Bridges to Academic Successbridges-sifeproject.com/.../Curriculum_Methods_Manual_2.pdfPD, Curriculum, Research, Operations Elaine Klein, Principal Investigator & Co-Founder Rebecca

A project of the Graduate Center, CUNY

DRAFT, JUNE 2016

NYS Common Core LL SIFE Curriculum • 1

Bridges to Academic

Success Instructional Methods

Manual


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Note to Readers, June 2016: The two Bridges manuals, 1. Profiles and Placement and 2. Instructional Methods, work in tandem to support all stakeholders to better understand the range of SIFE and their academic needs. Together, the manuals describe SIFE characteristics and academic needs, highlight tools for identifying SIFE, present key principles to guide instruction, and illustrate effective instructional methods for accelerating student knowledge and skills. The manuals are designed to guide administrators, coaches, and teachers in understanding the range of SIFE across U.S. secondary U.S. classrooms and how to meet their academic needs. We will continue to refine this manual guide during 2016-2017 year.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Acknowledgements

We would like to offer recognition of the following supporters and staff who made this project possible and also contributed to its success over the years.

Bridges to Academic Success

Funders

The NYS Education Department

The NYC Department of Education The New York Community Trust

Affiliations, CUNY Graduate Center

The Center for the Advanced Study of Education (CASE) The Research Institute for the Study of Languages in Urban Society (RISLUS)

Current and Key Former Bridges Staff: PD, Curriculum, Research, Operations

Elaine Klein, Principal Investigator & Co-Founder Rebecca Curinga, Co-Principal Investigator Lisa Auslander, Sr. Project Director Annie Smith, Professional Development Director & Co-Founder Suzanna McNamara, Curriculum Director & Co-Founder Aika Swai, Program Manager and Media Coordinator Rachel Smucker, Curriculum Project Manager Virginia Skrelja, ELA Curriculum & Instruction Manager Joanna Yip, PD Lead Elizabeth Pratt, Fiscal Project Manager Regin Davis, CASE Operations Director Ingrid Heidrick, Linguistics Associate Kelly Feeney Flanagan, Science Coordinator Marissa Bellino, Science Associate Roxie Salamon-Abrams, ELA Associate Katie Li, ELA Associate Delia Hernandez, FLL Coordinator Kerri Norton, FLL Associate Lisa Parziale, Math Coordinator


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Liz Singleton, Math Associate Prema Kelly, Bilingual Coordinator Don Romaniello, Marie Claire Chaudoir & Yasuko Morisaki, Materials Associates Ken Priester, Copy Editor Dzheni Dilcheva, Administrative Assistant Stephanie Kakadelis, Webmaster Bilingual Assistants: Abdulla Abdulla (Arabic), Darnell Benoit (Haitian Creole), Thin Thin Conlon (Karen), Luz Herrera (Spanish), Said Ibrahim (Somali), Alexis Neider (Spanish), Salina Rahman (Bangla) Barbara Schroder, Former Project Director Connie Wibrowski, Former Fiscal Director

Consultants and Reviewers

The following reviewers have provided feedback on our work along the way. We have integrated feedback into revisions, but have not been able to respond to all suggestions. With this, the final drafts do not always represent reviewer agreement. Expert Reviewers: Martha Bigelow, Dennis Caindec, Gary Carlin, Nancy Cloud, Andrea DeCapua, Anne Ediger, Deborah Short, Gabriela Uro, Martha Young-Scholten, Teacher Reviewers: Michael Armstrong, Rachel Blair, Ben Caraballo, Emily Giles, Carolyn Giroux, Kristi Herman Hill, Tracey Kelleher, Melissa Persson, Nate Simonini, Lisa Spaulding

Participating Schools International Community High School (ICHS), Bronx, NY: Berena Cabarcas (Principal), Eva Sievert-Schiller (AP), Jim Nine (ELA), Josef Donnelly (Social Studies), Michael Armstrong (Math), Irmgard Kuhn-Riz (Science), Ivonne Torres (ELA)

International High School at Union Square, New York, NY: Vadewatie Ramsuchit (Principal), Rachel Balsam (ELA & FLL)

Bronx International High School (BxIHS), Bronx, NY: Joaquin Vega (Principal), Evie Copeland (ELA), Kerri Norton (ELA/FLL), Nate Simonini (Social Studies), Jal Raval (Science), Hector Soriano (Math), Sarah Parrish (Special Ed)

John Adams High School, Queens, NY: Breina Lampert (AP), Irma Romero (ELA & FLL)

East High School, Rochester, NY: Jen Raponi (RBERN Coach & Bridges Team Leader), Gretchen Kress (ELA), Leslie Rivera (Assistant Principal), Lia Festenstein (Director of Bilingual Programming)


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Newcomer Academy, Buffalo, NY: Teena Jackson (Principal) Kelly Cooper (Team Leader, Bridges Trainer), Brian Kane (ESOL), Marcia Noel (ESOL), Sherri Friedrich (ELA), Alyssa VanWormer (ESOL), Lisa Spaulding (Social Studies Bridges Trainer) Michael Duffy (NYSABE/RBERN-Buffalo, Bridges Trainer), Rebecca Murphy (NYSABE/RBERN-Buffalo, Bridges Trainer) Daniel Murtha (Sheltered Instructional Coach for English Language Learners, Department of Multilingual Education Buffalo; Bridges Trainer)

Proctor High School, Utica, NY: Maria Fielteau (Director of ESL Department), Lori Malonowski (ELA Informal Bridges Team Leader), Jason Henninger (ESOL, Science Co-Teacher), Tracy Kelleher (Math, Bridges Math Curriculum Reviewer), Jessica Rogan (Science)

Participating Bridges High School Students and Alumni

Collaborators

Gita Martohardjono, Associate Director, RISLUS STN Media Mario Palma, American Reading Company


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Contents1

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………8-9

Student Needs & Instructional Response…………………………………………10-21

Overview

Summary of SIFE Profiles & Program Recommendations

Academic Needs

Yearlong Targets

Instructional Principles

Instructional Methods for SIFE………………………………………………………22-36

Overview

Language Experience Approach

See-Think-Wonder

Hot Seat

Read-Retell-Respond (draft forthcoming)

Close Read (draft forthcoming)

Language Development for SIFE……………………………………………………37-79

Language Guide

Vocabulary Guide

1 All references in this draft can be found in footnotes throughout the document. Parenthetical citations with a reference section at the end will be added in the revised draft, 2016-2017.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Introduction


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Context

We have worked the past several years to deepen our understanding of a distinct population of English Language Learners (ELLs) we refer to as Low Literacy SIFE (LL SIFE). This is a subgroup of SIFE (students with interrupted/inconsistent education) whose home language literacy is at or below 3rd grade upon entry into U.S. secondary schools. Their academic needs pose some of the greatest challenges to educators.2

LL SIFE bring many resources— skills, knowledge, and experiences—from the home country. However, these often go untapped in U.S. classrooms. Most middle and high school educators are gravely underprepared to meet the academic needs of LL SIFE. They are not only new to English, but they are also far below grade level in home language reading and writing, and have a limited base of foundational academic content knowledge and thinking skills assumed in a U.S. secondary classroom.

Accelerating learning for LL SIFE is urgent, as these students must do triple the work of their peers3. Teachers of this population require great skill in integrating not only new academic content and English language, but also foundational literacy in targeted ways that stretch and move students toward grade-level readiness. Every instructional minute and material counts for adolescent LL SIFE in U.S. secondary classrooms. Expanding Our Work

Our work began many years ago with LL SIFE in New York City classrooms, and from this work we created the Bridges program to target this population. In 2015-2016, we began to expand our work to include support for schools with SIFE who have slightly higher levels of home language literacy (i.e., reading and writing skills between 3rd and 6th grade in the home language). Schools struggle to understand the range of SIFE and to meet their complex academic and socio-emotional needs. They are challenged to move SIFE toward graduating from high school equipped with the content, language, and literacy levels needed for higher education and productive participation in society.

2 See Profiles and Program manual for a more detailed description of LL SIFE. 3 This term extends from double the work in the following report: Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC:Alliance for Excellent Education.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Goals of This Guide

This guide is designed to:

➢ identify the three major of academic needs for SIFE;

➢ introduce yearlong academic thinking, language, and literacy targets for SIFE;

➢ highlight key instructional methods for SIFE that enact the principles;

➢ guide teachers in language instruction for SIFE.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Student Needs & Instructional

Response


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Overview

Accelerating student learning requires an understanding of each student’s assets and academic needs, and how to respond to these instructionally. Teaching does not result in learning if instruction does not target a student’s zone of proximal development, the space where a student’s productive struggle results in learning new content and skills. Students must receive instruction slightly beyond their independent level of work so they can accelerate learning knowledge and skills, with their learning mediated by various scaffolds. These include curricular supports as well as interactions with more capable others, such as teachers and peers.4

Although secondary SIFE need to learn an incredibly large amount of academic knowledge along with academic English and study skills in order to move toward grade-level proficiency in a short period of time, instruction that seeks to do all of this at once is not targeted enough and will likely have little positive impact on learning.

An immersion model, where students must “sink or swim” in a class with only English instruction of new content, is not an effective approach for LL SIFE. It is not enough for teachers to know all the gaps that need bridging. Teachers need to know what to target next, how to do this, and what materials and resources are needed to make this happen. The challenge is clear: SIFE, especially LL SIFE, have a very short period of time to move toward grade level academic knowledge and skills. In order to accelerate, they need targeted and strategic curriculum taught by skilled teachers in a classroom context that supports their transition from the language, culture and learning paradigm of the home country to that of a formal U.S. secondary classroom. Understanding this paradigm shift is also required of schools and teachers if the goal is to accelerate learning. 5

4 Cite Vygotsky (forthcoming) 5 DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2015). Reframing the Conversation About Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education: From Achievement Gap to Cultural Dissonance. NASSP Bulletin, 1-15.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Summary of SIFE Profiles & Program Recommendations

The following table summarizes the five profiles of SIFE described in detail in the Bridges Profiles and Program manual.

Recommended Programming Student Home Language

(HL) Literacy

Level

SIFE

LL SIFE

Bridges ELA

P1 & P2

Bridges FLL

Non-Bridges Classes

With Strong ELL Supports

Sandar New to print

YES YES YES YES

Aicha Emergent YES YES

YES

Jorge Transitional YES YES

YES

Non-Bridges academic classes are not appropriate.

Sandar’s, Aicha’s, & Jorge’s gaps are too great for acceleration in non-Bridges mainstream classes.

Darlyn Grade 4 YES NO

YES

Mohammed Grade 6 YES NO

Bridges classes are not appropriate.

Although >2 years below grade level in HL literacy, Bridges is not appropriate for Darlyn & Mohammed because of their basic reading comprehension in HL, school experience, and academic content knowledge.

Bridges ELA Part 1 & 2 are appropriate, but not FLL.

Aicha & Jorge have basic literacy skills in home language, which transfer to English.

Darlyn & Mohammed have more than foundational lit in HL. YES


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


As indicated in the table above, there is not a one-size-fits-all instructional model for SIFE, or even LL SIFE. Programming decisions need to made for all SIFE in every school, one that best targets their productive struggle zone, where they can learn and apply skills and strategies that result in success and learning. This requires a learning context that is high challenge-high support,6 keeping in mind that challenge and support are all relative to the learner.

