Rational/Purpose for Homework and Independent Work:
The purpose behind giving students homework is that it gives students the opportunity to practice skills, review, prepare for new information, and apply what they have learned (Hill & Flynn, 2006). If the teacher has provided clear directions for the assigned homework the student should be able to complete it independently with only minimal support from parents. According to Hill and Flynn parents can provide support by providing a place, time, and the resources necessary for their child to engage in homework, but if additional support is needed in completing the assignment, either the directions were not clear, or the homework has not been assigned to meet the needs of the student. (2006, p. 78). As children advance more homework is assigned and they become more responsible for elaborating and practicing beyond the school day.
What Constitutes Meaningful Homework?
For homework to be meaningful students should be able to complete it independently while parents and teachers support by providing feedback to enhance the student’s ability to both practice and apply what is being taught in the classroom. In addition, not all students are given the exact same homework because of their different needs. Hill and Flynn (2006) state that ELL students do not need to have the same homework as English-speaking students because that might mean they are practicing unfamiliar skills or incorrectly practicing them. Therefore, “students should be given homework that requires them to use what they already know or what they are learning” (p.79). As a result, the language, expectations, and purpose of the homework being assigned needs to be clear for it to be meaningful. Finally, giving students the opportunity to discuss the homework being assigned will clear up any misconceptions, questions students may have, and give students multiple explanations and visuals of what the homework should look like when completed.
Intended Objectives for Students:
The objectives of homework should be specific to the learning targets of the skills being targeted in any given grade level. Learning targets need to be posted in the classroom for students to read and discuss. Once students understand that they are to master the learning targets and the purpose of the assignment most likely they will be able to become successful when practicing and applying the content being taught to them.
The homework assignment that I have designed is a Reading and Writing notebook. Students will be asked to respond to text that is assigned at home. In Reading, students will be asked to enhance their comprehension skills through reading text and responding with connections, images, inferences, summaries, questions, and critical thinking skills as they are interacting with the passage that are assigned. A separate tab for vocabulary will also be included in the notebook for students to add new vocabulary words as they are reading. Another notebook will serve as the Writing notebook and will be a tool where students can write to an audience such as myself, their parents, or another student. The interaction through writing encourages students to communicate with others and gain feedback on their thinking. Furthermore, the Writing notebook will contain tabs for powerful words, sentence starters, grammar/punctuation, and a place for stories, responses, and other pieces that students compose.
Providing Specific Feedback:
Providing feedback to students within the notebook itself is crucial. Students need to know and understand that the thinking they are illustrating is being valued and deserves to be celebrated. The way I will provide feedback to my students is that I will write in each student’s notebook to assess their learning of the skill being taught. I will comment by explaining what I notice they did well, offer suggestions for improvement, and at times ask students questions next to their entries to encourage them to expand their thinking.
Another way I will provide feedback is by conferring with students weekly both in reading and writing so we can discuss strengths, improvements, and assess whether or not the notebook is meeting their needs and purpose of mastering the learning targets and objectives. I will confer one-on-one with students and also allow them to discuss their thinking, writing, and learning with other students in the classroom so they can see and hear other examples of homework from their peers in the classroom.
Finally, I will make a rubric with my students to allow both my students and I to assess their reading and writing responses in their notebook. The reason I will have them help me create the rubric is so they will take a sense of ownership and have a clear vision on what their homework needs to look like before it is turned in. Weekly, I will have students complete the rubric themselves, and I will provide feedback of whether I agree or disagree with their self-assessment. Together we will look through examples of entries I have collected throughout the year and practice assessing the entries so students can see a variety of styles and work from other students. Providing students with examples will lay the foundation for what is expected.
Please see the examples below of the Reading Response and Writing Response rubric for both notebooks.
Using Technology in the Communication Process:
The role of technology is important when assigning homework to students. At the beginning of the year a conference should be held with parents so teachers can explain expectations of homework to the parents of the students. Providing conferences gives parents the opportunity to ask questions they might have regarding homework assignments. In addition, a class blog or web page would be valuable for parents to be able to log on and see what the weekly assignments are on a daily basis. Parents that do not have access to technology will be provided with a daily newsletter that allows them to read what is assigned and write any comments or questions they have regarding the homework that is assigned. These newsletters can be kept in a composition notebook and travel back and forth with the child.
