Entry #10 Homework

Why give homework to elementary students?
 Homework is as equally important as the instruction and planning that makes up a regular school day.
 Research indicates that homework offers the needed independent practice required to become proficient in a given area (Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners, Flynn & Hill, 2006).
 Students need multiple opportunities to practice skills and apply knowledge in different ways. (I believe teacher’s should understand and use Bloom’s Taxonomy to offer a variety of learning experiences for the students. The transfer of information in this way seems to be a skill that is lacking in many of our students.)
 Homework is most meaningful when it reflects the academic language used at school, extends the student’s understanding, or reviews information for mastery.
What should be the intended homework objectives?
 Students should complete homework independently with only some parent assistance.
 Students should complete homework on time with few errors.
 Students should ask questions to clarify homework so that it may be completed proficiently.
 Student should take responsibility for the presentation of their homework (penmanship, condition of the papers upon return, etc.)
Feedback
 Teacher feedback is essential to assure that expectations are met.
 Teachers should recognize completed papers, correct papers, and effort.
 Teachers should always grade or write comments on student’s homework so the student knows that the task is important to the teacher and to the students learning.
Challenges
 Giving continuous and timely feedback
 Differentiating for each learner to meet objectives
 Dealing with students that do not have the resources or materials to complete homework at home.
 Dealing with students that refuse to do homework or parents that refuse to support the completion of homework.
 Creating a homework structure that ELLs and struggling students can complete independently while still holding the students to state standards.

Entry #9 Fiction vs. Nonfiction

The following is a graphic organizer (an adaption of a T-Chart) depicting the differences between a fiction story, Chip to the Rescue by Marcie Aboff, and a non-fiction text, Baby Birds, by Peggy DeLapp. The text features that are starred * are text features that will support students learning to speak English. The text features that are shown with an X will most likely face a challenge for students learning English.

Entry #8 Video Clip of Sheltered Lesson

The video clip of the sheltered lesson from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsY0dVkeZSI&feature=related demonstrates many components of an effective sheltered lesson. The teacher did excessive planning and preparation to assure student motivation and learning. She brought realia from outside the classroom, such as vegetables, shopping bags, and a variety of fruits. She also had pictures and plastic foods to reinforce the understanding of the new vocabulary. The children were always engaged in the learning. They were able to use many of the five senses to see, touch, and smell the vegetables. The teacher did an excellent job of making sure each child had the opportunity to see and touch the objects and she repeated her words again and again. While the teacher did most of the talking, the students were allowed to repeat her words without being asked to be quiet. In addition, the children were encouraged to clap and sing along with the song while the teacher held up the objects.
This lesson emphasizes the importance of visuals, repetition, and using the five senses to learn new vocabulary words. The following procedures were used in this lesson and are supported in Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners (2006, p.24):
 Manipulatives, miniatures, objects, realia
 Visuals (photos, pictures, drawings)
 Body movement
 Clear expression and articulation
 Short, simple sentences
 Eye contact with students
 High-frequency vocabulary
 Personalized language and nouns favored over pronouns
 Prior content introduction
The lesson was well developed and catered to the needs of the students. I am unsure of the students’ abilities, but perhaps the teacher could give each student a food or two and have the child hold up the food when it is named in the song. Even if the teacher had to point to the child to hold it up, I think it could more participation from the children. Overall, the sheltered lesson was an excellent example of how proper preparation, careful planning, and the use of realia can assist learning for ELLs.

Entry #7 Running Records and Miscue Analysis

The following entry consists of two running records and MSV recordings of English Language Learners in the third grade. The first entry is a male, Spanish speaking student. The second entry is a female student from Africa that speaks French and Swahili.


Two Crazy Pigs by Karen Berman Nagel
(DRA level 12)
Male/3rd Grade/Spanish Speaker

/ / /
Two Crazy Pigs

Where / / / / One / / / Funster / (S, V)
We are two crazy pigs. We lived on the Fenster farm.

When / / / with their / / / / / / / / /(S,V)
We tickled the hens while they were laying eggs. “Stop that, you crazy pigs,” yelled

/ T (M)
Mr. Fenster.

