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Angela Bell and Leslie Grant's presentation at the IATEFL, YLTSIG, CyTEA Conference in Cyprus May, 2014: Contextualizing Literacy Instruction
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Leslie Grant, Angela Bell, Barbara Frye, and Annette Shtivelband
University of Colorado Colorado Springs, USA
IATEFL, YLTSIG,
CyTEA Conference
May, 2014
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD)
English Learners (ELs)
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
English Language Learners (ELLs)
English as a Second Language (ESL)
L1: First language
L2: Second or additional language
Title III : Federal program to support ELLs
CDE, 2010
Partner District 1 Partner District 2
#ELLs K-3 917 1235
Free/Red. Lunch 70%
Languages 95% Spanish 90% Spanish; 47
different languages
Preschool Yes Yes
Achievement
gaps
Yes Yes
1) Increase teachers’ knowledge and skill sets with regard to
standards-based literacy instruction of ELLs in grades PreK –
Grade 3
2) Improve academic achievement of young ELLs (PreK –
Grade 3) in the area of literacy.
1) Increase teachers’ knowledge and skill sets with regard to
standards-based literacy instruction of ELLs in grades Pre-
K –Grade 3
2) Improve academic achievement of young ELLs (PreK –
Grade 3) in the area of literacy.
Awarded $289,000
February 2013-December 2013
Provided a sustained program of
o workshops,
o discussions,
o online resources,
o an intensive summer institute,
o and structured observation sessions.
The first language and culture of our students is a resource
for learning to read and write in English--not a problem or a
barrier (August et al. 2006)
Oral language is closely associated with learning to read
and write…need strong oral language focus for our ELLs
(Shanahan & Lonigan, 2012).
Children come to school rich and varied experiences with
language and literacy from home environment. This cultural
capital—or funds of knowledge (Moll, et al., 1992 as cited in
García & Kleifgen, 2010)—is not always recognized and
valued by their teachers, particularly if the language and
culture differ from that of the school.
Misconception that if a beginning language learner, you
have to master all the letters and sounds in order to move
on…in fact, students will benefit from letters and sounds in
meaningful contexts when they are learning English
(Herrera, Perez, & Escamilla, 2010).
Finally….we know:
“CLD students are generally more successful at acquiring
English vocab and content knowledge when learning is
focused on identifying word meanings in context, rather
than on isolated word parts that have no contextual ties
(Herrera, et al., 2010, p. 37).
o Advocate for authentic texts; these connected texts have rich stories
and illustrations
o Even better to use culturally relevant texts—help avoid a cultural
disconnect
o These texts enable children to connect, use their schema, and
results in better comprehension
To measure Goal 1 on teacher efficacy, we
o Collected pre-post surveys on teachers perceptions and attitudes
o Collected observation data on teacher practices
o Collected samples of participant work, ie lesson plans and parent
activities
To measure Goal 2 to increase student achievement, we
o Collected student summative assessment data
o Collected student formative assessment data
Guided and supported 50 PreK- 3rd grade teachers to
build knowledge base regarding ELs’ language and literacy
development, & implement, assess, and reflect on the
instructional changes.
Construct of Interest
General classroom preparation
ELL classroom preparation
ELL knowledge
ELL literacy
ELL instruction
Topic knowledge
Topic helpfulness
Language attitudes of teachers
General self-ratings
ELL self-ratings
Lesson targets and academic language: content/language
objectives, academic language, vocabulary
Connections with students: first language, culture, build
background
Instructional strategies: variety, student engagement, oral
language development, critical thinking, pacing, delivery
Checking/assessing: frequent checks for understanding,
varied options, tied to objectives
Contextualized literacy instruction
Connecting first and second
language
Moving from “their kids” to “our kids”
Connecting content with language
standards
Involving parents in language and
literacy instruction
Interpreting data to use for
instruction
Thanks to our teachers and Dr. Laura Tuthill for several pre-literacy activities.
Lesson example—whole to part/oral language to written
language
o Read text
o Have learners identify animals, teacher, and students (sticks with
pictures from story)
o Use song
• Brown Bear song
o Isolate phrases
o Work on rhymes and sounds (see, me (rhyming words); duck, dog
(words with same initial sound)
1. Alphabet Treasure Hunt: bury letters in
sand. Use shovel and pail to find treasure!
2. Car Letters: Create large alphabet letters
and make into a road. Drive the cars along the letter.