High Challenge-High Support: Relative to the Learner

Learning Zone High Challenge-

High Support

Frustration Zone High Challenge-

Low Support

Comfort Zone Low Challenge-

High Support

Boredom Zone Low Challenge-

Low Support

Challenge and support are all relative to the learner, rather than absolute.7 While letters and their sounds are new and challenging skills for Sandar, they are familiar and boring to Aicha and Jorge who have some foundational literacy skills in the home language. Sandar needs to stretch to learn these skills (new to her in any language!) and needs systematic instruction and repeated practice along the way. The FLL class, therefore, is an appropriate and much-needed learning environment for Sandar, but not appropriate for Aicha or Jorge.

The FLL class is even more inappropriate for Darlyn and Mohamed, who would be wasting precious instructional time doing what they already know. Although Mohamed is learning the Roman alphabet sounds and symbols and needs some instruction here, our experience has shown that he will transfer his alphabetic literacy skills from Arabic to English much faster than the pace of the FLL class allows. Unlike Sandar, Mohamed is not learning how to read and write for the first time. He will transfer his alphabetic knowledge in Arabic and his literate identity to his learning of foundational skills in English.

6 Gibbons, P. (2009). English learners, academic literacy, and thinking: Learning in the challenge zone. Portsmouth, NH: Heinneman. 7 We hold the same position about complex text: that complexity and challenge are relative to the learner.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Although they are SIFE, Mohamed and Darlyn bring enough academic experience, content knowledge, and home language literacy to transfer to a U.S. classroom, provided it is well-scaffolded for ELLs and differentiated for the varied levels in a content classroom. While Mohamed is challenged to write a well-organized argument paragraph in a mainstream content, this is not at all challenging for some of his non-SIFE peers. Mohamed is challenged to learn these new skills, but can engage with them given appropriate support. While he would most likely be in the boredom zone in the LL SIFE Bridges class, he is a learning zone in the mainstream class as long as the challenge of the new academic task is coupled with high support.

Moving forward in this guide, we assume that SIFE at all levels have been programmed for this optimal learning zone that stretches students learning by pairing challenge and support. All descriptions of instructional frameworks and methods assume that SIFE are in the appropriate classroom contexts, as indicated by the previous table on recommended programming.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Academic Needs: What to Target (Broadly)

We begin with the needs of the LL SIFE, because the Bridges program and curriculum has been created in direct response to these major needs, typically are not met in grade-level secondary content classes, even with ELL supports. The table below highlights the three major learner characteristics that correspond with the three major areas of academic need for LL SIFE: foundational literacy, academic concepts, and academic thinking, language and literacy. These three distinct needs that characterize LL SIFE prevent them from meaningful participation and thus acceleration in high school classrooms.

These academic needs are what we need to target, as these are glaring roadblocks to success in secondary classrooms. These needs have led us to develop the three major features of the Bridges curriculum designed to targets these needs. We worked with and observed LL SIFE for many years with limited success in content classes designed for for ELLs. Although students were able to access some content through images and video support, their foundational and academic language and literacy were not accelerating at rates fast enough to enable them to expand and deepen conceptual knowledge through text, a pre requisite to independent learning in secondary school. SIFE with slightly higher levels of literacy also share these academic needs, but to a lesser degree. For example, Darlyn and Mohamed, with 4th to 6th grade home language literacy, have strong foundational literacy to transfer to English as well as higher levels of academic thinking, language, and literacy, and academic content knowledge. Each of the major learner characteristics/academic needs above should be thought of as a continuum, with the range of SIFE at different points along each continuum.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


We know that we need fill the gap of low home language literacy by teaching foundational literacy in English,8 that we need to fill the gap of low academic conceptual knowledge by building conceptual knowledge, and that we need to fill the gap of academic ways of thinking and using language through direct teaching and extended practice opportunities through content. The Bridges goal is to build routines that support students to internalize the academic ways of thinking that their peers have had the luxury of five to eight years to learn.

Any classes that SIFE are programmed for need to address these gaps. We have seen many teachers who have been skilled at working around these needs (e.g., scaffolding students who struggle with reading by providing content through images and video). While scaffolds like these are critical for content comprehension, they are not a substitute for more aggressive interventions to support the development of highly transferable skills that are the lifelines to learning in all secondary classrooms. Yearlong Targets: What to Target (Specifically)

Although the foundational literacy, academic conceptual knowledge, and academic thinking, language, and literacy are the three major academic needs for LL SIFE, these alone are too general to target instruction. Teachers need more specific learning targets within each of these three areas, with a clear trajectory to guide instruction in these key areas across the year. These are the main areas of acceleration, which are interrelated rather than isolated categories.

8 It is always ideal to develop foundational literacy skills in the home language, so do so whenever possible. However, not all home languages are written and schools often do not have the resources to do this.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


In this section, we introduce a set of yearlong targets in one main area of need: academic thinking, language, and literacy. Although these also target foundational literacy and academic conceptual knowledge –because all three academic needs overlap- the primary goal of the year-long targets is to make explicit the kinds of academic thinking, language and literacy skills we need to accelerate in the Bridges year for LL SIFE. The academic thinking, language, and literacy yearlong targets are described in the following tables. There are three key skills we have prioritized for instruction and acceleration over the Bridges year. These are: analyze relationships, read actively to comprehend, and communicate comprehensible ideas.9 We believe these targets to be the lifelines for LL SIFE access to all classes beyond the Bridges year.

9 We have just begun the rubrics for these targets in the summer 2016. The goal is for all stakeholders to understand these non-negotiable skills to build for LL SIFE across the year, across all content classes, using the content. We will incorporate more explicit attention to the targets in the curriculum revisions for 2016-2017 and revise in response to lab site classroom observations and collection of student work.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


These are not the only targets for Bridges students, as each content class has a set of targets they are working towards over the year. Although students are learning different sets of knowledge and skills within each unit in each content class, the academic skills below are targeted across all units in all classes because they represent LL SIFE lifelines to 9th grade and beyond. These skills are always taught and practiced through the content, never in isolation from the academic content SIFE need to build. All students need to grow in these areas in secondary school, but without acceleration in these key areas across the Bridges year, LL SIFE are unlikely to gain the skills to access and succeed in non-Bridges secondary classes, even with supports for ELLs.

We have begun to draft rubrics that unpack the targets, showing a trajectory of acceleration we want to see students travel across the Bridges year. These rubrics are designed to guide teachers in planning and implementation of the curriculum, to differentiate instruction, and to collect evidence of student learning in these areas to track progress over the year.

Because these rubrics highlight a possible trajectory of acceleration, they are applicable to the range of SIFE. Different students, depending on their profiles, will be at different points on the same trajectory across the year. The rubrics help teachers to see the acceleration in each target, to better understand where students need to go next. With this, the rubrics have the potential to support differentiation both within a Bridges class, as well as SIFE with higher levels of home language literacy in grade level content classes with ELL supports. (Full drafts of targets and rubrics forthcoming, fall 2016)


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Instructional Principles: How to Target (Broadly)10 Although the following instructional principles were originally designed to guide instruction for LL SIFE, they apply to instruction for all SIFE. They serve as rules of thumb for teachers planning curriculum and instruction. If the academic needs and targets on the previous page highlight what we need to target, the principles and instructional methods highlight how we do this instructionally. While they are not specific methods, they provide general rules of thumb to guide teachers in both planning and implementation.

The section following the principles describes key instructional methods (power methods) for LL SIFE. Professional Development sessions will highlight how these instructional principles are enacted through the power methods to meet the academic needs of the range of SIFE.

Principle Summary

1. Build from known to new and balance the cognitive load.

LL SIFE arrive in our classrooms with rich life experiences. Though they may have spent little time in a classroom, their experience has built understanding and competences that are integral to their identities and interpretation of the world. Use students’ knowledge and experiences as a resource to expand on and build new content and skills. This means getting to know students and leveraging what they know and are able to do in order to connect to content ideas and academic ways of thinking.

LL SIFE have gaps in academic conceptual knowledge, academic thinking and language, as well as foundational literacy. Balance the load. When you are teaching a new thinking skill, keep the content and language familiar so that students can allocate cognitive resources to learning one new thing at a time. If teaching new content, use familiar language and thinking skills.

2. Use home language as a resource.

Learning involves thinking; for newcomers, students’ home language is their language of thought. In order to privilege thinking in the classroom, it is essential to value students’ home languages and to create opportunities for students to interact in home language to process their understanding of new ideas.

Incorporate frequent opportunities for students to use home language to make sense of content and to express ideas in speaking and writing. This shows teachers what students know, validates student expertise, and builds community.

10 See Bridges Profiles and Program manual for a more detailed description of principles.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


3. Move from experience to oral language to print.

Oral language is the foundation for reading—which in turn involves the process of matching oral language to print. LL SIFE do not have the literacy skills or English language to learn new content through reading. So it is essential to begin by developing students’ oral English, which is a foundation for reading in English. Developing oral language happens through experiencing input in meaningful contexts. Design instruction that builds from experience to oral language (listen/speak) to print (read/write).

First, build content knowledge through non-print activities (experiments, drama, video, pictures)—this helps to develop background. Next, teach the content and language as students describe the experience. Then, after content and language are familiar, provide opportunities for students to make meaning from a written text.

4. Maximize routines using gradual release.

LL SIFE need challenging tasks that stretch their content knowledge, their academic thinking skills, their English language repertoire, as well as their ability to read and write increasingly complex text. Set high expectations, model the thinking process, and release to students, allowing them to struggle productively. Provide support as needed, but “just enough” to allow for the stretch into new learning. Use gradual release of responsibility to maximize routines and support students to internalize academic ways of thinking that build independence.

Teach highly transferable skills that support students to internalize the ways of thinking that are central to academic thinking (e.g., identifying main idea) and strategies (e.g., annotating text). Through repeated practice, these routines become habit, and students apply similar strategies and ways of thinking to new contexts. This builds independence and gives students more traction across content classes.

5. Design integrated tasks that require collaboration.

Learning is social; knowledge is constructed as we interact with others and is shaped by the skills and competencies that are valued in a particular context. In schools, we value reasoning, analysis, and independence. Vygotsky contends that developing these abilities happens through language—expressing our ideas and our processes supports us to become strategic about the ways we problem solve. The tasks that are designed must embed the skills we value. Design collaborative tasks that support students to interact with and process content as well as represent their own understanding.

LL SIFE may be unfamiliar with the kinds of academic thinking valued in U.S. classrooms. They will need direct instruction and modeling. However, students learn the most when they are engaged in tasks that require collaboration and interaction to process information and build content knowledge and academic thinking. Teachers must strategically design these activities and support students to be active participants. Maximize class time on these tasks.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


6. Keep language whole and focus on meaning before accuracy.

The content is the “whole.” The discrete skills (e.g., decoding, grammar) are the “parts.” LL SIFE need instruction and practice in the “parts,” but these should always follow exposure and exploration of the ideas that make up the meaningful “whole”—the content or text. Over a unit, engage students in making sense of the content (whole), then zoom in on some key skills (part) for short periods of time, and then zoom back out to the content (whole).

Content learning is about understanding and expressing ideas. Ideas get expressed as students speak and write about what they understand. Language comes from the content, and is taught through content. The primary goal is to understand and express content using English academic language, but at first, ideas are expressed in home language, English, or a mix of both. Focus on the content in student ideas before focusing on grammatical accuracy. Students are often challenged attend to both simultaneously.

7. Observe, assess and respond.

Building knowledge is a cumulative process; it does not happen through a single exposure to material. Rather, it takes repeated attention, interaction, and reflection. This is an important disposition to cultivate in the classroom for both teachers and students.

