Dr' Sharon Pitcher spitchertowson'edu

1
ENGAGING STRUGGLING READERS OFTEN LEFT BEHIND IN
LITERACY

• Dr. Sharon Pitcher spitcher_at_towson.edu
• Dr. Darlene Fewster
• dfewster_at_towson.edu
• Dr. Elizabeth Dicembre
• edicembre_at_towson.edu
• Dr. Gilda Martinez
• gmartinez_at_towson.edu

Towson, Maryland
2
What Do Adolescents With Low Reading Levels
Need for Engagement
Dr. Sharon Pitcher
3
The Dismal Fog

• Only 3 out of 10 US 8th graders are proficient
  readers.
• (Berman Biancarosa, 2005)
• Approximately 8 million between 4th and 12th
  grade struggle to read on grade level.
• (Biancarosa Snow, 2004)

4
More Bad News

• Reading levels for 17 year olds have been on a
  downward trend for the last 30 years and only 3
  of adult prisoners read at the proficient level
  (National Endowment of the Arts, 2007)
• Only 7 out of 10 students are actually finishing
  high school (Cities in Crisis, Swanson, 2008)
• 53 of all college students have to take remedial
  courses (Reading Next, 2004)

5
In the City Near Us
In 2004, only 34.6 students graduated in Balto.
City, which was 47 out of 50 cities and was 47
lower than the surrounding suburban areas Crisis
in the Cities Report
6
Improvement But Concerning
American Diploma Project Network, 2007
7
Research Suggests

• If academic literacy instruction is to be
  effective, it must address issues of
  self-efficacy and engagement (Alvermann, 2001).
• Adolescents deserveinstruction that includes
  both skill development and motivation (IRA
  Adolescent Literacy Position Statement, 1999).

8
Barriers to Success

• Decrease in motivation is 1
• Lack of comprehension instruction
• State assessment do not lead to understanding of
  literacy problems
• Problems are ignored by teachers who read text
  aloud, use audiotapes or give students notes

Reading to Achieve A Governors Guide to
Adolescent Literacy
9
Consensus from Many Researchers

• We have to change the focus from trying to find a
  magic bullet.
• Resist the temptation to fix the learner and
  fix the learning condition to meet the needs of
  students.
• Teachers need to work in conditions that DO NOT
  DICTATE what they do.
• (Alvermann, 2003, 2004)

10
The Voices of Adolescents

• 825 Adolescents from Eight Sites
• Maryland (Baltimore City Public Schools,
  Baltimore Parochial Schools, Montgomery County
  Public Schools)
• California
• Trinidad
• Pennsylvania (rural school district)
• New York
• Michigan
• Texas
• South Carolina

11
The Instrument - Adolescent Motivation to Read
Survey

• 24 Question Survey based on research, teacher
  validation, and three factor analysis
• Assesses three factors of motivation
• Value
• Instruction
• Self Concept

12
What Motivated Them the Most

• Opportunity to use computers during class time
  (86)
• Choices of what they were reading in class and
  for homework (80.5)
• Using computers to complete homework (76.7)
• Teachers reading aloud (76.6)

13
A Surprising Response

• They valued being taught
• reading strategies
• Questioning (74.8)
• Summarization (75)
• Making Connections (72.7)
• How to Use Different Part of Their Textbook
  (73.3)

14
Self Concept As Readers

• They were most confident
• when reading on the computer.
• A larger percent (57) did not feel they read as
  well as their friends.
• Many of the teachers that participated in our
  study were surprised at their students answers in
  this section.

15
Value of Reading

• Using the computer to stay in touch with others
  received the highest most favorable response
  (42.9 answered a great way to spend time and
  21.6 answered an interesting way to spend time).
• Students enjoyed reading magazines and newspapers
  but did not share what they read with their
  friends.
• Most thought they would spend time reading as an
  adult (67) and enjoyed receiving books as gifts
  (69.2)

A majority (66.3) found reading a book something
they liked to do
16
What Adolescents With Low Reading Levels Really
Need

• Comprehension Instruction
• Choice
• Technology Integration
• Opportunities to Share

Americans adolescents need to be literate not
only to succeed in school, but also to succeed in
life(Berman Biancarosa, 2005).
17
Comprehension Instruction

• What most teens really need.
• Strategies applied in real materials.
• Time to apply the strategies until individually
  internalized
• Relate the instruction to what they are doing now
  across all contexts and what they will do in the
  future.