Whenteen / / / / with / / / / / / / /(S,V)
We tied the cows’ tails together while they were giving milk. “Stop that, you crazy

/ / / /
pigs,” yelled Mrs. Fenster.

Instir / / / / / where they / / / / / / / / /(S,V)
Instead of rolling in the mud, we threw it at each other. “Stop that, you crazy pigs!”

/ / / / /
yelled Mr. and Mrs. Fenster.

/ / / / / / / / / / /
OOPS! “Pack your bags and leave!” yelled Mr. and Mrs. Fenster.

/ / / / We will / / / / (S,V)
All the animals cried, “We’ll miss you, crazy pigs!”

When we / / / / / / / Hen / / / / / (S,V)
We went down the road to Mr. and Mrs. Henhawk’s farm. “Do you have room

/ / / / / / /
here for two crazy pigs?” we asked.

/ / / / / / pigen (S,V)
Mr. Henhawk made us a new pigpen.

/ lawd then / / and / tall / skip (S,V)
He laughed when we dipped the sheep’s tail in ink.

/ / / / / / / / / /
Mrs. Henhawk let us make mud pies in her stove.

/ / / / / she’ll / / / (M,V)
One day the Fensters’ cow, Shirley, came to visit.

/ / / / / / / Shir / (S,V)
“Will you come back to the farm?” Shirley asked.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /
“The hens are not laying eggs. The cows have stopped giving milk.”

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
“No,” we said. “Mr. and Mrs. Henhawk love us for who we are – crazy pigs.”

/ plead ch / / / / / / / / / / / / (S,V)
We pulled Shirley’s tail and said good-bye. Then she went back to the Fenster Farm.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
One week later, all of the Fenster’s animals came to the Henhawk farm. Shirley spoke.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /
“The Fensters moved to the city. Do you have room for us here?”

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / Were / /(S,V)
Mr. and Mrs. Henhawk asked all the animals to live on their farm. We were very happy

/ / / / / / / our body / / / / / / / (M,S)
to have our friends back. We rubbed everybody’s faces in mud. We jumped on the

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Henhawks’ feather bed for two hours. We were so happy! “Let’s visit the Fensters in the

/ / / / said were / (S,V)
city for old time’s sake,” we said.

/ / kind / / / / / / / / (M,V)
“Are you kidding?” asked Shirley. “Are you sure?” asked Mr. Henhawk.

/ / / are / (S)
“No,” we said, “we’re crazy!”

Analysis of the miscues: This student made little attempt to self correct miscues. Almost all the errors were due to structure and visual cues. I feel that the student’s native language contributes to many of these miscues. English language uses many transitional words and pronouns that the student may not use in their native tongue. Also, the student did not slow down or become concerned when he replaced these words with similar sounding words, even though the replacement did not make sense, look right, or sound right. I believe that the student does not truly understand the miscued words, so replacing the word does not effect or confuse him any more than he already is; such as when he replaces “when” for “we” several times.
Next steps: The student needs practice in memorizing and understanding sight words, specifically words beginning with “w” such as we, when, where, went. An activity that engages him in using these words correctly in a sentence would be helpful for the student. In turn, explicit instruction is necessary. Randomly discovering these words in text will not allow him to own the understanding of these words. The student also needs to be taught MSV strategies for self correcting such as asking himself, “Does that sound right?, Does that look right?, Does it make sense?” (Marie Clay, An Observation Survey, 2005) In addition, the student needs to be taught to read through the word. He tends to see the beginning sound and guesses the rest of the word. Continuing this bad habit will only cause future comprehension problems for the student. Lastly, the student should be taught to slow down and check for understanding. The teacher could stop the student and ask “What has happened so far in the story?” This would allow the student to think about the story while reading. It seemed he was simply reading for the sake of reciting words.





Analysis of miscues: This student did not have significant miscues, but she did fail to correct her miscues. She skipped important titles that would help her comprehend her reading. In turn, her reading fluency needs to improve to be considered independent for this assessment. The structure of the nonfiction text seemed to slow her down. While the students running record seems rather impressive, her comprehension was very poor. Her background and native language effected her understanding of the story. In fact, when I asked her what the map in the story showed her, she said that is tells you about North and South Africa...rather than North and South America. Consequently, her language did not interfere with the reading, but it did interfere with comprehension.
Next Steps: This student needs explicit instruction in nonfiction story elements, such as learning and understanding the significance of headings, graphs, and maps. It would also benefit her to use a strategy of clarifying words. While she was able to pronounce and articulate the words, she did not use the context clues to clarify meaning. Overall, she would benefit from instruction in nonfiction structure and meaning for an increase in comprehension for this type of text.

