Homework and Independent Practice for English Language Learners

Blog #10

Why is Homework and Independent Practice Important for English Language Learners (ELL’s)?

How can Instructors Help Make Homework and Independent Practice Successful Experiences for their Language Learners?

Many educators exclude ELL’s from certain assignments, including homework because they don’t believe that they can accomplish these tasks without assistance and the students probably don’t have the support they need at home in English. This assumption, along with the obstacles of differentiating assignments, may inhibit ELL’s from receiving important reinforcements of classroom learning and language acquisition practice that they need to advance in acquiring English literacy skills. Children are in school 6-7 hours of their day which are half (or less) of their waking hours and 25% of a day. Therefore, “homework is an effective means of extending student learning beyond the school day” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Oftentimes, guided practice is overemphasized with ELL’s in the classroom and authentic production of written language might be limited to filling in the blanks or copying off the board. This achieves what looks like proper English, but may not reflect the abilities of a student or tap in on higher level thinking skills. As educators, we must focus on what the learners can do and focus on what we can do (instead of being bogged down by obstacles) in order to facilitate more independent practice. In the Classroom: A Toolkit for Effective Instruction of English Language Learners ( by the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, NCELA) suggests several guiding principals for homework and independent practice for ELL’s (Hill & Flynn, 2006).. In this blog, I will explore the recommendations of this article.

First, ELL’s should be provided with “concrete, non-linguistic examples” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). This might include graphic organizers, photos, pictures or icons to trigger understanding. These pictorial and graphic representations scaffold the use of written language. The use of graphic organizers can be modeled in class and when they are familiar to a student, they will be easier to complete independently. Drawings and graphic representations may allow a student who finds written work challenging to reflect greater understanding with limited words. One example is a Venn Diagram. Students might compare and contrast characters in a book or two science or social studies concepts. Students in the pre-production or speech emergence stages might use drawings primarily to represent their understanding. Early production students might use labels and simple phrases. Intermediate and advanced students will be able to produce sentences. Yet all students would be able to complete the task and show some understanding.

A second important factor according to the NCELA is to provide students with opportunities to “ask questions and discuss assignments orally” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). This includes modeling the assignment for the student and providing examples of outcomes. This might mean showing the different levels of response expected from different students. This also might mean pairing up students to discuss the assignment before they attempt to accomplish it independently. They may converse in their native language to check for understanding and negotiate meaning if the instructor is unable to provide second language support. Time is allotted for clarification and question asking during class. The instructor may want to check in mid-way through the allotted time period to complete the assignment to see if anyone has further questions or concerns before the due date.

Native language support can be crucial for some students to complete independent assignments (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Oral instructions in English may be too complex to be comprehended and even after modeling, the ELL’s may still need some clarification in order to complete the task. Peer tutors in class, cross-grade tutors, native language support through teacher’s aides or classroom volunteers may help in translating and communicating the steps and outcomes desired in completing an independent assignment.
.Some schools may have after-school programs with native language support. Often a teacher needs to create the opportunities for native language support. Written instructions in a child’s native language are also helpful (if a child or his/her parents are literate).
In addition to native language support, peer support can also be helpful in other ways. Peers may help with note-taking. Students may understand more English than they can produce and a peer could model proper written English. Study buddies who exchange phone numbers or get together mid-week to complete assignments together may be established as well. Group work is a powerful tool for language acquisition (Gibbons, 2002). The key is to insure that each member has a role so that there is no free riding. A student with less ability to produce written language might be in charge of layout, pictures, illustrations or graphs to accompany a group assignment.

Modified or additional instructions can make independent work more comprehensible for ELL’s (Hill & Flynn, 2006). As communicated earlier, this may mean modeling the steps to complete an assignment and the expected outcome. Breaking tasks down into concrete steps is helpful. Another way of making instructions clear is “message redundance” (Gibbons, 2002). This means saying the same thing in a different way. By varying the vocabulary and restating it, it is more likely for more students to comprehend the instructions. Introducing formal terms (like rotate and dilute) along side more informal ones (like move around and water down) while modeling physically the task is “message redundance” (Gibbons, 2002).
Two other recommendations by the NCELA are to give tips & strategies and to post assignments clearly in the classroom (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Tips and strategies might include answering questions like: “What do I do when I don’t understand?” and, “What if I read a word that I don’t know?” Suggestions might include: reread, ask for help (from your teacher, your study buddy or a parent), look at the word in context, look for picture cues, use an on-line translator, etc. The teacher could also debrief with students and allow them to share their strategies with each other. Assignments should also be accessible on the board or in a certain place in the classroom to avoid confusion. Planners, homework logs or homework packets should be used to record the assignments. Establishing routines can make homework and deadlines more predictable. This results in less instructions to be explained and understood over time.