Teachers in the LL SIFE classroom have to be clear about student goals, and become keen observers of student behaviors and have systems in place to capture student learning. Written tasks are not a valid assessment for LL SIFE upon arrival. Use observations and checklists as regular formative assessment, several times a week, as students are working on tasks. Respond by designing mini lessons based on your observations of student performance. Give students feedback that includes the heart and the mind - acknowledges their progress and directs them to specific next steps to build competence. Find out as much as you can about each student, and share with them aspects of your life, especially challenges you experience learning new content. Cultivate a community of learners who understand that learning is a process and support one another.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Instructional Methods for SIFE


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Overview Through the development of the Bridges program and curriculum, we have identified and adapted key instructional methods for LL SIFE. We refer to these as power methods because they are central to targeting the academic needs of SIFE and because each enacts several, if not all, the instructional principles for SIFE.

In this section, we present five Bridges power methods. We have not invented any of these methods, but rather have borrowed from the field and adapted for LL SIFE. We highlight them here because of their potential for deepening and accelerating learning for SIFE across all classes.

The power methods described here are:

➢ Language Experience Approach (LEA) ➢ See Think Wonder ➢ Hot Seat ➢ Read-Retell-Respond11 ➢ Close Read

In subsequent professional development sessions, participants will experience the methods and analyze each method through the following lenses: rationale for each step in the method as connected to academic needs and year long targets, instructional principles enacted, differentiation for the range of SIFE in secondary classrooms, and ways of building the classroom environment as a resource through the method.

Why are these methods powerful?

Part of becoming an engaged learner involves cultivating the ways of thinking that are integral to academic literacy. The Power Methods support students to externalize, through dramatization, role play and routine oral practice, the ways of thinking, questioning and evaluating that need to be internalized to build their academic literacy.

The majority of LL SIFE cannot ‘read to learn’ in their home language. Gaining new knowledge through text is not a resource they can transfer from their home language. We have found that the most effective ways of training students to engage with content is to provide students with a few powerful strategies, rather than a wide variety of approaches. When these methods are practiced routinely across disciplines, students begin to internalize the academic conventions for considering and interpreting content area ideas, even before they are reading complex text.

11 Revised drafts for both Read-Retell and Close Read will be uploaded to the website September 2016, and can be inserted into this section. An instructional video to support Read-Retell will also be uploaded (date TBD) to support the implementation of the method.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


These powerful strategies are transferable to any classroom context. While each of these routines enact several instructional principles for LL SIFE in a Bridges classroom, these power methods can serve as strong scaffolds for SIFE in non-Bridges classes to provide the high support in a high challenge context.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Language Experience

Approach12 (LEA)

12 A Bridges classroom video that features LEA will be uploaded to the Bridges website in fall 2016.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


EXPERIENCE Do

ORAL Listen & Talk

PRINT Write & Read

What is LEA? 13 The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is a reading technique designed for emergent readers. LEA harnesses students’ personal experiences as the basis for literacy instruction, as well as shared experiences, such as class trips and experiments.

Instead of imposing an unfamiliar text on students with no prior knowledge of its content, the teacher, through LEA, takes students’ familiar language and transcribes it as print. The goal with LEA is to move students, through teacher facilitation, from:

Experience is input that gets processed that through the senses, that students can and want to explain through talk, which can then be transcribed as text. Students’ own words are used to create a text about a topic. This text, using familiar words and concepts, becomes what the students read.

With LL SIFE in Bridges classes, however, we expand “experience” to mean any shared activity where students are exposed to content. This includes simulations/role-plays, read alouds, viewing a video, doing a gallery walk, listening to music, and creating art. With this, our version of LEA is modified, with a more general definition of “experience.” To keep our language simple, however, we continue to refer to the method as LEA, rather than modified LEA. Why use LEA?

Reading involves matching oral language with print—this is a central part of the reading process. If students do not have the words—the oral language—reading becomes simply word calling (deciphering words without comprehension). Because students compose the account, comprehension is inherent in their interaction with the text, leading them to expect written language to make sense. As a result, they expect other-author texts to contain meaningful ideas and comprehensible language. Dictation also develops and strengthens students’ skill at composing their thoughts in writing.

In addition, reading and writing are reciprocal processes. Through LEA, the four modalities work in concert, as students talk and listen, and contribute to a collaborate text that is said by students, repeated, scribed by the teacher, then read back. Foundational reading and composing skills develop as the teacher scribes, modeling 13 Dixon, C.N. and Nessel, D.D. (2008) Language Experience Approach With English Language Learners: Strategies for Engaging Students and Developing Literacy. Corwin Press: London.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


skills such as spelling, letter formation, using capitals and periods, and leaving spaces between words. As the teacher reads the text back, he/she models one to one tracking of text, reading in meaningful phrases, pronunciation, and attention to punctuation What are the steps in LEA?

1. Share an experience: The whole class shares a learning experience. An experience is an activity that allows students to build concepts without relying on students reading and writing. Examples of experiences include: trips, speakers, pictures, games, simulations, movies, music, experiments, a read aloud, etc. Concepts can be best understood when “experienced” through the senses, rather than abstracted through text.

2. Discuss the experience: The group, with teacher support, discusses the experience informally. The teacher jots words on a semantic map, providing words in English where needed, and organizing related ideas. This step supports students’ access to the words they will need in English.

3. Talk more, ask questions: The teacher asks students to talk more formally about the experience: “Let’s use these words to say complete thoughts and sentences.” The teacher may need to ask specific questions to build more structure.

4. Students dictate, teacher writes: The teacher writes sentences as students dictate. These student-dictated sentences can be edited as needed for a correct model but the teacher should keep as much student language as possible (this may be on chart paper, overhead, or computer and smart board). The text that the teacher creates should be long enough to show important ideas, but not longer than a chart paper.

5. Ask more questions: The teacher can ask more questions to generate more language and add to the text.

6. Teacher reads text aloud: The teacher reads the full text aloud, pointing to words as he/she reads.

7. Student read text aloud: Students read the whole text chorally. The teacher corrects pronunciation as needed.

8. Teacher chunks phrases: Next, the teacher “chunks” phrases to be read for fluency. He/she reads aloud and students read each chunked sentence after the teacher. The teacher “scoops” the chunks while reading.

9. Choose title: The teacher asks the group for a good title, based on the text, and adds it.

10. Partners read text: Partners read the text to each other, taking turns, helping each other, and asking clarifying questions if any parts are not clear.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


LEA Extension Activities to Build Foundational Skills

Activity Summary Targets

❖ Fluency Read Partners alternate sentences. Both track print with their finger. Each partner then reads whole text, chunking phrases and stopping to breathe at each period.

• Print concepts • Fluency

❖ Count the Sentences Partners track print and stop at each period to count the number of sentences.

• Print concepts

❖ What words start with _____?

Teacher asks students to find and read words that start with a sound that repeats. Ask students for other words they know that start with that sound. List and read chorally.

• Phonological awareness

❖ What words end with _____?

Repeat the process above for ending consonants.


❖ Sound Out the Word Focus on one word to decode, pointing and stretching out the sound of each letter while reading.


• Phonics

❖ Box the Most Common Words

Call out high-frequency words and ask students to box.

• Sight words • Fluency

❖ Cards – Most Common Words

Students practice recognizing and reading the high-frequency words in pairs.

• Sight words • Fluency

❖ Word Scramble Create a worksheet with scrambled words that students must unscramble.

• Sight words • Phonological

awareness

❖ Word Families Identify a word or two from text that can be used as a “base” word to generate rhyming words.


• Phonics

❖ Syllable Clapping & Sorting

Students read and sort word cards into groups based on number of syllables or “claps.”


❖ Same Spelling, Different Sound

Find two words that have a similar spelling pattern, but different pronunciation.


• Phonics

❖ Same Sound, Different Spelling

Find two words that have a different spelling pattern, but similar pronunciation.


• Phonics


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


See-Think-Wonder


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


What is See-Think-Wonder?

See-Think-Wonder is a “thinking routine” developed by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (http://www.pz.harvard.edu/). Thinking routines are structured strategies that support students to process actively and extend and deepen their thinking. The routine focuses student attention on observation (“see”) first. It emphasizes looking closely at what is on the page. The second step (“‘think”) involves interpretation or inference. Students are asked to interpret their observations. In this way, they are learning to ground their interpretation in evidence. The third step (“wonder”) fosters inquiry by prompting students to ask questions connected to their observations and interpretations. Students consider what they know, what they still wonder, or what might still be unclear or confusing. This is essential to inquiry and an important meta-cognitive process. Why use See-Think-Wonder?

The routine is simple and applicable to all content area and levels of students. The three-step process of interpreting input supports students to internalize these lenses on making sense of new input: observation, inference, and inquiry. Finally See-Think-Wonder fosters evidence based thinking, as students justify their inferences in the “think” column by supporting with evidence from the “see” column.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


What are the steps in See-Think-Wonder?

See-Think-Wonder is used most effectively when you are introducing a new concept or idea in the unit of text. Choose a visual image, object, plan a dramatization, or show a short video clip relevant to the content. (It can also be used with short passages of text). It is best if the image is open to interpretation, generative of a variety of ideas and several different perspectives. Using a visual image allows students to engage higher-order thinking, even if they struggle to read and write.

Begin by teaching this routine early on in the year with a number of images. We suggest that you use a whole lesson to introduce the routine and give the students ample opportunity to practice and become familiar with each of the moves (“see,” “think,” and “wonder”). Your goal is for students to internalize the steps. Each of these steps must be modeled by the teacher before asking to engage in the process independently. 1. What do you see?

Show the students the image, video, or dramatization, and ask them to observe and, if able, record what they see. If it is a video, you may need to pause several times or show the video more than once for each step. This step emphasizes the importance of close observation. Observation is fertile ground for thinking, and it is critical to emphasize its importance as well as to give students time to observe before they interpret. This skill will be transferred to reading as students gain fluency with text.

2. What do you think?

Ask students to review their observations. Then, ask them to connect two or three of their observations to something that makes them think. These are inferences. This step pushes students to make connections between what they see and what is happening or what they understand. It emphasizes supporting inferences with evidence. The responses here should be connected to specific observations from the first column.

3. What do you wonder?

Have students ask 1-3 questions about what they just observed. Allow students to ask any questions at all. However, over time engage students in a conversation about what makes a good question. This question begins to move students beyond the video or image they have looked at, to connect what they have seen to their own background and world knowledge. These questions should be broad. You should use these questions to guide further inquiry in the classroom.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Hot Seat


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


What is Hot Seat?14

Hot Seat is a role-playing activity that builds students’ comprehension. It is described as an “enactment” strategy in which students “imagine to learn” (Willhelm and Edmiston, 1998). It is a dramatic technique where students take on the roles of characters in a text (historical figure, organisms in a biome, etc.) and are questioned by their peers.

It encourages students to consider and probe a situation or circumstance from a character’s point of view. In the Bridges curriculum we use this strategy in ELA, Social Studies, and Science. Students take on the persona of a character from fiction, an historical character or people, or animals in their environment. They sit in a chair designated as the “hot seat” and answer questions from their peers. Hot seating helps students examine and think through ideas from these varied points of view. Why use Hot Seat?

• It integrates content knowledge and builds academic oral language.

• It engages language production for an authentic purpose.

• It encourages students to review content and explore deeper connections to material and ideas

• It is dramatic and engages students who otherwise do not participate in class discussions

• It supports inference, elaboration and analytical thinking across the disciplines.

• It helps students to understand different perspectives on topics or issues.

• It fosters collaborative discussion skills.