Entry #5 Children's Books Review

Teachers should think critically about the content in the books that they read to children and more specifically to English Language Learners. What may appear to be strategies for activating prior knowledge, making inferences, or questioning for the purpose of comprehension, may have no impact on the audience of English Language Learners. Teachers should preview text in search of stories and illustrations that are culturally sensitive to the students in their audience. They should also choose books that all students can relate to and comprehend with some scaffolding.

Annotated Resources:
Carrie, & Finn. (2006). Manners at School (Way to Be!). Minneapolis: Picture Window Books.
This book shows students how good manners make a school a nicer place. It
also shows how good manners help everyone learn. Additionally, it demonstrates
the many different ways students can use manners in school.
Wolff, J. & Slate, A. (1996). Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. New York: Dutton Books.
Miss Bindergarten and twenty-six alphabetically named animal students spend the morning getting ready for their big day. While excited soon-to-be students overcome their fears, their new teacher has her share of humorous mishaps arranging the classroom. Lively illustrations and a relevant topic make this a great choice for preschooler or kindergartner.



What might affect comprehension because of cultural aspects and how might it be introduced to assist ELLs? Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff
1. Students may be confused by some of the animals, such as beaver, quokka, vole, and yak. Teachers can introduce these animals before reading by showing the ELLs pictures of the real animal and have the students match the real animal with the fiction character from the book.
2. Even though the students are in Kindergarten, they may not understand that Kindergarten is a grade level at school. Taking a tour of the school and pointing out each grave level may help with this concept. Also calling the children kindergarteners may also help ELLs identify themselves as being part of this group.
3. The pictures are excellent for describing the action, but the names and the rhyming may be confusing for ELLs. The teacher should try inserting the children’s names within the book with the correct animal. The children may not understand the relevance of the animal, but this strategy will engage the learners with the text.
4. The pictures offer opportunities for clarification of new vocabulary; however, the pictures could cause the students to get off task from the content. It is better to chose a few new vocabulary words based on the pictures prior to reading to the students. In addition, try to clarify confusion and questions as you read, but do not spend too much time off task from the content of the reading.


What might affect comprehension because of cultural aspects and how might it be introduced to assist ELLs? Manners at School by Carrie Finn
1. The word “manners” will most likely confuse English Language Learners. Before reading, act out good manners in different places around the school like the playground or the cafeteria. Talk about what good manners sounds like, looks like, and how it affects one’s feelings. Illustrate and discuss the differences between good manners and the lack of manners using a graphic organizer, such as a t-chart or Venn diagram.
2. Several of the concepts are difficult to understand simply by looking at the pictures. For instance, when the text talks about Marco finishing his test early and asking the teacher to borrow a book during free time, the students will most likely get lost in the length and complexity of the text. A teacher may want to revise this page and adapt it for her students, or be aware that time needs to be spent clarifying many of the words on this page.
3. Another tricky concept for ELLs will probably be when the book states that Paul keeps his eyes on his own work and never peeks at his neighbor’s paper. “Keeping our eyes on something” may not make sense to ELLs. In addition, they are likely to be at a stage where watching the students around them is a helpful tool. I would suggest skipping this page or saying that good manners is sitting quietly while doing our work.
4. Lastly, this book is not designed as a story with a beginning, middle, and end. It is organized more like a list. If the goal is to introduce students to story elements, this book would not be suitable. However, it could be used to show ELLs that they can brainstorm lists or use a web of ideas to create their own writing similar to this story.

