homework

To be honest, homework has always been a little bit tricky for me. I am not a huge supporter of busy work, homework has to be meaningful, but also at the child’s independent level. If students are able to complete the work on their own, then it is a good fit for homework (Hill, 2009). Mostly, I see homework as something that provides extra time on a skill that can only be learned through repeated practice. I also think it should be based on something that parents can easily understand. The parents in the community I teach want to be involved in their students’ learning. They just don’t always know how. Homework can be a nice vehicle for communication for this purpose (Hill, 2009).

               I provide one week’s worth of homework on Monday, and it is due on Friday. The homework includes math practice. Usually practice around math facts or number sense. Students like to do hands on applications like help mom and dad measure out dinner, use a ruler to measure items in their home, estimate prices at the store, and determine the number of calories in a bag of chips. Also, students always have to read. I tell them they need to read an hour at home. (I am thinking primary here; it would be 90 minutes if it were intermediate.) They can do 20 minutes for three nights, 10 minutes for 6 nights, or an hour at a time. They can read extra time and it will help them with the rewards down below. I do this because many of them have outside responsibilities and it makes the reading flexible.

               For math we usually talk about the experiences throughout the week in our morning meetings. If it is a worksheet I check it over and return it in the next week’s homework folder. For reading we have individual and class goals for minutes read. They get small rewards for reading 5 hours, 10 hours, and so on. When the class as a whole gets to 100 hours or 100 books we have parties. We also share any good reads at our morning meetings, and I chat with them during guided reading time about their reading logs, and ask them questions. Some students pick their reading at home. For many there are no books, so they take home whatever book we are reading in our guided groups and read them for extra practice at home. It helps their fluency.

               I don’t use as much technology as I would like because my kids don’t have access to it at home, but I would like to have homework listed in my googledocs school account so parents and students could access it, print lost copies, ask me questions, or ask fellow students questions.

Graphic Organizers with Fiction and Non-Fiction

       English Language Learners need exposure to both fiction and non-fiction texts. Non-Fiction texts are set up with great support for ELL students. There are subheadings to let students know what is coming. There are bolded vocabulary words, which help students know what words are important, and a glossary to help them with the definition if they struggle with the definition I context clues. The straight forwardness of the facts and information in most non-fiction helps ELL students to make meaning with ease. The pictures and diagrams are great non-linguistic representations. Typically, my ELL students have an easier time with the comprehension in a non-fiction text. The biggest challenge is usually the vocabulary they will come across that is not bolded. The academic language can be a struggle without pre-reading.

               Fiction text has rich language which can both help the ELL student as well as challenge them. Idioms and sayings that native English speakers take for granted can be challenging for the teacher to catch and the ELL student to comprehend. If the right story is chosen and background knowledge is supported and taught then fiction text can assist students of all kinds develop schema and begin to notice the patterns in genre. The illustrations in picture books can also help students of all ages and levels connect to the story.

The graphic organizers we use most in our school are through the Thinking Maps program. I have added examples below. I use the tree map with fiction as it categorizes well. I like the flow map for fiction and poetry, since it helps with sequence. The multi-flow map works with both as it is cause and effect.

 

 

Yeager, C. & Hyrele, D. (2007) Thinking maps: A language for Learning. Thinking Maps LLC

           I also added a graphic organizer based on fiction and non fiction texts stating the differences between the two. This is another great Thinking Map called a Double Bubble. It helps students look for things that are alike and different.



Blog 7: Running Record

Student One (Native Language: Spanish)

               This student is a second grader and has spent most of his literacy education in a Spanish classroom, but is getting ready to transition to an English classroom in third grade.  His running record indicated strong fluency and intonation. He would raise his voice at question marks, and shout a little when there was an exclamation mark. (It was very cute actually and I had to withhold giggling.) Most of the errors that he made were syntax errors. He left off most of the suffixes in his reading or over pronounced them.  He read the word moved as move, and the word shared as share-ed. This was common with most of the Spanish ELL students I have tested this year. However, this did not affect his comprehension in any way. He was able to present a solid retell with a main idea and details in sequential order. If he were my student I would work with him more on suffixes. I may have him go back through the text and highlight the ones he missed so he is more aware when he practices, and continue that practice with read alouds for short remainder of the year. Unfortunately this is now a habit for him that may be hard to unlearn. Fortunately it doesn’t affect his comprehension.