As with all strategies, it is important to introduce a strategy with content that is “close to home.” One of the axioms in the Bridges curriculum is: Teach new content using a familiar strategy, teach a new strategy using familiar content. This allows students to focus their cognitive energy on learning either the content or the strategy—never both at once. Hot Seat is used once students have studied a book or a topic long enough to be able to discuss key ideas from the point of view of the character or topic.

In unit one ELA, we introduce Hot Seat. At this stage in the school year, the content is information about the students themselves—Who are we? The unit explores the student identities. The subject of the Hot Seat here is not a character from a book, an historical character, or an animal trying to survive in his environment. It is the students themselves. This strategy will be used across the year to support understanding that reading involves making sense of the text from a number of perspectives. Students are most often highly engaged during a hot seat lesson. 14 Willhelm, Jeffrey (2002) Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension. New York, NY:Scholastic Inc.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


What are the steps in Hot Seat?

Preparing

1. Prepare a planning sheet for students so that they can work together to prepare the character who will be in the hot seat.

2. Divide the class into groups. Not every student will be in the hot seat, but the technique works best if groups work together to prepare each participant for the hot seat. Students must prepare questions (and possible answers) for the character or topic that will occupy the hot seat. These questions should be prepared prior to the Hot Seat lesson. Students should be guided to include both questions that will require factual answers and answers that require more consideration.

Those in the hot seat must develop “opening remarks.” The “group” becomes a character’s lifeline. The person in the hot seat can consult his/her group for support to answer a question.

Getting in the hot seat

1. The student in the hot seat delivers opening remarks as the character. Generally, this is an overview of the character.

2. Classmates ask their questions and the character in the hot seat responds. If the student doing the role-play has trouble responding he/she may request help from his/her group members. For instance, if a comment cannot be justified, if the student does not know the English word or the answer, he/she can request a lifeline from the group, and one of his/her group members may respond.

3. The person doing the role-play selects a student to summarize the comments. This can also be the responsibility of one of the groups to present collaboratively. The person in the hot seat clarifies misunderstandings and reiterates any big ideas that were missed by classmates.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Read-Retell-Respond (Revised draft to be uploaded, Sept 2016)


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Close Read (Revised draft to be uploaded, Sept 2016)


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Language Development for SIFE

Language Guide Vocabulary Guide


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Language Guide


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Overview

The following sections were developed to support Bridges teachers to understand language more generally as well as learning and instruction for LL SIFE in Bridges classrooms in the common core context. Although these were designed for teachers implementing the interdisciplinary Bridges curriculum, the components can also support teachers of SIFE in non-Bridges classes. These sections combine important theoretical background on language, as well as practical guidance on teaching language through content. Guidance for SIFE Teachers on English Language Development, Instruction and Assessment

These sections contain essential information for helping SIFE, and particularly Bridges teachers, plan and implement language instruction for their students, to guide teachers in moving students toward meeting Common Core Standards.

1. Components of Language

2. Home Language as a Resource

3. Stages of New Language Acquisition

4. Understanding Receptive and Productive Language Skills

5. Language Learning and Instruction in the Classroom

6. Scope and Sequence of English Grammatical Forms

7. Lesson Goals: Daily Question and Learning Targets


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


1. The Components of Language

What is language?

With an ever-increasing population of English language learners (ELLs) in our schools, all teachers are faced with the challenge of having to integrate language into their teaching, regardless of content area. This is especially true for teachers of SIFE, whose students need more specialized support than other ELLs.

Language is a type of knowledge that allows us to make meaning and communicate with others. It should be noted that language can be both oral and written. Oral—meaning spoken—language precedes, and is the basis for, written language.

Our linguistic knowledge is vast and complex. Often, when we think about what makes up language, we think of vocabulary—words we use to identify things. But language is much more complex than just vocabulary. It is composed of a series of systems that all work together. Language is a series of systems working together:

Vocabulary, Semantics, and Pragmatics

Each language has vocabulary, which works as part of a semantic and pragmatic system. Typically, semantics is thought of as the meanings of the words we use, and pragmatics is thought of as the ways in which we use those words, like greetings and introductions.

However, semantics is more than just the meaning of vocabulary; it refers to the system whereby we understand multiple senses of words, their connotations, and how they fit into larger categories of words and concepts. An example of a word with multiple senses is pool: it can refer to a swimming pool, a game, and a verb, as in pool one’s resources. In terms of connotation, the words assertive and aggressive convey similar meanings. However, assertive takes on a positive connotation, while aggressive takes on a negative connotation. In addition, often when we understand the meaning of a word, we understand it in its relation to a larger category. For instance, when we hear the word plant in the context of growing, we may think of it as part of a larger semantic category of the parts of a plant, like seeds, shoots, roots, stem, leaf, etc. In contrast, if we hear it in the context of eating, we associate it with the category of food. Thus, while vocabulary refers to individual words and phrases, semantics is how those words and phrases interconnect as part of a broader network of lexical knowledge.

Likewise, pragmatics is more than just social routines; it also refers to the ways the meaning of words and phrases can change in different contexts, and the ways that people transmit meaning through conversational interaction. All languages of the world


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


have pragmatic systems to convey these meaning through interaction. For example, the phrase Would you like a coffee? might be meant literally if asked by a waiter in a restaurant, or it could be interpreted as an invitation to stay for a visit if asked by a neighbor.

The semantic and pragmatic aspects of language are infinite in terms of number of words and situations; acquiring these aspects of language require not only a very high level of proficiency, but also a long, rich, and varied exposure to the language and the culture in different contexts with different audience and speakers. In terms of how vocabulary is taught in the Bridges curriculum, we have designed instruction to introduce words and phrases in context. For example, students are presented with new vocabulary in semantic categories. In the Unit 3 ELA water unit, students learn the words for sources of water—source, river, well, reservoir, faucet—grouped around the concept of “getting water.”

In this way, students not only learn individual words, but also begin to build a semantic network. It is crucial for SIFE teachers to always present vocabulary in context. This is how vocabulary is acquired in the home language through natural communication in settings such as the home and school (see Component #5, Language Learning and Instruction in the Classroom). In sum, vocabulary consists of individual words and phrases that function as part of a larger network of lexical knowledge— semantics. In turn, vocabulary and semantic knowledge function as part of a larger network of pragmatic knowledge—the knowledge of how to use and interpret language in interactions with others.

Morpho-Syntax

Syntax refers to the system of structures that we use to convey meaning. For example, although the following two sentences have exactly the same words, the order of the words conveys different meanings:

• I had my car cleaned. • I had cleaned my car.

In the first sentence, the car was cleaned by someone else; in the second sentence, the car was cleaned by the subject of the sentence: I.

Syntax is crucial to conveying linguistic meaning: it is not enough to know words and phrases; we must also put those words and phrases into an order that makes sense. In English, the order of words in a sentence is particularly rigid, while in some other languages, the order is more flexible. For example, in the English sentence John drives the red car, the subject John comes before the verb drives, and the adjective red comes before the object car. A sentence like Drives the car red John does not make much sense to an English speaker.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


In Spanish, however, there are more possibilities. In Spanish, the speaker can say, Juan maneja el carro rojo as well as El carro rojo maneja Juan (“The car red drives Juan”) as well as Maneja el carro rojo (the subject Juan is dropped and represented by the verb’s inflection in the third person). Although the word order differs between the sentences, they all make sense.

Morphology (as in morpho-syntax) refers to the system of word parts like prefixes, suffixes, roots of words, and inflections that convey meaning through morphemes, or the smallest grammatical units of meaning. Morphemes, however, can also be stand-alone words like some pronouns and verb forms. For example, in the sentence I had my car cleaned, I and my are personal pronouns, morphemes conveying reference. The verb had is also a morpheme, one that conveys grammatical tense. The –ed ending in cleaned is an inflection, a morpheme conveying the tense of the verb. Such grammatical inflections are not so common in English. For present tense, for instance, there is only one inflection for the verb clean, third person singular –s, cleans.15

As noted above, English—which has a limited inflectional system—uses word order in its syntax to tell us this information about the subject (S) of a declarative sentence, which comes before the verb (V), which comes before its object (O). Learners of English soon learn that English is a strict “SVO” language because they will hear and use the same pattern over and over again and eventually learn it implicitly (i.e., without conscious awareness, see Component #5). On the other hand, it is important for students to be taught morphology through direct instruction, because it enables us to convey linguistic meaning accurately, and enables students, for example, to build vocabulary through word families as mentioned above. Since using language accurately (in the ways that highly proficient speakers of English do) is a critical aspect of academic literacy, we have included a Scope and Sequence of English Grammatical Forms that should be taught to students with direct instruction (see Component #6).

Phonology

Finally, every language has a phonological system, or a rule system of sounds. In the word asked, for example, we pronounce the -ed ending like /t/, and in the word dragged, we pronounce it like /d/. This represents a phonological rule of English, whereby the /k/ in asked is a voiceless consonant (the vocal cords do not vibrate) and must be followed by another voiceless consonant for the past tense, in this case /t/; however, the /g/ in dragged is a voiced consonant (the vocal cords vibrate) and it must be followed by a voiced consonant representing tense, as the case of /d/ shows. It is this system of sounds that allows us to recognize words being spoken in English and to process their meaning.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Every language of the world has its own phonological system and each differs from the others in some ways. These differences result in the accents that new learners to English have when they begin to understand and speak their new language. For example, the English and the Spanish vowel systems differ in several ways, one of which is that English has both long vowels (as the vowel sound in the word beet) and short vowels (as the vowel sound in the word bit or bet), while Spanish has only long vowels. This accounts for a Spanish speaker having difficulty understanding the difference between sheep and ship or beet and bit when they are hearing English, or to say beet when they mean bit, or sheep when they mean ship, when they are speaking English.

Because Bridges students have to learn so much in one year, we do not believe that focusing on their pronunciation of English words is a priority. Students will be exposed to model pronunciation through the teacher’s language, as well that of proficient speakers of English. As proficiency advances, a learner’s pronunciation often improves and they become more intelligible. Unless students’ pronunciation prevents them from being understood by others, we recommend that teachers focus instead on building vocabulary and morpho-syntax, because these are critical to advancing proficiency.

It is important to remember that the components of language discussed here—vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, morpho-syntax, and phonology—are universal: all languages are composed of these systems. It is also important to keep in mind that SIFE come to the classroom as fully competent speakers of their home languages, and sometimes additional languages. In other words, they already have sophisticated linguistic knowledge that can and should be used as a resource for learning their new language.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


2. Home Language as a Resource16

Learning involves thinking; for newcomers students’ home language is their language of thought. In order to privilege thinking in the classroom it is essential to value students’ home languages and to create opportunities for students to interact in home language to process their understanding of new ideas. Newly arrived LL SIFE need frequent opportunities to use home language as a resource to learn across content classes. If students can learn about new content by processing in the home language, then learning is accelerated.

Oral home language is a vital bridge to English print literacy. When students discuss what they read in English in their home language (see Read-Retell-Respond) they are supported to make sense of what they read in their language of thought, before they have to formulate their understanding in English. Here, the home language plays a vital role in reading, in comprehending text, and in building literate identities.

Privileging student home language in the classroom, alongside the new English language, validates students as bilinguals (or speakers of many languages), where proficiency in more than one language is an advantage in the global landscape. Giving students choice about language use builds student resourcefulness and communicates the power of their entire linguistic pool.

