English Learners Academic Literacy and Thinking for Princ meeting

8/7/2019 English Learners Academic Literacy and Thinking for Princ meeting

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English Learners, AcademicLiteracy, and Thinking

Chapter 3:

Literacy in the Curriculum:Challenges for EL Learners


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Objectives for Chapter 3

Content Objective: Understand thekey challenges for ELs in an academiccurriculum.

Language Objective: Identify howacademic language structuresin an

abstract contextmake content arealiteracy difficult.


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Principle 1: Develop Academic Languageon the Basis of What Students Already

Know (Gibbons, p. 59)

Wallpapering: On post-its, write whatyou know about the title of this chapter.

Be as specific or as broad as you like.You can cite information from the

chapter or other resources.


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Principle 2: Move Toward ComplexTexts, Dont Begin with Them (Gibbons,p. 60)

Lets practice three of the difficultfeatures of academic language:

Nominalization Nominal groupsAbstract context


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Nominalization---verb into anoun

VERBS(name what is happening)

NOUN

(name things or concepts)

attract attraction

erode

expand

contract

replicate

refuse


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Nominal Groups---noun phrases

What (Apples) Which (red and green) Where (sitting on a chair) Whose (Johnnies) Need verb (predicate)

Johnnies red and green apples, sitting on achair were a gift for Valentines Day.


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Nominal Groups (academic)

colonization

The 15th

century colonization The 15th century colonization of SouthAmerica

The 15th century European colonization ofSouth America

The 15th century European colonization ofSouth America to find precious resources

killed many indigenous people.


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Abstract Context

Where might we use thislanguage?

Where might we use thislanguage?

A lot of artist at that timepainted pictures of city life.

The melting of the ice caps isa result of global warming.

Magnets attact metals thatcontain iron.

Famine caused massstarvation.

There was no food and manypeople starved and died. Urban artists were popularamong artists of the era.

The ice caps are starting tomelt because the earth isgetting hotter.

Magnetic attraction occursbetween magnets and ferrousmetals.


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Principle 3: Model the Use of AcademicLanguage in Your Interactions with

Students (Gibbons, p. 61)

There are five key points to building literacyin the curriculum summarized on page 56.

Numbered heads 1-5. Each person takes the key point that matches

their number and chooses one key sentencefrom the chapter that elaborates on that idea.

Follow The Last Word protocol (p. 68) todiscuss the chapter.


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Objectives for Chapter 3

Content Objective: Understand thekey challenges for ELs in an academiccurriculum

Language Objective: Identify howacademic language structuresin an

abstract contextmake content arealiteracy difficult.


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Principle 4: Talk About the Language:Develop a Metalanguage with Students

(Gibbons, p. 62)

Use the thinking sheet to help us lookatand talk aboutthe language, so we canexplicitly support our students in usinglanguage appropriately.


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MetalanguageThinking

Sheet McConachie et al. (2006) makes the point very

clearly that to build students literacy in a specific

discipline, teachers must focus on both content andprocess. They argue that : to develop complexknowledge in any discipline, students needopportunities to read, reason, investigate, speak,and write about the overarching concepts withinthat discipline. Because of time constraints andcoverage concerns, many teachers understandablychoose to teach either content or process insteadof marrying the two. But to builld students literacyin a specific discipline, instruction must do both atonce.


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Summary---page 55

show that academic literacy is very much morethan simply decoding and comprehension.

....academic contexts is not simply a question oflearning new vocabulary.

means knowing how to manipulate the forms andstructures of everyday spoken language in new

ways to express more concisely and precisely thecomplex ideas and concepts that are embedded inthe content of a subject.


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English Learners, AcademicLiteracy, and Thinking

Chapter 4:

Engaging with Academic

Literacy


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Objectives for Chapter 4 To connect the activity/strategy to the challenges

and steps as outlined by Gibbons.

To reflect on the level of implementation ofactivity/strategy that are used in the classrooms atthe school site to create access for the EnglishLearner.

To address level of implementation discrepanciesby outlining next steps which can be connected toa schools problem of practice as it relates to yoursingle plan or WASC report.


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Instructional Design for EL

Students (Gibbons, p. 59):

is best when there is a mix of directinstruction and student centered work.

class organization should include a mix ofwhole-class work, group work, pair work,

and individual work.


