Reading in the Content Areas

Reading in the Content Areas Project Mast2er ELL Module Adapted from Center for Applied Linguistics Enriching Content for Secondary ESOL Students C. Carlson

Effective Content Instruction for ELLs • Content Area Reading Principles • Strategies Agenda

Success • For All • in Content Classes • What’s our goal?

Read the text Create a passage title Think-pair-share Why do we have to change? ….the way we think about teaching & learning

1 3 Guidelines for Effective Content Instruction

Increased • Success for • ELLs • in • Content • Classes • What’s our goal?

How can we modify lessons to help ELLs learn in content classrooms? 3 Guidelines

To Increase ELL Success in Mainstream Classes: 3Guidelines Increase Comprehensibility Increase Interaction Increase HOT Skills

Increasing Comprehensibility Focus during content area reading

Reading to Learn Think, pair, share: “What makes reading in the content areas difficult for ELLs?” List on chart paper

Selections from Textbooks Directions: Read each selection and identify 2-3 difficulties that ELLs might have in reading it. Reading to Learn

2 3 Content Area Reading Principles

3 Content Area ReadingPrinciples 3 Passages: Deductive lesson

Passage #1 • First, read passage & try to determine topic • What principle does this passage illustrate? • List some classroom strategies & implications

The procedure is really quite simple. First, you arrange things into different groups depending on their makeup. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to the lack of facilities, that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo any particular endeavor. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run, this may not seem important, but complications from doing too many may arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. The manipulations of the appropriate mechanisms should be self-explanatory, and we don’t need to discuss it here. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another part of your life. It is difficult to foresee an end to the necessity of this task in the future. (Bransford & McCarrell, 1974)

Build on students’ background knowledge & provide the “big picture” Principle 1 Passage #1

Passage #2 • First, read passage & try to determine topic • What principle does this passage illustrate? • List some classroom strategies & implications

“Do I deserve a mulligan?” asked Bob. “No, but I don’t take a drop,” said Al. “Use a hand-mashie, then fly the bogey high to the carpet and maybe you’ll get a gimme within the leather.” “You’re right,” said Bob, “I’ll cover the flag for a birdie and at least get a ginsberg if I’m not stymied.”

Principle 2 Explicitly teach essential content vocabulary Passage #2

Proficiency Levels (CAL, 1998)

Passage #3: • Look at your “role” & do not share with anyone • Read passage 3 • List as many details as you can remember in 30 seconds • Record on T chart by group • Guess other group’s “role” • Discuss implications

Set a purpose for reading Principle 3 Passage #3

“… all language skills … are best developed when students are using those skills to achieve communication goals that are interesting to them.” (Peregoy & Boyle, p. 310, 2006) Reading for a Purpose

Build on students’ background knowledge & provide the “big picture” Explicitly teach essential content vocabulary Set a purpose for reading Plus: Teach reading strategies and other skills needed for academic success Content Reading for ELLs:3 Principles “plus”

To Increase Success in Mainstream Classes Increase Comprehensibility 3 Specific Strategies Increase Interaction Increase Higher Order Thinking Skills (CAL, 1998) Increase Comprehensibility 3 Guidelines for ELL Instruction Plus: Make connections & modify assessments

3 Specific Strategies • Contextual Support • From Text to Graphics & Back Again • Teach the Text Backwards Increasing Reading Comprehensibility

3 3 Strategies

Realia Linguistic Visuals Contextual Support Use: • ______________, • ______________, • Non- ___________clues, etc. • Communicate the overall meaning, • Then correlate the meaning with the text.

From Text to Graphics & Back Again From, Other Places, Other Times, G. Tang. • Preview the chapter and determine how it’s organized and what its key concepts are • Pay explicit attention to the language of the text • Choose a graphic organizer to help students understand the organization and/or major content and relationships • Students practice constructing graphics from the text • Students do academic writing task using the graphic organizers & language learned

Teach the Text Backwards Extension activities Discussion End of chapter questions Then, read!

oral prior concrete more • From ________ knowledge to new knowledge • From the ________ to the abstract • From ________ language to texts • From ________ contextual support to less contextual support Lesson Sequence

prior • From ________ knowledge to new knowledge • From the ________ to the abstract • From ________ language to texts • From ________ contextual support to less contextual support concrete oral more Lesson Sequence

Reading in the Content Areas