Student Two (Native Language: Hmong)         

                This running record was a bit trickier. We do not have many students who are not native Spanish speakers. However, we have two Hmong families in our building. This student is a 5^th grade student and his reading sounds very fluent. He made very few mistakes, but because he wanted to ready in a hurry he skipped over a few words. He also substituted in basic sight words. For examples he said the instead of to and of instead of off.  I don’t these were language issues. I would say the miscue analysis would be: 5^th-grade-boy-everything’s-a-race. His retell was solid as well. He has the main idea and plenty of details. However, he was out of sequential order. He stated all the major details first and then went back through and listed out more supporting details. I am not sure if that is cultural or individual, however. If working with this student I would support some scaffolding for him, by helping him practice retelling through a picture walk and then creating a flow map of the order in the piece.

 

Week 5: The Scaffold

The videos on sheltering instruction were really interesting. I have to say that we tell students the objective every day, so that they know what to expect in their learning. This is the first time I have heard of stating the objectives to reduce anxiety. I love that reasoning. It makes so much sense to me. I think that the reading lesson was set up throughout the pre, during, and post reading pieces to really promote higher level thinking.

               During the pre-reading, the students had a chance to make connections and predictions which gives them purpose. I have little kids most of the time so we do a picture walk. They are so proud of themselves when they get it right and intrigued by the surprise when they don’t. The book, Esperanza Rising is ripe for connections too. Love this book. I read it to my 5^th graders and even if they weren’t immigrants, and migrant farmers at that, there are connections to be made about fitting in at school and with your community.

               I have used the sticky notes as well and am happy to say that students can underline during state testing, so we use this strategy too, and it really helps the students. Teacher think alouds during reading help to show the students that thinking through reading is authentic.

               Finally, during post reading having the students keep a community diary is something I may incorporate. It really builds a sense of community and helps students feel safe about questions. Teaching students the difference between, “I wonder, and I’m confused” is good stuff too. Visualizing is my favorite strategy. It’s easy to teach and so powerful for readers. It shows them how much joy there can be in getting caught up in a good story.

               Overall, good scaffolding I think. It was interesting to see it at higher levels.

Week 3 Blog 6

                       Learning or Acquisition

                       I found the readings to be very interesting this week. I think that there is value in both of the approaches mentioned. When students are taught language in more digestible chunks through the learning model, it may provide the Velcro they need to really attach the language through the acquisition model.
The Students:

Look up the words in the dictionary to write definitions	L	Defining words out of context is breaking the language into the parts
Make a Venn diagram to compose two stories	A	This is a chance to process language through oral and written practice
Practice sounding out words	L	Teaching the parts of language not holistic
Read in round robin fashion	L	This may seem like acquisition but round robin reading is breaking language down into fluency. Comprehension is not always received by students
Correct with peers when they make a mistake during reading	A	Focus on the message – or the writing, giving students opportunity to practice
Identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound	L	Phonics/phonemic awareness – breaking apart language
Group cards with classmates’ names by criterion such as first or last letter	L	Practicing a skill within language that is measurable
Write rhyming poetry and discuss different spelling for the same sound	L/A	Both – phonics skill set which breaks apart the language, but also gives children an chance to interact holistically
Ask teacher how to spell a work not known	L	Student is not using strategies to determine the spelling on their own
Read a language experience story they have created with the teacher	A	Using language for a variety of purposes, interact with language both written and orally
Work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences	A	This would take some higher level thinking on the part of the students, and they would need to use the skills and strategies they have acquired to interact with this task successfully
Divide words into syllables	L	Chunking out the parts of language
On a worksheet draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sounds	L	Practicing sounds in sections – not interactive with real text – language parts
Make alphabet books on different topics	L/A	Both – depending on the level of learning of the student, there would be interactive with the language to create the book while still focusing on beginning letter sounds.