Entry #6 Learning vs. Acquistion

Essential Linguistics (Freeman & Freeman, p. 48, 2004)

The students:

L: look up words in a dictionary to write definitions
This is a way that word recognition teachers pre-teach vocabulary. They often choose words that they feel are not already in the student’s vocabulary.
L: make a Venn diagram to compare two stories
A Venn diagram is a graphic organizer that must be taught to the students by the teacher. A student does not naturally organize information in this way. The strategy is very helpful in synthesizing and organizing information, but it is still a learned behavior.
L: practice sounding out words
Sounding out words is a phonics skill. This practice supports the word recognition view, because the main goal is to identify words to be able to read (Freeman & Freeman, p.24, 2004)
L: read in round-robin fashion
This activity is learned specifically because the students or teacher are highly likely to correct the student’s errors as they read.
L: correct peers when they make a mistake during reading
It is a word recognition belief that providing unknown words and correcting mistakes will allow the students to learn that word (Freeman & Freeman, p. 28, 2004).
L: identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound
This strategy focuses on the importance of knowing letter sounds to recognize words. It does not focus on meaning and therefore follows a word recognition view.
L: group cards with classmates’ names by a criterion on such as first or last letter
Again, the purpose here is not to make meaning or to problem solve during reading. The purpose is a learned strategy focused on alphabetic principal.
A: write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound
I feel this is an acquisition skill. The writing sounds authentic to the writer. The discussion of different spellings for the same sound is a problem solving task within the writing process.
L, A: ask the teacher how to spell any word they don’t know
When the teacher simply gives the student the word in hopes that he/she will learn the word, this technique is learning. However, it is an acquisition skill for the learner to have the meta-cognition or awareness to know that they do not know how to spell a certain word correctly.
A: read a language experience story they have created with the teacher
Since this is a student-centered, authentic writing approach, this strategy supports the acquisition view.
A: work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences
The student is using prior knowledge to engage in a creative writing experience. This interaction with text is at the heart of the acquisition view.
L: divide words into syllables
This phonemic awareness and possible phonics activity (if written) is a teacher directed skill. This type of explicit instruction supports the word recognition view.
L: on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound
The assessment of a phonemic awareness skill does not support the reading for meaning approach, otherwise known as an acquisition view of reading.
L, A: make alphabet books on different topics
This activity combines a learned skill with an authentic writing experience. Demonstrating beginning sounds in the alphabet is a learned activity, while the choice of topic and freedom with the writing supports the acquisition view.

The teacher:
L: preteaches vocabulary
The students are not using comprehension strategies to make meaning of vocabulary in context when they are given vocabulary meanings before reading.
A: does a shared reading with a big book
According to Freeman & Freeman in Essential Linguistics, “Teachers make written language comprehensible when they read to students from big books with illustrations or have students read familiar songs or engaging poetry.” Comprehension is the key to a sociopsycholinquistic view.
A, L: makes sure that students read only books that fit their level
Controlling the reading experience in this way supports the learning view. However, this particular act allows students to make meaning out of text that they can navigate independently.
L: has students segment words into phonemes
Teacher directed phonemic awareness activities is designed to help students understand that sounds make up words. The focus here is still on word recognition.
A, L: writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with spelling difficult words
The teacher shows students how words become written text. The authentic nature of the writing supports an acquisition view. The teacher also provides scaffolding to support learning.
L: asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter
This study of alphabetic principle puts a focus on words out of context and therefore supports word learning.
A: uses decodable texts
Decodable text allows students to make connections, predictions, and problem solve text. In turn, it allows students to make meaning from text.
A: sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day
Silent reading is a component of any sociopyscholinguistic view of teaching. Teachers believe that the ability to read occurs by reading.
L: teaches Latin and Greek roots
This direct instruction demonstrates a learning point of view.
A: has students meet in literature circles
Discussion among peers will help clarify text and inadvertently correct misconceptions about their reading. This unstructured release of information supports the acquisition view point.
L: conducts phonics drills
Drills out of content reflect the word recognition view.
A: chooses predictable texts
Predictable texts allow students to think about the cause and effects in stories. Thinking for the purpose of making meaning supports the acquisition view.
L, A: teaches students different comprehension strategies
Although the goal is comprehension as with the acquisition view, this explicit instruction makes the activity a learning experience as well.
A: does a picture walk of a new book
Prior knowledge and making predictions during a picture walk supports reading comprehension.
L: uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills
Worksheets are not authentic and are a more controlled form of learning.