Leslie Grant, Angela Bell, Barbara Frye, and Annette Shtivelband

University of Colorado Colorado Springs, USA

IATEFL, YLTSIG,

CyTEA Conference

May, 2014

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD)

English Learners (ELs)

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

English Language Learners (ELLs)

English as a Second Language (ESL)

L1: First language

L2: Second or additional language

Title III : Federal program to support ELLs

CDE, 2010

Partner District 1 Partner District 2

#ELLs K-3 917 1235

Free/Red. Lunch 70%

Languages 95% Spanish 90% Spanish; 47

different languages

Preschool Yes Yes

Achievement

gaps

Yes Yes

1) Increase teachers’ knowledge and skill sets with regard to

standards-based literacy instruction of ELLs in grades PreK –

Grade 3

2) Improve academic achievement of young ELLs (PreK –

Grade 3) in the area of literacy.

1) Increase teachers’ knowledge and skill sets with regard to

standards-based literacy instruction of ELLs in grades Pre-

K –Grade 3

2) Improve academic achievement of young ELLs (PreK –

Grade 3) in the area of literacy.

Awarded $289,000

February 2013-December 2013

Provided a sustained program of

o workshops,

o discussions,

o online resources,

o an intensive summer institute,

o and structured observation sessions.

The first language and culture of our students is a resource

for learning to read and write in English--not a problem or a

barrier (August et al. 2006)

Oral language is closely associated with learning to read

and write…need strong oral language focus for our ELLs

(Shanahan & Lonigan, 2012).

Children come to school rich and varied experiences with

language and literacy from home environment. This cultural

capital—or funds of knowledge (Moll, et al., 1992 as cited in

García & Kleifgen, 2010)—is not always recognized and

valued by their teachers, particularly if the language and

culture differ from that of the school.

Misconception that if a beginning language learner, you

have to master all the letters and sounds in order to move

on…in fact, students will benefit from letters and sounds in

meaningful contexts when they are learning English

(Herrera, Perez, & Escamilla, 2010).

Finally….we know:

“CLD students are generally more successful at acquiring

English vocab and content knowledge when learning is

focused on identifying word meanings in context, rather

than on isolated word parts that have no contextual ties

(Herrera, et al., 2010, p. 37).

o Advocate for authentic texts; these connected texts have rich stories

and illustrations

o Even better to use culturally relevant texts—help avoid a cultural

disconnect

o These texts enable children to connect, use their schema, and

results in better comprehension

To measure Goal 1 on teacher efficacy, we

o Collected pre-post surveys on teachers perceptions and attitudes

o Collected observation data on teacher practices

o Collected samples of participant work, ie lesson plans and parent

activities

To measure Goal 2 to increase student achievement, we

o Collected student summative assessment data

o Collected student formative assessment data

Guided and supported 50 PreK- 3rd grade teachers to

build knowledge base regarding ELs’ language and literacy

development, & implement, assess, and reflect on the

instructional changes.

Construct of Interest

General classroom preparation

ELL classroom preparation

ELL knowledge

ELL literacy

ELL instruction

Topic knowledge

Topic helpfulness

Language attitudes of teachers

General self-ratings

ELL self-ratings

Lesson targets and academic language: content/language

objectives, academic language, vocabulary

Connections with students: first language, culture, build

background

Instructional strategies: variety, student engagement, oral

language development, critical thinking, pacing, delivery

Checking/assessing: frequent checks for understanding,

varied options, tied to objectives

Contextualized literacy instruction

Connecting first and second

language

Moving from “their kids” to “our kids”

Connecting content with language

standards

Involving parents in language and

literacy instruction

Interpreting data to use for

instruction

Thanks to our teachers and Dr. Laura Tuthill for several pre-literacy activities.

Lesson example—whole to part/oral language to written

language

o Read text

o Have learners identify animals, teacher, and students (sticks with

pictures from story)

o Use song

• Brown Bear song

o Isolate phrases

o Work on rhymes and sounds (see, me (rhyming words); duck, dog

(words with same initial sound)

1. Alphabet Treasure Hunt: bury letters in

sand. Use shovel and pail to find treasure!

2. Car Letters: Create large alphabet letters

and make into a road. Drive the cars along the letter.

3. Guess the Next Word (Colorín Colorado,

2009): Use rhyming books or games to develop ability to recognize rhyming words to help children with getting ready to read. Especially helpful for vowel sounds. Read favorite stories, and stop just before the rhyming word. Have the child guess the next word.

