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I’ll be the first to admit it: I didn’t pay much attention to math. I specialized in literacy and focused on reading, speaking, listening, writing, social studies, and science instruction. Math? My third graders went down the hall each day to the “math classroom.” My co-teacher and I collaborated over best teaching practices, family relationships, and classroom management, but I didn’t spend time delving into the third-grade mathematics standards.
It wasn’t until I entered into our first parent-teachers-student conferences in September that I realized I couldn’t afford to compartmentalize my students’ learning.
In those conferences, we had students who loved math and had excelled in math every year leading up, but were now struggling to advance. They seemed to have hit an invisible wall. What happened?
Two words: Word problems.
Some of our students who were English Language Learners, reluctant readers, or who struggled to read at grade level for other reasons all of a sudden “couldn’t do” math anymore because the vocabulary, text length, and sentence structure were increasing in complexity. Even though they knew what 9 x 5 was, they couldn’t read and decipher the sentence:
Rene enjoys wearing a new outfit every day. His father bought him nine pairs of shorts and five shirts. Rene doesn’t want to wear any outfit twice. How many different outfit combinations does he have?
Now several of my students weren’t only struggling to read in my literacy class, but also struggling to read in math class. This was disheartening and confusing for them because math was a subject they loved, excelled at, and didn’t feel “below their grade level” because of language abilities or background schema. Yet reading challenges were following them down the hall and across instruction periods.
Guess what: Reading teachers are ALSO math teachers.
What?
Let me explain.
A text is a text no matter the form. Those ELA standards about determining the central idea and unknown or multiple-meaning words apply to word problems along with poems, plays, and biographies. Word problems can be lengthy, involve two or more steps, and contain new and unknown vocabulary that require examining context clues to solve.
Great English teachers improve students’ math scores. According to The Hechinger Report, researchers from Stanford and University of Virginia looked at 700,000 students in New York City in third through eighth grade over the course of eight school years. Results: Students of good English language arts teachers had higher than expected math scores in subsequent years.
Starting in second-grade mathematics, students are reading, interpreting, and solving two-step and multi-step word problems. Even as early as kindergarten and first grade, students are encountering one-step word problems. Bottom line:If they can’t read, they will get left behind in math, too.
So, how can literacy teachers embrace math?
1. Nice to meet you, Math. I’m ELA. The Common Core website also falls victim to sequestering the ELA and math standards. Whether you teach both math and literacy or only one, compare the math standards to the ELA standards of your grade. Open two windows on your computer setting the Reading or Language standards of your grade side by side with the Operations & Algebraic Thinking standards for your grade. What do they have in common?
(Hint, hint: determining central idea of a text, interpreting unknown words or phrases, using context clues, and learning general academic and domain-specific words)
2. Share what read aloud or model text you are reading for the week or unit if you have a separate teacher for math instruction. In word problems, you or the math instructor can write a few of the problems about the characters. Reading In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage? Make Augusta the main character in the word problems.
This book has several money references because Augusta earned money from her teaching and from competitions she entered. Use some of the scenes in the book to review the values of currency. For example, Augusta earned a dollar every day from the principal of her school. How many different ways can you make $1.00 using combinations of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies?
3. Reward students with a math problem during the reading instruction block. (I’m telling you—students LOVE seeing you break out math during a literacy block). This gives students a break, uses a different part of their brains/thinking, and allows them to display their abilities in another subject (which is especially important if English makes a student feel doubtful or shy). Students can do this if they finish their required assignment early or you are transitioning between periods.
4. Allow students to create a word problem using the setting and characters of a book they are reading as an incentive, extension opportunity, or way to engage reluctant readers. Students can submit problems for you to review at the end of the day and the next day you can post one with the student author’s name. Students will have a chance to model (and observe) high quality writing and thinking, as well as delight in their peers’ recognition.
5. Word problems ARE story problems. Treat a word problem like any other fiction story. Have students identify the main character(s) and the problem. Give the word problem a setting. Encourage students to expand the math problem into a fiction story through writing or drawing.
6. Make a math bin in the classroom library. Whatever gets a student excited to read and pick up a book, right? Just as we will scour web deals and dig through yard sales for books on tiger sharks and poison dart frogs, don’t forget to hunt for math-themed books to add to your classroom library if math is your students’ passion.
from Ice Cream Money
7. Pick math-themed books to align with units students are covering in the grade level’s math standards. Great read alouds and leveled readers exist to help teach concepts around counting, money, time, geometry, and mixed operations, such as:
Florence was promised twenty-five cents a night to perform at the Empire Theater. If she performed every night for one week, how much money did she earn? How much money would she earn in two weeks?
After her performance in the butchers’ shop, Florence earned $3.85. How many nickels would you need to make $3.85? How many pennies would you need to make $3.85?
If Hoy was born in 1862 and died in 1961, how old was he when he passed away? If Hoy started playing in the major leagues in 1888 and retired from baseball in 1902, how many years did he play in the major leagues? How many years ago did Hoy last play baseball? If Hoy were alive today, how old would he be?
Frederick’s mother walks twelve miles. How many yards does she walk? How many kilometers and meters does she walk?
If students can’t read, they will struggle to succeed in math (and science and social studies). These challenges will compound with each year affecting self-confidence and commitment. Bridging math and literacy for students is a powerful way for students to see that learning how to derive meaning from text has real world applications and that you are invested in their entire education.
