Blog 6 - Learning vs. Acquistion

Here are my results of the Learning versus Acquisition activities.  I am open to discussion, as I debated some of them in my own mind!

The students:

L - look up words in the dictionary to write definitions - Drill and practice
A - make a Venn diagram to compare two stories - Using language for a variety of purposes
L- practice sounding out words - Drill and practice
L- read in round-robin fashion - Drill and practice
L - correct peers when they make a mistake during reading - Teachers correct immediately (p34)
L - identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound - Drill and practice
L - group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter breaking language into component parts
L - write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound- breaking language into component parts
L - ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know -emphasis on correct language forms
A - read a language experience story they have created with the teacher - Using language for a variety of purposes
work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences
L - divide words into syllables - direct teaching a part of the language
L - on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound
make alphabet books on different topics - Breaking language into component parts

The teacher: 
L - preteaches vocabulary - breaking language into component parts
A - does a shared reading with a big book- teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
L makes sure that students read only books that fit into their level -teacher  does NOT provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
L has students segment words into phonemes  breaking language into component parts
L writes words that the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words - emphasis on correct language forms
L asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter - breaking language into component parts
A - uses decodable texts- teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
A sets aside time for SSR each day-teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
L - teaches Latin and Greek roots - breaking language into component parts
A - has students meet in literature circles - teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
 L - conducts phonics drills breaking language into component parts
A - chooses predictable texts - teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
teaches students different comprehension strategies
A - does a picture walk of a new book -teacher provides students with opportunities to use language in a variety of purposes
L - uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills - drill and practice

Decoding Unfamiliar Text

In 2007, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and move to Costa Rica with my then 6 year old daughter.  I had been there in 2006 and thought it would be fun to teach there.  So, I found a second grade position at a school called Golden Valley. 
I had "learned" Spanish in high school but it had been 14 years since I had graduated so you could say I was a little rusty.  I certainly couldn't read or write in Spanish.  So there I was a second language learner teaching a group of students who were also second language learners...we were quite a team!
During the first few weeks my daughter and I lived with another teacher who was a Spanish only speaker.  We both spent a great deal of time acting out what we wanted or needed.  I spent a lot of time in my Spanish-English dictionary searching for words that might be helpful.  But, since we were both in the early stages of our language development we spent a lot of our time together silent.
Living in a new country where I didn't know the language was overwhelming.  The most valuable instruction at the onset was in environmental print.  I found simple signs, like stop and for the bathroom, easy to figure out and slowly my second language began to develop.  Fortunately, I made a few bilingual friends and was an eager student (I mean my life kinda depended on learning the language).  This made life a bit easier.  I recall a silent period where I absorbed a lot of new words.  After a few months I began attempting to read longer passages in Spanish, I would then try to translate them into English without the help of my dictionary.  I found this to provided great humor for my bilingual friends when they read the translation, usually I was way off! 
After a several months I was able to speak fluently in Spanish and my reading and writing were definitely coming along.  I was beginning to communicate to my students parents via a communication notebook though I still relied on my "editors"  for helping me to properly conjugate verbs! 
I can honestly say my year in Costa Rica was an amazing learning opportunity.  I have been back for 3 years and am still fairly fluent speaking Spanish though without much opportunity to practice I have lost a great deal of my writing abilities.  The greatest gift I received in that experience was the ability to empathize with my future ELL students.  I truly know the fears, frustrations and joys of learning a new language, in a new place!

Children's Books

When teaching English language learners, it is important to realize that cultural differences can impact a student's comprehension.  The following books are read alouds for primary students.  I have noted a few cultural differences and ways to develop schema for English language learners.  My current assignment is as a Kindergarten teacher so my focus is on that grade level. 

Careful, Santa by Julie Sykes 
 This picture book is about a very clumsy Santa who loses his bag of presents.  He searches for them and with the help of some animals finds all the lost gifts.

Christmas and Santa are both parts of our culture that may not be familiar to ELL students.  The concept of a night where gifts are brought by a man with a white beard may seem strange to students from other cultures.  In addition, younger students from areas closer to the equator may not be familiar snow or snowmen.  Even the animals depicted in the story may not be familiar to students from different parts of the world. 

In order to build background knowledge for students about the topic of Christmas and Santa, I would complete a unit on holidays around the world. I would become familiar with the cultures and holidays of the students in my class and share the similarities and differences between them all.  Identifying similarities and differences helps students make connections in their learning (Hill, 2006). 
To build schema for snow and unfamiliar animals I might teach a unit on weather or precipitation and/or animal habitats.  While doing this I would be sure to include those that would be familiar to the English language learners in my class. 