In conclusion, homework and independent practice are opportunities for ELL’s to reflect their understanding and practice skills. With certain modifications, assignments can be created for language learners that will be comprehensible and manageable. By following these recommendations of the NCELA, ELL’s will not be robbed of the opportunity to further develop their abilities as independent learners and teachers will create the structures, routines and design tasks that are cognitively challenging without being linguistically prohibitive.

References:

Gibbons, Pauline (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Hill, Jane D and Flynn, Kathleen M. (2006). Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners. Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
　

Scaffolding Instruction with Graphic Organizers

Blog #9

Scaffolding can assist students' responses to literature, non-fiction texts and poetry.  Just as a scaffold holds up a building while it is being constructed, a scaffold assists a student in comprehending, analyzing and sythetizing their learning before, during or after a literacy experience.  Graphic organizers are powerful tools to help readers organize their thoughts and visualize them in a written format.  They can be used to brainstorm, take notes, summarize, compare & contrast and to perform other higher level thinking tasks.  They can be especially useful for ELL's (English Language Learners) whose vocabulary might be limited even though their understanding is great.  Graphic organizers can assist an ELL student in reaching more sophisticated levels of written responses to literature, non-fiction texts and poetry. 

There are three main things to consider when choosing a graphic organizer to scaffold instruction.  First, consider the type of text or genre.  Then, consider your grade level and the level of language acqusition of your students.  How much modeling and assistance will they need to complete the task?  Lastly, keep in mind the outcomes that you desire.  What are your standards and objectives?  Will this graphic organizer help your students reach these outcomes?

In this blog, I will give some examples of graphic organizers to scaffold instruction.  I will indicate the type of text (narrative (fiction), expository (non-fiction) or poetry) which each graphic organizer serves best.  Then, I will suggest a grade level or stage of language acquistion for that tool.  Lastly, I will give some reflections on the purposes and outcomes of each activity. 

Type of Text:  Narrative (Fiction)

Comic Strip:  All grades, all stages
This tool allows the students to use drawings to depict scenes in a story.  Narration can accompany these drawings in the ovals above or they can serve as bubbles for dialogue.  This is good for summarizing, visualizing and even predicting. 

Three Part Summary:  Grades 2-4, all stages
The three part summary assists a student in identifying the three main parts of a story:  beginning, middle and end.  In many states, this is a standard for the second or third grade, but can be continued to be practiced in the fourth grade.  It can be used in all stages of language acquistion because pictures may be drawn  or words may be written to depict the three parts of the story.


Character Web:  all grades, all stages
This classic web design can be used for brainstorming about a topic, associating traits & actions with a particular character or for multiple other uses.  This particular web was designed for defining a character.  It can be as simple as pictures around a central name or topic, words or sentences.

Cause and Effect:  grades 3-8, stages intermediate/advanced
This tool helps a reader analyze the internal features of the text.  Although this graphic organizer begins with "cause," it is often easier to begin with "effect."  This is what the reader notices first.  Then, the students can go back and find the causes. 

Character Chart:  grades 1-8, all stages
This tool gives room for pictoral representations of the characters being analyzed, their physical appearance and personality traits.  It could be especially helpful for students in stages 2-3 of language acquisiton who are just learning to put words to their ideas.  For stage 2, it may only be in words and for stage 3 it may be in simple sentences. 

Venn Diagram, all grades, all stages
This classic diagram with overlapping circles assists the reader in identifying similarities and differences.  This particular example is for comparing characters, but it can be used for many other story elements or non-fiction topics (such as animal species).  Understanding can be reflected with pictures, words or complete sentences on the diagram.

Important Elements, grades 3-8, intermediate & advanced stages
This tool assists the reader in identifying key story elements such as setting, characters and plot.  It also goes one step further in requiring the readers to provide evidence (from the text)  to support their claims. 

Type of Text:  Expository (Non-fiction)

Three Main Ideas, grades 3-8, intermediate & advanced stages
This outline guides the reader to identify three main ideas and supporting details.  It works especially well when taking notes from reading in social studies or sciences texts or biographies. It can follow the external features of a text (such as titles and subtitles).  It is really designed for independent readers although it could be completed during or after a read-aloud.   The teacher should pre-view the text and identify how many supporting details are required for each subtopic. 