Process cannot be separated from content they
are one and the same. Strategy instruction is
about teaching students how to tap into a deeper
understanding of themselves as proficient
learners (Santa, 2006, p. 470)
18
Choice
Teen Space http//www.ipl.org/div/teen/browse/rw0
000/topofpage
Teens Reading Online http//www.bookloons.com/Hand
HTML/Teens/readonline.html
Why do they only have to read textbooks or
anthologies? On-line resources make this easy and
less expensive!
Have you seen the American Reading Company
materials?
19
Computer Integration

• If they can do it with a pencil, they can do it
  better with a computer! The products can be word
  processed or a slide presentation as well as a a
  handwritten worksheet.

Google Docs http//www.google.com/google-d-s/b1.ht
ml https//www.google.com/accounts/writely/en/docs
slogo.gif
Word processor, presentations, spreadsheets,
email, and more!
20
Opportunities to Share

• Blogs
• Developing Presentations As a Team
• Literature Circles and Book Clubs
• Wikkis

There is sense of honored voice (Santa, 2006,
p. 468).
21
My Blog Continuing PD Conversations with Sharon
Pitcher

• http//sharonpitcherandassociates.wordpress.com
• Share what you are doing.
• Share websites that work for your students.
• Share concerns

An annotated bibliography including all of the
references used in this presentation is posted on
my blog.
22
Fight for What Teens Need

• Americans adolescents need to be literate not
  only to succeed in school, but also to succeed in
  life (Berman Biancarosa, 2005, p. 6).
• The proportion of students who are not engaged
  or motivated by their school experiences grows at
  every grade level and reaches epidemic
  proportions in high school (Biancarosa Snow,
  2004, p. 10).

And Support Your Fight With Research!
23
Adolescents deserve

• Acesss to a wide range of materials
• Instruction that includes both skill development
  and motivation
• Assessment that shows their strengths as well as
  needs
• Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies
• Reading specialists that help struggling readers
• Teachers who understand the complexity of
  adolescent readers needs and respect the
  differences.
• A family, community and country that provides
  opportunities to support them to achieve advanced
  levels of literacy so they can succeed in the
  world in which they live.

Moore, D.W., Bean, T.W., Birdshaw, D. Rycik, J.
A. (1999). Adolescent literacy A position
statement. Newark, DE International Reading
Association.
24
They need us

• To connect to who they are and what they need to
  be.
• To fix the learning situations so they are
  engaged.
• To demand that school systems stop wasting money
  on quick fix, MAGIC BULLET programs and invest in
  teachers who respond to what adolescents really
  need. Invest money in trade books, magazines,
  and technology.

And increased student ACHIEVEMENT will follow!
25
Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Darlene Fewster, Ed.D.
• Department of Special Education
• College of Education
• Towson University
• dfewster_at_towson.edu
• May 5, 2008
• International Reading Association 53rd Annual
  Conference
• Atlanta, Georgia

26
Try this and quickly

• So lveall t he pro ble msbel ow.
• ho wma nyda ys a ret her ein awe eek?
• 1.25 plusonepo in t2 fivee quals?
• T h esky I sblu ean dtheg rass isg reen.
• Howmany sid esdo esasqu areh av e?

27
The Silent Epidemic TBI

• Most common cause of death and disability in
  children and adults up to age 45
• Occurs every 23 seconds
• Approximately 5.3 million Americans suffer some
  form of TBI disability
• 1.4 million Americans sustain a Traumatic Brain
  Injury each year
• 1 out of 500 children and adolescents will
  survive TBI that require hospitalization
• The number of people with TBI who are not seen in
  an emergency department or who receive no care is
  unknown.

28
What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

• Caused by an external physical force, resulting
  in total or partial functional disability or
  psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely
  affects a childs educational performance.

29
The Lobes of the Brain
30
The Frontal Lobe Function

• higher-order functions
• planning and inhibition
• seat of working memory
• most recently evolved part of the brain
• human frontal lobe is far more developed than in
  other animals

31
Parietal Lobe Functions

• Location for visual attention.
• Location for touch perception.
• Goal directed voluntary movements.
• Manipulation of objects.
• Integration of different senses that allows for
  understanding a single

32
Occipital Lobes most posterior, at the back of
the head

• Defects in vision (Visual Field Cuts).
• Difficulty with locating objects in environment.
• Difficulty with identifying colors (Color
  Agnosia).
• Production of hallucinations.
• Visual illusions - inaccurately seeing objects.
• Word blindness - inability to recognize words.
• Difficulty in recognizing drawn objects.
• Inability to recognize the movement of object
  (Movement Agnosia).
• Difficulties with reading and writing.