1. Outdoor Alphabet Match-up: Put alphabet

letters along a table or bench. Allow room for objects to be placed next to the letters. Have kids look for items/toys/things that begin with the letters. Match them. See how many letters of the alphabet can be matched.

2. Writing Center Sight Words: On a cookie sheet, write sight word (my, I, etc.). Have the child find magnetic letters that match the words.

3. Playdough and Letters. Roll out playdough

and have some fun writing words by sticking letters in the playdough. Remove letters and see the same shapes in the playdough. Add to the word or roll out for a new word.

Teachers also created lesson extensions that parents could

participate in

-ex. Teacher created a unit that focused on characters,

setting, plot, etc.

Teacher shared the following Parent Activity with children’s

parents to reinforce what the children were learning at

school.

Parent Involvement

Comprehension Example for Parents

Easy activity to help your child with comprehension, which is understanding a text

read. Here is what you do:

Step 2: After reading the book, discuss the characters.

Step 1: Pick and introduce a book.

Discuss the front cover, title, author

and illustrator, and make predictions

about the story (good guesses about

the main idea).

Etc. The example had 8 steps total. Only 2 of the 8 are shown here.

We translated the activities into the most common second language in our

context: Spanish

Ejemplo de Comprensión

Actividad fácil para ayudar a su niño con la comprensión, que consiste en el comprender del

texto leído. Aquí verá cómo hacerlo:

Paso 2: Después de leer el libro, analice

los personajes. Haga que su niño

describa…¿cómo eran los personajes

de la historia?

Paso 1: Decida cuál libro le gustaría

leer. Luego, junto a su niño, examine

la portada, el título, el autor y el

ilustrador. Hagan predicciones sobre

el cuento (que coincidan con el tema

principal).

Etc. The example had 8 steps total. Only 2 of the 8 are shown here.

Data was analyzed by Annette Shtivelband, from an outside

evaluation firm, JVA consulting.

Quantitative analyses

Qualitative analyses

Construct of Interest Pretest

Mean

SD Posttest

Mean

SD Significance

(p-value)

General classroom

preparation

3.80 .67 3.93 .65 .134

ELL classroom preparation 3.20 .68 3.70 .65 .000

ELL knowledge 3.00 .69 3.60 .55 .000

ELL literacy 3.49 .69 3.96 .65 .000

ELL instruction 2.83 .85 3.84 .50 .000

Topic knowledge 2.88 .623 3.96 .41 .000

Topic helpfulness N/A N/A 3.90 .73 N/A

Language attitudes of

teachers

1.99 .37 1.95 .56 .522

General self-ratings 4.84 .92 5.41 .74 .000

ELL self-ratings 4.22 1.09 5.20 .90 .000

16 Questions on Observation Tool

We used the tool for pre- and post-observations

When we analyzed for improvement, we saw positive for 30

or more teachers across a number of categories. We were

especially pleased with growth in:

o Building background;

o Oral language development;

o Variety of materials used to make lesson clear and meaningful at all

proficiency levels; and

o Checking for understanding

When provided sustained professional development,

teachers’ efficacy for working with ELs significantly

improved.

Teachers moved from a deficit lens to a strengths-based

lens--focusing on what students CAN do as opposed to what

they CANNOT do.

We found that when teachers focus on context enhanced

literacy instruction it makes their instruction more

meaningful.

We found that teachers began to view parents as partners.

Teachers became more comfortable using data to make

instructional decisions.

August, D., Snow, C., Carlo, M., Proctor, C., Rolla de San Francisco, A., Duursma, E., & Szuber, A. (2006). Literacy development in elementary school second-language learners. Topical Language Disorders, 26(4), 351-364.

García, O., & Kleifgen, J. (2010). Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and practices for English Language Learners. NY: Teachers College.

Herrera, S., Perez, D., & Escamilla, K. (2010). Teaching reading to English Language Learners: Differentiated literacies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Shanahan, T., & Lonigan, C. (2012). The role of early oral language in literacy development. Language, 12(2), 24-27

www.colorincolorado.com

Angela Bell

o abell6@uccs.edu

Leslie Grant

o LGrant@uccs.edu

Barbara Frye

o bfrye@uccs.edu

Funds for this project were provided by a grant from the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act 2001, Improving

Teacher Quality, Title II Program administered by the

Colorado Department of Higher Education.