16 From Bridges Profiles and Program manual. This section will be further developed in revisions because due to the importance of home language in Bridges classrooms. See additional resources below from CUNY NYSIEB:

http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2013/05/CUNY-NYSIEB-Framework-for-EB-with-Low-Home-Literacy-Spring-2013-Final-Version-05-08-13.pdf

http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2014/12/Translanguaging-Guide-Curr-Inst-Final-December-2014.pdf).

http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2013/05/CUNY-NYSIEB-Framework-for-EB-with-Low-Home-Literacy-Spring-2013-Final-Version-05-08-13.pdf


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


3. Stages of New Language Acquisition for Bridges Students: Aligned to the NYS BCCI Language Progressions

The goal of this section is to demonstrate the trajectory of language learning that takes place in the Bridges classroom over the course of one year. The stages here are aligned to the first three progressions of the five levels of progressions identified by the New York State Bilingual Common Core Initiative (Entering, Emerging, Transitioning, Expanding, Commanding).

It is important to note that students may progress through these stages at different rates, but minimally from one to three years. We acknowledge that there will be some students who are completely new to both English and print concepts in any language, and would likely be better classified at a Pre-Entering phase. However, research has shown that students move quickly out of that stage into the Entering phase (Calderón, 200717). The language progressions are based on extensive research in home and new language development (e.g., Cummins, 200118; Krashen & McField, 200519; August & Shanahan, 200620).

In the context of the Bridges classroom, our goal is to move students from the Entering stage up to Transitioning in English language and literacy development. A summary of each of these three stages is below:

1. Entering: Accurately produce key words/phrases in English, while the majority of language production will be in home language

2. Emerging: Accurately produce familiar phrases and short, simple sentences in English with a lot of home-language support for production and clarification of meaning

3. Transitioning: Accurately replicate language that is modeled to them, and can produce sentences in English independently

Having an understanding and expectations of students’ language abilities for each level can help guide teachers to develop appropriate formative assessments for measuring students’ language development.

17 Calderon, M. (Ed.). (2007). Teaching reading to English language learners, grades 6-12: A framework for improving achievement in the content areas. Corwin Press. 18 Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire (Vol. 23). Multilingual Matters. 19 Krashen, S., & McField, G. (2005). What works? Reviewing the latest evidence on bilingual education. Language Learner, 1(2), 7-10. 20 August, D., & Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners. Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, Mahwah, Lawrence Erlbaum.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Table 121: Stages of Acquisition of New Language (ENL22)

Entering Emerging Transitioning

Listening Minimal listening comprehension in ENL.

Can recognize one or two target words in ENL.

Has up to 500 receptive vocabulary words in ENL.

Limited listening comprehension in ENL.

Developed basic vocabulary; understands simple instructions and familiar verbalizations.

Has up to 1,000 receptive vocabulary words in ENL.

Listens actively and can follow directions in ENL.

Understands most social language; struggles with abstract concepts in ENL without scaffolds.

Speaking May not produce speech in ENL; however can indicate comprehension (e.g., through gestures or drawing).

Begins to produce single words or phrases in both social and academic language.

Speech in ENL is mostly incomprehensible and may not communicate meaning.

Begins to produce language; one or two word responses, phrases and familiar verbalizations in social language.

Depends heavily on context; participates with many non-verbal responses.

Can structure simple sentences, but speech is often incomprehensible.

Has up to 3,000 active vocabulary words.

Language production is accelerated especially in social conversation; uses short sentences and phrases.

Produces full simple sentences.

Begins using ENL for academic conversation.

Reading Recognizes a few sight words in ENL.

Basic sound-letter correspondence in ENL.

Begins text-self connections in ENL.

Increased recognition of sight words in ENL.

Understands most alphabetic principles in ENL; gaining fluency.

Begins reading simple books in ENL.

Makes text-self and text-text connections in ENL.

Begins reading simple books independently in ENL.

Shows some fluency at appropriate reading level in ENL.

Makes text-self, text-text and text-world connections in ENL.

Writing Starts by using pictures to support writing.

Begins writing in ENL using sound-letter correspondences from HL.

Begins writing ENL sight words.

Increases use of sight words in ENL writing.

Begins writing simple words and sentences with increased understanding of sound-letter correspondences in ENL.

Can produce short texts in ENL.

Needs support for complex structures and/or abstract concepts.

Begins to apply and master spelling and conventions in ENL.

21 Cite 22 The Bilingual Common Core Initiative uses ENL to refer to English as a new language and HL to refer to home language.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


4. Understanding Receptive and Productive Language Skills: Instruction, Practice, and Assessment

This section explains the differences between the four language “modalities”: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In the last section, Daily Learning Targets and Receptive Assessments, teachers can see the role of these modalities in lesson planning and assessment. Overview of the Four Language Modalities

All Bridges curriculum integrate content, language, and literacy instruction. The four modalities— listening, speaking, reading, and writing—are woven throughout the tasks in integrated ways. It is important for teachers to attend to a student’s skills in each of these four modalities through both practice and assessment. These are four complex processes that work in concert to support one another. There are important relationships across the four modalities, as shown in the figures below: Listening and speaking are reciprocal processes, as two sides of the same ORAL language coin. Reading and writing are reciprocal processes as well, as two sides of the same PRINT coin. Four Language Modalities

ORAL PRINT

RECEPTIVE Listening Reading

PRODUCTIVE Speaking Writing

In addition to the oral (listening-speaking) and print (reading-writing) relationships, there are also important relationships across receptive and productive processes. Listening and reading are both receptive processes that require processing and comprehension of input. In listening, we make sense of spoken input and in reading we make sense of print input. Similarly, speaking and writing have an important relationship because both are productive processes, requiring the learner to generate language. Speaking requires oral output, or speech, and writing requires print output, or text. Furthermore, teachers should be conscious of the fact that receptive skills in second language (i.e., listening and reading) develop more quickly than productive skills (i.e., speaking and writing) and therefore the language that a student is able to produce is not a good indication of how much language a student comprehends. For SIFE and LL SIFE, oral skills will develop more quickly than print skills. For this reason, we provide ideas and sample comprehension/receptive assessments at the end of this section.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


In almost all cases, Bridges instruction moves from oral to print tasks because like young speakers of English learning to read for the first time, SIFE need to develop oral language to acquire literacy. Because of the strong correlation between oral language and reading comprehension (e.g., Mancilla-Martinez & Lesaux, 2011),23 developing listening skills supports students’ ability and confidence in reading. Developing speaking skills supports students’ ability and confidence in writing. In this way, oral language is a powerful and non-negotiable scaffold for developing the literacy of SIFE.24 In addition to these relationships, there are other important relationships across the four domains. Speaking supports reading, as we talk in order to process what we read; listening is often required for writing tasks, such as dictation and note taking, and for developing ideas. An understanding of the relationships between listening, speaking, reading, and writing makes clear the importance of integrating these processes in instruction.

23 Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2010). Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 701–711. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0019135 24 ELLs with high levels of literacy in the home language can often tackle print tasks (reading and writing) before oral tasks. In fact, some literate ELLs are more comfortable with literacy tasks, and rely on print as a scaffold for speaking.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Suggestions for teachers on instruction for language comprehension and production

DOs DON’Ts

Do ask ‘deep’ questions: “What, why, when, how, where …” and relate your question to the information you’re seeking, or ask students to “point to … [or] show me …” your target content or language point.

1. Don’t ask students: “Do you understand?” (They will shake their heads in the affirmative.)

Do ask students to repeat something if they have not been understood. And try one more time to get clarity in any way that you can (e.g., ask student to repeat in HL to another student, to gesture, point), but then switch your focus to avoid student embarrassment.

Don’t correct a student’s speech (whether pronunciation or grammar or vocabulary), when it interferes with a student’s meaningful communication. Feedback and explicit teaching should be set aside for a short, designated space in your lesson (see also Component #5 on Language Learning and Instruction in the Classroom). Don’t try to change their accents. You won’t and shouldn’t because single corrections do not change patterns of speech.

Do make the (oral and print) input comprehensible while keeping it challenging. Try to speak naturally, using authentic language at a reasonable pace; better to repeat and use scaffolding techniques (e.g., pictures, gestures, pre-taught vocab) than to make the input too easy. Always check for comprehension, as listening is not in the student’s control—that is, input comes from an external source (another person or a text) and student cannot choose or control the words being used or the speed with which they are produced in oral speech.

Don’t allow students to speak using the same words over and over. Productive language, unlike receptive language, is under the student’s control in that the student chooses the words and structures used and the speed with which they are spoken or read. (Thus, production is “easier” in that sense, but more difficult in other ways, as we know.) Stretch students to use new words and structures. Encourage use of home language when needed and can be understood by listeners (with scaffolding if necessary).

Do introduce all new concepts and language orally (listening/speaking) before or along with the print form (reading/writing), as explained above.

Don’t write anything on board or Smart Board, or ask students to read anything, unless students have heard it first and said it (orally, chorally, quietly, etc.). Be sure that its meaning has been understood at the very


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


beginning of this process.

Do respect students’ prior knowledge and teach new words (i.e. in the new language) for the concepts that they already know in the home language (e.g., numbers, colors, foods, weather conditions, social conventions).

Don’t insult them by assuming they have to be taught basic concepts they would have learned as children in the home country (e.g., colors, feelings). They simply need to learn the English labels for these familiar concepts.

Do introduce new concepts for what they haven’t yet learned in any language (e.g., academic concepts in science, social studies, literature) with very simple language that students can understand easily and with lots of visuals, gestures, demonstrations, and other scaffolding.

Don’t introduce new concepts with just oral or text explanations.

Do have them read and write only what they have already been exposed to through non-print input (e.g., oral—listening/speaking—or print or kinesthetic).

Don’t expect them to learn from reading alone (or writing). SIFE are still learning to read; they are not yet reading to learn without print, kinesthetic, or other scaffolds.

Do encourage language production to express ideas. Support with scaffolds (sentence frames, sentence starters, word banks, etc) and provide opportunities for low stakes partner practice of new language. Acknowledge students who take risks with trying English to express ideas, without worrying about perfect speech.

Don’t force production, as students will vary in their comfort level with “trying on” English speaking and writing.

Do model learning a new language by asking students how to say words, phrases and sentences in their home language. This positions you as the learner and students as experts and teachers.

Don’t forget how difficult it is to learn a new language, and how much repetition and patience it requires from the teacher.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Menu of Activities for Receptive Skills

In order to assess student listening and reading comprehension, teachers must use activities that elicit understanding but do not require production in English. If students are asked to write a sentence about a story they just listened to during a read aloud, then listening comprehension is conflated with a student’s ability to write in English. Most teachers are familiar with assessments that rely on student’s ability to produce language (e.g., oral presentation, oral response to inquiry question, written response to text). Here, we provide teachers with support in assessing receptive language.

So that teachers can assess a student’s listening and reading skills without requiring the student to produce (speak or write) a response, students learn to use non-verbal (or simple yes-no) responses. For example, pointing to or showing something; making gestures; acting out; drawing a shape or a picture; or drawing or typing a symbol to represent yes or no, true or false, agree or disagree. Teachers can be very creative in developing such responses and will be able to evaluate the degree to which students have understood and learned from a listening or reading exercise.

In the following lists, we offer some concrete examples of how to assess receptive skills; these have been aligned with the CCLS and the NYSESLAT targets of measurement (TOM) for listening and reading. Below is a short list of assessments that can be applied across all content areas.

Ways to Assess Receptive Language (T=Teacher, Ss=students)

Listening: These activities follow students listening to input (text, audio recording, video).

• T asks questions (is/ are/ does)> Ss answer yes/ no. • T asks questions (who, what, when where)> Ss point to picture or draw response. • T gives a set of pictures> Ss sequence or arrange pictures in an organizer. • T makes a statement> Ss agree/ disagree. • T says a vocabulary word> Ss point to picture or draw response. • T assigns character roles> Ss act out from text.