33
Temporal Lobes Observed Problems

• Difficulty in recognizing faces (Prosopagnosia).
• Difficulty in understanding spoken words
  (Wernicke's Aphasia).
• Disturbance with selective attention to what we
  see and hear.
• Difficulty with identification of, and
  verbalization about objects.
• Short-term memory loss.
• Interference with long-term memory
• Increased or decreased interest in sexual
  behavior.
• Inability to categorize objects (Categorization).
  
• Right lobe damage can cause persistent talking.
• Increased aggressive behavior.

34
Traumatic versus Acquired Brain Injury

• Traumatic
• Open
• Results in a penetrating wound to the brain
• Closed
• Skull and protective tissue remain intact
• Internal compression, stretching, or shearing

• Acquired
• Anoxic injuries
• Infections
• Strokes/vascular accidents
• Tumors
• Metabolic disorders
• Toxic products

35
How the Brain Can be Hurt
36
Primary Secondary Impact
37
TBI Differs from Other Conditions

• Onset
• After an injury rather than at birth
• Complexity
• Student may have symptoms that mimic a variety of
  other conditions
• Prognosis
• Many improve dramatically, especially in early
  stages as brain heals

38
Common Causes of Acquired Brain Injury

• Infants
• Abuse
• Neglect
• Toddlers Preschoolers
• Abuse
• Falls

39
Common Causes of Acquired Brain Injury

• Early Elementary
• Falls
• Pedestrian motor vehicle accidents
• Late Elementary and Middle School
• Pedestrian/bicycle accidents
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Sports
• High School
• Motor vehicle accidents

40
Assessment/Diagnosis

• Medical (Glasgow Coma Scale)
• Neurological
• Scanning instruments (CAT scans, MRI)
• Tests of intellectual aptitude
• Adaptive Behavior
• Direct observations

41
Stages of Treatment

• Acute care
• Postacute care
• Outpatient rehabilitation
• School reentry

42
What Equipment Will You See When You Visit?
43
Cognitive Changes

• Attention
• Concentration
• Long-term memory
• Short-term memory
• Reasoning
• Problem-solving
• Slow processing
• Learning new information

44
Physical Changes

• Vision hearing problems
• Speech and coordination of movement
• Stamina and endurance
• Balance, strength, equilibrium
• Motor function
• Eye-hand coordination

45
Linguistic Changes

• Expressive language returns relatively quickly
• Receptive and written language communication are
  often long-term impairments
• Aphasia- an inability to use language
  appropriately for a period after TBI

46
Personality Changes

• Struggles with new
• identity
• Often denies the existence of a new identity
• Emotionally may respond to new identity
• Temper tantrums
• Euphoria

• Disinhibition
• Lack of motivation
• Poor self-monitoring skills
• Poor coping skills
• Poor social skills

47
Classroom Illustrations of Cognitive Problems
(Attention)

• Failure to follow directions
• Disrupted attention, fatigue, underarousal
• Lose attention with difficult tasks
• Perform poorly at new tasks

48
Classroom Illustrations of Cognitive Problems
(Perception)

• Failure to interpret nonverbal signals
• Difficult finding things

49
Classroom Illustrations of Cognitive Problems
(Memory and Learning)

• Failure to complete assignments
• Failure to bring materials to class
• May require large number of repetitions
• May need to be told to repeat information

50
Classroom Illustrations of Cognitive Problems
(Organization)

• May unexpectedly move from topic to topic
• May lose things
• May work inefficiently
• May not profit from reviewing notes

51
Classroom Illustrations of Cognitive Problems
(Reasoning and Abstract Thinking)

• May fail to generalize strategies to new
  situations
• May not profit from experience
• May do well on true-false and multiple-choice
  tests, but unable to answer essay questions

• May comprehend the information in a reading
  passage, but be unable to answer open-ended
  question requiring inferences
• May understand the facts in science class, but
  unable to formulate rules or generalization

52
Who Will Help After Brain Injury?
53
Strengthen Previous Learning by

• Building a bridge from the old to the new
• Creating a framework for learning
• Implementing functional practice with a purpose
• Generalizing the learning to a new situation
• Moving toward independence

54
The Transition Process from RehabilitationConcern
s

• When is the student really ready to reenter
  school-based program?
• Where should the student initially be placed?
• What comprises and IEP for a student with TBI?

