Jessica Dover

Jessica Dover

Question 1

March 22, 2011

Introduction

Context

This is currently my fifth year working as an educator. Although I graduated Appalachian State University with a degree in elementary education, I have never worked as a regular classroom teacher. My first year in the teaching field I spent one semester as a substitute teacher and one semester as a high school Spanish teacher. During that time I became interested in working with ELLs (English Language Learners). I completed my licensure for ESL (English as a Second Language) and have been working as an ESL teacher for the past four years.I feel confident in my abilities to work with ELLs because I speak more than one language and I have been trained in the elementary curriculum. My ability to communicate in Spanish proves to be a valuable asset when working with students and parents. For students who speak other languages my experience in learning a new language has helped me gain a better understanding of language acquisition and relate to students’ situations.

In my role as an English teacher to students for who speak other languages I deal with four domains of language instruction; listening, speaking, reading and writing. I have had experience working with ELLs across the K-12 spectrum. Because of my training in elementary education I feel most comfortable teaching students at the elementary level. When I worked with high school ELLs, I had many students who struggled with reading even after they had been in US schools for many years and seemed to have a good grasp of the English language. I have worked with other students who came to US schools in middle school and were struggling to read in their native language making reading English even more difficult. Their struggles influenced my decision to pursue a Masters of Reading degree. Now I am mainly teaching primary grade ELLs. Because children seem to acquire language more quickly at a young age, I desire to use best practices to make the most of this critical time for language development.

Best Practices

I desire to see ever child become successful in school as well as life. To help insure this success I feel it is necessary to continue seeking research on best practices for teaching reading especially to ELLs. After studying the research of Darrell Morris I realize that for students to make one year’s growth in reading each year they must spend adequate time reading at an appropriate level. For ELLs,Krashen(1982) says teachers must use comprehensible input in order for students to understand the information and make gains in language. For ELLs native language support helps them succeed and pick up a new language easily. In order to make gains in reading students need lots of time to practice with letters, sounds, and words in context. Given time to practice reading at an independent level allows students to make progress towards becoming fluent readers. Reading instruction at the appropriate level is imperative because if students are attempting to read text at a level that is too high they will become frustrated and no progress will be made. In order to teach at an appropriate level it is important to utilize information gained from assessments effectively.

Assessment

Formal Assessment

As an ESL teacher there are many forms of assessment required by the state of North Carolina to measure English language proficiency. For students who are entering North Carolina schools I am required to give a screener test that includes a reading section. From this test I am not able to determine a reading level for the students but I am able to gain a better understanding of how well they read and understand concepts in English. Based on the screener, I have an idea of where to begin English language instruction. Each year all students who are labeled LEP (limited English proficient) are required to take a test of English proficiency. North Carolina uses the ACCESS for ELLs test developed by the WIDA Consortium from the University of Wisconsin. This test measures the four domains of language including reading. Based on the scores students are eligible to receive accommodations on state tests such as the EOG (End of Grade) test. Based on their scores I have information as to whether or not they are reading on grade level. The scores provide information about English Language proficiency especially as it relates to academic language in the classroom. For sufficient information about how well a student can read or at what level a student is reading I rely on informal assessment.

Informal Assessment

Most of the information I need to guide reading instruction comes from informal classroom assessment. When I give students the opportunity to write poems, stories, or even factual pieces; I can quickly assess their understanding of phonics and word patterns. After reviewing studies by Schlagal on students’ invented spellings I can assess if students are creating invented spellings that include representations for each phoneme in a given word. I can also assess how well students are understanding and applying grammatical rules of the English language from their sentence construction.

The IRI (informal reading inventory) developed by Dr. Darrell Morris, is a very important tool for me in the classroom. With ever increasing technology I can use digital recordings or even video recordings when completing the IRI in order to complete detailed scoring later. Generally I use IRI with struggling readers to see which areas they are need to improve upon.

