom. Developing a strong foundation in oral language is a prerequisite to learning to read.

Students from families with low incomes and students speaking a first language other than, English, enter school with many challenges, putting them even further behind their native English speaking peers. Research by Hart and Risley has indicated that the size of a three-year-old's vocabulary is a strong predictor of comprehension and reading ability at the end of third grade (Hart and Risley 2003). This presents a dilemma for early childhood educators, as well as upper elementary teachers. Many teachers at the third grade level at my school state that third grade is where the gap becomes "huge" for learners who begin their academic careers behind. 

Early intervention is key and immersion in books at home prior to coming to school is essential. Many of our students from disadvantaged homes, are not exposed to the experiences necessary to develop vocabulary and we must be intentional and explicit in vocabulary instruction. Academic vocabulary should be explicitly taught and students must be provided the opportunity to use it on multiple occasions. Students' background knowledge must be developed in order to improve oral language, thus improving comprehension. Language learning for ELL's in particular, needs to be scaffolded in order to develop vocabulary. Comprehensible input which relates language to concrete experiences, is essential, particularly in teaching of academic language which can be a challenge for ELL's. The teacher's role is critical in this context. As Gibbons points out, "students must 'learn' the language before they use it (Gibbons 2002).

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