55
Criteria for School Reentry

• Attend to task for 10-20 minutes
• Tolerate 20-30 minutes of classroom stimulation
• Function in a group of two or more
• Engage in meaningful communication
• Follow simple directions
• Give evidence of learning potential

56
What Educators Need to Know

• Influences on outcomes
• What environmental changes need to be made to
  help the student with TBI?
• What are the crucial transition issues in school
  reentry for students, parents, and the school?
• What developmental factors impact on a students
  recovery over time?
• What types of teaching-learning framework best
  combines current knowledge of the brain and brain
  injury?

57
Necessary Components for Educational Programs

• Component training
• Direct remediation of deficits in basic cognitive
  processes (attention, memory, reasoning,
  processing speed)
• Compensatory training
• Alterations in the environment (changes in
  expectations of others, use of cues and support
  from others, and physical alterations of space)
• Functional/integrative training
• The application and generalization of cognitive
  skills in real-life settings (mastery of several
  settings)

58
Try these

• So lveall t he pro ble msbel ow.
• ho wma nyda ys a ret her ein awe eek?
• 1.25 plusonepo in t2 fivee quals?
• T h esky I sblu ean dtheg rass isg reen.
• Howmany sid esdo esasqu areh av e?

59
Information on TBI

• Brain Injury Association
• State affiliates

60
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• major concern to teachers and parents because of
  its prevalence and its adverse affects on
  children
• 2 million school-age students have ADHD
• 44 of student receiving special education
  services have ADHD

61
Gender Differences

• General Population
• 9.2 of males
• 2.9 of females
• Population with ADHD
• 27 ADHD-I
• 18 ADHD-H
• 55 ADHD-Combined

62
ADHDADHD

• ADHD-H
• ADHD-I
• ADHD Combined Subtype
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental
  Disorders-IV-TR (American Psychiatric
  Association, 2000)

63
ADHD-Hyperactivity/Impulsivity

• The child must display six of the following
  symptoms often and fewer than six inattention
  symptoms.
• Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
• Leaves seat in classroom or in other situations
  in which remaining seated is expected.
• Runs about or climbs excessively in situations
  where it is inappropriate (in adolescents or
  adults it may be limited to subjective feelings
  of restlessness)
• Has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure
  activities quietly.
• Is on the go or often acts as if driven by a
  motor
• Talks excessively

64
ADHD-Hyperactivity/Impulsivity

• Impulsivity
• blurts out answers to questions before the
  questions have been completed
• has difficulty waiting in lines or awaiting turns
  in games or group situations

65
ADHD-H (Hyperactive/Impulsive Subtype

• Excessive
• motor activity
• Verbal activity
• Identified around first grade-earlier than ADHD-I
  subtype (Nigg, 2001)
• Developmental task inhibiting behavior

66
ADHD-H (Hyperactive/Impulsive Subtype

• Impulsivity
• Delay aversion
• Delay-requires stopping an action or activity
• Overriding sense of impatience
• Interrupts physical or verbal activity
• Interrupting is not simply a failure to inhibit,
  interrupting increases participation in
  conversation (i.e., gets verbal activity
  stimulation) and reduces time listening to others
  (i.e., avoids boredom).

67
ADHD Inattentive Type

• Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
• Often fails to give close attention to details or
  makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or
  other activities
• Often does not seem to listen to what is being
  said to him or her
• Often has difficulty organizing tasks and
  activities
• often loses things necessary for tasks or
  activities (e.g., school assignments, pencils,
  books, tools, or toys)

68
ADHD Inattentive Type

• Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
• Often fails to give close attention to details or
  makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or
  other activities
• Often does not seem to listen to what is being
  said to him or her
• Often has difficulty organizing tasks and
  activities
• often loses things necessary for tasks or
  activities (e.g., school assignments, pencils,
  books, tools, or toys)