3. Guess the Next Word (Colorín Colorado,
2009): Use rhyming books or games to develop ability to recognize rhyming words to help children with getting ready to read. Especially helpful for vowel sounds. Read favorite stories, and stop just before the rhyming word. Have the child guess the next word.
1. Outdoor Alphabet Match-up: Put alphabet
letters along a table or bench. Allow room for objects to be placed next to the letters. Have kids look for items/toys/things that begin with the letters. Match them. See how many letters of the alphabet can be matched.
2. Writing Center Sight Words: On a cookie sheet, write sight word (my, I, etc.). Have the child find magnetic letters that match the words.
3. Playdough and Letters. Roll out playdough
and have some fun writing words by sticking letters in the playdough. Remove letters and see the same shapes in the playdough. Add to the word or roll out for a new word.
Teachers also created lesson extensions that parents could
participate in
-ex. Teacher created a unit that focused on characters,
setting, plot, etc.
Teacher shared the following Parent Activity with children’s
parents to reinforce what the children were learning at
school.
Parent Involvement
Comprehension Example for Parents
Easy activity to help your child with comprehension, which is understanding a text
read. Here is what you do:
Step 2: After reading the book, discuss the characters.
Step 1: Pick and introduce a book.
Discuss the front cover, title, author
and illustrator, and make predictions
about the story (good guesses about
the main idea).
Etc. The example had 8 steps total. Only 2 of the 8 are shown here.
We translated the activities into the most common second language in our
context: Spanish
Ejemplo de Comprensión
Actividad fácil para ayudar a su niño con la comprensión, que consiste en el comprender del
texto leído. Aquí verá cómo hacerlo:
Paso 2: Después de leer el libro, analice
los personajes. Haga que su niño
describa…¿cómo eran los personajes
de la historia?
Paso 1: Decida cuál libro le gustaría
leer. Luego, junto a su niño, examine
la portada, el título, el autor y el
ilustrador. Hagan predicciones sobre
el cuento (que coincidan con el tema
principal).
Etc. The example had 8 steps total. Only 2 of the 8 are shown here.
Data was analyzed by Annette Shtivelband, from an outside
evaluation firm, JVA consulting.
Quantitative analyses
Qualitative analyses
Construct of Interest Pretest
Mean
SD Posttest
Mean
SD Significance
(p-value)
General classroom
preparation
3.80 .67 3.93 .65 .134
ELL classroom preparation 3.20 .68 3.70 .65 .000
ELL knowledge 3.00 .69 3.60 .55 .000
ELL literacy 3.49 .69 3.96 .65 .000
ELL instruction 2.83 .85 3.84 .50 .000
Topic knowledge 2.88 .623 3.96 .41 .000
Topic helpfulness N/A N/A 3.90 .73 N/A
Language attitudes of
teachers
1.99 .37 1.95 .56 .522
General self-ratings 4.84 .92 5.41 .74 .000
ELL self-ratings 4.22 1.09 5.20 .90 .000
16 Questions on Observation Tool
We used the tool for pre- and post-observations
When we analyzed for improvement, we saw positive for 30
or more teachers across a number of categories. We were
especially pleased with growth in:
o Building background;
o Oral language development;
o Variety of materials used to make lesson clear and meaningful at all
proficiency levels; and
o Checking for understanding
When provided sustained professional development,
teachers’ efficacy for working with ELs significantly
improved.
Teachers moved from a deficit lens to a strengths-based
lens--focusing on what students CAN do as opposed to what
they CANNOT do.
We found that when teachers focus on context enhanced
literacy instruction it makes their instruction more
meaningful.
We found that teachers began to view parents as partners.
Teachers became more comfortable using data to make
instructional decisions.
August, D., Snow, C., Carlo, M., Proctor, C., Rolla de San Francisco, A., Duursma, E., & Szuber, A. (2006). Literacy development in elementary school second-language learners. Topical Language Disorders, 26(4), 351-364.
García, O., & Kleifgen, J. (2010). Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and practices for English Language Learners. NY: Teachers College.
Herrera, S., Perez, D., & Escamilla, K. (2010). Teaching reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated literacies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Shanahan, T., & Lonigan, C. (2012). The role of early oral language in literacy development. Language, 12(2), 24-27
www.colorincolorado.com
Funds for this project were provided by a grant from the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act 2001, Improving
Teacher Quality, Title II Program administered by the
Colorado Department of Higher Education.