EXPEDITING COMPREHENSION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

1. EXPEDITING COMPREHENSION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS Margarita Calderón, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Johns Hopkins University Argelia Carreón, María Trejo, Elma Noyola, Jeanne Cantú Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES • Overview of on-going implementation of ExC-ELL based on the coaches’ observations. • Tips for making teaching more efficient and effective. • Review of instructional strategies that ensure academic language, close reading, and writing specific to the Common Core State Standards. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

3. CLASSROOM OBSERVATION • Teachers were respectful of students and worked to build good relationships with them. • Students were cooperative and well-behaved. The great majority were enthusiastic and strived to please their teacher. • Teachers were welcoming and reflective. Most asked for ways to better implement ExC-ELL. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

4. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Comments: In general, the most positive points were 100% student participation, use of the 7 steps and appropriate use of cooperative learning. Challenges: Limited use of interaction during step 6 and in some cases it was left out. The purpose of Step 6 is verbal application in a friendly context, practice of pronunciation, owning the word, and preparation for using the word in the context of reading. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

5. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Comments: Partner Reading was observed in a few classrooms after vocabulary instruction. We did not observe teachers modeling via think alouds the comprehension strategies for partner reading. Challenges: Partner Reading was not used enough or it was too casual. Partner reading needs to be modeled by the teacher with a student. This helps students see what is or isn’t appropriate while they partner read. Modeling a comprehension strategy through a teacher think aloud helps students focus on that strategy during their comprehension practice. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

6. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Comments:Bloom questions are rarely formulated by students. Challenges: Teach students how to formulate questions. The purpose of formulating questions is to help students go back into the text and delve deeper into comprehension. They also help them learn more vocabulary. This should be complemented with an activity such as Numbered Heads Together to make it more challenging and fun. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

7. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS After reading The Kapok Tree, students at Winterfield elementary wrote 6 great questions per team using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Their questions ranged from level 1 to level 6 such as: What did the monkey say to the man? State the lesson that was in the story. What would be another way… ? How can we stop the man from cutting down the tree? Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

8. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Comments:The WriteAround is being implemented but the topic was not based on the reading. Challenges: Writing needs to follow vocabulary instruction and reading. ELs need writing models – teacher modeling structures, features, transition words and paragraphs; they need to read texts that illustrate good patterns of the assigned writing task; and, ample interaction with peer writers, peer editors, peer authors. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

9. SOME CREATIVE ADAPTATIONS • Used a smart board to present target vocabulary with illustrations that she manipulated. • Provided sentence stems for partners to take turns reading and completing. • Used realia for some of the terms. • Classified tier 1, 2, and 3 as easy word, tricky word and smart word for kindergarten. • Used technology to gain access to word dictionaries as a tool to find definitions for target vocabulary. • Presented a powerpoint linked to internet to show definitions and how words were used in sentences. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

10. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS: SOME THINGS TO AVOID • Having students find a page with the target word and read the sentence to the class. This takes time, and in the process, other students may lose interest. • Having students read during pre-teaching of vocabulary. It took time and created an opportunity for the "reader" to make errors during reading. • Asking students what they think the word means. It creates confusion because students hear imprecise definitions and it takes up precious time. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

11. CLASSROOM OBSERVATION Ms. Harris-Smith conducted an excellent literacy lesson, beginning with the introduction of key vocabulary, moving to pre-literacy strategies, such as previewing text, skimming strategies, reading and stopping to discuss, summarizing main ideas after each paragraph, checking for understanding by asking students to paraphrase and summarize what they had just read, and writing concrete summaries at the end of the passage. She interspersed cooperative learning strategies to ensure that all students were participating, understanding, and feeling successful. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

12. CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS Ms. F. modified the WriteAround activity by providing the starter sentence stem on ditto paper to save time and ensure all had the same stem. She also had all students pass papers at the same time. I saw this in a K class at Winterfield elementary (CMS) also! Precious! Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

13. Ms Yates had a class of 26 students. She was observed doing a mathematics lesson. The topic was, “How can I show multiplication through an array?” She quickly reviewed Tier 1 (multiplication) and Tier 3 (product) words, and explicitly taught the Tier 2 word- array. She had a well-prepared lesson, had excellent use of the Smart Board for illustrating and processing the lesson. The lesson was made relevant by pointing to examples of groupings of ‘arrays’ of products found at Wal-Mart. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

14. A LITTLE REVIEW Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

15. IT’S ALL ABOUT STUDENTS READING, READING, READING! • Words that support major ideas in a text, and are the most useful, critical, to the major concepts. • Content area texts have key terms that are Tier 3, but not Tier 2 or Tier 1 that are new to ELs. • Which words do you want to hear in their discussions and see in their academic writing? • Which words are most useful for ELs to learn? • What are the syntax and grammatical features you want ELs to learn from this text?