Reading: After students read a text, any of the above activities can be used in addition to the following.

• T asks questions> Ss respond in home language. • T gives set of pictures and words> Ss match each sentence to the picture. • T gives a set of pictures and sentences> Ss match each sentence to the picture. • T gives a set of sentences (etc main idea/ details)> Ss arrange into a paragraph. • T gives a set of pre taught words> Ss arrange pictures in an organizer.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


5. Language Learning and Instruction in the Classroom The Bridges curriculum integrates content, language, and literacy. The goal here is to clarify for Bridges teachers what it means to be a “teacher of language” in the context of an integrated curriculum. Following the earlier explanation of the components that make up language, language development, and the skills associated with that development here we begin to look at how language is learned and taught in the classroom. Language Learning in the Classroom

In order to better understand how language learning takes place for Bridges students in the classroom, let us first briefly consider how language learning takes place for monolingual speakers. We are not born able to speak our home language fluently; it is something we acquire over the first years of life. The sounds of a language (its phonetics and phonology) are the first exposure to language that the newborn experiences.

This is a crucial form of linguistic input because it triggers the growth of the cognitive and articulatory-motor skills the baby needs to isolate meaningful units of language and eventually be able to produce them. The early vocalizations (crying, cooing) of the infant evolve into babbling and then, usually between the end of the first year and second birthday, into the first intelligible words. Soon thereafter, the first phrases and sentences begin to emerge. The four- or five-year-old’s knowledge of the home language is already remarkably complex and adult-like in terms of his/her knowledge of words, sounds, and structures. After approximately five years of oral language development at home, he/she typically enters school and begins to expand that oral knowledge in academic contexts as well as use it to learn written language. Up until the child enters school, language learning has mostly taken place implicitly—that is, acquired without any conscious awareness.

Like the home, the classroom is a natural context wherein which linguistic communication takes place. The teacher, by virtue of simply speaking to his/her students, is giving them linguistic input. The students are also giving and receiving linguistic input through oral interaction and from video clips. They also receive linguistic input from written language through texts and other classroom print materials. Linguistic input, therefore, comes from both oral (spoken) language as well as print (written) language. In a classroom of monolingual English speakers, the students are able to access the content through their knowledge of English without having to think consciously about every word or phrase they are exposed to. This is because they have had robust linguistic input from birth, and as a result, are highly proficient speakers of English. We call this implicit linguistic knowledge.

Of course, monolingual English-speaking students do not only acquire language implicitly, i.e., unconsciously. They are given language-related instruction in school,


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


whether it be learning content-specific vocabulary, practicing writing an academic essay, or having to read different texts like a science report, novel, or play. They learn these new aspects of language explicitly (i.e., through direct instruction on the part of the teacher that draws their attention to what they are learning).

In a classroom of Bridges students, the students are not highly proficient speakers of English. Accessing the content through English requires conscious, strenuous effort to understand words, sounds, and structures. Certainly Bridges students start to develop some implicit knowledge of English (i.e., language that they acquired unconsciously through exposure). But in the classroom, linguistic input alone in English is not enough for the Bridges student to access content; he/she requires direct instruction of words, sounds, and structures of English on the part of the teacher. Research shows that older learners of a new language do not achieve high proficiency in a new language through input alone and without direct or explicit instruction. (See Norris & Ortega (2000) for a comprehensive review of the research: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxshsMbC_oOyTkdlemlkS0hYLWM.)

In the Bridges classroom, English is not the only language of input. Anytime students converse in their home language, they are also giving and receiving linguistic input. This input can be considered implicit if the students are speaking amongst themselves. It can also be explicit, for example, if the teacher asks students for a translation on a word wall or to label text in an activity in the home language along with English. In this case, students’ focus is being directly drawn to equivalencies between the home language and English. It is important to remember that bilinguals’ languages are not separated into distinct domains of knowledge, but rather function as a holistic linguistic network. For example, when a bilingual is accessing the meaning of a word in one language, equivalent words are activated in the other language as well. For Bridges students with entering, emerging, and transitioning levels of proficiency in English, their comprehension and production of English will still be heavily influenced by their home language. Students use the home language to “bootstrap” into English, as the home language is the stronger code, with more linguistic resources available to students.25

Because Bridges students not only have to learn content, but also language and literacy, a serious challenge facing teachers of SIFE is how to be a “teacher of language” in addition to a teacher of content. On the EngageNY website, there is a very instructive document to guide teachers in integrating language and content in their classrooms and, particularly, in aligning instruction for English language learners with the CCSS. This document—A Framework for Raising Expectations and Instructional Rigor of English Language Learners, published by the Council of Great City Schools in 2014—provides a Theory of Action, called the ELD 2.0 framework, which is in direct accord with the Bilingual Common Core Initiative to guide instruction in teaching language in particular

25 Cloud, Nancy; Genesee, Fred & Hamayan, Else. (2009). Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Research Based Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


(http://www.cgcs.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/Domain/4/Framework%20for%20Raising%20Expectations.pdf).

In this Theory of Action, one of the two key components is Focused Language Study, calling for “dedicated time for focused instruction in how English works, providing ELLs with an understanding of the basic structures of language—in all four domains [speaking, listening, reading, writing].” Key elements for focused language study can be found on page 6, where it specifies what should be taught explicitly (“those elements that are already typically known to native English speakers but must be systematically developed by ELLs”) and how to do it in the classroom (e.g., grouping of students, time allotted to focused language instruction). “How English works” and “elements that are typically known to native English speakers” refer to grammatical forms that support accuracy. For example, –ed ending on regular verbs signals that an event is past, while the -ing ending signals that it is an ongoing event or will take place in the near future. Again, while students can acquire some of these forms implicitly, by exposure to English, we stress that knowledge of these forms is crucial to accuracy in language comprehension (listening and reading) and in production (reading and writing).

By accuracy, we mean the typical use of grammatical forms by proficient speakers of English. While Bridges emphasizes focusing on meaning before accuracy as an instructional philosophy, accuracy is also an important goal. Accuracy in listening and reading comprehension and reading and writing is a critical component of students’ future academic achievement. In order to advance students’ English language proficiency to the greatest extent possible, especially for older learners, acquiring English grammatical forms requires direct instruction on the part of the teacher.

Language acquisition, then, relies first and foremost on language input. However, as we have reiterated, input alone is not sufficient for Bridges students to achieve higher levels of English proficiency. Input can, however, for instructional purposes, be viewed along an implicit/explicit continuum.

Implicit Input Enhanced Implicit Input Explicit Input • No direct instruction • Little student awareness

• Some direct instruction • Some student awareness

• Direct, focused instruction • Aim is student awareness


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


An example of language that students could acquire implicitly without direct teacher instruction is learning new words or phrases in a specific context, or picking up a highly frequent grammatical form like “going to.” Some types of implicit input in the classroom are:

• Teachers talking to students • Students talking to students or to the teacher • Students listening to a story being read aloud • Teacher playing a video for the students • Students watching other students give a presentation

Examples of enhanced implicit input that students can acquire language from with some direct teacher instruction are:

• Glossaries matching words to pictures • Students annotating glossaries • Word walls with student translations • Teacher organizing students’ thoughts, words, and sentences in a concept

map • Students using language frames provided by the teacher to use for speaking

or writing • Hot Seat power method • ELA Part 2 activities at independent centers (not Guided Reading)

Examples of explicit input that students can acquire language from with direct, focused instruction are:

• Teacher doing the Language Experience Approach (LEA) with students and explicitly bringing their awareness to sounds, words, and structures

• Teacher doing interactive read aloud during Read Retell • Teacher making students aware of words and structures during

Close Reading • Teachers showing students how to use simple conjunctions

(e.g., and) and transition words (e.g., first, last) to connect or sequence ideas

• ELA Part 2 Guided Reading, Center 1 • Translation practice (e.g., translating the essential question into

the home language)

Please refer to Scope and Sequence of English Grammatical Forms, for guidance on the grammatical forms Bridges students should be explicitly taught to advance their English language proficiency. It is important for teachers to know that despite direct instruction some aspects of English are generally acquired before others and attention to correction of these later developed forms is inefficient.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Suggestions for teaching explicit/focused language study26

DOs DON’Ts

Do dedicate time in your lessons for focused instruction in how language works.

1. Don’t expect explicit teaching of language to primarily be spontaneous, as in discovering a teachable moment. Take advantage of teachable moments, but not in place of planning for instruction and student practice.

Do select what to focus on based on the content demands, what students struggle with, and their levels of English proficiency.

2. Don’t teach too many aspects of English at once (too many words, too many forms) especially ones that are not related.

Do reinforce oral input with written examples.

3. Don’t expect students to respond to corrections made only through oral language.

Do explicitly teach language in all four domains, beginning with listening and speaking. Once students have some reading and writing ability, add those to your explicit language teaching so that language lessons can incorporate three to four skills at the same time. Use home language examples and contrasts when you can.

Don’t begin teaching language under the assumption that students can read anything written (e.g., on the chalkboard, whiteboard) by way of explanations, examples, patterns, etc.

Do focus on teaching academic language explicitly, but include a variety of other (e.g., informal) registers.

Don’t focus much instructional time on social language. Students will learn that on their own outside of class. However, basic greetings and personal information, as well as formulaic questions and statements for classroom procedures (I don’t understand, Can I have a pencil please?), should be taught in the first week if school.

Do focus your explicit instruction on how English works (i.e., those elements of the language that native English speakers

Don’t provide complex explanations, but give many examples to show what you mean.

26 These suggestions are mostly taken from the document cited above: A Framework for Raising Expectations and Instructional Rigor of English Language Learners, published by the Council of Great City Schools in 2014


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


know implicitly).

Do focus on functional uses of language and provide examples for differing levels of proficiency in the classroom, differentiating appropriately. (See Component #7 for the linguistic demands required by the BCCI. These can be taught explicitly.)

Don’t focus on language that is overly formal (e.g., to whom are you speaking) or rarely used by English speakers (e.g., heretofore).

Do ensure that explicit language instruction is taught by an educator trained to do this.

Don’t assume that anyone who knows English can teach it explicitly. This requires training on the part of the instructor or classroom teacher.

Do expect that explicit instruction will lead to implicit learning, with enough practice and structured input (i.e. input that emphasizes and uses a particular language form or function over and over).

Don’t expect that explicit teaching will lead to implicit learning without lots and lots of practice over time. The goal of explicit teaching of language is always accuracy within a meaningful context; it is never the recitation of rules.

Do focus on students’ noticing elements of the language (and how it works). Your language goal should be their awareness of language, its forms, functions/uses, and—most of all—how these are connected to meaning.

Don’t expect students to notice most elements of language without directing their attention to these language forms and functions.

Do promote some linguistic output from students. They may chorally repeat, practice short language dialogues with a partner, draw a picture to reflect a vocabulary word, etc.

Don’t be the sage on the stage, lecturing while providing direct instruction. Engage students in language activities.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


6. Scope and Sequence of English Grammatical Forms:

This component is a scope and sequence for the direct instruction of grammatical forms to Bridges students. Direct instruction indicates that the teacher will explicitly focus students’ attention to the form, as well as set time aside for students to practice it during a lesson and/or throughout a unit. It also guides teachers in what to attend to in correcting students. Teachers should only correct forms that are developmentally appropriate and that have been taught and practiced through activities.

Grammar refers to the system of rules that govern the structure of a language. In linguistics, grammar refers to all the systems of language—vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, morpho-syntax, and phonology—outlined earlier in the Components of Language. In this scope and sequence, we are only referring to morpho-syntax.