Jill Eisenberg, our Senior Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
0 Comments on Why Literacy Teachers Should Care About Math as of 2/24/2015 12:35:00 PM
Jill Eisenberg, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Science (IES) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) released the latest educator’s guide to present best instructional practices for English Language Learners. Over the last several weeks, I’ve looked at several different strategies for teaching English Language Learners based on that guide’s recommendations.
Today, we’ll take a look at how to incorporate vocabulary instruction into activities that support listening, speaking, and writing practice for English Language Learners. This is the final week I will focus on the guide’s first recommendation: Teach a set of academic vocabulary words intensively across several days using a variety of instructional activities.
Drumbeat in Our Feet
Using the Lee & Low informational text, Drumbeat in Our Feet, as my model text, I applied the guide’s recommendations on how to choose an appropriate text and words for English Language Learners and how to teach the vocabulary over several days. See how I chose these words here and taught their meanings here.
Using Drumbeat in Our Feetand the IES’s process, my target words are origins, vital, ethnically, diverse, unique, vibrant and varied from the “Origins of African Dance” excerpt.
1. IES: Facilitate structured discussions to increase opportunities for students to talk about academic words. Always anchor these discussions around the topics that are present in the text and that do not have a clear-cut right or wrong answer. The goal is for students to learn to articulate a position or point of view and learn to defend their perspective or analysis. (P. 20)
Lee & Low: Over the course of multiple days, I am teaching a different part to each word’s meaning. After doing so, I want to create open-ended questions for whole or small group discussion that will allow my students to practice using the target words.
As my target words are origins, vital, ethnically, diverse, unique, vibrant and varied from the “Origins of African Dance” excerpt in Drumbeat In Our Feet, I would use these throughout the week for peer-to-peer discussion. This looks like:
Why would the authors want to discuss the diverse land and countries of Africa in a book about African dance?
Why might African dance vary in form?
Why should we study the origins of African dance today?
What factors might contribute to the diversity in African dance?
2. IES: Require students to use target words in their writing activities. (P. 21)
Lee & Low: Use the prompts above or focus on vocabulary-specific prompts. This looks like:
What are the origins of your family?
Write about the origins of a superhero.
Create a story about the origins of the universe or how life began.
Is it important to you to feel unique? Why or why not?
What are at least two things vital to all life forms?
Although we cannot explicitly teach all academic and content-specific words our students will need to know in their educations and careers, we can be strategic in how we teach 5-8 words a week so they can apply these word strategies to new words they come across on their own.
Further reading on supporting English Language Learners in the classroom:
Jill Eisenberg, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
Although we cannot explicitly teach all academic and content-specific words our students will need to know in their educations and careers, we can be strategic in how we teach 5-8 words a week so they can apply these word strategies to new words they come across on their own.
Last week I applied the guide’s recommendations on how to choose an appropriate text and vocabulary words for English Language Learners and I modeled it with the Lee & Low informational text, Drumbeat In Our Feet.
I will continue to focus on the guide’s first recommendation: Teach a set of academic vocabulary words intensively across several days using a variety of instructional activities.
Drumbeat In Our Feet
Using Drumbeat In Our Feetand the IES’s process, my target words are origins, vital, ethnically, diverse, unique, vibrant and varied from the “Origins of African Dance” excerpt in Drumbeat In Our Feet. See how I chose these words here.
1. Read the text
IES: Introduce the topic of the text by asking about students understanding of the topic and personal experiences. Read the excerpt aloud at the start of the lesson. (P. 24)
Lee & Low: I would read the text aloud so students who cannot comprehend the text independently can access the text whole group. All students should be able to follow along with their own student copy. Only constant interaction with the print and following along will allow students to connect with what I am saying and how I say it with what they are seeing in the print.
“Origins of African Dance,” excerpt from Drumbeat In Our Feet
2. Introduce the vocabulary
IES: After reading the text and stopping to ask clarifying questions, introduce the target vocabulary words and have students find the words (in their copies). Display a list of the words in the classroom. (P. 24)
3. Teach the vocabulary words in layers
IES: “Teach academic vocabulary in depth using multiple modalities (writing, speaking, listening)” and “teach word-learning strategies to help students independently figure out the meaning of words.” (P. 18-22)
Lee & Low: Over the course of 5-8 days (lesson periods), I would focus on a couple of aspects of each of the new vocabulary words. On a whole class chart where the target words are listed, I would add a new component to each word each day in order to deepen the meaning and foster familiarity with the words for students.
Together we will create a student-friendly definition; write synonyms, antonyms, examples, non-examples; determine parts of speech; draw a picture or create an action/gesture to represent the words; list related word forms and any cognates; break the word down into word parts; and use the word in a meaningful, student-generated sentence.
For example, Monday I would read the excerpt, introduce the target words, find the target words in the text, and come up with a definition for each target word. Tuesday, I would revisit the chart and add synonyms, antonyms, examples, and non-examples for all the vocabulary words to reinforce meaning. Wednesday I would cover part of speech and concrete representations, and so on.
Below is how I would teach my target word, origins, from Drumbeat In Our Feet but I would cover all of the target words each day.
