Structured Learning Groups to Increase Literacy

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Structured Learning Groups to Increase Literacy

• Presenters
• Esther Jang-Tamanaha
• Cristina Rojas

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Contact Info

• Esther Jang-Tamanaha
• English Teacher/ EL Coordinator
• [phone]
• ejang_at_hlpusd.k12.ca.us
• Cristina Rojas
• District Program Specialist/EL Programs
• [phone]
• crojas_at_hlpusd.k12.ca.us

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Objectives

• Participants will identify the academic needs of
  English Learners.
• Participants will deconstruct the Speaking
  Listening Standard 1and list the skills to
  effectively communicate and collaborate.
• Participants will apply the components of
  accountable partner task and collaborative groups.

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Activating Prior Knowledge

• With a neighbor
• Describe how you structure speaking and listening
  opportunities in your classroom.

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English Learner State Goals

• 201011 school year, there were approximately
  1.4 million English learners
• Ensure that English learners acquire full
  proficiency in English as rapidly and effectively
  as possible and attain parity with native
  speakers of English.
• Ensure that English learners, within a reasonable
  period of time, achieve the same rigorous
  grade-level academic standards that are expected
  of all students.
• California Department of Education (2013)

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English Learner Characteristics

• The majority (59) of secondary school English
  Learners are Long Term English Learners.
• L-TELs exhibit oral fluency
• L-TELs are yet to fully comprehend academics
• L-TELs are mainstreamed without support
• L-TELs may struggle in school, be disengaged,
  exhibit behavioral problems due to the patterns
  of discouragement and failure
• Olsen (2010)

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What do English Learners need?

• Oral language is the foundation for literacy
  (Olsen, p. 16).
• Students need
• oral language practice,
• instructional conversations,
• and multiple opportunities for speaking
• Oral language builds writing skills
• Olsen (2013).

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What do ALL learners need?

• Opportunities to build trust and community
  (Olsen, 2013
• Consistent academic routines (Olsen, 2013)
• Explicit expectations for engagement,
  participation, and academic discourse (Olsen,
  2013)
• Structured listening and speaking (Kinsella,
  2012)

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What does the standard say?

• Speaking Listening Standard 1
• Prepare for and participate effectively in a
  range of conversations and collaborations with
  diverse partners, building on others ideas and
  expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

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What does the standard say?

• Read your grade level speaking listening
  standard
• Then identify the college and/or career ready
  skill(s) the Common Core Standard is asking
  students to have.

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Accountable Partner Talk

• According to the Speaking Listening Anchor
  Standard 1, an important skill my students need
  to have is ___________________________________.
• A college / career skill the Common Core State
  Standard is requiring of students is
  ________________.

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Partner Task

• Share your response with your partner
• Compare Contrast each others responses
• Add your partners response to yours

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Accountable Partner Talk

• Look
• Lean
• Lower
• Listen
• What I heard you say was ______________.
• An interesting point you brought up was
  ____________.
• I agree with your point that ____________.

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(No Transcript)
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Video

• What do you see?
• What do you hear?

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Video

• A college/career skill I saw/heard the class
  working on was _________.
• A best practice the teacher was practicing was
  _______.
• The students were using ________ as a
  stimuli/tool for learning.

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What does the research state?

• Collaborative Conversations
• Douglas Fisher Nancy Frey

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Collaborative Group Work

• Jigsaw Reading
• Agree on section to read (A, B, C, or D)
• Read your section once through
• Re-read and highlight important words/phrases
• Use highlighted words to summarize

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Collaborative Group Work

• In your groups, complete the graphic organizer
• Jot each others summary
• Synthesize the entire article

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Partner summary
Synthesis of everyones summary
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Collaborative Group Conversations

• Summarize
• According to X, ___________. Basically, X is
  saying ________________.
• When X states, __________, X are
  raising/indicating ____________________.
• Synthesize
• The overarching idea of this article is
  ________.
• The main idea of this text is __________.

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How do we create structured learning groups?

• Arrange classroom structure partners
• Establish classroom rules
• Build various partner talk opportunities
• Utilize academically rigorous sentence frames
• Create collaborative group work expectations
• Incorporate appropriate structure into lessons
• Teach, model, provide practice-time
• Facilitate whole-class discussion

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Debrief
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Reflection

1. What are the needs of English Learners, and all
   academic English learners?
2. What are the implications of the speaking
   listening anchor standard 1 on teaching? What
   skills do students need in order to effectively
   communicate and collaborate?
3. How can you apply what you learned at your school
   site? What will that look like? What are your
   next steps?