Blog # 7 Running Records and Miscue Analysis

Blog # 7 Running Records and Miscue Analysis

 

Of the more than 300 ELL’s at my school, only two speak a language other than Spanish as their primary language!  I chose the older of these two students, a first grader from Burma, to read with.  This is her first school year in the United States.  In order to better compare the results of my running records, I asked a Spanish speaking child from to same first grade class to read the same passage.

The student from Burma relied solely on the graphophonic cues from the text.  She read with only fifty percent accuracy.  Every error had at least partial graphic similarity to the actual word.   Fewer than five percent of her errors were syntactically acceptable.  Fewer than five percent were semantically acceptable.  Over ninety percent of her errors were non-words in English.  I do not believe they were words in her native language either.  This student is constructing very little meaning from grade-level texts.  She needs texts that have supportive pictures and lots more comprehensible experiences with English.

The second student I read with speaks Spanish at home.  Unlike the child from Burma, she received schooling in English beginning in preschool.  Consequently, she understood what she was reading far better than her classmate.  She read the same passage with ninety-two percent accuracy.  In order to collect further data on her miscues, I had this student continue reading the passage.  One third of her errors, although syntactically incorrect, were semantically acceptable.  Her errors reflected her developing English.  For example, she read the phrase ‘many children’ as ‘many childrens’.  It seems to me that she was trying to maintain the semantic and syntactic integrity of the sentence through the overgeneralization of the plural ‘s’ rule, which is common to both English and Spanish.  This student also demonstrated her use of phonics to compensate for unknown vocabulary.  For example, she read the word travel with a long a sound.  She used the long u sound when reading the word buses, also.  The long u sound may represent the influence from her first language, as this closely matches the pronunciation of the word buses (autobuses) in Spanish.  I recommend that this student be exposed to many more opportunities to hear and read books in English.  

Blog # 6 Labeling Acquisition versus Word Recognition

I decided to support my labeling of each activity by quoting directly from our text:   Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics, what you need to know to        teach reading, esl, spelling, phonics, and grammar. Heinemann Educational Books.
Student Activities Typical of Learning/Word Recognition	Student Activities Typical of Acquisition/ Sociolinguistic View	Evidence from the text
Look up words in the dictionary to write definitions		“Preteaching often consists of defining words for students or…having them look the words up and write definitions (p. 28).
Practice sounding out words		“…students sound out and then blend to pronounce and identify words” (p. 24).
Read in round-robin fashion		“[A] classroom practice consistent with a word recognition view is to have students read aloud on a regular basis…” (p. 28).
Correct peers when they make a mistake during reading		“…teachers usually correct students if they mispronounce a word…” (p. 28).
Make alphabet books on different topics.		“Usually, students are given the topics for writing..” (p.30).
Ask the teacher how to spell any words they don’t know		“Teachers in traditional classrooms emphasize the importance of producing writing that follows convention…” (p.30).
Divide words into syllables		“…students sound out and then blend to pronounce and identify words” (p. 24).
On a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound		“…students learn a set of skills that allows them to make a connection between the black marks on the page and words in their oral vocabulary” (p. 24).
	Group cards with classmates’ names by a criterion such as first or last letter	“When people read texts that are comprehensible and interesting, they become more proficient readers and writers” (p.25).
	Write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound	“Rather than giving students lists of words to memorize, [teachers] help [students] discover the patterns in the spellings of English words” (p. 31).
	Make a Venn diagram to compare two stories	“…reading is a process of constructing meaning” (p. 24).
	Read a language experience story they have created with the teacher	“When people read texts that are comprehensible and interesting, they become more proficient readers and writers” (p. 25).
	Work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences	“Teachers make written language more comprehensible when they …have students read familiar songs…” (p.25).
Teacher Actions Typical of Learning/Word Recognition	Teacher Actions Typical of Acquisition/ Sociolinguistic View	Evidence from the text
Preteaches vocabulary		“Preteaching often consists of defining words for students or…having them look the words up and write definitions (p. 28).
Makes sure that students read only books that fit their level		“Phonics is the primary tool for word recognition” (p. 27).
Has students segment words into phonemes		“The word recognition view of reading is a model based on the idea that identifying words involves recoding written language to oral language” (p.75).
Uses decodable texts		“…students learn a set of skills that allows them to make a connection between the black marks on the page and words in their oral vocabulary” (p. 24).
Teaches Latin and Greek roots		“Students can combine the meanings of word parts to determine the meaning of a long word” (p.27).
Conducts phonics drills		“Phonics is the primary tool for word recognition” (p. 27).
Uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills.		“…students learn a set of skills that allows them to make a connection between the black marks on the page and words in their oral vocabulary” (p. 24).
	Does a shared reading with a big book	“Teachers make written language comprehensible when they read to students from big books with illustrations…” (p. 25).
	Writes words that the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words	“…the content of the message is more important than the form” (p. 31).
	Sets aside time for SSR each day	“…students read (silently) extensively so that they can acquire vocabulary as they encounter words in a variety of contexts” (p. 28).
	Has students meet in literature circles	“The goal from a sociolinguistic perspective is to construct meaning” (p. 26).
	Chooses predictable texts	“Readers use their background knowledge and cues from three linguistic systems to make sense of texts” (p. 24).
	Teaches students different comprehension strategies	“…teachers help students develop strategies…to improve comprehension” (p. 28).
	Does a picture walk of a new book	“The goal from a sociolinguistic perspective is to construct meaning” (p. 26).