Monday
student-friendly definition: the source where something starts
Tuesday
synonyms: beginnings, birthplace, roots, foundation
antonyms: end, destination, result
examples: beginning of the universe and life, family backgrounds/heritage, word roots, superhero/comic book origin stories
non-examples: death of a star, the youngest person in the family tree, the last book in a comic book series
Wednesday
part of speech: noun
draw a picture to represent the word: I might draw a lake with a river leading up to a mountain and arrow pointing to where the river starts.
create an action/gesture to represent the word: with my left hand held out at hip-level as the “lake,” I would point with my right finger to my left shoulder (the mountain) as the origin of the river. [Tip: Students are great at brainstorming concrete representations of words!]
Thursday
list related word forms: original, originate
list any cognates: origine (French), origen (Spanish)
Friday
affixes: none
use the word in a meaningful, student-generated sentence: We hiked from the lake up to the mountain looking for the origins of the river. The original owner of this house built this house all on her own in 1956.
Remember: This is a process I will repeat each week or every 5-8 lessons with a new text and set of target words. While my students may know only up to 400 new vocabulary words by the end of the year, this repeated process will allow them to tackle new vocabulary words in other content classes and in independent reading.
Next week, we will take a look at how to incorporate the selected vocabulary into activities that support listening, speaking, and writing practice for English Language Learners.
Further reading on supporting English Language Learners in the classroom:
Jill Eisenberg, our Resident Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
As I mentioned last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Science (IES) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) released the latest educator’s guide to present best instructional practices for English Language Learners.
Let’s take a look at the guide’s first recommendation: Teach a set of academic vocabulary words intensively across several days using a variety of instructional activities.
Here is an example of how to apply the first recommendation using IES’s process and Lee & Low Books’ informational nonfiction text, Drumbeat In Our Feet.
Drumbeat In Our Feet
Choose a text:
IES: “Choose a text that is brief, interesting, and engaging for the students; contains a variety of target academic words to focus on; connects to a given unit of study and builds the students’ knowledge of a topic; provides sufficient detail and examples for students to be able to comprehend the passage; and contains ideas that can be discussed from a variety of perspectives.” (P. 14)
Lee & Low: Based on these criteria, I selected the first chapter, “Origins of African Dance.” The reading level of Drumbeat In Our Feet is best suited for fourth through sixth graders. The topic of dance history is relatable and relevant to this age group. It will spark student interest and engagement and promote discussion. The short excerpt is an appropriate length that can be read within one class period and is worth multiple re-readings over the coming days.
Select vocabulary:
IES: Select a small number of academic vocabulary words (content-specific and general academic) for multi-day instruction. For in-depth exploration, consider only 5-8 words. The IES suggests choosing words “central to understanding the text, frequently used in the text, might appear in other content areas, with multiple meanings, with affixes, or cross-language potential.” (P. 16-17)
Lee & Low: Based on these criteria, I picked: origins, vital, ethnically, diverse, unique, vibrant and varied from the “Origins of African Dance” excerpt in Drumbeat In Our Feet. These words are key to understanding the text, will appear in other content areas students will explore, and several have multiple meanings.
Additionally, I used Flocabulary’s Wordlists to check my words against their grade level recommendations because Flocabulary’s researchers analyze grade level materials and high stakes tests to determine what academic words students should know in each grade. Origins is on the third grade word list and variety (related word form to varied) is on the fourth grade word list. Vital, diversity (related word form to diverse), unique, and vibrant are on the sixth grade word list. However, there are quite a few wordlists available to do this verification so utilize what your district/school recommends or another you have confidence using.
Next week, we will take a look at how to introduce and teach the selected vocabulary across multiple lesson periods using Drumbeat In Our Feet followed by writing and speaking/listening activities for your students to grasp the words’ meanings.
Further reading on supporting English Language Learners in the classroom:
Language Magazine’s Editorial in the January 2010 issue focused on the importance of enjoying reading in order to develop literacy skills. I really liked the editor’s viewpoint and got permission to reprint the article here for you. If you’d like more information on or to subscribe to Language Magazine: The Journal of Communication and Education, please visit their website, www.languagemagazine.com.
Language and literacy are the tools with which knowledge is built. Without their acquisition, no child has the chance to become an astronaut, a scientist, a doctor, a movie star, or even a musician. Without aspirations, children cannot flourish and life loses some of its magic. Yet, we continue to deny so many of our children the opportunity to develop their own language and literacy skills by refusing them access to books that are suitable for them and might even excite them.
According to a newly released study (see News, p. 10 by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), in more than 90 percent of school libraries, books in languages other than English account for less than five percent of the collection and, in nearly 60 percent of school libraries, they account for less than one percent. While nearly 14 percent of responding schools reported that at least 25 percent of their students were English Language Learners (ELLs) and a quarter of all respondents rated free-choice reading as the most effective ELL initiative.
Now, I can already hear the English-only brigade proclaiming that all books in school libraries in America should be in English because that’s the language spoken here, but even the most hardened English-only advocate must appreciate that children will never become literate in any language if they don’t enjoy reading. And reading in a second language is hard work at first —imagine being obliged to pick up War and Peace every night for your bedtime read.