DIBELS is an informal assessment used throughout my school. When my students are labeled “at risk” based on DIBELS scores usually I follow up with an IRI or I go the regular classroom teacher to check the K-2 assessment scores and gain more information as to how to help the student succeed by determining the cause of their low DIBELS scores.

Because I am not the primary teacher of reading I do not administer many reading probes. When I have a student who seems to be struggling I use the tools from the IRI to see which areas the students is weak in or where they need more practice. From the spelling inventory and the word flash I can quickly gain a baseline for how well students are understanding phonics rules when decoding and producing words. The oral reading passages are a tool I use to determine an appropriate reading level. According to Morris(2008) an appropriate instructional level for students is where students are reading with 95-97% accuracy; otherwise they will become frustrated and not make progress. The comprehension portion helps me determine whether students understand what they read. Because I work with ELLs,I often see students who can decode fluently but do not comprehend well due to a lack of background information relating to the context of the reading. Once I have the information to determine an appropriate instruction level for students reading instruction can begin.

Reading Instruction

Within my school, beginning in first grade, students are divided by ability into leveled reading classes. Using nearly all the support staff in the building, students go to their designated class for one hour each day. In their book Every Child Reading Morris and Slavin(2003) recommend students read at least 90 minutes each day at their independent or instructional level in order to make one year’s growth each year. Instruction varies somewhat in each classroom but instruction is at an appropriate level based on reading assessments given by the regular classroom teacher. All the students in each class are at a similar instructional level. Morris(2008) defines instructional level as the level where students are missing only 3-5 out of 100 words. During the one hour block of leveled reading, students rotate to different centers to work on various aspects of reading. For example a classroom might have an area where student reread passages to practice fluency, an area where students read new material at their instructional level, an area where students complete word sorting activities, an area where students write, an area that includes audio books or read-alouds at a higher level to build listen comprehension, and an area where students practice comprehension skills. This model is similar to Slavin’sSuccess for All as outlined in Every Child Reading(2003). Students are not locked into these groups and can move depending on their growth or progress in reading.

Because my program is a pullout program I do not work with students during the reading group time. Reading instruction in the ESL classroom is based around thematic units. Within these units students work on comprehension, fluency and word study.

Comprehension

Each unit of our basal reader contains one fiction and nonfiction story related to a particular topic. To guide the comprehension process, students begin by taking a picture walk through the stories. Students then listen to the audio version of the story and we discuss as a small group what happened in the story. Depending on the unit and the story we also complete other activities that aid in comprehension. For example using handheld video recorders, students reenact scenes from the story or create alternate endings. In the primary grades comprehension is developed more so through listening because students do not have the ability to read complex stories by themselves. I try to use audio books or read aloud picture books at a higher level to help students become familiar with plot lines and build comprehension skills. For stories in our basal series, students reread them several times to aid in comprehension and build fluency.

Fluency

Students reread the stories from our basal at least two times to practice fluency. I have many books that students can read in their free time. Several of my students continuously chose the same book to read because they like the book; but rereading it also helps them to build fluency. Another way students practice fluency, is by rereading scripts we have created in order to produce videos or puppet shows in the classroom. This idea is similar to Reader’s Theater but students are creating their own scriptsmost often together as a class or small group.

Students in my school practice fluency by rereading stories for homework. During their leveled reading classes students are assigned rereading of their stories from class each day. Students reread passages at least three times and sometimes more before moving to a new passage. The reading teacher follows a model similar to Morris’ Early Steps model where students spend time rereading and then are introduced to new material in a single lesson.

Word Study

In my classroom word study most often consists of a set or sets of thematic vocabulary that students are learning about a particular topic. For example when studying classroom objects the vocabulary is specifically designed to include objects that would be found in a classroom. Using pictures and words I try to make the classroom a print rich environment while teaching English vocabulary.

It is essential for students to become familiar with spelling patterns of the English language. I would like to spend more time using word study similar to the models used by Morris(2005) or as outlined in Words Their Way(2008). Because my students are ELLs I need to use pictures to help students understand the meaning of the words. Developing a strong sense of phonetic patterns within the English language helps students with decoding and pronunciation. Through repeated exposure words become imbedded in the mind as sight words. Using word sorts and a strong word study program students become better spellers, a necessary skill for better writing.