Blog # 5 Scaffolding Comprehension with Children’s Books

Blog # 5 Scaffolding Comprehension with Children’s Books

 

I selected two books I would use with primary English Language Learners and examined them for challenges learners might face when encountering the texts. 

 

The first book I selected is called Alfie is Not Afraid, by Patricia Carlin.

 

Possible challenges and ideas to address them:

1.       The concept of camping out. 

Use the pictures and give a brief explanation of camping.  Ask students to share their experiences with camping, if any.

2.      Words that intentionally do not match the pictures are used to create humor.

Ask students if the expression of the main character, Alfie, matches the words.  Explain that the words do not match the pictures. 

3.      The word peanut is used for a dog in the story. 

A quick explanation is sufficient.

4.      The vocabulary alien invasion and boa constrictor.

Pointing to the picture is sufficient.

 

When working with ELL’s, focus on a limited amount of vocabulary and your teaching objectives.  Often a quick definition and a picture clue is enough scaffolding for students to comprehend. 

 

The second book I selected is She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, by Jonathan Emmett.

 

Possible challenges and ideas to address them:

1.       Use of the contraction she’ll.

Direct instruction of the contraction and its meaning.

2.      Use of the word round instead of around.

Explanation that round is used like the word around in the story

3.      Use of onomatopoeia throughout the text.

Prior to reading, give examples students will be familiar with such as the sounds for cats, dogs, and ducks.  Ask students to listen for more sounds as they enjoy the story.

4.      Nonsensical content of the story.

Set the purpose for the reading.  Explain that some books are silly and are meant to make the reader laugh.

 

 

Blog # 4 Comprehending Italian

Blog # 4 Understanding Italian

 

I looked up information about Rome, Italy on Wikipedia, in Italian.  I used my knowledge of English vocabulary to comprehend several cognates.  I relied heavily on the limited number of pictures and tables with captions.  I also used my knowledge of the Roman alphabet and punctuation to distinguish where one word ended and a new word began.  Still, I only comprehended about fifteen percent of the words, and no complete sentences.

 

To scale back the task, I searched for Colorado in Italian.  Because of my extensive background, I could anticipate what information I would encounter.  This helped my comprehension climb to around fifty percent.

 

I noticed a side bar with basic facts about Colorado.  I was able to understand about ninety percent of the side bar information.  Again, cognates were helpful, as was my background knowledge about Colorado.  What was especially helpful was the limited number of words I had to focus on to comprehend.  Only the most important, content rich words were left.  I was able to figure out, for example, that capoluogo means capitol, contee means county, and stati federati confinati means bordering states.  Some of these words appeared in the initial entry about Rome, but I wasn’t able to decipher them in that context.

 

Implications for Language Learners:

-Provide texts with supportive text features, such as illustrations, photos, tables, graphs, and headings.

-Choose texts that do not contain so many unknown words that learners are not able to make sense of the texts.

-Highlight the most important concepts

-Teach vocabulary critical to the concept being taught.