Librarians consider “school-wide reading initiatives that encourage free choice reading” to be the most effective teaching strategy for ELLs. Many teachers and experts agree (see Opinion, p.26). Restocking our school and public libraries with books that will interest today’s kids is a relatively low cost policy with no drawbacks and an enormous upside. Not only is it a long term investment which will serve children for many years to come, but, for those who are counting, nearly all the money will end up with American publishers (yes, there are many American publishers of books in languages other than English) so the investment will satisfy stimulus package requirements.
Britain’s Cambridge University recently released the results of a three-year study (see News p.11) into elementary education, which warns “that prescribed pedagogy combined with high stakes testing and the national curriculum amounted to a ‘state theory of learning.’ Prepackaged, government approved lessons are not good for a democracy, nor for children’s education…Pupils do not learn to think for themselves if their teachers are expected to do as they are told.” This completely contradicts the blindly accepted notion that more standards and testing make better schools —the basis for the federal education funding.
Another $250 million was allocated to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teaching earlier this month. About the same amount of funding would buy an appropriate library book for every child in public school across the nation. Instead of pinning all its hopes of school reform success on standards, assessment, and incentive schemes, the government, like all wise investors, should spread its bets.
0 Comments on You Can Lead a Child to Books… as of 3/6/2010 5:38:00 PM
In the last (a short and sweet one!) of our blog series on common themes from the 2009 NAEYC’s annual conference, we present a hodge-podge of facts we gathered throughout that week in D.C. Enjoy!
–Language acquisition depends not only on adequate hearing, the ability to differentiate sounds, and the capacity to link meaning to specific words, but also on the ability to concentrate, pay attention, and engage in meaningful social interaction.
–Learning a second language and learning to read are complex tasks influenced by cognitive, environmental and social factors.
–Bilingual Children
-Exhibit the same language milestones as monolingual children
-May acquire language at a slower rate and have more limited total vocabularies in each language
-Have a combined vocabulary in both languages likely to equal or exceed that of a child who speaks one language
–Preschoolers actively listen to and separate out two languages. So we can use both languages interchangeably.
–Development of language and literacy in the home language (or first language) facilitates development of language and literacy in the second language and cognitive development. Academic language ability takes 5-7 years. Social language ability (i.e. Hello, how are you?) is easy to accomplish.
–For more current guidance, check out:
-Head Start Performance Standards and Head Start Dual Language Report (2008)
-Tabors, Patton O. One Child, Two Languages: Children Learning English as a Second Language. Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 2008.
-Igao, Cristina. The Inner World of the Immigrant Child. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1995.
-Espinosa, Linda. Getting it RIGHT for Young Children from Diverse Backgrounds: Applying Research to Improve Practice. Prentice Hall, 2009.
Check out below for the sources of this blog:
1) Using standards-based curriculum to support language and literacy development for English-language learners.
Presented by:
Min-hua Chen, Education Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education;
Vicky Milstein, Principal of Early Education, Brookline Public Schools;
Min-Jen Wu Taylor, Pre-K Teacher, Brookline Public Schools;
James StClair, Kindergarten Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools;
Sandra Christison, Kindergarten Teacher, Boston Public Schools.
They haven’t posted their slides yet, but if they do, you can find it here.
2) Home Language or English? Implementing program policies and teaching strategies that meet the needs of dual-language learners
Presented by:
John Gunnarson, Napa Valley College.
Another common theme that surfaced at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference dealt with plans and strategies for working with dual language learners. This blog posting provides some tips you can actually use, along with recommendations on how to create a more explicit strategy.
Strategy
Regardless of what you choose to do, the key is to be deliberate, intentional and integrative in your strategy. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Create an explicit plan to integrate the needs of your dual language learners with the overall needs of your center. Check out these steps below to aid in developing your plan.
Consider completing a self-assessment checklist to help you determine where you are in your DLL strategy. You can access the checklist here.
Find out about the current guidelines for dual language programs.
Analyze your current program needs, specifically the demographic makeup of your students, staff and maybe even growing trends in your area.
Develop a policy for supporting and a plan on how to support dual language learners. Get buy-in from management, staff and parents.
Pursue and offer professional development for staff who work with dual language learning children.
Collaborate with other services and supporters.
General Tips
Following are 10 tips for communicating with DLLs. Remember to develop a relationship with the child and their family (see Themes, Parts 2 and 3) in order to maximize that child’s potential. From birth to age 3, children need face-to-face social interaction for language development. DVDs do not work.
Pair visual tools with oral and print cues. For example, if you display the daily schedule in printed words (English), place visual pictures of the activities next to their corresponding words. You can combine these cues in everything you do. For example, use pictures, gestures and movements when talking to maximize all the cues.
For new language learners:
2. Simplify your language and slow down.
3. Do not assume that a child understands what you say.
4. Do not force the child to make eye contact with you.
5. Do not raise your volume when speaking or force the child to speak.
6. Allow plenty of time for the child to answer a question or wait a bit and then rephrase the question in simpler language.
A little later:
7. Listen for intent not grammar.
8. Accept all attempts.
9. Don’t overcorrect.
10. Never ask a child to say something in English. Let it be spontaneous.
Actual Tactics
Below are some tactics that other centers have used and that I found interesting.
Create a bilingual book with the photo and name of every student in your center. This book helps all the students—and even parents—get to know the names, including unfamiliar and foreign, of everyone else.