69
ADHD Inattentive Type

• Often has difficulty sustaining attention in
  tasks and play activities
• Often does not follow through on instruction and
  fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in
  the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior
  or failure to understand instructions)
• Often avoids or strongly dislikes tasks (such as
  schoolwork or homework) that require mental
  effort
• Often forgetful in daily activities

70
ADHD DSM-IV Criteria Specify That Core Symptoms
Must

• Have had an onset no later than 7 years of age
• Be present in two or more situations (e.g.,
  school, home)
• Have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree
  that is maladaptive and inconsistent with
  developmental level
• Cause clinically significant distress or
  impairment in social, academic, or occupational
  functioning

71
Is there a simple test to diagnose ADHD?

• No unfortunately, there is no simple test
  (like a blood test or a short written test) to
  determine whether someone has AD/HD.  This is
  true of many medical conditions (for example,
  there is no "test" for a simple headache, yet
  anyone who has had a headache knows it's real!).
• Accurate diagnosis is made only by a trained
  clinician after an extensive evaluation.  This
  evaluation should include ruling out other
  possible causes for the symptoms involved, a
  thorough physical examination, and a series of
  interviews with the individual (child or adult)
  and other key persons in the individual's life
  (for example, parents, spouse, teachers, and
  others).

72
IDEA and Section 504

• Section 504
• definition of a disability is much broader under
  Section 504
• not all Section 504 students are protected under
  IDEA
• provides accommodations based on the child's
  disability and resulting weaknesses, but does not
  require academic improvement.   

• IDEA
• All IDEA students are covered by Section 504
• IEP, which is provided to students covered by
  IDEA, must be tailored to the child's unique
  needs and must result in educational benefit
• fewer procedural safeguards are offered to
  children and parents under Section 504 than under
  IDEA

73
Learning Problems and Co-Occurring Learning
Disabilities

• Is ADHD a learning disorder?
• High rates of co-occurring learning disabilities
  exist
• ADHD is not a learning disability but a
  behavioral problem (American Academy of
  Pediatrics, 1994).

74
Cognitive Abilities

• Are children with ADHD as intelligent as and as
  innovative as their peers?
• Individual children fall across the full spectrum
• Samples drawn from clinics report lowered IQs
  (7-15 points below comparison samples on
  standardized IQ tests)

75
Executive Function

• Planning and sequencing complex behavior
• Paying attention to several components at once
• Grasping the gist of a complex situation
• Resisting distraction and interference
• Inhibiting inappropriate responses
• Sustaining behavioral output for relatively
  prolonged periods

76
Problem Solving

• Attentional problems
• Working memory difficulties
• Spent less time in problem solving (several
  possible solutions)
• Used less efficient questions and strategies

77
Reading Difficulties

• Reading Comprehension
• Working memory
• Sustained attention

78
Classroom Accommodations

• Accommodate differences in their attentional
  style
• Establish academic priorities
• Primary emphasis on engaged and productive time
• Performance quality (accuracy and creativity)
• Secondary goals- neatness, organization, length

79
What Works

• Day planners and to-do lists are useful in
  keeping track of regularly scheduled tasks,
  projects and their deadlines, and appointments.
• Timers and alarms -- either through a clock,
  watch, PDA, or computer -- help keep the
  individual on track and on time.
• Attend to filing documents, processing daily
  mail, paying bills, and other mundane tasks on a
  daily basis.

80
What Works

• Color-code file folders, textbooks, binders, etc.
  Children will find this useful in
  keeping materials for different subjects
  organized. 
• Designate specific areas for things like books,
  calculators, and other items that can be easily
  misplaced.
• Break down large, seemingly overwhelming projects
  or tasks into smaller, manageable steps.

81
Accommodations and Interventions

• Frequent breaks
• Red overlays or colored highlighting at the end
  of passages
• Interesting stories that relate to students
  interest
• Story maps that include characters, setting,
  conflicts, major events, and outcomes
• Self-monitoring of attention
• Encourage self-talking and other active responses
• Silent reading of self-selected books

82
Information on ADHD

• National Resource Center on AD/HDChildren and
  Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
  Disorder8181 Professional Place, Suite
  150Landover, MD 207851-800-233-4050www.help4adh
  d.org
• Please also visit the CHADD Web site at
  www.chadd.org.