 

Week 1 Blog # 3 Reading and Oral Language

 

 

Blog # 3 Reading and Oral Language

 

            The relationship between oral language and the reading process is a hot-button issue for me right now!  I teach a reading intervention to third, fourth, and fifth graders to help students decode multisyllabic words efficiently.  The students were selected for the intervention because they are ELL’s identified as not making adequate growth in reading, based on DIBELS data.  (DIBELS is a measure of their oral reading fluency.) It’s a good program.  I don’t mind teaching it.  I have seen that it does help kids read multisyllabic words accurately.  What I do mind is what I am being asked to do after the intervention lesson. 

Kids are asked to apply their decoding skills in self-selected texts.  This sounds great!  After several years at my school when there was very little time for students to read books of their choice, this is exciting!  However, kids must select texts that are at their instructional level so they get several opportunities to apply the decoding skills they are learning during the intervention lesson.  Unfortunately, students are not understanding what they are reading because too many of the words they are decoding are not part of their oral language.

I agree with the sociolinguistic view that reading is a process of constructing meaning, just like speaking.  As explained by Freeman and Freeman (2004), “When people read texts that are comprehensible and interesting, they become more proficient readers and writers” (p. 25).  My difficulty is finding texts at the instructional level that are comprehensible for my English language learners.  The level at which they can decode is above the level at which they can comprehend.

 

Resource:

 

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics, what you need to know to teach reading, esl, spelling, phonics, and grammar. Heinemann Educational Books. 

 

 

 

Week 1 Blog # 2 Writing Instruction

Blog # 2 Writing Instruction

 

The writing instruction I deliver to students more closely matches the acquisition view, as outlined on page 29 in the Freeman text (Freeman & Freeman, p. 29).  Students use the writing process to produce authentic writing.  Topics are selected by the student, although there are often some guidelines from the teacher.  Students’ messages are valued over the correctness of writing conventions.  Peer conferencing and student led teacher-student conferences occur routinely.  Standard writing conventions, however, are not ignored.  Mini-lessons are guided by student work.  Students are held accountable in their published writing for conventions taught.

 

As a student, my early memories of receiving writing instruction are hazy.  I remember enjoying writing and feeling I had the freedom to be creative, without much worry about correctness. Therefore, I think the instruction I received more closely resembles the acquisition view of writing.  During junior high and high school, I recall more instruction that was intended to help me to produce correct, if formulaic writing. 

 

Resource:

 

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics, what you need to know to teach reading, esl, spelling, phonics, and grammar. Heinemann Educational Books. 

 

 

Week 1 Blog 1 Literacy Philosophy

Blog # 1    Teaching Literacy:  A Shift in Philosophy

 

I spoke with a teacher who has taught at my school for about twenty years.  She has seen literacy instruction move from being developed almost completely by the teacher to being tightly scheduled and often times scripted.  She has adopted elements of both in her philosophy of teaching literacy.   

When she began, there were no curricula used for literacy.  Teachers used the reader’s workshop and writer’s workshop formats and created their own lesson plans based on students’ needs.  Literacy instruction was also heavily integrated into other content areas.  There was no schedule to follow, beyond arriving to lunch and specials at an appointed time.  There was even recess!

By seven years ago, instruction had changed tremendously.  Reading was taught in a ninety minute block.  A detailed schedule, developed by a consultant of the district, outlined what was to be taught from the reading curriculum each day.  Students also received an additional forty-five minute reading intervention.  All of these were scripted programs, to be followed exactly. 

Teachers, including the teacher with whom I spoke, balked at the restrictive nature of the new schedule.  They disliked and disagreed with the absence of teacher-made decisions, the constant data meetings, and lack of freedom to focus on student interests…But our CSAP scores went up.  Dramatically.  We went from a school on the brink of being closed down or taken over by a charter to being considered a school of average performance in three years.

  Both of these teaching experiences have influenced her philosophy of teaching literacy.  Our students are almost all English language learners and over ninety-five percent come from a background of poverty.  They start school at a disadvantage.  It is essential that we utilize the time we have with them effectively.  She has come to appreciate the scope and sequences used to ensure teachers are meeting the state standards for each grade level.  The scripted interventions have been successful.  The scripted, consistent, language helps our English language learners more easily focus on the content of the lessons.  Instruction that is guided more by student interests and observed student needs is used during writer’s workshop.  This is when teachers and students get to show their creativity.  The teacher I spoke with believes in doing what works for children.  The children she works with are more successful in a highly structured environment.