Homework rationale / purpose Blog#10

 Homework Rationale/purpose:

Homework should provide students with opportunities to practice, review, and apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom (Hill, 2006).  It should deepen students understanding and help build essential skills (Vatterott 2010).  I believe that homework can develop a sense of ownership.  I also believe it helps students to be responsible for their learning and even at a young age can begin to develop the necessary life long skill of time management with their homework. 

What will constitute meaningful homework?

As mentioned above meaningful homework will have students practicing, reviewing and applying their knowledge.  Homework assignments should not consist of skill and drill, but instead should be an application task.  The assignment should be an activity that the student can complete on their own, keeping parental involvement to a minimum.  Meaningful homework will also have a clear defined purpose, it will be differentiated to match the students learning style, and develop ownership by allowing choice with assignments.

There might be times with our ELL learners that front-loading their learning will help them comprehend a lesson that is going to be introduced.  Students should not be asked to complete a task using this information, but it might be helpful for them to listen to the story or watch a video in their L1 language to help build their background knowledge.

What are your intended homework objectives for your students?

Along with practicing, reviewing and applying knowledge homework should also begin to instill responsibility and ownership.  “The goal of ownership is to create a personal relationship between the student and the content” (Vatterott, 2009).  Finding out how students learn and practice their learning best, and letting that dictate the type of assignment they complete will make homework meaningful for students!

How will you provide specific feedback?

In order for students to stay motivated and feel like their efforts were worth the time that was involved we must provide students with timely specific feedback.  Feedback can be in verbal or written form for students and can come from the teacher or from peers (with training about how to give feedback).  As I think about the feedback I provide to my students, it is usually specific, just not always timely.  A system where you could check in with a small number of students each day and provide feedback would be a way to manage trying to reach all 26 students on the same day.

Using technology in this communication process.

Classroom websites have become a valuable tool for finding, clarifying, and supporting homework assignments.  Due dates, explanations and examples of assignments, and addition links for further practice can all be available for students and parents.  These websites also allow parents and/or students to E-mail the teacher with questions.  As teachers we do however need to be aware of any of our families that do not have access to a computer and internet or might not understand what is on the web pages.

Fiction and Nonfiction Texts Blog #9

Graphic Organizer:

Comparing a Nonfiction Text (NFT) Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, with a Fiction Text (FT) Farm Animals: Cows by Emily Green

Parts of the text	Similarities	Differences	Supports ELLs	Challenging for ELLs
Title of the book	Both titles tell the reader what the book is going to be about	The NFT title to entertain and the FT title to inform	The FT title is concrete, and the picture on the cover supports what the book will be about.	The NFT title and picture could be confusing to ELLs- the word ‘Type’ with the visual of a typewriter will need to be explained
Structure	Both texts provide information.	The FT text has a beginning, middle and end-as many ‘stories’ do. The NFT text has a table of contents, glossary and index.  It also has important words in bold print to emphasize them.	Learning and understanding the structures of FT and NFT texts will support ELLs.  The structures of the NFT text are straight forward, and can be mini-lesson to help with understanding.  Pre-teaching would be easier with a NFT text.  The way the FT text reads is more similar to the oral language an ELL is used to hearing- more of a ‘story’ format.	ELLs will need to have the story elements of the FT text explicitly taught. Understanding of characters, setting, plot and sequencing of the story could be confusing and difficult.  The NFT text might not be as engaging or entertaining for students, and might not be as familiar because of their exposure to it.
Pictures	Both text have picture to support the story	The NFT text has real photographs and the FT text has illustrations.	The photographs in the NFT text will support ELL learners as the pictures match what they are reading about cows.	The illustrations in the FT are fun to look at, but are not as straightforward in helping ELLs with vocabulary and understanding what the story is saying.
Vocabulary Content	Both texts have vocabulary that will need to be taught before ELLs will be able to understand.	The vocabulary in the NFT text are one word definitions that need to be taught and are supported by pictures (for example, ‘udder’) where in the FT text it is more about understanding concepts (for example going on ‘strike’)	Both texts have visuals that will support learning the vocabulary. The NFT text has a Table of contents, a glossary and an index that can support vocabulary development.	The vocabulary challenges in the FT text will come from ELLs not understanding the underlying messages being taught and from having trouble making inferences.  The figurative language in this text will also make it difficult to fully understand.  In the NFT some of the technical language might be challenging.