Writing

Writing is an important part of reading instruction. I use writing to assess students’ comprehension of text we read in the classroom. I also use shared writings or language experience writing to help build literacy skills. Increasingly I use word processed writings to help students build computer skills.

Language experience is a technique that helps build language skills for ELLs. Using a number of experiences I have students put into words their experiences. Then using chart paper or a projection of the computer screen I record their sentences. When students tell me a phrase or sentence that is grammatically incorrect; I model correct English and help them reword the sentence before it is recorded in our shared writing. These writing are read by the students and can be turned into class books for rereading. This type of literacy helps students expand their oral language as well as make the connection to written language.

When working with individuals I also use dictated stories.Dictated stories are similar to language experiences in that I record what the student wants to write. Together we sort out the grammar before recording the sentences. Students reread and add to their dictations in order to practice reading and expand on their original thoughts. I find that dictated stories work well with students who are struggling readers. Many students I have worked with seem motivated to read and invent stories when they can dictate them to me. As a way to improve students writing skills I often ask them to attempt to spell certain words as the dictate or try to compose one of the sentences themselves without the use of dictation. For students who are still emergent readers the dictations can be divided among several pages and used as practice for tracking. When reading materials are limited, dictated stories can often fill in the gap.

Reading Materials

Technology

With the ever increasing role technology plays in the everyday lives of people throughout the world, I feel it is important to incorporate as much technology as possible into the classroom. Currently I use computer programs to help students build language skills. I have Rosetta Stone software to help develop English language skills. Our school has several games that help students build phonics knowledge. Another way I use computers is in writing. When writing I have students word process their final drafts to help develop their keyboarding skills and prepare them for 21st century learning.

I use audio books but I have not used many e-books. Opportunities to listen to audio books or watch videos of children’s books helps students develop their comprehension skills and background knowledge. I hope to expand my classroom library to include many e-books in the future. E-books can be more interactive and provide a source for background information or world knowledge that is necessary for success of ELLs in the academic world. I foresee the possibility of e-book readers or mp3 players in the classroom to provide audio books for children in school and at home.

I have used video cameras to record students’ performances of skits they created themselves in small groups. In my experience students enjoy watching themselves on camera and; if they are not pleased with the results they are eager to try again. These skits incorporate literacy as the students write the skit and then rehearse the skit several times by reading and rereading the script. The skits include reenacted scenes from stories we have read or short scenes created by the students.

Document cameras are another form of technology that I utilize in the classroom. I can show pictures or objects to students that can later be used as inspiration for writings. I also use picture books in conjunction with the document camera to project illustrations so all the students can view them. “Big books” are no longer needed with the use of a document camera because, even very small readers can be projected on the wall for whole class viewing. Technology can give new life to traditional print materials.

Media

As a book lover my classroom is filled with books. I understand that many of my students come from poverty and it is my desire to create a print rich environment in the classroom. One of the most important pieces of print media in my classroom is our basal series Avenues. This series is specifically designed for ELLs. The stories are literature based and revolve around particular vocabulary themes. For example one unit might be on the topic of animal life cycles and another unit might be on holidays or celebrations around the world. I have enough copies of these basal readers for my students to each have a copy. I have several classroom sets of books but many of my books are only single copies. I try to keep on hand books at varying levels from emergent pattern books to higher elementary level books. I have several titles of emergent readers such as the Wright Group books. I also have many books from the I Can Read series. Many of these books are used for independent reading.

Our school library has a section of bilingual books. I encourage students to check out these books so their parents can read them aloud to them and to their younger siblings. I also have many bilingual books in my classroom library. Because many of my students come from a lower socioeconomic status I try to share many of my materials with them. I also try to inform parents about ways they can access more books in their homes through the public library or by participating in programs such as Scholastic Book Clubs.