4th grade slump

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4th grade slump

• Due more to an increase in demands than a
  decrease in skills
• Early instruction focuses mostly on word reading
• By 4th grade, assessments are about comprehension
• Reading comprehension becomes an expectation
  across subject areas

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4th grade transition for ELLs

• Similar challenges, but more intense for ELLs
• Kids with lower vocabulary and limited
  proficiency with language have greater difficulty
  with comprehension
• Problem becomes more apparent in 4th grade

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Newcomers in 4th 6th grade

• Need to build both conversational skills and
  academic language skills
• Greater demands on comprehension abilities than
  for native English speakers

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Academic language

• Language of print is different than
  conversational language
• Complex sentence structures
• Different vocabulary (analyze, abstract, observe)
• Multiple word meanings
• Function words (therefore, however)
• Comprehension requires understanding of purpose
  of reading and authors intent

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Academic language Strong predictor of
comprehension

• Good comprehenders tend to have good academic
  language
• They understand nuances, difficult syntax

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How long does it take to develop academic
language?

• Depends on type and amount of instruction
• Roughly 3 7 years to develop full academic
  proficiency
• Some kids never become fully proficient due to
  lack of proper instruction

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Effective ways to improve academic language

• Anchor instruction in print
• Discussion about text language, ideas,
  connecting sentences
• Written activities feedback, revising,
  rereading, summarizing
• Download list of academic words
• http//www.colorincolorado.org/content/vocab.php

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Video Maricely

• Hartford, CT
• 5th grader, born in Puerto Rico
• Learned English as a second language
• Faced challenges learning to read in second
  language

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Addressing diversity within ELL population

• Differences in reading and language abilities
• Differences in experiences and reasons for coming
  to this country
• To do
• Create goals for instruction around student
  profiles
• Group native/fluent speakers with ELLs to
  scaffold language development through peer
  learning

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Utilizing first-language literacy skills

• First-language literacy can be a strong asset
• Many aspects of reading are not language-specific
• Knowing how print is used
• Thinking about authors intent
• Reading for meaning

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Impact of prior schooling

• First language may be well-developed
  conversationally but not academically (oral
  skills but not literacy skills)
• Children with well-developed literacy skills in
  first language need new labels (English
  vocabulary), but may already know the concept

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Activating prior knowledge

• Have them represent knowledge through
• Graphics
• Casual conversation
• In native language with support materials, in
  preparation for learning it in English

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Does a child need oral proficiency before
learning to read?

• In an English-only instructional environment
  dont wait!
• Some bilingual programs start strictly in first
  language and transition to second
• Reading is a powerful tool for developing
  vocabulary

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Value of writing

• Writing is an excellent way to gauge literacy
  skills, and proficiency with language
• Allows kids to experiment with language

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Teaching unusual spelling patterns

• Teach spelling in a meaningful way
• Traditional rote methods have been unsuccessful
  because they are taught in isolation
• Teach the ph pattern, for example, through a
  character named Christopher
• Spelling is an opportunity for language
  development!
• Kids should be learning meaning along with
  spelling

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Teaching strategies for spelling

• Free write
• Structured activities alongside text in any
  content area
• Writing activities that focus on improving
  spelling and vocabulary

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Developing vocabulary in your native language

• Research shows that kids learn vocabulary by
  being exposed to words, high-quality language
• Conversation
• Kids learn through language models teachers,
  but also older peers
• Vocabulary develops when there is interaction
  between people
• Reading
• Reading is necessary to develop academic language
• Kids acquire vocabulary at a rapid rate and in a
  short time when reading
• Kids should leave high school with a working
  understanding of about 50,000 words.

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Developing vocabulary in a second language

• Develops in similar way but is dependent on
  instruction
• ELLs need structured opportunities with language,
  print, writing, and discussion

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Strategies for vocabulary learning in 4th-6th
grade

• Importance of breadth and depth of word knowledge
• Use direct instruction (vocabulary worksheet or
  activity)
• Teach strategies for word learning so kids can
  problem solve with new words independently (root
  words)

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Which words should we teach?