The syntactic rules governing the structure of English are often represented by morphemes, or simply put, grammatical forms. The grammatical forms presented here are the foundation of simple sentences in English. For example, English syntax requires the presence of an overt subject represented by either a noun or a pronoun. He, she, it, we, they are grammatical forms that represent the subject. In addition, there are forms that represent the object of a verb: me, him, her, it, them. In another example, the –ed ending on regular verbs signals that an event is past, while the –ing ending signals that it is an ongoing event or will take place in the near future. Syntactic rules and their forms allow speakers to navigate linguistic contexts, such as past, present, future, subjects, objects, questions, statements, etc. Without grammatical forms, comprehension and production of language would be severely impeded.

This section includes a scope of grammatical forms and a sequence of presentation of those forms that is appropriate for Bridges students’ stages of English language development). For example, for students in early stages of new language development (Entering, Emerging, and Transitioning), it would not be appropriate to introduce the future simple tense, e.g., By the end of the day, he will have made a decision, because it is beyond what students can process at this stage of proficiency. Because Bridges is an integrated curriculum, forms should ideally be taught in a context related to the content and in response to student communicative needs in the classroom.

It is critical for teachers to understand that this is a general guide for teaching students how English works. Teachers should not follow this scope and sequence lock step in instruction. The grammatical forms are organized into large categories of when to introduce instructionally that indicate when the forms are most likely to be acquired (earliest, later, latest), given a student’s English proficiency level. This is not a rigid sequence of acquisition, but rather an order that is generally true. In this way, the document is more like a menu to guide teacher selection of forms for instructional focus,


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


practice, assessment, and correction. As students begin to build this foundation of English grammar, they will be able to express themselves using more complex language.

We encourage teachers to use this document to choose forms for direct instruction that:

• Match the communicative functions embedded in the curriculum, such as describing, sequence, comparing and contrasting, etc;

• Students are struggling to understand and produce; • Students can understand and use (given proficiency level) but might not

because they have not been exposed to these forms.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


INTRODUCE EARLIEST

SCOPE Example

simple affirmative sentences in present tense with be (simple and progressive)

I am (I’m) from Mexico.

Tsion is from Ethiopia.

We are (We’re) learning English.

negative sentences with be Tsion is not (isn’t) Muslim.

simple affirmative sentences with lexical verbs and subject + verb agreement (Note: third person -s is acquired later)

I speak Spanish. She speaks Amharic.

commands/imperatives Please repeat that. Please listen.

nouns - common/proper identity, Tsion

plural nouns, regular and irregular

country- countries person - people

action verbs change, grow

adjectives and adverbs I have brown hair. Tsion’s father works hard.

yes/no questions with be Is Tsion a girl?

Short answer to yes/no questions with be

Yes, she is.

subject pronouns and pronoun reference

Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they This grain is called tef. It is very healthy for our bodies. Muluaim, Tsedale, Rihana, and Meron are my best friends. We play singing and clapping games and volleyball together.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


compound sentences Jose is tall and Samir is tall.

infinitives Tsion wants to learn English.

INTRODUCE LATER

gerunds Nasreen enjoys going to school.

Count vs. noncount nouns Nasreen has one friend. Nasreen has knowledge.

pronouns and pronoun reference

Object: me, you, him, her, us, them Possessive: my/mine, your/yours, her/hers, his, our/ours, their/theirs Indefinite: Singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something. Plural: both, few, many, others, several Demonstrative: this - these, that-those, here-there My granddaughter Nasreen lives with me in Herat.

Connecting sentences with transition words

Water is scarce, so people save water.

compound subject; compound predicate

The art and music and learning are gone. Then the soldiers came and changed everything.

negative sentences with lexical verbs and do support

The Taliban soldiers don’t want girls to learn about the world. Nasreen doesn’t speak. I did not like (didn’t like) Nasreen’s Secret School because...

comparatives and superlatives

Fatou is taller than Maria. Fatou is the tallest student in the class.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


questions27 - inversion Yes/No with main verb be Is corn a vegetable? Is Fatou tall? Subject Wh- Questions What is a soldier? Who is from Herat? Where is Nasreen from? Wh-Questions with be requiring adverbial clause (when) or complex sentence answer (why) Why is Nasreen sad? Nasreen is sad because… Yes/No with lexical verbs Does Nasreen speak again?

possessive ’s Nasreen’s grandmother is sad.

past tense (irregular, then regular)

Irregular: Nasreen went to school. came, took, saw, broke, etc. Regular: Nareen smiled.

exclamations The day Nasreen returned to school, Mina whispered in her ear. And Nasreen answered back!

INTRODUCE LATEST

it as the subject (non-referential it)

It is (it’s) cold in the desert.

there is/there are + prepositions of location28

There is (There’s) sand in the desert.

questions - inversion Non referential it Is it cold in the desert? Demonstrative there is/there are Is there water in the desert?

Are there rivers in the desert?

27 The meanings of wh- question words are taught early on as students need to show receptive understanding (not production) of wh- content questions early in the year. 28 Students often understand and can use these forms earlier, especially in the Social Studies curriculum, and through pattern texts (See ELA Part 2 Guide) that use There is/ There are.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


questions - inversion Object Wh- Questions What does Isatou learn? Who does she meet?

Wh-Questions with lexical verbs and do support require shortened answers that may use a prepositional phrase (for questions with where, as in a), an adverbial clause (for questions with when or why as in b) and c) or a compound or complex sentence (for questions with how, as in d) a) Where does Emmanuel go? To school b) When does Emmanuel see his mother? When she’s at home c) Why does Emmanuel leave his home? Because he wants … d) How does Emmanuel spread his message? First, he … and then he …

negative sentences (+ future and past tense)

Malala will not (won’t) stop speaking out. Malala did not (didn’t) stop speaking out.

pronouns and pronoun reference

Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves Relative: that, which, who

subject-verb agreement with there is/there are

There is snow/ice/water/wind in the mountains. There are plants/animals/people in the desert.

modals (can, could, would, might, must)

Tiny fingers can29 make intricate patterns.

passive voice The shot fired at Malala was heard the world over.

29 Students often understand and can use the modal can in early stages of development given the functional need in the classroom (ex. Can I have a pencil? Can I go to the bathroom?)


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Suggestions for Teaching Grammatical Forms

DOs DON’Ts

Do notice what students are struggling with in their communicative attempts. Attend to these forms in instruction (if developmentally appropriate), even if not part of the curriculum.

Don’t teach forms before students seem ready for them or have no need for them in natural communicative interactions through the class content.

1.

Do plan in advance to focus on and teach a particular grammatical form that you have noticed your students having difficulty with or appear to be ready to learn; that short grammatical activity or mini-lesson will be presented as part of your larger lesson, reflecting proactive teaching of grammatical forms. (Another possibility is reactive teaching of grammatical forms, where you make use of a teachable moment that has not been planned [e.g., several students making the same noticeable grammatical error and you decide to teach the form as a mini-grammar-lesson on the spot]. This should take a few minutes and be reviewed later, when you can plan a more substantive mini-lesson.)

Don’t allow these grammar mini-lessons to become the central focus of any of your classroom lessons. Grammar teaching should not over power your teaching of content and literacy.

Do introduce a form within a meaningful context. Then extract the form from that context and focus on the form itself and its patterns, using many examples. Then, place the form back into a meaningful context. We teach grammatical forms in three steps: 1) by going from the whole (the context) → 2) the parts (the form) → 3) back to whole.

2. Don’t teach a grammatical form outside of a meaningful context.

Do have students try to discover the rule for a grammatical form by giving them several examples in a pattern. This is called inductive learning, and it is more fun and usually makes learning easier and more successful. This can be challenging to elicit from LL SIFE, but

Don’t provide the rules for a grammatical form without having first had students try to discover the rules for themselves. Don’t focus on students memorizing the rules, but rather showing students how English works in a functional way. Say, for example: “When it’s


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


building student skills in pattern recognition over the year can support this. Use prompts like “What do you see that repeats?” and highlight and use color to scaffold student noticing.

hard to count things, like flour and coffee, we add words to show how much—a cup of flour, a gallon of coffee.” Avoid metalinguistic, intrinsic explanations and naming (e.g., “This is a non-count noun; this is a count noun”).

Do introduce a grammatical form for a short designated period of time in the classroom in targeted mini lessons; then, go on to something else. Have students hear the form again and again in different meaningful contexts until they are ready to produce and practice it.

Don’t expect students to learn a grammatical form the first time they hear it or encounter its rules. A grammatical form needs to be recycled many times before students learn it and can use it.

Do focus on fluency before accuracy and meaning before form:

Don’t correct errors while student is involved in meaningful communication; never interrupt a student to make a correction. Allow student the chance to communicate ideas; accuracy comes later.

Do encourage students to use their home languages to understand and learn grammatical forms in English, even when their HLs contrast with the forms of their new language. Use these to help student make better sense of how English works.

Don’t insist that your students use only English, even in a direct lesson on grammatical forms. Remember that their HL is a scaffold to learning their new language.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


7. Lesson Goals: Daily Question and Learning Targets

This last section brings together the language and content goals in a Bridges lesson for LL SIFE, with language integrated in the curriculum content. This is a brief guide for Bridges curriculum writers, teachers, and administrators around content and language integration in daily lesson planning. In the 2015-2016 curriculum components, these daily targets appear in the unit guide as well as sample lesson plans.

The Bridges lesson plan is designed around the daily question, content target30, and language target. These three components must be aligned, as they drive the lesson activities and assessment. The question and targets reflect the main goals, rather than everything that is happening in the lesson.

• 30 See Bloom’s Taxonomy for a list of verbs that reflect a range of thinking:

http://www.apu.edu/live_data/files/333/blooms_taxonomy_action_verbs.pdf


DRAFT, JUNE 2016



DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Alignment Across Lesson Goals

Tight alignment across the question and targets guides the design of the lesson activities. Lesson activities that integrate content and language move students toward these goals.

Daily Question What is similar and different about how people access water around the world?

Content Targets I can identify similarities and differences in how people get water.

Language Targets I can compare and contrast ways people get water using sentences with both, and, but.

Language Scaffolds What supports do students need to meet the language targets?

A language through content design requires students to understand and use English while learning and in service of the content. Because most Bridges students arrive in secondary classrooms at Entering and Emerging levels of English proficiency in the beginning of the year, scaffolds are needed to support their language development.

While there are many ways to scaffold language, three types of highlighted below. These are mostly to support to productive skills (speaking and writing), which generally develop after receptive skills (listening and reading). Please see Protocol 3, Understanding Receptive and Productive Language Skills, for examples of scaffolds and activities to support receptive language skills.31

Any of these scaffolds might support the language target:

• Sentence Starter A sentence starter is a less controlled and most open-ended scaffold. A phrase (also called a stem) is provided to students to “start” a spoken/written sentence about the content. The starter often includes academic language (predict, disagree, solve, etc) and models the academic thinking needed for the content target.

31 Also see the following documents on www.EngageNY.org under BCCI (Bilingual Common Core Initiative). -NYS Bilingual Common Core Initiative: Theoretical Foundations -NYS Bilingual Common Core Initiative: Teacher’s Guide to Implement the Bilingual Common Core Progressions


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


The goal of the sentence starter is to support student expression of meaningful ideas using academic language, without requiring accurate syntax to complete the sentence. Students can complete sentence in home language or inaccurate English.

Examples

• I predict that …

• I disagree with you because …

• I solved this equation by …

• Sentence Frames

A sentence frame is much more controlled than a sentence starter. It contains most of the sentence (and its accurate syntax) with blanks provided for students to insert words and phrases. The goal is to produce sentences that express accurate content understanding and English language. Sentence frames are often coupled with the language target throughout Bridges curriculum documents.

Generally with frames, students need only fill in the vocabulary that expresses content understanding. This vocabulary will be the target English vocabulary of the content. The syntax is provided in the frame, and ensures that students produce a grammatically accurate sentence, which they cannot produce on their own when at lower levels of English proficiency. Frames are offered as a scaffold initially, but must be removed (using gradual release) to allow students to generate new sentences more flexibly as they learn alternate forms to express the same function.

Examples

• ________ gets water from ________, but ________ gets water from _________.

• The character _________ decided to ________ because he/she felt _________.

• Word Bank

The most controlled scaffold is a sentence frame that is accompanied by a word bank. This is a list of words and/or phrases needed to complete sentence starters and frames. Word banks ensure that students use a word that results in a syntactically accurate sentence, because all words in the word bank are the correct part of speech needed to fill in the blank to complete the sentence. The demand on the student is not on English accuracy, but instead on generating a


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


meaningful sentence in terms of content. In other words, the student must make a sentence that shows clear understanding of content.

• _________ gets water from ________, but ________ get water from __________.

○ ocean ○ street ○ well

Language Frames: Supports & Limitations

While language frames can help to stretch student productive language about the content, they should be used strategically depending on the lesson goal. Frames can be both supportive and limiting in the classroom.

Language frames support students in various ways:

• They provide structure that allows students to speak/write in full sentences. • They can be differentiated for students at different levels of English proficiency.

(Students with higher proficiency can use more sentence starters and fewer frames. Students at lower levels can use mostly sentence frames with word banks.)

• They provide a model for using transition words and for various text structures.

Language frames also have limitations:

• They can limit the range of what students write and say. • They can limit creativity and original composition of ideas. • They can result in generic writing, with little variety among students. • They can become boring and monotonous. • They are not an accurate representation of the language forms students can use

on their own, outside the structure of frames. Principles for Integrating Content, Language & Literacy

Lesson activities that integrate content & language must do the following:

• Move students to answer lesson question with content. • Require students to use language of the targets. • Balance meaning with accuracy. • Balance receptive (L/R) and productive (S/W). • Allow for home language use except when English accuracy is the focus. • Embed formative assessment to monitor student progress toward lesson goals.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Vocabulary


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Overview

The following section represents the latest Bridges design for vocabulary teaching and learning. This vocabulary framework has been designed and revised for LL SIFE in Bridges classes, but is highly applicable to SIFE in any classroom context. As with all other parts of this manual, the vocabulary framework and instructional design will undergo revisions in 2016-2017 as we observe teachers and students using the vocabulary systems in lab site classrooms. While key vocabulary is called out in curriculum documents for each unit and many glossaries are provided for students, this brief vocabulary guide is designed to support teachers to make strategic choices about words with which to spend instructional time.32

Three Categories of Words33

After a few years of implementing Bridges and working with vocabulary systems, we have made decisions around how to best categorize the various kinds of words LL SIFE need for instruction.

The following section describes each category of vocabulary, explains a method for introducing the words, and lists suggested practice activities to give students multiple opportunities to interact with vocabulary as it connects to content. All protocols are simply guidelines. Teach responsively and adapt to your students as needed.

32 Vocabulary words in earlier units in the curriculum (developed 2013-2015, so ELA U1-2) do not follow the organizational framework presented in this document. However, teachers can use this document to guide instruction using this framework. The vocabulary organization in earlier units will be updated in this year’s curriculum revisions and completed by July 2017. 33 We have chosen not to use the Tier 1-2-3 distinction because not all words in a given tier have the same implications for instruction.

Central Concepts Abstract Words

Concrete Words


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Instructional Protocols for Vocabulary

Central Concepts Central concepts are positioned at the top of the triangle, as they are the most important and the fewest. There are only a handful of core academic concepts for a given content class for the year, ones that will give great traction in secondary classes beyond Bridges. Central concepts reflect the thematic threads, essential questions and essential understandings for the year. Students are introduced to these across the units, moving from surface to deeper understanding of concepts as the year progresses. All other vocabulary comes from and supports these concepts. The central concepts become the cognitive hooks upon which students will organize and hang new information they learn over the year. These live in the room, each on a chart paper, and will be touched on with each unit. 34

34 Adapt this as needed in response to space constraints in your classroom.

Central Concepts

Abstract Words

Concrete Words


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Introducing Central Concepts Because central concepts are developed over time, there is not a set protocol. Build the central concept slides with the class, across several class periods using visuals and experiences (simulations, role play, etc). Introducing a central concept can follow the same steps as the abstract words (see the following section). However there is an organizer dedicated to these words, given the depth of instruction required for these concepts. The organizer includes spaces for co construction of meaning (examples, English explanation, word connections, class sentence) as well as spaces for individual processing and internalizing (home language explanation, original drawing and caption). The organizers for each word will be added to over the year, as each unit deepens student understanding of the concept.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Abstract Words

Abstract words directly connect to the central concepts and essential questions. They include both tier 3 discipline specific words (character, pollution, tropical) as well as tier 2 general academic words (develop, resource, participate). The distinction between tier 2 and 3 is not important instructionally. It is important to understand that these words require direct instruction and practice for the following reasons: They most often represent new academic concepts for students. In the case of cognates (adapt> adaptarse) students can often translate these words into home language, but likely will not have a deep understanding of the concept the word represents. Unlike the concrete words, you will need to build the conceptual understanding that the word represents. These words are abstract, therefore not easily illustrated through visuals. They are most often not in the glossary for this reason. You will need to use other methods to build the conceptual understanding with students.

Like concrete words, the abstract words are often (not always) in the text. Like the concrete words, these should most often be introduced before reading the text and interacted with through frequent activities across the week. These words comprise the bulk of your word wall and should be on word cards to use often in the classroom. As often as possible, spiral these words across the year in connection with the unit content when appropriate.

Central Concepts

Abstract Words

Concrete Words


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Introducing Abstract Words

1. Experience: Design an experiential way to show this concept, before you introduce the word. This might be role-play, simulation, video clip, gallery walk, or image sort activity. Engage students in this experience, with the goal of them interpreting he input.

2. Think-Pair-Share: Home language partners think about the experience, describe to each other, then share out with the class. This should include home language explanation and/ or providing the word for this concept in home language. This step supports the conceptual understanding, as students collaborate to interpret the experience.

3. Introduce English word: Introduce the abstract word and invite students to chorally repeat. Use the word in a sentence or two. Develop a student friendly explanation with the class.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Concrete Words Concrete words are at the bottom of the triangle as they are the least cognitively challenging and the most numerous in a given unit. For each set in the curriculum, students are introduced to a number of concrete words that they need to understand and communicate about the content. Unlike central concepts and abstract words, these words represent concepts that students most likely already have and have a word for in their home language. Most concrete words are tier 1 words, but can also include concrete tier 2 words that have a tier 1 synonym (ex. scarce > a little, abundant> a lot)35 Students simply need to learn the English labels for concrete words, which require little instruction and explanation of meaning. These words, however, are very important because students need them to comprehend the text and/ or engage in the content tasks. Concrete words should be introduced before reading or other content task. Although instruction is minimal, students do need several opportunities to interact with the words over the week, to recognize them through listening and reading and use them to express ideas in speaking and writing. They need to be able to use these words as they connect to more abstract words, the central concepts and essential questions.

35 These are not true synonyms because part of speech does not match, the goal of the glossary is to build meaning of words. The use of scarce and abundant would be modeled through use.

Central Concepts

Abstract Words

Concrete Words


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Introducing Concrete Words

1. Identify known and new words: Handout a stack of glossary flashcards to each table, with picture side up. One student in the group is the teacher and flashes each picture to the group to elicit the word in home languages and/ or English. The student teacher then flips the card over to show the word. Students read the new word to either confirm what they said, or to introduce a new word they did not know in English.36

2. Hand out and project glossary37: Give a copy of the glossary to each student to follow as you project. Project each slide (with most words in semantic categories) and say each word out loud, pointing to both the picture and word. Students repeat each word chorally. Use each word in a sentence then ask questions to invite students to generate new sentences. This is an opportunity to work with the words with close to home (familiar) topics. They are not yet expected to apply these words to the content.

3. Translate orally: Students work in home language pairs to translate words into home language, and to clarify confusion if needed. Because most the of words are clearly illustrated by the image, there is no need at this stage to write the translations. Students will have the opportunity later during read-retell-respond to annotate these translations on the text.

4. Share a few words38: Ask students to share a few words from home language, and if there were any words that they do not have a word for in their language. Words similar in your language.

*Name the semantic category (optional at this time): Students are not expected to be able to say in English the names of the category of words at this point (ex. sources of water). But in some cases, it will make sense to push student thinking by eliciting the semantic category from students at this time. Ask students to identify what is the same about a set of words on a page, what they notice, and why these words are grouped together. Elicit the name of the semantic category in home language and provide the category word/ phrase in English. Other times, it might make sense to hold off on this step until later after students have engaged more with content.

Note: Glossaries for units 1-2 have not yet been organized by semantic category. Sort activities, however, are included to support students to connect examples to categories, based on shared characteristics.

36 Although our instructional principle states moving from oral language to print, this step is included to give students a chance to read new words in a low stakes group setting. In the following step, the teacher models correct pronunciation of the word and students chorally repeat. 38 It is important to hear only a few words shared quickly in home language. The goal is to move the glossary words introduction quickly, and not to be labor with translating every word into every language. Save the vocabulary instructional time for the abstract words, which are conceptually less familiar.


DRAFT, JUNE 2016


Menu of Vocabulary Practice Activities While instruction in the three categories of words differs slightly, the goal of the following practice activities is to integrate and connect words across the categories. The concrete and abstract words are in service of discussing the “big ideas” in the central concepts and essential questions. Students need several opportunities each week to interact with and use words and sentences meaningfully to relate content ideas. • Log Abstract Words: Students log abstract words to create a resource for these

words that do not have an image. In the log, students copy the word, translate/ explain in home language, explain in English (if possible), and create a visual representation.

• Show Me: Groups/ partners spread pictures (flashcards) on table. Teacher (T) says a sentence that describes one of the pictures in a sentence (Ex. The girls are collecting water) then says, “Show me” for partners to hold up. T confirms by showing/ projecting the picture.

• Partner Quiz: Partner A shows card and asks “What’s this?” Partner B answers, “This is ____.” Partner B turns card over to confirm word.

• Word Connection: Flashcard side with words up spread on table. Partners take turns making word connections, “I connect _____ to _____ because …” This is a powerful activity that allows students to articulate relationships between words both in terms content as well as how English works (antonyms, synonyms, etc).

• Closed Concept Sort: T provides category cards and partners sort words (flashcards) in the provided categories.

• Open Concept Sort: T provides only words (flash cards) and blank cards for categories. Partners/ groups sort words based on shared characteristics and then write category name on blank card. SS justify groups using, “All of these words are in a group because they all…” This is more cognitively demanding than the closed sort.

• Bingo: T creates bingo cards with 25 vocab words. OR students create bingo cards with 9 words that T writes on board. T then explains/ gives def of words and students must find the word or their card.

• Saying & Writing Sentences: Partners say and write sentences for the pictures. This can also be extended into paragraph writing for words in semantic categories.

• Cloze: T generates cloze activity to practice vocab.

Documents

Bridges to Academic Successbridges-sifeproject.com/.../Curriculum_Methods_Manual_2.pdfPD, Curriculum, Research, Operations Elaine Klein, Principal Investigator & Co-Founder Rebecca