Non-fiction Text Outline, grades 3-8, all stages
Similar to the graphic organizer above, this tool assist the reader in identifying key points during a non-fiction reading.  The advange to this format is that pictures may be used to support the learner in expressing meaning or to reiforce new meanings encountered in the reading (as in note taking).

KWL Chart, all grades, all stages (with assistance)
This chart is used before a unit to identify what the students already know about a topic.  If a child expresses this information in their native language, a peer or the teacher can translate it into English and write (and draw) the facts on the grid. The second column is for the students to record what they would like to learn. I write this information in a question format.  In kindergarten or first grade more pictures and less words will accompany this information.  In the younger grades, it may be completed by the teacher in front of the class and in the upper grades, students may complete it individually or in small groups.  After reading or finishing a unit, the class returns to the chart to record what was learned. (What questions were answered?)  The KWL Chart sets purpose for learning and triggers students' background knowledge before reading.

Type of Text:  Poetry

Reflect on the poem:  grades 3-8, intermediate & advanced stages
With this tool, the student reflects on each verse in a particular stanza of a poem. It is very non-threatening because there are no "right" or "wrong" answers and it could be a good tool for an initial response to a poem.  It could serve to prepare students for discussion.  It forces the reader to re-read in order to quote each verse.

Analyze Poetic Elements:  grades 4-8, intermediate & advanced stages
First the reader identifies rhyming words and then makes comments about the rhyme scheme of a poem.  Then, the student is lead to identify other elements of the poem such as images, shape, sound (rhythm), meaning and form.  This can assist language learners in expanding their vocabulary.  Unlike "Reflect on the Poem" there are certain responses which could be considered a correct or incorrect analysis of the poem. 

As I was collecting some graphic organizers for this blog, I ran into this site:
www.washingtonco.k12.nc.us/siteimages/images/uploads/Graphic%20Organizers

In summary, graphic organizers are extremely handy and helpful for scaffolding responses to literature, reflecting the comprehension of texts and analyzing poetry.  I hope this blog can assist anyone looking for some ways to integrate graphic organizers into your instruction, especially for ELLs.

 

Comprehension Rising

Blog #8 Comprehension Rising

I had an opportunity recently to view a lesson using the book Esperanza Rising with intermediate and advanced English language learners at a middle school. The central goal of the lesson was to develop inference skills. The teacher defined inferences as good guesses based upon context clues and the background knowledge a reader brings to the text. I thought it was amazing how this instructor packed so many strategies into one lesson. Her intent was to shelter the reading so that comprehension would increase.

One strategy that I thought was effective was the use of pictures to help students visualize vocabulary. For instance, one word was “bouquet.” Even before showing that word, she passed out pictures to trigger some images and words in the students’ minds. Then, when she came to actually reading and defining the vocabulary, the students had something to make reference to. She could have just held up the picture of flowers and said, “This is a bouquet.” I think previewing the pictures first created some anticipation and a desire to figure out what they could be associated with. They were a “hook” in the lesson.

Another technique that I found helpful was actually projecting words from the text onto a screen for all to see as she read. Then, she would underline key phrases or words and use questioning strategies to think aloud about inferences. This made it explicit where the phrase was in the text. It also slowed down the reading to pause and reflect. It provided an opportunity for the students to participate in the formation of inferences by guessing, relating to their own experiences while still using the context cues of the text.

I really liked the idea of a “Diary Board” that this instructor employed. On her white board, she had categories such as:
Visualizing / Inferring/ Summary of learning / Questions / I’m confused (?) / Background Knowledge(I imagine…) (I wonder…) (I didn’t get…) (This reminds me of…)
Then, the students were encouraged to note these types of comments about what they were reading as they read. These observations were noted on Post-it notes and stuck to the “Diary Board.” The class will have an opportunity to hear the thoughts of others as they interact with their reading through this board. This seems like a powerful collaborative tool for students to model for each other their comprehension strategies. It also gives them a framework to practice reading comprehension strategies.

How do Students' Primary Languages Affect their English Reading Development?

Blog #7

Without going into great depth to answer this question, let's look at a case study of two second grade students.

While observing the reading of two second grade students who are acquiring English as a second language, I asked myself these questions:

1. How does their first language influence their decoding of English print?
2. What errors or strategies do they use that are most common for children at their grade level (and stage of literacy)?
3. Based on these observations, what techniques or lessons could be implemented to assist these learners with their reading in English?