Arthur Meets the President by Marc Brown
In this book, from the popular series, Arthur and his classmates write essays for a competition. Their topic is "How to Make America Great!"  Arthur wins the contest and goes to Washington D.C. to meet the president. 
One cultural aspects that might be unfamiliar to an English language learner is the idea of a president.  Not all countries have presidents so this may be an unfamiliar idea.  As well, students may be unfamiliar with Washington D.C, the capital, monuments, and the White House.  All of these are distinctive to the United States. 
I think that the book itself does a great job explaining and picturing most of these ideas.  In order to enhance learning for students who are unfamiliar with these terms and ideas, I would associate them with the culture(s) of the students in class.  I would point out terms that are similar to president like Prime Minister or Head of State.  In addition, I would use a non linguistic representation or picture of monuments and the White House to explain these terms.  I would also include pictures of similar places in the countries of my English Language learners. 

All students enjoy  making connections with their reading.  It is important to include texts that ELL students can identify with. The following website includes titles of texts for different cultures!  I encourage you to utilize texts of all cultures but especially of those who are in your classrooms!

 www.multiculturalchildrenslit.com

Oral Language and the Reading Process

Oral language proficiency has also long been associated with later reading achievement, particularly in the area of reading comprehension (Pullen, 2003).   

The most profound connection I made between oral langauge development and the development of reading was in the Scaffolding Language Scaffolding Learning text.  In fact, the title may just sum it up!  Just like there is a  need for scaffolding oral langauge development there is a need to scaffold reading development. 

Philosophies of Teaching

Mrs. T is a second grade teacher in Highlands Ranch, CO.  She has been teaching for 17 years and has had the pleasure of teaching grades Kindergarten through sixth grade! She has taught at several different schools in both California and Colorado in a low income school, private school and a gifted school.  Through her experiences she has been given the opportunity to learn and teach through several different literacy curriculums and styles. 

 Through her experiences she has the philosophy that a balanced approach to literacy is the best for her students.   In the past there has been the argument that there is a phonics and a whole language approach and then the balance of the two.  Mrs. T. looks at the balanced approach a little different. Balancing to her means blending the use of guided reading (http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/guided/guided.html ) with the use of a basal program (http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/hmr05/index.html) that includes phonics and explicit vocabulary instruction. 

Mrs. T used guided reading for several years in California.  She appreciated it’s flexibility and levels for each student but thought the strategy lacked structure and consistency throughout the school.  It also lacked a grammar element that was necessary for state testing.  She also used Houghton Mifflin’s reading program.  She appreciated the scope and sequence and the structure of the program and it’s use was consistent across grade levels but felt that it lacked differentiation among her students. 

Today, Mrs. T. uses a combination of both programs to help her students become literate.  She finds this process time consuming but a necessity for students. 

Writing Reflection

My writing journey has been a long and bumpy road.  It has had its ups and downs and I now have a love/hate relationship with the skill.  I desire a passion for writing but rarely find it when writing.

My journey began in elementary school.  I spent my elementary years at three  different schools.  I do not have much recollection of writing in school at this age.  Though, I do remember my father using writing as a punishment .  I have essays that he has collected over the years on topics such as:  How To Say You Are Sorry, Ways to Be Kind and Why You Shouldn’t Talk Back to Your Parents.  Now, I can look back and laugh at the titles though I wonder what they did to my psyche. My father also had me write repeated sentences as a punishment.  For example, I will not talk back to my step mother had to be written 500 times. 

In fifth grade, I wrote a murder story that was several pages long.  It was pretty horrific and had I shown my teacher, it probably would have gotten me sent to the school psychologist.  Overall, I remained unscathed as an early writer.  Though, I do not remember much about the instruction, I do remember writing.  middle school I aspired to be a Journalist.  For electives, I took Yearbook and Journalism.  Journalism class put me on the school newspaper and took me on a field trip to the local newspaper.  I do not remember receiving any accolades for my work and can only assume that I was neither a failure nor an overwhelming success. 

The last three years of high school I spent on the honor roll with nearly straight A’s every term.  My assumption was that I was an above average writer, though I do not have recollection of writing anything worth saving or worth an award.  I gave up my aspirations as a Journalist and moved on to dreams of making money, which is why I now teach half day Kindergarten .

My father continued to help me grow in my writing by assigning me newer and more exciting topics like, Why You Shouldn’t Sneak Out of the House and Why You Shouldn’t Throw A Party When Your Parents Are Gone.  I also had to update my prior essay on Why You Shouldn’t Talk Back To Your Parents, which apparently still had relevance at the age of sixteen. 

I attended college at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in California.  I was thankful that I had passed the freshman entrance writing exam and made it straight into college level freshman writing.  I remember the course being extremely challenging.  I scored B’s and C’s on most papers, a disappointment from my high school grades.  From there, writing became subject oriented.  I found and still find comfort in nonfiction writing. 

As an adult and teacher, I find writing necessary but rarely enjoyable.  I tend to be coy and insecure about sharing what I have written and yet I would love to be a better writer.  I can empathize with my students in their writing insecurities and struggles to get it right. I look for new, innovative ways to help my students and myself to be better at writing! 

The way I acquired my writing was through a learning view.  I was often given tasks to write then I was given a grade based on what I had written.