Overall I believe that the salient features of the nonfiction text are more supportive for our ELLs.  The pictures, vocabulary, content, and structure of this text would provide more direct, concrete support that would be easier to understand and teach.  The fiction text would however be more enjoyable and have more in common with their oral language development. Regardless of the type of text being introduced or taught it is clear that as teachers we must provide our ELLs with the background knowledge they will need to comprehend.

Sheltered Literacy Lesson Blog #8

            In the video clip that we watched there were many examples of the essential components needed in a sheltered lesson.  We were able to watch several different types of lessons being taught where the students knew and understood what the content of the lessons were.  There was also evidence of language objectives that were being taught. One example of a language objective was seen when a student used an incorrect preposition when answering a question.  The teacher quickly grabbed a sheet that had an oral preposition activity the students recited to practice the proper use of prepositions.

            This teacher effectively builds background knowledge and ensures that her students have the necessary vocabulary not only for the lessons she is teaching but for the purpose of communicating as well.  At one point in a lesson the students were listening to a story on tape as they followed along with their own copy.  The teacher stopped the tape to ask a couple of questions to check for students understanding.  One of her students raised his hand and asked, “Can I make a connection?”  After the student made his connection, the teacher commented on it being a connection to self, and later a student made a connection to a movie he had seen, so she made sure to point out that a different type of connection was being made.  We were able to watch several different activities where the teacher was making sure key vocabulary was understood.  She had the actual objects (use of realia) the students were learning about.  In another example one of her students spoke in his native language to explain how a plant was used in his country, the teacher then translated what the student had said, and the group came up with the word “squeezed” to help the student.

            In Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners (Hill and Flynn 2006) we learn that meaning can not conveyed to ELLs through words alone.  To make understanding and comprehension complete for our ELL students teachers must do more than just talk to them.  In the video we watched we saw several examples of how this teacher used other methods to help her students make meaning. There were several times when she used realia in her lessons, with vocabulary and when they were talking about a specific kind of plant, she had several of them in the classroom for the students.  During an interactive History lesson, pairs of students were using maps of their neighborhood looking for the Spanish street names as she was trying to help them understand the connections between Spain, Mexico and California.  It did seem to me that this teacher talked very quickly all the time.  She did have movements and gestures to go along with a lot of what she was communicating to the students.

            I think because we did not see an entire lesson from the beginning all the way through to the end, we did not see many examples of strategies being used in the classroom.  The students might have been learning about the desert, and then with the aloe vera plant they were looking at later they might have been talking about plants that grow in the desert.  The teacher might want to use a graphic organizer to get an understanding of what her students all ready know about a desert and what questions or misunderstandings they have.  Based on what they all ready know the teacher might use that opportunity to ask questions that would promote higher level thinking. We did see her stop lessons and readings and ask students questions to check for understanding and help them to make necessary connections for comprehension.

            There were many examples of interaction between students and between the teacher and her students.  Students were provided with tasks they needed to complete in small groups that required them to interact with each other to finish the activity.  The teacher explained that the students in her class were ‘obsessed’ with these paper spinners that everyone was making.  She mentioned that they were distracting, but she decided to use them as part of a vocabulary lesson.  As the students were making their spinners she was making one also and was having the students teach her how to make it.  They were very excited about this activity and did not even seem to mind that they had to write their vocabulary words on them after they were made. Another example of interaction, which I mentioned earlier, was when the teacher had one of her students explain something in his native language so he could understand a key concept that was being discussed.  My favorite example was at the end of the video when she let the students play math games together in small groups.  Not only was this a great activity for the students to interact, but also for them to practice and apply what they knew about reading and math.  The students had to read the directions “rules” of the game, (which gave them a purpose for reading) and figure out together through conversation how to play the game.  The last part of the video showed all of the students interacting and involved in learning, and when it was time to stop playing and clean up there was a collective sigh of disappointment that the time was over.   One of the key points in our text, and in the sheltered lesson plan is to make sure to give our ELLs wait time after a question is asked.  It is recommended to wait at least three seconds after asking a question to allow students time to think not only about what they are going to say, but how they are going to say it.  Wait time also allows for students to increase the depth of their answers.  I did not see much evidence of this while watching the video, as the pace of the lessons we watched moved rapidly. 