• High utility academic words
• Words that cut across curriculum (analyze,
  frequent, compare)
• Teach kids to look for cognates
• They do not always pick this up on their own!
• Beware of false cognates (embarazada in Spanish
  sounds like embarrassed, but means pregnant)
• Find a list of English-Spanish cognates at
  www.colorincolorado.org/introduction/cognates.php
  

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Comprehension instruction for ELLs

• Same principles structured time and
  comprehension strategies
• More attention to oral comprehension for ELLs
• Discussion around text
• Practice becoming an active reader

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Strategies for improving comprehension

• Small group oral reading
• Students read aloud, stumble, get corrective
  feedback, keep going
• Discuss comprehension in a group
• Generally used today in early elementary special
  ed, but beneficial for ELLs in upper grades
• Small group discussion, small group work
• Previewing
• Generates interest in topic
• Provides background knowledge
• Predicting, clarifying, summarizing

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Independent Reading

• Independent reading can improve comprehension,
  provided there is a good reader-text match!
• Too many unfamiliar words is not a useful way to
  build vocabulary or comprehension
• A good match requires 90-95 accuracy

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Do comprehension skills transfer?

• Best case scenario newcomers with lots of formal
  schooling in native language
• Many aspects of reading comprehension are the
  same across languages
• Do I know why Im reading this? What information
  am I looking for? Am I supposed to be
  summarizing? Am I thinking about what Im
  learning?

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Teaching literacy in the content areas

• Reading is both the mechanism by which we deliver
  curricula, and the method by which we assess
  achievement too large a job to fall only on
  Language Arts teachers
• Content area teachers can
• Teach registers that pertain to their subject
  (math sum, estimate, fraction, proportion)
• Help kids attack word problems
• We are always mediating the curriculum with
  language

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Video Reciprocal teaching

• Frank Love Elementary School
• Bothell, WA
• Goal Prepare students to run their own
  discussion
• Asking a question
• Clarifying the meaning of unfamiliar words
• Summarizing, finding the main idea
• Prediction

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Reciprocal teaching In the classroom

• Capitalizes on diversity of language and reading
  ability
• Uses peers and teachers as models
• Opportunity for structured discussion
• Heterogeneous grouping is part of the goal
• Scaffolded approach
• Chance for teacher to conduct informal assessment
• Goal Gradual release of responsibility to
  students

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Content areas Fitting in reading instruction

• From the outset, think of language and reading as
  part of content area delivery
• Integrate reading instruction in the curriculum
  planning process
• Many native English speakers struggle with
  language issues as well and benefit from reading
  instruction in content areas too

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Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol
(SIOP Model)

• Helps teachers identify, in planning stage,
  content area goals and language demands
• Originally developed for adolescent newcomers but
  can be adapted for upper elementary
• For more information on the SIOP Model, visit
  www.colorincolorado.org/webcasts/1004.php

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Vocabulary Improvement Program (VIP)

• Published by Brookes, developed by Maria Carlo,
  Catherine Snow, Diane August and colleagues
• Designed for upper elementary grades
• Teaches word families, relationships among words,
  use of words in both oral language and print
• Goal Develop deep understanding of high-utility
  academic words

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Literacy assessment for ELLs in grades 4-6

• Standards-based tests only give broad
  understanding of achievement level
• Ideal assessments tease apart elements of oral
  language and reading
• Accuracy, fluency, and comprehension
• Literal comprehension questions vs. inferencing
• Academic language
• Syntax
• Morphological awareness

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Assessment at school and district level

• Typically use large-scale standards-based
  assessments
• Recommendation Take kids for whom that
  assessment raises red flag and do more in-depth
  assessment
• Find out what aspect of the skill had broken down

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Language of assessment

• Depends on instructional goals
• Do we have tools to do native language assessment
  well?
• May get useful information, but not enough to
  classify children
• Native language assessments have often been
  created using monolingual students may be
  inaccurate for bilingual students

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Using assessments to inform instruction

• Good instruction starts with good assessment
• ELLs are developing at rapid and uneven rates
• Monitor progress, then think about modifications

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Final thoughts

• Focus on better academic language instruction in
  regular classrooms
• Consider language diversity as an aspect of K-12
  classrooms, rather than treating ELLs as a
  subgroup

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Final thoughts (cont.)

• This approach parallels
• Middle school literacy reform content-based
  literacy, writers workshop, improved academic
  language for all students
• Special education reform universal design,
  preventing difficulties, increasing opportunity
  to learn before labeling child, adjusting
  curriculum to promote success

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Thank you!

• Visit our Web site for recommended readings,
  discussion questions, and more on this topic
• http//www.colorincolorado.org/webcasts/2004.php
• For general information on teaching English
  language learners to read, visit Colorín
  Colorado! http//www.ColorinColorado.org