83
Meeting the Needs of Struggling Readers in
Non-Public Schools
Dr. Sharon Pitcher Dr. Elizabeth Dicembre
84
Our Goal

• To provide administrators and teachers
  opportunities to learn about the newest research
  in literacy instruction and provide the materials
  to do some of the suggestions

Every event was like Christmas teachers came
away with many presents to make literacy possible
for struggling readers in their classes.
85
Components of the Project the First Year

• Two-day Summer Institute
• School Visits
• Professional Books for Teachers Use in Each
  School

Funded by Baltimore City Public School Systems
Title 1 Office For 15 Non-Public Schools-Catholic
Schools
86
Components of the Project the Second Year

• Innovative Professional Development
• Test Taking Strategies and Resources to Support
  Teachers to Meet the Needs of Struggling Readers
  - Professional Study Day
• Unique Parent Involvement Package

Funded by Baltimore City Public School Systems
Title 1 Office For 26 Non-Public Schools 17
Catholic Schools and 9 Private Schools
87
Innovative Professional Development

• School Visits - Individualized to Meet the
  Needs of the School
• Principal Summer Institute - Provided ideas and
  materials to involve more parents of struggling
  readers in their schools.
• Teacher Summer Institute - Workshops on topics
  suggested by teachers and administrators in the
  schools

88
School Visits

• Professional development on school chosen topics.
• Walk-throughs with administration
• Provided schools with extra professional books on
  topics the teachers expressed interest in

89
Principals Summer Institute

• Centered on increasing parent involvement
• DVDs for the school
• Words that Cook Reading Starts with
  Interests
• Words that Cook Reading Relationships
• IRAs Read to Me Video
• All three are available on IRAs Website

90
Teachers Summer Institutes

• Centered on
• Practical strategies
• Choice of sessions
• Each teacher received
• Professional books
• Hands on materials to use with struggling readers
• Additionally, some teachers received
• Trade books
• Software
• Bins and materials for literacy centers

91
Middle School Topics Covered

• Comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Motivation
• Test Taking Skills

Some samples of the handouts are included in your
packet.
92
Professional Study Day

• Test Taking Strategies and Resources to Support
  Teachers to Meet the Needs of Struggling Readers
• Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test for each school
  to provide a research proven technology for
  continual assessment of these students which the
  schools we visited lacked
• Multisensory strategies to support struggling
  learners in reading and math
• Research-based, proven successful strategies to
  change achievement
• We shared some of the incredible successes we
  have all witnessed in the T.U. Reading Clinic to
  demonstrate what works!

A middle school test-taking bookmark is included
in your packet.
93
Unique Parent Involvement Package

• Developed materials that could easily be used to
  reach many.
• Maximizing funds to develop school-based
  resources that can touch the literacy lives of
  families far beyond the time of our contract.

94
Parent Involvement Binder

• Bookmarks that could easily be shared with
  parents.
• Family bingo cards, family literacy activities
• Website information
• Parent letters, forms, information sheets,
  meeting agendas

All materials were put on a CD so the schools and
teachers could personalize them.
95
Professional Books Provided Schools and Teachers

• Some books included
• Revisit, Reflect, Retell
• Guided Comprehension A Teaching Model for Gr.
  3-8
• Teaching Vocabulary 50 Creative Strategies K-12
• Words Their Way
• The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists
• Snapshots
• Strategies That Work
• Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers
• The Vocabulary-Enriched Classroom Practices for
  Improving the Reading Performance of All Students
  in Grades 3 and Up

96
So, to return to the IRA Adolescent Literacy
Position Statement , We tried to provide the
schools with

• Acesss to a wide range of materials
• Instruction that includes both skill development
  and motivation
• Assessment that shows their strengths as well as
  needs
• Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies
• Teachers who understand the complexity of
  adolescent readers needs and respect the
  differences.
• A family, community and country that provides
  opportunities to support them to achieve advanced
  levels of literacy so they can succeed in the
  world in which they live.

Our contract did not have funds to provide
reading specialists that help struggling readers
but as reading specialists ourselves, we provided
as much resource as we could.
97
Reaching and Teaching English Language Learners
Dr. Gilda Martinez
98
Myths or Realities About ELL?

• Most ELL children were born outside of the U.S.
• Learning a second language is entirely different
  from learning ones own native language.
• Once ELL children speak reasonably fluently,
  their problems are likely to be over in school.

