Finally, one of the major dilemmas facing nearly every teacher is not having sufficient time to meet instructional objectives. The underlying assumption of EL activities in basals is that teachers must take extra time to implement these activities with English learners, despite the fact that teachers in mainstream classes have only limited time for teaching language arts.
Rather than using supplemental activities to meet the needs of emergent bilinguals, teachers need an approach that can be effective for both English learners and native English speakers. In this book, we describe an approach teachers can use for all their students. The strategies we describe are designed to build background; help students develop language arts skills; and actively engage students in reading, writing, and discussing key concepts as they study different inquiry units in their language arts reading programs.
In the chapters that follow, we provide four sample units of inquiry commonly found in mandated English language arts programs. For each of these units, we suggest strategies that will effectively engage and support all students, including English learners. For each strategy, we suggest Standards based skills these activities help students develop. We also include content and language objectives for different activities in each unit. These sample units of inquiry provide examples of an approach that teachers can use in language arts instruction. At the end of each chapter, we summarize the strategies used throughout the unit. We also list additional texts teachers can use to supplement the unit.
Key Practices for Working With English Learners
In addition to explaining specific strategies, the units we describe exemplify several key practices for working with emergent bilinguals. These practices are essential to effective teaching. In the following sections, we briefly discuss each of the following key practices.
Organizing around big question units of inquiry
Getting to know your English learners so you can best teach them
Creating a multilingual/multicultural environment
Understanding the language proficiency of your students
Using a gradual release of responsibility model of reading and writing
Drawing on English learners’ background knowledge and cultures
Drawing on students’ home languages using translanguaging strategies
Organizing Around Big Question Units of Inquiry
As you teach the units in your basal program, you will see that the publisher has chosen readings that are connected to a topic or theme, such as weather or animal habitats. One of the key ways to help English learners understand the readings and acquire needed skills and vocabulary is to help them see the relationships among the readings. You can do this by having the students answer an overarching question as they become involved in the unit. For example, you could ask, “How does the weather affect our lives?” While it is good to make the connections among the readings and activities salient for all your students by linking them to a big question, it is especially critical for students who are not yet proficient in English. There are several reasons you should organize your teaching around units of inquiry based on big questions:
1 Because students see the big picture, the English instruction is more comprehensible.
2 Content areas (math, science, social studies, language arts) are interrelated.
3 Vocabulary is repeated naturally, as it appears in different content area studies.
4 Because the curriculum makes sense, second language learners are more fully engaged and experience more success.
5 Teachers can differentiate instruction to accommodate differences in students’ language proficiency.
6 Through inquiry units, teachers can connect curriculum to students’ lives and backgrounds.
Collaborative Unit Brainstorming Activity
Sit in grade level groups with others who are using your same basal reading program. Choose a unit from your basal. Together, use a large piece of butcher paper to create a poster reflecting how you will approach organizing the unit of inquiry. Begin by deciding on the big question for the unit. Looking at the reasons for organizing around units of inquiry, include in your poster:
how you will bring in different content areas
what vocabulary will be repeated naturally through the stories and activities
how you can differentiate instruction
how you will connect the readings and activities to your students’ lives
As you create your poster, you may want to use the graphic organizer that follows (Figure 1.2). Modify it to fit the categories you want to include.
Figure 1.2 Theme Graphic Organizer
Standards based skills: draw on background knowledge, select, explain, create
Getting to Know Your Students
There are significant differences among the students we refer to as English language learners. Some have arrived recently while others were born in the United States or have lived in the United States most of their lives. Some come with more formal schooling than others. And some have already learned some English, while others are just beginning to learn it. Although there are individual differences among emergent bilinguals in each group we describe below, it is helpful to begin by considering the major types of English learners.
Below is a chart of different types of English learners you might see in your elementary classroom (Figure 1.3). Read over the characteristics of each.
Figure 1.3 Types of English Learners
1. Turn and Talk (groups of four or more)
Each person in your group should focus on a type of learner. Identify one of your current or past students who fits this category. Share what you know about that student. What more would you like to know about that student? Do you know about the student’s previous schooling and literacy in the first language?
Standards based skills: summarize, identify, evaluate, analyze
2. Four Corners Activity
You each have a card to write on. In each corner of the room, there is a sheet of paper with the title of one of the four types of students listed above. Which of the types of students do you have or think you have in your classroom? List students’ names and characteristics on your card. Then, go to the corner that represents the type of student you identified. Discuss with others in your corner. Report out to the rest of the group.
Standards based skills: analyze, evaluate, formulate opinions, support ideas with evidence
Classroom