The Teacher

Preteaches vocabulary	L	Structure or skilled teaching
Does a shared reading with big book	A	Students work together to interact with the language
Makes sure that students read only books that fit their level	L	Students have the chance to practice language at their school, but haven’t had the chance to push beyond it or use strategies at a higher level
Has students segment words into phonemes	L	Breaking the language into skill sets
Writes words that students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words	A	Students have a chance to use the skills and strategies to interact with spelling and language
Asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter	L	Specific and skilled learning
Uses decodable text	L	Patterned skills, practice of phonics
Sets aside time for SSR each day	A	Chance to use language for a variety of purposes, use context clues, “absorb” language
Teaches Latin and Greek roots	L	Memorization of a skill or chunk of language
Has students meet in literature circles	A	Chance to use language for a variety of purposes, use context clues, “absorb” language
Conducts phonics drills	L	Patterned skills, practice of phonics
Teaches students different comprehension strategies	A	Teaching of strategies to approach the language
Chooses predictable books	A	Gives students a chance to be successful with reading strategies they are learning
Does a picture walk with new book	A	Opportunity to use language in a variety of ways
Uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills	L	Breaking the language into parts

 

 

Week 2 post 5

I really went for two different approaches when looking at the cultural relevance of books for my students. The first book I looked at was, Bats at the Beach, by, Brian Lies. I read this book and looked for places the students might need support.
1. Location - This book takes place on a beach. A lot of my little land lubbers have never seen or experienced the ocean. I would have to take the time to help them visualize and maybe find some photos or video of the beach.
2. Campfires - I would ask my students first, but based on former students I am guessing many of them have not had much experience camping. This book talks about sitting around the campfire and making smores, singing songs, and telling stories. Again, we would need to have a discussion about how these things look and try to make connections.
3. Vocabulary - I would need to preteach and provide non-verbal support for words like trowels, banjos, foamy, surfing, sea spray.
4. Experience with this type of text - The text may have formatting and features that are unfamiliar. The book is in rhyme, so the sentence structure is not traditional. Again, we would discuss and look for examples during reading.

The second book I looked at is a historical fiction book called, Baseball Saved Us by, Ken Mochizuki. I love this book, but it is a book that takes a lot of background support and build up to even approach. However, the theme is important enough to consider it. For this book I found a great online resource that asks a series of questions about a book's cultural relevance: (WETA 2010)
Question #1: Are the characters in the story like you and your family?
Question #2: Have you ever had an experience like one described in this story?
Question #3: Have you lived in or visited places like those in the story?
Question #4: Could this story take place this year?
Question #5: How close do you think the main characters are to you in age?
Question #6: Are there main characters in the story who are boys (for boys) or girls (for girls)?
Question #7: Do the characters talk like you and your family do?
Question #8: How often do you read stories like these?
For this book many of the questions would be no. For example question two. Not many of our students have lived in a camp. Some of them have, but it isn't a common experience. We would need to have a class discussion on that that would be like and look for clues in the story for how the character feels here.
Question three is similar and would require similar support.
Question four was interesting to me. For any of our students historical events need scaffolded support. The students would not necessarily know anything about World War II and the Japanese internment camps. A need for a history lesson or a non-fiction companion book would be necessary.
Finally, there is question 8. I do think my students read a lot of realistic fiction, so the formatting of that could be reviewed to help them. However, at least in my group, we haven't read a lot of historical fiction, so we would need to consider that genre and build a timeline or some kind of schema.
On the other hand, there are some familiarities with family, the main character is comparable to their age and we could work through a lot of connections and empathy through those elements.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://Web address

WETA. (2010). Culturally relevant books in the ELL classroom. Retrieved from
                   http://www.ldonline.org/article/40003/  