If you have more than two languages in your center, consider using a word wall. For example, display the word, hello, in every language represented (along with its Romanized pronunciation if it’s not a language with a Latin alphabet). Also, during morning meeting, have the class say hello or good morning in each language represented in your class.
Bring family members in to share things from their country. Take a photo and post it in the classroom.
If you have a listening cen
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Another theme that presented itself throughout various sessions at this year’s annual National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference the need for developing and maintaining a relationship with the parents and families of non-native English speakers. You might think this concept is rather obvious; however, several barriers exist to prevent this relationship from blooming.
Barriers
Oftentimes, there is a perception that these parents lack interest in their child’s education and growth. However, this perception can often be misguided. In many cultures outside the United States, teachers are revered and getting involved in the classroom is seen as interfering with the teacher’s expert intentions and processes. Therefore, parents try to stay out of the way of their children’s teachers. You see that as lack of interest and involvement; they see it as respect.
Also, the notion of family involvement differs for social classes. Just because a parent is not at a bake sale doesn’t mean they are not involved in their child’s education. Work may prevent them from attending; however, they may still be reviewing their child’s homework every night.
Immigrant families also face unique needs than other families in America. Not only may there be a language and culture barrier, but also family tensions can exist as each member adjusts and adapts to their new life in America. Their identities as a member of a group before may have now changed to one of an outsider—an “alien”. Perhaps they were a leader in their hometown and now they are a laborer trying to climb the socio-economic ladder. Further, they may have to rely on their children as their English improves more quickly, which degrades their role as provider in the family. These adjustments can cause tension in the family that may prevent as much involvement as they’d like in their child’s education. Think about the time you studied abroad in college. Imagine moving there by yourself, without the school’s help, without your host family there to meet you at the airport. Imagine trying to figure everything out on your own, in a foreign country with a language you thought you could speak. Imagine doing so with your family there too, all looking to you for guidance. Do you think you could have done it? Perhaps, but with a whole lot of stress involved, too!
For instance, what do the following symbols mean to you (assuming you don’t speak Chinese)? 优, 良, 中, 可, 差。If your child brought home these symbols on their report card, would you know what they mean? One presenter at NAEYC told a story of how a Chinese father was disappointed in his daughter because she brought home a grade of “S” (for Satisfactory). He thought grades went in order from A all the way down to Z—because it does seem that way since it starts off A, B, C, D…—and so S seemed pretty bad. We must remember that nearly everything may be unfamiliar to immigrant families!
The Importance of Developing this Relationship with the Family
The school or childcare center is a key location in cultural transition. This place may often be the first place children are exposed to cultures other than their own (this goes for all children). It may be the first place a child realizes he is “different.” Further, it is the place that will help prepare him to succeed in America. If there is not enough language support for her to learn, she will associate school as something that doesn’t do anything for her.
Parent involvement is a critical component in a child’s success in school and in society. We must do what we can to remember that inability to communicate does not mean a person is incapable or uneducated. In fact, new legal immigrants are as well educated as native-born citizens, on average. We must discover and overcome whatever may be preventing a relation
0 Comments on NAEYC Themes, Part 3: 10 Ways to Develop Meaningful Relationships with the Parents and Families of Dual-Language Learning Children as of 1/1/1900
A Safe Environment The first common theme I gathered from the sessions I attended at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference is that it is absolutely imperative that teachers build positive relationships with DLL children. Help them to feel safe and included.
Have you ever been in an environment where you didn’t feel safe? Heard some strange noises at night? In the car with a reckless driver? In a heated argument with someone physically stronger than you? Or how about simply watching a scary movie?
Think about what was going through your head, the first thing you thought you needed to do. Getting to safety, right? Grabbing that bottle of mace, getting out of the car, calling the police, covering your eyes and hiding behind the friend sitting next to you. Anything to get you out of that situation. You focused on saving yourself, on self-preservation.
Some of these examples may seem extreme and unrelated to a child in a classroom (hopefully). My point is that regardless of the situation, when you don’t feel safe, your first priority and thoughts focus on self-preservation, on getting to a place of safety. The same feelings occur in a child who is in an unfamiliar environment, especially when they cannot communicate in your language. If you’re in an environment where you don’t feel safe, you close down and only focus on self-preservation. How can a child learn and prepare for kindergarten if she doesn’t feel safe?
Additionally, behavior issues can stem from this inability to communicate. Think back to a recent meeting or presentation during which you did not pay attention. The topic didn’t apply to you. The presenter was wretchedly boring and just kept droning on and on. Or maybe it was a good presentation, but you were thinking about a looming deadline instead or what groceries you needed to get on your way home that night. What did you do? Pretended to listen, nodded in agreement during regular intervals and acted as if your grocery list were really notes from the material?
It’s okay, we’ve all done it! John Gunnarson from Napa Valley College calls this “procedural display.” We as adults know how to act like we are paying attention. Children have not yet learned this technique. If a child does not speak the language used in the classroom and, therefore, does not understand what is being said, what will he do? Act out? Pursue activities that are interesting to him? Can you blame him? Over time, what message are we sending to DLL children who do not receive enough language support? We are telling them that school does nothing for them. Think about the long-term implications for this message.
Thus, teachers should focus on helping DLL children to feel safe and included by building a positive relationship with each one. If a child feels safe in a classroom, she’ll take risks, like trying a new language. Would you be more willing or less willing to jump out of an airplane if you were 100% sure the parachute would work? How about 50% sure? Helping a child to feel included and valued will encourage her to try new things such as speaking a few words in English.