I chose two students. The first student’s first language was Spanish. The second student’s primary language was German. I chose them because both were reading at a similar level (near or at grade level).

The first student I observed while reading was Ulises. He read “A Job for Karla, “ a passage used as a benchmark fluency test from CA Progress Monitoring Unit Assessment, Grade 2, Theme 3 from a Macmillan/McGraw-Hill text. His fluency was 78 words per minute. He had only four errors in the reading of this passage. The first error was graphophonic, but did change the meaning (although he didn’t self correct). He replaced “across” for “actors.” My guess is that he saw the visual cue“ac” at the beginning of the word and the “s” at the end and he quickly guessed that the word was across.” “Across” is a familiar sight word. This visual miscue resulted in a syntactic error.  Obviouslyn, the preposition "across" couldn't replace the noun "actor.  In a similar way, he substituted “sit” for “still.” Again, they look similar and he was trying to do a quick reading (knowing that he was being timed). None-the-less, this did change the meaning, but he didn’t self-correct. Later, he substituted “at” for “like” which is a visual mistake with a substitution that might make syntactic sense (preposition for preposition). Instead of decoding, he predicted from the syntax what word would fit and made an incorrect assumption. The phrase was, “Ann looked like a real queen,” and Ulises read, “Ann looked at a real queen.” . Lastly, he substituted “for” for “from.” These both have the same initial consonant and the same vowel.

This is the only error which I think could be related to Spanish language syntax. In Spanish there are two words for “for.” They are “por” (which could mean doing something for another person) and “para” (which refers to whom an item or action is for). There is a possibility that this student is using “from” for “para.” This could be clarified through a lesson about the meanings of “for” and “from” and how they are similar and different than “por” and “para.” This might help the student internalize the meaning of “for” and predict it in the syntax of a written sentence while reading. Repeated exposure may also correct this problem over time.

The second student I observed was at another school. His home language is German. I used a level “N” text (DRA 20+) which was a green, Early Fluency Sunshine Book published by McGraw-Hill. At this school, they don’t use textbooks in reading instruction. I chose a text that was similar in level with the one Ulises was reading. Pascal read this story, Herding Dogs, at 75 words per minute. He had 6 errors. The first error was one many readers make. He substituted “the” for “this.” They are both articles beginning with “th” and the syntactic difference is slight. In analyzing some of his other errors, I decided to consult with his mother (who, obviously speaks German) because I know very little German. My purpose was to see how Pascal may have substituted German phonemes for English phonemes. Three of his errors were related to decoding the “er” sound. He read, “harding” for “herding,” “ranchars” for “ranchers” and “hard” for “herd.” His mother told me that the “er” in German is pronounced like “air’ with the tongue high up arching in the mouth making an “r’ sound. This is similar to what I heard. I believe that Pascal was substituting the German sound for “er” for the English sound “er.” It might seem like a small difference, but this substitution would make these words unintelligible to the English speaking ear. (Although Pascal may have understood those words even though he pronounced them incorrectly). I also asked her about two other sounds. One was the “y” between two consonants. She said that she couldn’t think of a word with the “y” between two consonants in German, but the “y” in general makes the long “e” sound. This could account for Pascal’s graphophonic error decoding “types” as “teeps.” His last error could have also been due to German phonemic information. He decoded “suited” as “suded.” The “ui” doesn’t exist in German. Often, his mother says, the “t” is a soft sound as the “d.” This could account for the error.

In the course of the second grade, they will most likely do mini-lessons related to the “er” sound in words. This instruction Pascal will receive with the rest of the group at his grade level. It might be helpful for a bilingual (German-English) speaker to discuss with Pascal the different “er” sounds in German and English. It may just take time for him to hear the differences and pronounce them correctly. Practicing the hard “t” in the middle of a word (between vowels) might also be helpful to train his ear.

Overall, I was very impressed with both of these second language learners at the two school sites in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, California. Both had began learning to read in English in kindergarten. Both spoke a primary language other than English at home. Both were reading at grade level fluency in English. Ulises is in a Spanish-English Two-way Bilingual Immersion program in which they learn to read in both languages from kindergarten. Pascal learned to read first in English and is learning to read in German school on the weekend and at home in his primary language. It appears that as they are acquiring English, they are decoding very well using English phonemes.  As they continue to hear the language and become more fluent, a sociolinguistic point of view, errors related to language interference should self-eliminate.  From a word recognition philosophy, some direct instruction could help.  Why not both?