#4 Making sense of text

             I started reading our local newspaper which is written in both Spanish and English. I was able to make sense of very little. I had to rely on cognates such as implementan and sanitarios. I also know a little bit of Spanish from a high school class I had a habit of skipping, and from spending time in our community, especially in the Spanish kindergarten class. Because of this background I was able to pick up the days of the week and get a vague idea that I would not be able to water my grass and garden whenever I wanted. It was tough though.
            I had to scale way down. I looked through a children's chapter book in Spanish. No luck. It was clear to me that I would need picture support. I kept looking. Finally, I found a first grade book on communities. I was able to interpret many of the pages and get a general idea of the book. Again, there were cognates I could rely on. (communidad, personas) I know a little about teaching communities to first graders, and I had picture clues. Without these three supports I would have been lost. It's a good reminder to really help our ELL students build background knowledge and talk through the topics before reading.

Week 1 Post 3

Oral Language and Reading

                 Interaction with language is one of the best ways for students to develop their language acquisition.(Gibbons, 2002, p. 15). Oral language can help students with reading before, during, and after reading. If students have the chance to make predictions, take picture walks, and discuss the book before hand it gives them a language Velcro to attach the reading context. During reading students can use oral language to access new vocabulary and make meaning from the text, and a discussion with their peers or in guided groups after reading helps a student process the meaning of what was just read. Oral language can really set the stage for successful comprehension in reading.

Week One - Post 2

My own Writing Experience

 

               I will be honest. I don't remember that much about learning how to write as a child. I do remember in third grade we kept a journal, and that was what most of our writing consisted of. The teacher would respond back to us, and we could write about anything we wanted. I loved it.  In 6th grade I remember creative writing class and publishing a poetry book with my class. I loved this as well. Through out school I always managed to get decent grades in writing, because the content was strong, and I was okay with the hits that I took for grammar and mechanics, because they weren't large dings on my grade. Also, the marks were a vague. I didn't know what I did that was incorrect and I wasn't taught how to fix it. It wasn't until college that someone finally explained to me that there is more to a run on sentence than it just being really long. This would most likely align with process writing (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p. 29). The thinking was there, but there was not explicit instruction on the conventions. Although I wish I had been taught more about the conventions to avoid the shock in college, I loved writing, because I wasn't boxed in by the rules.

             In my own teaching I try for a happy medium. I do focus more on the structure of writing to build a foundation, but I balance that with workshop/process time. Our students aren't always exposed to language through books and writing at home, so they aren't going to just naturally move into correct conventions. However, they can tell some great stories, and they love to research non-fiction.

        I have heard that common core will be heavy in grammar and mechanics. That will throw us back to a traditional writing again very quickly. We are all ready looking at ways to help our ELL kids do better on the state tests in this area. Anyone else hear the same? Differently?



Week one - post 1

           I had the pleasure of speaking with one of our Title One teachers about teaching reading. She said that her philosophy is blended. For the most part, she believes that students should be exposed to authentic literature experiences to learn how to read. The school overall stays away from basal texts and has a rich resource room full of sets of real books at a wide variety of levels because of this view. However, she also teaches phonics and phonemic awareness jointly. If she is going to teach a "secret story" about the super hero vowels, then it will be followed by an authentic learning opportunity to find the vowels in the context of what the students are reading. She also supports the idea of teaching a guided reading group on a particular skill and then having the students immediately practice that skill through independent reading time. She believes that students need time to practice reading and that many of the problems our struggling children have around reading could be solved if there were someone in their lives who had time to curl up and read with them daily either in English or thier first language.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Pamela Markgraf. I am working towards a masters in curriculum, assessment, and instruction with a reading certificate. 

I have taught at the elementary level for 10 years in Westminster. The last three I have spent as an instructional coach/title one reading interventionist. Before that I taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade (One year all at the same time.) The school I work at is 90% poverty and over 70% ELL, so I am hoping to gain some new insight from this course. 

I have two very busy little boys age 2 (almost three) and 6. They keep my husband and I hopping and keep things in perspective for me.  I also enjoy reading, gardening and baking.