99
Top Languages in the World

• Language Approx. number of speakers
• Chinese (Mandarin) 1,075,000,000 
• English 514,000,000 
• Hindustani 496,000,000 
• Spanish 425,000,000 
• Russian 275,000,000 
• Arabic 256,000,000 
• Bengali 215,000,000 
• Portuguese 194,000,000 
• Malay-Indonesian 176,000,000
• French 129,000,000

http//www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/june/BahasaIndones
ia.html
100
Top Languages in the U.S.(There are 176
languages spoken.)

• English 215,423,557
• Spanish 28,101,052
• Chinese 2,022,143
• French 1,643,838
• German 1,383,442
• Tagalog 1,224,241
• Vietnamese 1,009,627
• Italian 1,008,370
• Korean 894,063
• Russian 706,242

National Virtual Translation Center http//www.nvt
c.gov/lotw/index.html
101
Terminology

• ESOL
• ESL
• LEP
• L2
• ELL

102
Length of Time to Achieve English Proficiency

• 1-2 years (Conversational or BICS)
• 5-7 Years (Academic or CALP)

103
1st Language Acquisition

• Learned at home
• Learned by young children
• Learned to communicate to loved ones
• Largely an unconscious process
• Not much time pressure
• Must learn developmental concepts as well as
  language

104
Similarities between 1st and 2nd Language
Acquisition

• Errors indicate learning is taking place
• Learn certain aspects of language in a relatively
  predicable order
• Understands more than he can say

105
First days

• Pronounce the students name correctly
• Learn a few phrases in his language
• Show respect
• Provide a buddy
• Plan interactive activities
• Find out his interests

106
Questions to teach Beginning and Intermediate
English Speakers

• Point to/show me
• Yes/no
• Either/or
• What, where, when
• How
• Why

107
Document

• Native language spoken
• Prior school attended in U.S. (if any)
• Was English studied in his native country?
• What strengths does the student have? (art, math,
  etc.)

108
Potential checklist to use

• Relies on interpreter
• Gets assistance from teacher
• Asks you to repeat
• Uses facial expressions, points, gestures
• Draws pictures
• Writes thoughts on paper
• Repeats
• Speaks carefully

109
Collaborative Groups

• Buddy system
• To learn daily routines
• Writing response
• Provides an audience, immediate response to
  writing
• Literature circles
• Helps use background knowledge and value
  individual responses

110
Selecting Reading Materials

• Help students discover values and functions in
  written language
• Allow writing for various purposes
• Take in account cultural backgrounds and
  background knowledge

111
Characteristics of Texts that Support Reading
Comprehension

• Predictable
• Represent culture
• Represent similar experiences
• Visuals support text
• Interesting/imaginative
• Natural language

112
Characteristics of Texts that Support Reading
Comprehension

• Predictable
• Represent culture
• Represent similar experiences
• Visuals support text
• Interesting/imaginative
• Natural language

113
Reading Non-Fiction

• Build background knowledge
• Teach essential vocabulary
• Set a purpose for reading
• Ask questions before, during, and after the
  reading to enhance comprehension

114
Strategies to Use with ELL Students

• Wait time
• Before/During/After Reading Strategies
• Visual Scaffolds (pictures)
• Read Alouds
• Thematic Instruction
• Journaling
• Message Boards

115
Thematic Units

• Use them whenever possible
• It helps ELL students know what you are talking
  about
• They can make connections

116
Thematic Unit on Cultural Backgrounds

• ABC Book
• Family Tree
• Maps
• Research
• Travel Brochures
• International Recipe Book
• Multicultural Corner

117
Work on StrengthsThink MI

• Bodily/Kinesthetic
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal
• Linguistic
• Logical/Mathematical
• Musical
• Visual/Spatial
• Naturalistic

118
Resources

• FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE!
• Other students?
• ESOL teachers?
• Adult volunteers?
• Mentor programs?
• Translation services?

119
Useful References

• Center for Applied Linguistics
• http//www.cal.org/index.html
• Classroom Instruction that Works, by Jane Hill
  and
• Kathleen Flynn
• Fifty Strategies for Teaching English Language
• Learners (2nd Edition), by Adrienne L. Herrell
• and Michael L. Jordan
• Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL A
• Resource Book for K-12 Teachers (4th Edition),
• by Suzanne F. Peregoy and Owen F. Boyle
• Teachers for English Speakers of Other
• Languages (TESOL)
• http//www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp