Homework Rationale

Homework is an important piece of a child’s education.  Although it seems that children spend a majority of their lives in school, students only spend about 13% of their waking hours in school (Hill, 2006).  Homework and independent practice are ways to assure that students are practicing and reinforcing skills that they learned while in school. 

What constitutes meaningful homework?

Homework can easily become a meaningless practice if it is only used to assign students busy work.  Homework should be connected to what students are learning in class throughout the day.  For English language learners, this could involve additional vocabulary practice to help students stay in the loop as the class studies a topic.  Regardless of what the specific assignment is, homework will only be meaningful if students can connect it back to classroom learning.  Teachers can also make homework meaningful by honing in on specific skills for specific students.  Not every student should have the same exact homework assignments for the sake of fairness.  To maintain relevancy, students should receive homework based on what skills they have, and what skills they need to continue developing.

What are your intended homework objectives for your students?

When I assign homework, I want to make sure that each student clearly understands what he or she needs to do.  I also want students to know the purpose behind their homework.  I believe that students often don’t take homework seriously because they see it as busy work.  However, if students can understand the purpose of their individual homework assignments, they will likely take it more seriously more often.  I also think it is important to give students a chance to ask questions about their homework.  They should know that they could receive support from the teacher, or a peer tutor. 

How will you provide specific feedback?

Providing students with feedback is key in helping their learning come full circle.  Ideally, students will be able to orally share their homework/individual learning with their classmates.  I envision this being done while students are doing centers in the classroom.  The teacher can monitor the homework-sharing center to monitor student progress on homework, and provide individualized feedback in a small group setting.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Fiction:

The typical structure of a fictional text can be something that will help English language learners.  Once learn about the elements of fiction (character, plot, theme, and setting), they will be able to get a better idea of what the book is about.  Teachers can provide graphic organizers for students to identify the characters, plot, theme, and settings of a fictional book they are reading.

Non-Fiction

Non-fiction can often be more difficult for students to access.  The many features of non-fiction text may be overwhelming to students if they do not know how to use them.  Students benefit from having non-fiction text features taught explicitly.  Teachers can model how to use different features of non-fiction text (such as the index, table of contents, glossary, etc.), and give students lots of practice.  English language learners will also benefit understanding different types of non-fiction, such as expository, narrative, persuasive and descriptive.  It’s important to relay to learners that these different types of writing are used for different purposes.  You can also help students better understand non-fiction writing by teaching text structures.  There are many graphic organizers you can use for this.  Text structures include problem/solution, compare/contrast, sequence, and cause and effect.

Sheltered Literacy Lesson

I could not get the videos to work on any of my home computers, so I found a sample sheltered lesson on YouTube.  Here are the links to the videos that I watched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGFTlmJmdmw

In this lesson, the teacher was giving an explicit lesson about a word with multiple meanings.  The word they were focusing on was “draw.”  The teacher began the lesson by creating a multiple meaning web with her students.  The word “draw” was in the middle, and the three legs of the web pointed to three illustrations of the word draw- one had a hand drawing a picture, one had a person opening curtains, and one had a person choosing something from a hat.  Students were given 3-half sheets of paper with the word draw, and each of the definitions.  They were to draw an example of each meaning of the word draw.

In the second part, the teacher revealed a piece of chart paper with four sentences on it.  Each sentence had the word “draw” underlined.  The teacher explained the next activity.  The class was to read the first sentence, and determine the meaning of the word “draw” in that sentence.  Next, the class would read the other three sentences to decide which sentence used the word “draw” in the same way.  The class choral read the sentence together, and then the teacher asked students to hold up the half-sheet of paper they created with the appropriate meaning for “draw.”  Most students held up the correct sheet, and the teacher provided meaningful feedback.  The class choral read the sentence again.  The teacher asked the students to identify the words that helped them figure out the meaning for “draw” in this sentence.  Several students gave answers, and the teacher circled the words on the chart paper.  The class read the last three sentences using the same procedure.  Each time, they discussed the different meaning of the word “draw,” and found contextual clues.  Once, the teacher even asked students to “think-pair-share” by sharing their answers with a partner.  At the end, students were asked to identify the sentence that used “draw” the same way as the first sentence.

Reflection

Introduction- The teacher supported students in building background knowledge about the word “draw.”  She provided a visual reference, and allowed students to create their own.  The teacher in this lesson also incorporated academic language into the lesson by teaching students about multiple meaning words.

Pre-reading- The teacher explained the reading activity as well as the purpose.  Students were to identify the meaning of the word “draw” in each sentence, and then identify context clues that helped them.  The teacher incorporated more academic language by explaining “context clues,” and by giving examples.  Before starting, students had a clear idea of the activity’s expectations.

During Reading- Students and teacher read the sentences chorally.  This is very helpful for students who may not be confident in their reading ability.  It allows students to practice reading aloud without being singled out.  Also, the teacher checked for understanding along the way by having students share their thinking with the class or with a partner.  She gave meaningful feedback to students.

Post-Reading- The students had to identify which of the three uses of “draw” matched the original sentence.  The students got to discuss their answers with a partner before the answer was revealed to the class.

Reflection- The teacher reviewed the importance of using context clues to help students understand the meanings of words in sentences in paragraphs.  This brought the lesson full circle, and gave students a broader concept to take away with them.

Overall, the teacher sheltered this literacy lesson in a lot of practical ways.  Students seemed engaged, and they seemed to understand the lesson as well.

Miscue Analysis/Running Record

I conducted a miscue analysis with two English language learners using the Qualitative Reading Inventory.  Each student was asked to read two passages.

The first student was a third grade male whose first language is Spanish.  We’ll call this student Javier.  Javier read a level one passage first.  While reading this passage, Javier had 14 miscues, and he read 88 correct words per minute.  Of the 14, Javier self-corrected 7.  Of the 7 he did not correct, two were insertions, and the remaining 5 were graphically similar to the word in the passage.  For example, Javier would say “stars” instead of “stairs.”  After analyzing Javier’s miscues, it seems that he is able to decode the beginning and end parts of words, but often struggles with the middle sound.  In this case, the middle sounds that Javier changed were vowel sounds.  These kinds of errors are typical of Spanish speaking students who are learning a new language.  In Spanish, vowels make the same sound in almost every word.  In English, there are different combinations of vowels that make different sounds.  This can really trip up an English language learner.  Javier’s miscues were similar when he read the level two passage.  Although Javier made fewer errors while reading this passage, the nature of his errors were the same.

Javier would benefit from some additional phonics and decoding instruction to help him identify the differences between short and long vowel sounds and patterns.  This could be done using literature- the teacher could choose a specific vowel sound or pattern to focus on.  As the teacher reads, she could point out the words with that sound.  The teacher could also use word sorts to help Javier become familiar with vowel patterns.  Javier could sort words with long and short vowels, or two different vowel patterns that make the same sound (for example: oi and oy).

The second student was a fourth grade female whose first language is Anuyak, which is a tribal language spoken mostly in South Sudan.  We’ll call this student Edna.  I asked Edna to read a level two passage to me first.  She had four miscues, three of which were graphically and syntactically similar the written word, and one of which was an omission.  She self-corrected each miscue immediately.  Edna read this passage at a rate of 113 correct words per minute, which is several words faster than expected.  The second passage Edna read was a level three passage.  Again, she had four miscues, but this time she did not correct any of them.  One miscue was an omission, and the others were graphically different, but syntactically similar.  There was no real pattern in her miscues.  On one, she left off a suffix, on one, she got the vowel sound right, but mis-read the beginning and end sounds, on another, she changed the vowel sound.  One thing I did notice is that Edna would frequently pause and repeat words or phrases.  It seemed like she was trying to make sense of what she was reading.  This, however, did affect her fluency.  On this passage, she read 105 correct words per minute.  The expected rate for a level three passage is 127 correct words per minute.

Edna would benefit from continued exposure to fluent reading.  It would also be helpful to have Edna read aloud using passages at her instructional level (around a 3^rd or 4^th grade level).

