Successful Strategies for Teaching to Middle Grades for English Language Learners
The article Successful Strategies for Teaching to Middle Grades for English Language Learners by: Nicole Bolos. Reading the article, I realized we are all reading teachers, we are all literacy teachers despite if we are teaching math, history, and science. We cannot teach without introducing Vocabulary terms of science, math and writing terms. I can reflect going back to my school days as a Kindergarten through high school student that my past teachers would not introduce any vocabulary words to help build the CALP language. I would sit there quiet, without asking any question about the lesson because I did not know the academic language of the lesson or instruction.
In some classrooms, teachers’ subconsciously use their language to establish negative relationships with literacy. For example, some teachers use reading and writing as a punishment or reference it as work instead of fun. Johnston (2004) said “ the way a teacher talks can position students differently in relations to what they are doing, learning, or studying” (p.9). In my opinion, this means that language has the power to influence student’s perception. Therefore, what teachers say and how they say it impacts how students feel about themselves and the world. But, some teacher may not realize how their words and tone towards literacy influences how children feel about it. In general, I think children in urban schools need to be exposed to language and literacy experiences that are positive and engaging. Instead of using reading and writing as a consequence, it could be used as a reward, or make it an option during free time just like any other fun activity. In general, I believe some teachers subconsciously use language to create negative relationships between students and literacy, but if teachers would be more mindful of the undertone of their language, children would perceive literacy differently (Johnston,
For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find information that will be useful to them during the year.
As I look back on my English 101 experience, I have come to the conclusion that I have learned many new things that have improved my abilities as a writer. I have learned some new techniques that have improved my ways of approaching an essay. I learned all about the rhetorical appeals and how to apply them in my writing and how to look for them in a essay written by a author. I have also learned how to argue both sides of a argument, and how to look for reliable sources and to properly quote and site the author of the essay. I feel as if I have become a better writer and my improved writing skills are shown within each essay.
To obtain a complete understanding of the word knowledge of students who are learning English, it is important their reading abilities (WTW, 2012). There are many ways to assess the reading abilities for ELL’s. For example, spelling inventories help explore the literacy knowledge of an ELL; however, the test should be first administered in their primary or first language. According to Words their way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling instruction, “a spelling inventory in students’ spoken language can indicate their literacy levels in the primary language, and more specifically, show which orthographic features they already understand” (WTW, 2014). Bilingual learners rely on knowledge of their primary language to spell words in a second language (WTW, 2014). Teachers can also assess ELL’s reading comprehension through sequencing activity (Ada, 1990). For example, teachers can have ELL’s write individual sentences from the text on separate sheets of drawing paper; then read or have the students read each sentence and illustrate it (Ada, 1990). Teachers can also informally test students’ ability to sequence material from a story by printing sentences from a section of the story on paper strips, mix the strips; have students put them in order (Ada, 1990). According to Spanish-Language Children’s Literature in the Classroom, teachers should “read to newcomers every day” (Ada, 1990). Appropriate reading material for beginning English Language Learners (ELL) should include numerous illustrations that help clarify the text, story plots that are action-based, little text on each page, text that contains repetitive, predictable phrases, high-frequency vocabulary and useful words, text that employs simple sentence structures (Ada, 1990). When you read to beginning ESL students, be sure to make language comprehensible to them (Ada,
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
As writers, many students write to the expectations of their professors and not to their fullest potential. Throughout English 101 I had been writing only to please my professor or to fill the basic requirement to pass English. I always felt that my writing ability was never enough for my professors throughout the previous years. They always wanted clear and concise essays, which for some reason was unreachable by me. However, starting college and taking English 101 helped me with my weaknesses and changed my technique of writing essays. My experience in English 101 taught me to write to my fullest potential and to write what I felt; rather then writing what was required.
Students who speak English, but have limited science vocabulary as it is used within the textbook and in class
...l survival in our society. I work as a counselor each summer at a sports camp in Philadelphia, and each summer I encounter very intelligent students who are placed in lower tracks or labeled as ìlearning deficientî because of their language. This disturbs me because as a speaker of both Black Vernacular speech and Standard English, I know that students can learn to use Standard English just as I have. Unfortunately, many students are not privileged enough to have the same educational opportunities that I was given by my parents, therefore, it is my responsibility to teach these students Standard English the way that I have been taught. But I must learn more about teaching students and dealing with the issues that plague the educational system, and I am looking forward to receiving more of this knowledge during my pre-student teaching and student teaching experiences.
Literacy is the term used when talking about the ability to read and write. It leads to success in K-12 school, post-secondary school, the ability to compete in the job market, and participation in democratic process (Wei, Blackorby, & Schiller, 2011). Teaching young children how to read and write however is a very complex process that requires a teacher to employ a myriad of strategies to help students. When a teacher takes into consideration all the different abilities in a classroom having multiple strategies that help all students become proficient in speaking and listening, reading, and writing, is essential.
In the content area in Language Arts, students will develop the reading skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of print and non-print text activating prior knowledge, processing and acquiring new vocabulary, organizing information, understanding visual representations, self-monitoring, and reflecting. This can be accomplished by implementing pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading strategies into the lesson plan. Fifth grade students will read and write a variety of texts with greater scope and depth. In addition, they will analyze and evaluate information and ideas by revisiting and refining concepts about the language arts benchmark and will become more refined and independent learners.
Literacy is an on-going skill that teachers and students alike should commonly study and practice in all grades. Problems faced by teachers, especially teachers in higher grades, are not having the skills to be effective teachers of literacy. To effectively teach literacy across content areas, a teacher would need skills such as knowledge of the reading process and the ability to cultivate the knowledge gained in order to make informed decisions within their classrooms (Clary, Oglan, Styslinger,
Many researchers like Krashen (1985), Harmer (2007), and Turnbull (2001) emphasise that in most EFL (English as a foreign language) environment, a teacher’s English proficiency ...
In class, we have been focusing on the explanation of what Literacy III: Research and Pedagogy in Content Area Literacy actually means. Content Area Literacy is defined by as “the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline” (McKenna and Robinson 1990). Because of the explanation of the class, I feel as if I am learning about the background and deepening my knowledge and understanding of the class as a whole. Content Area Literacy gives each subject areas a reason to include reading strategies in those lessons. These subject areas include mathematics, science, history, and English (Hodges 2015). When you can include reading strategies in these lessons, you are expanding student’s horizons and giving them multiple exposures. I think that this is extremely beneficial in the all classrooms. As for the negatives on Content Area Literacy, it should be noted that teachers should not only focus on reading during the other subject areas. Teachers need to have a medial balance between the content area and the literacy strategies
As a teacher language is the most important tool in order to support student learning. The book Elementary Classroom Management by Kerry Williams discusses how language is an important tool to use “language can be a powerful vehicle for activating thought, and as teachers we need to be aware of the role it is playing” (ref pg. 196). The use of words and tone that the teacher uses to the students is significant in the behaviour of students. For example if a student is displaying
According to pedagogical theory, the language that teachers use in classrooms determines to a larger degree whether a class will succeed or not. Many scholars found teacher talk makes up around 70% of classroom language (Cook, 2000; Chaudron, 1988). Teachers pass on knowledge and skills, organize teaching activities and help students practice through teacher talk. Brown recommends that teachers articulate their language, slow it down, uses simple vocabulary, and speak to students in just above the students’ level. In bilingual classrooms, teachers’ language is not only the object of the course, but also the medium to achieve the teaching