16. Summary of Vocabulary Tiers 1, 2, 3 For ELLs TIER 1 -- Basic words ELLs need to communicate, read, and write. Those that should be taught. TIER 2 --Information processing words that nest Tier 3 words in long sentences, polysemous words, transition words, connectors; more sophisticated words for rich discussions and specificity in descriptions. TIER 3 --Subject-specific words that label content discipline concepts, subjects, and topics. Infrequently used academic words. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

17. PRE-TEACHING 5 TO 6 MOST USEFUL WORDS FOR EACH LESSON/EACH SUBJECT EACH DAY. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

18. ONLY 10 TO 15 MINUTES FOR PRETACHING 5 TO 6 WORDS. • STUDENTS MUST READ IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS. • VOCABULARY WITHOUT READING AND SUMMARIZING ORALLY AND IN WRITING DOES NOT ANCHOR VOCABULARY. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

19. PRE-TEACHING VOCABULARYAn Example for 2nd to 12th Teacher says the word. Asks students to repeat the word 3 times. Teacher states the word in context from the text. Teacher provides the dictionary definition(s). Explains meaning with student-friendly definitions. Highlight grammar, spelling, polysemy, etc.  Engages students in activities to develop word/concept knowledge. Remind students how/when to use the word. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

20. Modeling Comprehension • Teacher Read and Think Alouds • Fluency • Comprehension Strategies • Self-correction • Fix-it strategies Extend comprehension Teach more words MODEL MODEL Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

21. Partner Reading • The teacher reads and models strategies. • Partner A reads the first sentence.Partner B helps. • Partner B reads the next sentence.Partner A helps. • After each paragraph, partners “put their heads together” and summarize what they read. • Partners continue until they finish reading the section assigned. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

22. Formulating Questions Students work in teams of four: Construct 2 questions based on the specific Bloom level assigned to you. Write each question on a separate card. Give your cards to the teacher. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

23. Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Process – 1 Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

24. Numbered Heads Together • Number off in your team from 1 to 4. • Listen to the question. • Put your heads together and find the answer. • Make sure everyone in your team knows the answer. • Be prepared to answer when your number is called. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

25. ROUNDTABLE • Clear your desks. • Only one paper and pencil. • Each student writes one answer and passes the paper to the right. • Everyone must write an answer. • Continue this process until the teacher calls time out. • Count the number of correct responses by your team. Delete repeated words and report your numbers. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

26. WRITEAROUND • Form teams of 3 or 4. • One paper and pencil for each. • Each student completes the prompt and passes the paper to the right. • Each student continues to write one sentence and pass the paper to the right until the teacher calls time out. Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

27. WRITEAROUND Humans are causing global warming when they … Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

28. The ultimate proof -- at the end of the block, day, week: Write one or two paragraphs summarizing what you learned about _______________ using as many tier 2 and tier 3 words as you have learned. Extra points if you use appropriate connectors, transition or signal words. Use compound sentences or different types of clauses. ASSESSMENT OF VOCABULARY, READING AND WRITING Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

29. ELL Oracy Takes Place During Content Instructional Sequences: What is the amount of time for student talk vs. teacher talk? • Pre-teaching of vocabulary • Teacher read alouds • Student peer reading • Peer summaries • Depth of word studies/grammar • Class discussions • Cooperative learning activities • Formulating questions and Numbered Heads • Round Table Reviews • Pre-writing & drafting • Revising/editing • Reading Final Products

30. Vocabulary, Language, Literacy & Knowledge Progressions How do your students progress through the different proficiency levels? Does their vocabulary progress in the 4 language domains – listening, speaking, reading, writing? Does their vocabulary progress in the 4 core subjects – math, science, social studies, language arts? Is their academic language differentiated and targeted for each proficiency level and range of schooling background? Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.

31. THANK YOU!!! Wishing you great success in your endeavors! mecalde@aol.com www.margaritacalderon.org 202-368-4621 Margarita Calderón & Associates, Inc.