Language vs. Acquisition

As I read Freeman & Freeman’s explanations of learning and acquisition, a few key descriptors came to mind.  Learning seems to encompass activities that are systematic, formulaic, and conventional.  Whereas acquisition thrives off of authentic, meaningful, and internalized processes. 

Since I work mostly with young students who have learning disabilities, I found myself beginning this reading as an advocate for many of the learning activities.  Students with learning disabilities seem to benefit from formulas and systematic instruction when learning to read and write.  However, as I continued reading, I found myself more of a champion of the acquisition activities.  While systematic learning has its place in a child’s education, and can be beneficial in doses, authentic learning activities are the ones that seem to have more staying power.  When students “learn” reading, writing, and language concepts in a more conventional way, they do not have a memorable context to refer to when they try to recall what they learned.  However, when students experience language and construct meaning through reading, writing, and speaking, they will be able to recall the experiences and also the information.   

When I completed the chart below, I thought about each activity.  If the activity seemed to isolate a skill or if it felt formulaic, I labeled it as a learning activity.  If the activity seemed authentic, or tied a skill into a broader context, I labeled it as an acquisition activity.

Exercise adapted from: Freeman, D. E. & Freeman, Y. S.  (2004).  Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach reading, esl, spelling, phonics, grammar.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

The Students
L	look up words in the dictionary to write definitions
A	make a Venn diagram to compare two stories
L	practice sounding out words
L	read in round-robin fashion
L	correct peers when they make a mistake during reading
A	identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound
A	group cards with classmates’ names by criterion on such as first or last letter
A	write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound
L	ask the teacher how to spell any word they don’t know
A	read a language experience story they have created with the teacher
A	work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences
L	divide words into syllables
L	on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound
A	make alphabet books on different topics.
The Teacher
L	pre-teaches vocabulary
A	does a shared reading with a big book
L	makes sure that students read only books that fit their level
L	has students segment words into phonemes
A	writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words
A	asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter
L	uses decodable texts
A	sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day
L	teaches Latin and Greek roots
A	has students meet in literature circles
L	conducts phonics drills
A	chooses predictable texts
A	teaches students different comprehension strategies
A	does a picture walk of a new book
L	uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills.

Children's Books

Cheyenne Again, by Eve Bunting

Comprehension Challenges:

• ·         The story takes place in settings that may be unfamiliar, like an American Indian reservation (which may be an unknown concept to some ELLs), and a boarding school.
• ·         The book assumes an understanding of American history in the 1800s when American Indians were being “civilized” by whites.
• ·         There is very content-specific vocabulary throughout the book (i.e.:  buckskins, moccasins, Cheyenne, breechclout)
• ·         The story is narrated using an American Indian voice that leaves out some parts of speech and refers to people and places in unfamiliar ways (like “The Man Who Counts”).

Scaffolding Ideas:

• ·         Find out what students already know about American Indians by using a K-W-L chart, or something similar.
• ·         Build background knowledge by showing examples of Indian reservations, and boarding schools.
• ·         Pre-teach content-specific vocabulary, and draw attention to it as words are read.  Show pictures that represent new vocabulary words.
• ·         Explain the difference in speech styles between how the book is written, and how we speak.  Show examples between the two speech styles.
• ·         Use illustrations in the book to reinforce new concepts and vocabulary.  Check for understanding as you read.

Frog and Toad are Friends, by Arnold Lobel

Comprehension Challenges:

• ·         The story takes place in a forest, which may be an unfamiliar setting for some English language learners
• ·         Some of the vocabulary is a bit antiquated, or specific to the setting, which may be unfamiliar.
• ·         The book uses personification, which may be a new concept for some learners.
• ·         Illustrations in the book are not realistic, and may confuse some of the readers.

Scaffolding Ideas:

• ·         Introduce the concept of fictional writing, and the differences between fiction and non-fiction.
• ·         Teach students that some fictional writing includes main characters that are animals.  These main characters may do things that they don’t really do in real life (like talk, go for walks, make friends, etc.).
• ·         Use realistic pictures of frogs and toads to compare to the illustrations in the book.
• ·         Use book illustrations to help students understand new vocabulary and settings (such as meadow, forest, etc.).