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Principle 1: Develop Academic Language on the Basis ofWhat Students Already Know (Gibbons, p. 59) Wallpapering activity from earlier

Principle 2: Move Toward Complex Texts, Dont Beginwith Them (Gibbons, p. 60) Nominalization, Nominal Groups, and Context activities

Principle 3: Model the Use of Academic Language inYour Interactions with Students (Gibbons, p. 61) Final Word protocol

Principle 4: Talk About Language: Develop aMetalanguage with Students (Gibbons, p. 62) Thinking Sheet on metalanguage

Principles are:


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Major Points/Challenges for

EL Students (Gibbons, p. 56)1. Literacy is not something that is learned once---we continue to

develop our literacy skills throughout life.2. Learning subject specific literacy needs to be seen as part of

learning subject content, and needs to be explicitly taught anddiscussed.3. Language varies according to the context in which it is used. There

are significant differences between spoken and written language.4. The difficulty of academic language is related not simply to

unfamiliar vocabulary but to the way that the language isstructured.

5. In teaching academic literacyit is helpful to move from studentsconcrete or prior experiences and familiar everyday languagetoward specialized and abstract subject specific language.


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Principle 1: Develop Academic Language on the Basis ofWhat Students Already Know (Gibbons, p. 59)

Principle 2: Move Toward Complex Texts, Dont Beginwith Them (Gibbons, p. 60)

Principle 3: Model the Use of Academic Language inYour Interactions with Students (Gibbons, p. 61)

Principle 4: Talk About Language: Develop aMetalanguage with Students (Gibbons, p. 62)

Principles are:


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Gallery Walk Analysis: Work in pairs or triads. In the envelope there are four types of activities /strategies As a team, you are to decide which of the principles the activity/

strategy best addresses. On the activity/strategy strip, write down your teams rationale for

addressing that particular challenge. Glue the strip to the challengeposter.

Continue this process, until all activity/strategy strips that you haveare placed.

Take a gallery walk of the other posters. Reflect on whether or notyou see strategic use of activities in your ESL classes to createaccess.


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Semantic Web Example Activity: Semantic Web/Concept Map Purpose: This activity/strategy is used for

collecting and organizing information about whatstudents know about the topic or key word. Lateron in the unit, students can be asked to linkinformation and ideas that connect with the topic

and what they are learning now. The graphicorganizer should be displayed during the unit as away to show shared knowledge on which futurework can be based.


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Semantic Web Example

Continued Principle 1: Develop academic language

on the basis of what the students already

know. Purpose: This activity/strategy is used for

collecting and organizing information aboutwhat students know about the topic or keyword.

Can this activity address another principle?


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Semantic Web/Concept

Map Principle 3: Model the Use of Academic

Language in Your Interactions with Students

(Gibbons, p. 61) Purpose: Later on in the unit, when

students can be asked to link information andideas that connect with the topic and whatthey are learning now, teachers connect theacademic language to their prior knowledgethey have developed on the semantic web/concept map.


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Sample for Principle 3SemanticWeb/Concept

Map

Purpose: Later on in the unit, whenstudents can be asked to link

information and ideas that connectwith the topic and what they arelearning now, teachers connect theacademic language to their prior

knowledge they have developed onthe semantic web/concept map.


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Gallery Walk Analysis Talk at your table about what you have noticed.

Brainstorm at your tables other strategies andactivities that you have seen at your school thataddress the various principles.

Which principle appears to be addressed the most?

Whole Group Debrief


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Reflection/

Application---1st block Which of these activities/strategies do you

observe in your EL classrooms?

When the activity/strategy is being used atyour site, which of Gibbons Four Principles tolesson planning does the activity/strategyaddress?

Do you see these activities/strategies in thecore classes (math, science and socialstudies) or are they just used in the ESLclassrooms?


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Next Steps---2nd block

If the activities are evident, to whatdegree is the implementation?

Principle 1 Principle 1 and 2 Principle 1 and 3 Principle 1, 2, 3 Principle 1, 2, 3, and 4


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If there is only partial

implementation:

What are some strategies to move tothe next level of implementation at yourschool?


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If there is no evidence of anyactivities in their academic classes to

support the EL student:

What are some initial implementationsteps of Gibbons lesson steps for your ELstudents?


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Connect todays work

Possibilities:

Problem of PracticeSingle Plan

WASC report

Other?

Documents

English Learners Academic Literacy and Thinking for Princ meeting