Cognitive Growth The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction. In our last blog, we mentioned how Secretary Duncan stated we can no longer ignore the evidence that social development and academic development are “inextricably linked.” Academic development through social interaction becomes an even bigger hurdle for dual language learning children. As a teacher, take the extra steps to show—and model—that you value the DLL children in your classroom.
Tips Now, how do you go about doing this? Of course myriad of tips and ideas exist. Here are some gene
0 Comments on NAEYC Themes, Part 2: Build Positive Relationships with Dual-Language Learning Children as of 1/1/1900
I attended the annual NAEYC conference just before Thanksgiving in Washington D.C. I learned a lot more about the strategies, techniques and trends for teaching dual language learners. I also got to see some friends and make some new ones who are involved in early education. Moreover, I got to see Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speak live! Over the next few blog postings, I’ll be recapping some of the presentations I attended. For this particular posting, I’d like to discuss four overarching themes that seemed to repeat throughout the various sessions. I will expand on these themes through the specific postings that will follow.
Common Theme #1: Teachers need to build positive relationships with dual language learning children. Help them to feel safe and included. Oftentimes, every single thing is new to them since they have just moved here. Even their parents are stressed as they try to get settled in a new country. With everything so new and different (read: scary), a safe and inviting environment will help them to open up more in school.
Common Theme #2: Teachers need to develop meaningful relationships with parents and families. Parents and families from different countries display their involvement with their children’s education in various ways. Also, sometimes their current circumstances prevent them from being as involved as they’d like. This does not mean they are not interested. Furthermore, language need not be a barrier for a teacher to communicate with the families. These meaningful relationships help to eliminate misunderstandings and further create a safe environment for the child.
Common Theme #3: Be deliberate, intentional, integrative and committed with your communication strategies. I’ll offer suggestions in following postings. But certainly determine what your policy is for incorporating dual language learners and then set about creating a strategy to do so. This process will include research and can even mean hiring a consultant.
Common Theme #4: Support the home language and culture. Dual language learning children do not come to your school as a blank slate. By supporting their home language and culture, you maximize their potential to learn, send them a message that they are not different, help create that safe and inclusive environment, and lay the foundation for a strong relationship between them and their parents.
I look forward to sharing with you specific details from the sessions as well as expanding upon these four themes. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and don’t forget to check out our bookstore, where all the books are bilingual: www.bububooks.com.
–Laura
0 Comments on Themes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference as of 1/1/1900
Jacey and Laura both represented bububooks at events this past weekend. Jacey visited beautiful northwest Georgia for the annual Georgia Literary Festival in Rome. Despite the cold temperatures, she says she enjoyed her time up there and got to meet some pretty cool people, authors and booksellers. Maybe she and her husband will make a camping trip up there in the near future!
Laura headed up to Columbia, South Carolina, for the South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children conference. Having never been to South Carolina before, she thoroughly enjoyed the city of Columbia and the people. By the end, she was giving hugs as she left the conference! At the conference, Laura met lots of GREAT people who are all seeking to improve the lives of children and teachers in South Carolina. She says it was an inspiring weekend and she looks forward to going back as she develops stronger relationships with the people she met from throughout the state. She’s so sad (and has been chastised by us) that she didn’t get any pictures of her new friends but promises to take more pictures next time. It has been her favorite trip for bububooks by far! Thank you South Carolina and the SCAEYC!
0 Comments on More events this past weekend, SCAEYC and the Georgia Literary Festival as of 10/20/2009 1:20:00 AM
I had so much fun this past weekend in Atlanta at the Georgia Association on Young Children conference. Not only did I enjoy meeting various childcare providers from throughout the state, but I also appreciated the enthusiastic response from them regarding our mission at bububooks to help bilingual children with literacy and cultural identity development.
I also had two pleasant surprises throughout the weekend. First, my hotel happened to be in a Korean part of town. Being half-Korean, I found my way to a BBQ restaurant and indulged in some good ol’ Korean BBQ! Even better, I invited some newly made friends to join me. It was both their first times to try Korean food and they loved it! I thought, “what a great way to embrace our mission by introducing people to a new cuisine!” Second, as I was packing up at the end of the conference, I walked past a room where a session was still continuing. The attendees were singing a song I had never heard before. However, the tune was that of the Air Force Song! I found myself humming the Song as I finished loading up the car (I’m an Air Force veteran). I couldn’t believe I still remembered the words and it brought back many memories of the jovial times in which we would sing the first verse. J
Thanks to GAYC and all the attendees for making my trip so joyful! Off we go into the wild, blue yonder…
Laura
0 Comments on Fun and Surprise at GAYC as of 10/13/2009 12:34:00 PM
We at bububooks are excited to announce our newest book, Luna Needs a Miracle!/¡Luna Necesita un Milagro!, written by celebrity Chef Paul Luna. Now you must be thinking this book is about food, but it’s not! Luna explores the themes of love, fear, family and friendship in this bilingual—Spanish/English—children’s book. The main character, whose name is also Luna and does not speak or understand English, faces his fears as he prepares for his first day at a new school in a new country in this colorfully illustrated hardcover.