            In the lesson delivery to support language objectives this teacher mentioned that a lot of her students do not use ‘names’ on items when taking about them, often saying ‘thing’ in place of the actual name.  One of the goals this teacher has is to make sure her students are using proper names for objects when they are communicating with each other.  In all of the clips we saw all of the students were engaged and the pace of the lessons seemed fast, but appropriate as all of the students were participating.  We did not see this teacher do any formal assessment, although at one point the students were finishing up a math test. 

            This was a great video to watch it is clear that this is a teacher who is passionate about her students developing socially, emotionally and academically.  In the clips watched there were many examples of how she sheltered her lessons to meet her students needs.

           

Running record/miscue analysis for ELLs Blog #7

            I did a running record/miscue analysis on two different ELL students.  The first student was a Russian speaking Kindergartener who revealed that she relies on syntax while she is reading. Using the picture clues, and the first word of the sentence which was ‘I’ she made the sentences make sense. Her miscues affected the meaning of the patterned text she was reading but not only did she not realize that she was changing the meaning, she wasn’t getting enough from what she was reading to know she needed to correct it.  With every error she made she not once used a visual clue in the text to help her decode. 

            This student understands that print carries a message, and that she can use the pictures on the pages as clues for what she is reading.  She did not demonstrate voice print match while she was reading, and after watching her read, I am not sure she completely understands that letters make up words and those words make up a sentence.  I also wonder about this student’s phonemic awareness and phonics understanding.  She did not attend to the print and it makes me wonder if she knows to look at the beginning sounds of unknown words to help her decode. 

            My next teaching points will be to work on voice print match until this young reader is able to use it effectively.  One way to help students understand this concept is to read a simple sentence (three words long) to the student and ask the student to count the words as you read.  Next, I like to read the sentence again, and hold up a finger with each word I read, confirming or helping to correct the students answer.  Then I go back for a third time and we point to each of the words as we read them.  I have used transparent colored book tape (the removable kind) and covered each word in a sentence with a different color to help students see where one word stops and the next one starts.  We also talk about and find the spaces between words.  The other teaching point would be to make sure this student knows all of her letters and letter sounds and that she can isolate the beginning sounds in words.  She would benefit from instruction on using the first letter and letter sound with the picture to decode an unknown word. 

            The second student was a Spanish-speaking student who is also in Kindergarten.  This student had much more control over the print in the text.  He had voice print match and an understanding that words made up the sentences he was reading.  He used meaning and syntax and while he was reading as none of his errors fell into either of these categories.  All of the errors in his reading were visual ones, where he was able to use the pictures on the page as clues to the one word that was changing in the sentence.  The sentences all read ‘A (one word change) is big.’  The only words he got correct were the ones where he asked what the picture was.  Some of the errors were close to the picture clues for example he said boat for ship and fire truck for fire engine. In another of the sentences he read he said, “A ambulancia” is big.

            There are two different things that I see needing addressed here.  The first one is that I do not think this student had the vocabulary and background knowledge to know that boat can also be called a ship, or when he read ‘tractor’ for ‘bulldozer’, is bulldozer a word he knows?  If this is the cause for the errors, and I have a feeling that it was this student will need vocabulary enrichment before he can begin to decode these words.  The second teaching point, after making sure that this student has the necessary vocabulary and an understanding of letters and letter sounds, is to help him to use the first and even last sounds with the picture clues to help him decode the unknown words in the text.  There is no retell associated with a running record, and I wonder if this student understood that the items he was reading about in the book were ‘big’ and if he understood what the word big meant.