Luna prays for the school to be closed and, as a result, no longer worries about his first day in a new situation. Yet as he walks closer and closer to school that morning, Luna discovers the school is still open, but finds his prayer answered in another, more universal way. (We won’t want to spoil it!)
“Experiencing something radically different from what you know can be frightening, but can also create a window of opportunity upon which you can take action with clarity and confidence,” said author Luna. He continues, “writing this book was a way for me to break past my own fears of doing something new and unknown, while also sharing an important lesson that we are all the same. We all have fears, challenges and successes in our lives.”
Laura, founder of bububooks, got to personally meet Luna and his fiancée, Cynthia. “Our missions are quite the same. We understand and appreciate the value of languages and of reading. It was never any question to him—the book had to be bilingual. I am inspired by his passion and am proud that we are carrying their book. We look forward to reading more from him!”
We decided to post this thank you letter not to boast, but because the author, a teacher in a public school, offers a first-hand view of what we at bububooks strongly believe. We like to say, “L is for literacy, not language.” This is why we advocate for English Language Learner programs in our schools. Please read this teacher’s note below for a perspective on what non-native English speakers face while trying to grow up.
This thank you letter comes from Donorschoose.org. This website connects teachers in public schools who need funding for specific projects and willing donors. Check it out at www.donorschoose.org!
Dear Laura,
Thank you so much for your generous donations. Reading is so important, and is essential in becoming successful in today’s society. Many of my English language learners are not thought of as the bright kids that they truly are because they struggle with reading. I have learned through my classes that most of my students can read and write in Spanish (their native language). The importance of reading–in any language–is immeasurable!
With the ability to read (in any language) comes vocabulary development; fluency; comprehension; and critical thinking skills, such as, prediction and sequencing. Reading in Spanish will help students transfer their knowledge, and learn more readily in English. Research has shown that students who continue to read and write in their native language, will find it much easier to learn to read and write in a new language.
These bilingual books will help my students this year–and in coming years–by allowing them to continue to read and learn in their native language, while acquiring new English skills. The books will also allow parents who feel “left out” the opportunity to engage in their children’s’ education and help them to develop a love of learning.
Once again, thank you for your generosity and compassion towards my students and me!
Theresa Breslin wrote this book based on real experiences from when a group of prisoners attempted to break out of Alcatraz in the late 1940s. The story is told from the point of view of Marty King, a young, simple man who wants to grow tomatoes in the warm sun of Mexico and somehow manages to get into bad situations that ultimately land him in Alcatraz. Because he is small, some other prisoners convince him (as if he really had a choice) to help prepare for a break out by crawling through an air vent and making an imprint of a key on a bar of soap. Without ruining the story, Marty shares his insights into the legendary prisoners at Alcatraz and his own life.
The first element that stuck out to me was Breslin’s use of structure in this story. We first meet Marty after he’s in Alcatraz and subsequently learn how he grew up with his Ma in Chicago and, in between, how he gets bullied into the escape party and how he got into Alcatraz to begin with. The next element Breslin exceeds it that her use of voice. We can picture Marty as he speaks, through the way he speaks, as well as Marty’s cohorts and fellow prisoners. We sense who they are simply through their dialogue. Because of these two elements, Breslin presents an entertaining and highly impactful story in slightly more than 80 pages.
Now this book is not bilingual and we do not carry it at bububooks (yet). However, we wanted to share it with you because not only is Theresa Breslin an amazing author, but also because the publisher of this particular book is special to us. They are known as Barrington Stoke and are located in Great Britain. Barrington Stoke uses its own font and paper that are designed to help dyslexic people read. The font, with its “a”s and “g”s shaped more like how we write them rather than type them, is also useful to English Language Learners who may need to reconcile the difference between handwritten English letters and typed English letters. Further, Barrington Stoke uses readers as consultants on titles before they’re published. If you’re interested in becoming a consultant, email them at [email protected] or visit www.barringtonstoke.co.uk.
As teachers get ready for school to start in the fall, they might consider a few tips on making students welcome who don’t speak English as a native language. More students speak Spanish as their first language than any other group in the U.S., but there are over a hundred other mother tongues spoken by kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade around this country. No one teacher can possibly know all of these. So, what’s a teacher to do? Two websites offer some practical advice:
There is plenty of research demonstrating that English language learners (or ELLs for short) learn best by drawing on what they already know. That means, they learn best when they start with the language they already speak, their native language (or L1). Children are not blank states when starting kindergarten. This tends to be an unpopular notion in many places, as it was in the Word Geek’s childhood. The idea back in the Olden Days was to punish a child for speaking anything but the “best” meaning the textbook or Standard version of English. The result was, predictably, that kids who didn’t already speak a pretty standard version quit talking altogether in school and made very little progress, then stopped going to school as soon as they could get away with it. This tended to be around the fourth grade (age 8 or 9). Or, because these children struggle to learn math and science in their L2, they get placed in special education classes in which they become bored and disgruntled. This pattern is NOT recommended!
Instead of following this mournful and unsuccessful pattern, consider the tips described by David and Yvonne Freeman at the first site above:
1. Pair a newcomer (an ELL with little or no English) with a partner who speaks his or her L1 as well as some English. Make sure the partner knows this buddy position is a prestigious job and you are very impressed at how well he or she carries it off. The buddy’s job description should include making sure the newcomer knows the class rules, gets the class assignments, and, hopefully, this buddy does some translating.
2. Invite a parent volunteer into the classroom to read aloud to the class in the L1 of the newcomer(s). If this involves showing lots of pictures, even the English speakers should get something out of it. Plus, they’ll get some idea of what it’s like to be unable to understand every word of what’s going on – empathy, in other words. Not a bad idea!
3. Let the kids speak in their L1. The Word Geek wishes to put this one up in lights, so she will repeat it in capital letters and add an exclamation mark: LET THE KIDS SPEAK IN THEIR L1! Maybe she should throw some firecrackers in to get some people’s attention here, adding extra exclamation marks for more emphasis. LET THE KIDS SPEAK IN THEIR L1!!!
4. Build a class library in the students’ L1s. It’s especially helpful if some of these books are what we once called “ponies,” in the Olden Days. That means, there is the L1 on one page. On the facing page, the same text is in English. This way, a student sees that his or her native language is respected and supported, and the child can go from the known (L1) to the unknown (L2), with a lot less pain and hassle. The Word Geek was once very fond of such ponies and still has a few in her possession.
5. Organize bilingual tutoring, for example by partnering with a teacher of a class a year or two older than your own, in which there are students who speak the same L1 as your students. These older kids who presumably also speak a little more English can help tutor your students, do a little translating. It’s good for their education and self-esteem as well as helping your students along. A person never learns better than when helping someone else learn.
6. Provide students pen pals, whether in their L1 or L2, and whether through e-mail or by means of old-fashioned pen and paper. Go to the first website above to find a couple of online sites to locate e-mail pen pals. This type of writing is a lot more interesting than writing boring sentences in response to even duller reading exercises.
7. Encourage writing in a journal, whether in the L1 or L2. Sometimes, writing about the acquisition of L2 (namely English) in the L1 is one of the best ways to get a student to think about it after school.
8. Create books of students’ own writings. That is to say, with the computer it is relatively easy to type up things that students write, duplicate them, print them out, and even bind them in inexpensive ways. These can be done in the L1 or L2. “Ponies” created in this way can be distributed to the entire class, giving a newcomer a new feeling of being part of a class, not an outsider. Many of the fonts required to print, say, Vietnamese or Arabic or whatever are already available on the internet for free – or relatively cheaply.
9. Use L1 storytellers to support the ELLs language and culture and share with the rest of the class. The teacher can help bring in the rest of the class by teaching a story ahead of time, or having the class read the story or act it out, if they are too young to read it yet. That way, no one need feel left out when the storyteller comes and speaks another language.
10. Put up the signs that are displayed in the classroom in both English and any L1s spoken by students. This shows that the L1 is valued and, therefore, the student who speaks it is also valued.
Time for an object lesson: When the Word Geek took an introductory linguistics class in college, years ago, the professor told of taking a rabbit in a cage to a first grade classroom. The children in the classroom seemed inordinately quiet and the regular teacher agreed, saying that the kiddies were all “culturally deprived” (using the parlance of the times).
The linguistics professor said that she had a cure for that dread condition. The rabbit was part of it. She put the cage on the teacher’s desk and told the silent students that she and the other teacher had to leave the classroom for a moment. “But I need you kids to help me out,” she told them. “Mr. Bunny will get very, very sick if I go away and nobody talks to him. So, while we’re gone, you need to talk to him and keep talking until I get back. Will you do that for me?”
The kids silently nodded.
The professor and the teacher silently left the classroom. The kids did not see, but the professor had silently started a tape recorder behind the desk.
When the professor got back, as soon as she opened the door of the classroom, the kids were quiet, so she had no idea if her plan had worked. But later, when she played the tape for the teacher, the two adults heard a great cacophony of noise. The whole time the grownups had been out of the room, all the children had been talking to that rabbit, calling him “Mr. Bunny,” telling him not to be scared, letting him know he would be all right. They did not speak perfect Standard English. But they could speak all right and their meaning was clear enough.
Why wouldn’t they talk when their teacher was there? As the professor pointed out to us, when someone gets onto you every time you open your mouth, you stop opening your mouth. So, at the risk of beating a dead horse, LET THE KIDS SPEAK IN THEIR L1. They’ll eventually get to L2 that way. But if they stop talking altogether, they’ll never get anywhere.
This article was written by Diana Gainer, the Word Geek Examiner, on www.examiner.com. Laura Renner added some of her own thoughts as well.
0 Comments on Tips for teachers of English language learners as of 9/13/2009 3:15:00 PM
Some of our students who were English Language Learners, reluctant readers, or who struggled to read at grade level for other reasons all of a sudden “couldn’t do” math anymore because the vocabulary, text length, and sentence structure were increasing in complexity. Even though they knew what 9 x 5 was, they couldn’t read and decipher the sentence:
This book has several money references because Augusta earned money from her teaching and from competitions she entered. Use some of the scenes in the book to review the values of currency. For example, Augusta earned a dollar every day from the principal of her school. How many different ways can you make $1.00 using combinations of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies?
From Baby Flo: Florence Mills Lights Up the Stage:
From Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy:
From Love Twelve Miles Long:
Jill Eisenberg, our Senior Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. She is certified in Project Glad instruction to promote English language acquisition and academic achievement. In her column she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators. 