References:
Hill, Jane D., & Flynn, Kathleen M. (2006). Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. Alexandria, VA. ACSD.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction
When comparing Fiction and Non-Fiction texts I found many differences and similarities between the two. While using a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast I wrote down that Fiction gives students the opportunity to read a story and watch characters develop through a setting, plot, problem, climax, and conclusion. Fiction text also has many purposes for the reader. Readers can be entertained, learn valuable life lessons, and interact with text to make connections to their own lives. Non-Fiction in contrast includes features of text that differ from Fiction. In text books, or other Non-Fiction children’s books students will find a Table of Contents, Glossary, Index, Tables, Graphs, Maps, and even Photographs. Furthermore, Non-Fiction is written for the purpose of informing readers, teach them something new, and allow them to add the new information they learned to their background knowledge. When focus is on the language of the text, Fiction offers students with more figurative language aspects, while Non-Fiction introduces students to a wide variety of vocabulary, facts, and information that are essential to understanding the topic being read.
While both Fiction and Non-Fiction are engaging for readers they both also allow students to interact with text and build upon their comprehension strategies of questioning, inferring, determining importance, visualizing, summarizing, and making connections. Both Fiction and Non-Fiction also teach the reader the different features of text that the author provides. We encourage our students to explore a variety of mentor texts of both Fiction and Non-Fiction so they can learn how to become writers themselves of their own genres they want to produce.
Fiction texts give ELL students support by providing a brief introduction of what the story is about or about the author. Giving students opportunity to preview the story will give them a vision for what the story is about. In addition, the title of the Fiction book as well as the chapters can lead ELL students to make predictions while previewing the text. Overall, I believe Non-fiction text features provide more support for ELL students.
Non-fiction text features support ELL students by providing clear visuals. The glossary also allows students to look up the definition to gain meaning of the vocabulary that could be complex. By providing meaning the ELL student can make sense of the topic being researched. The Table of Contents also allows ELL students to go through text in a sequence. Having the text in a certain order makes it easy to follow and comprehend.
In conclusion, both Fiction and Non-Fiction texts provide students with rich reading experiences that engage their interest. As a 2nd grade teacher, I have found that when taking a reading inventory my students are more interested in reading and writing Non-Fiction than they are Fiction. I believe that this is so because they are able to connect with the real life features that the text provides. It is rewarding to see students create their own Non-Fiction books and take on the challenge of determining what facts are important to make note of, and how they can make their book appealing to the reader. The craft of making the Non-Fiction books was challenging for my students, but once they mastered all of the steps necessary there was nothing more exciting for them than to share the book that they were the author of with friends and family.
While both Fiction and Non-Fiction are engaging for readers they both also allow students to interact with text and build upon their comprehension strategies of questioning, inferring, determining importance, visualizing, summarizing, and making connections. Both Fiction and Non-Fiction also teach the reader the different features of text that the author provides. We encourage our students to explore a variety of mentor texts of both Fiction and Non-Fiction so they can learn how to become writers themselves of their own genres they want to produce.
Fiction texts give ELL students support by providing a brief introduction of what the story is about or about the author. Giving students opportunity to preview the story will give them a vision for what the story is about. In addition, the title of the Fiction book as well as the chapters can lead ELL students to make predictions while previewing the text. Overall, I believe Non-fiction text features provide more support for ELL students.
Non-fiction text features support ELL students by providing clear visuals. The glossary also allows students to look up the definition to gain meaning of the vocabulary that could be complex. By providing meaning the ELL student can make sense of the topic being researched. The Table of Contents also allows ELL students to go through text in a sequence. Having the text in a certain order makes it easy to follow and comprehend.
In conclusion, both Fiction and Non-Fiction texts provide students with rich reading experiences that engage their interest. As a 2nd grade teacher, I have found that when taking a reading inventory my students are more interested in reading and writing Non-Fiction than they are Fiction. I believe that this is so because they are able to connect with the real life features that the text provides. It is rewarding to see students create their own Non-Fiction books and take on the challenge of determining what facts are important to make note of, and how they can make their book appealing to the reader. The craft of making the Non-Fiction books was challenging for my students, but once they mastered all of the steps necessary there was nothing more exciting for them than to share the book that they were the author of with friends and family.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sheltered Lesson
During the lesson on inferences Mrs. Krauss sheltered the lesson by using three very important phases. Sheltering the lesson made it comprehensible to the ELL students in the class and provided her students with meaningful connections to the book Esperanza Rising. The three phases she used are as follows.
Pre-Reading
Before the lesson Mrs. Krauss explicitly explained the lesson, content, objectives, and what was expected of the students. The directions were stated both verbally and they were also written for students to see. She reviewed the reading strategies she had previously taught to students and discussed key vocabulary that was essential to understanding the book. Mrs. Krauss wrote the vocabulary words down, said each one aloud, and provided context with the use of pictures for students to look at. She also sheltered the lesson by providing synonyms so students could connect to what was meaningful to them.
Students previewed the chapter and Mrs. Krauss used a graphic organizer to connect to their own learning. She also suggested using the title and having students work in groups to make predictions, ask guiding questions, and have students reflect on how the story might look like in their own culture.
During Reading
Since the book referenced the birthday song, "Las Mananitas" students were asked to explain the song, and talk about birthday celebrations in their culture. This allowed students to make connections. Then while reading the story aloud so ELL students could see and hear the words at the same time, she made sure to go slow so they could understand, while reminding them to use their comprehension strategies to enhance acquisition.
Mrs. Krauss reminds students to use their background knowledge and context clues the author describes to infer. Repetition was often used during the lesson for second language learners. Providing repetition increases engagement and allows students to interact with the text. If students were not able to connect with the text it is okay for the teacher to point connections out to allow them to connect on their own.
Post-Reading
During this stage of the lesson Mrs. Krauss reviewed the strategies, vocabulary, and content along with the goals and objectives. Then students were asked to work independently with text and find three post-its in the pages of their reading to connect to background knowledge, question, and visualize.
Reflection
During the reflection of the lesson Mrs. Krauss spoke about what inferring was and mentioned it was a more challenging comprehension strategy to teach to ELL students. On the diary board students posted their work so the students could see what questions, images, and inferences other students had. She stated that before each lesson she has students write down their questions that confused them in the reading the night before so she can help them connect. They were also encouraged to explain what the text reminded them of and explain their background knowledge.
Conclusion
Sheltering a lesson provides students with the tools and modifications they need to become successful readers. It is important that while sheltering the teacher provide lots of modeling to demonstrate to his or her students what the goal of the lesson needs to look like and sound like. Wait time is crucial for ELL students so they have time to process and respond. Overall, I learned how to strengthen my own teaching practices by watching this video. Although, it was rewarding to see that some of these tools I already have been using in my classroom and now I can build upon my practices to meet the needs of all ELL students as well.
Pre-Reading
Before the lesson Mrs. Krauss explicitly explained the lesson, content, objectives, and what was expected of the students. The directions were stated both verbally and they were also written for students to see. She reviewed the reading strategies she had previously taught to students and discussed key vocabulary that was essential to understanding the book. Mrs. Krauss wrote the vocabulary words down, said each one aloud, and provided context with the use of pictures for students to look at. She also sheltered the lesson by providing synonyms so students could connect to what was meaningful to them.
Students previewed the chapter and Mrs. Krauss used a graphic organizer to connect to their own learning. She also suggested using the title and having students work in groups to make predictions, ask guiding questions, and have students reflect on how the story might look like in their own culture.
During Reading
Since the book referenced the birthday song, "Las Mananitas" students were asked to explain the song, and talk about birthday celebrations in their culture. This allowed students to make connections. Then while reading the story aloud so ELL students could see and hear the words at the same time, she made sure to go slow so they could understand, while reminding them to use their comprehension strategies to enhance acquisition.
Mrs. Krauss reminds students to use their background knowledge and context clues the author describes to infer. Repetition was often used during the lesson for second language learners. Providing repetition increases engagement and allows students to interact with the text. If students were not able to connect with the text it is okay for the teacher to point connections out to allow them to connect on their own.
Post-Reading
During this stage of the lesson Mrs. Krauss reviewed the strategies, vocabulary, and content along with the goals and objectives. Then students were asked to work independently with text and find three post-its in the pages of their reading to connect to background knowledge, question, and visualize.
Reflection
During the reflection of the lesson Mrs. Krauss spoke about what inferring was and mentioned it was a more challenging comprehension strategy to teach to ELL students. On the diary board students posted their work so the students could see what questions, images, and inferences other students had. She stated that before each lesson she has students write down their questions that confused them in the reading the night before so she can help them connect. They were also encouraged to explain what the text reminded them of and explain their background knowledge.
Conclusion
Sheltering a lesson provides students with the tools and modifications they need to become successful readers. It is important that while sheltering the teacher provide lots of modeling to demonstrate to his or her students what the goal of the lesson needs to look like and sound like. Wait time is crucial for ELL students so they have time to process and respond. Overall, I learned how to strengthen my own teaching practices by watching this video. Although, it was rewarding to see that some of these tools I already have been using in my classroom and now I can build upon my practices to meet the needs of all ELL students as well.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Running Records and Miscue Analysis
This week I had the opportunity to assess two ELL students. One student’s first language was Spanish and the other student's first language was Chinese. Even though both students were fluent in English I noticed some patterns when analyzing their running records, which need attention. The Spanish-speaking student had lots of visual miscues involving incorrect use of vowel sounds. He would say, “come” for “came,” and “wint” for “went.” This tells me that this child needs more phonics instruction with the vowel sounds. Having difficulty with vowel sounds is an error that many first grade readers all struggle with, so I did not think this was an error that had much to do with his first language. To help him enhance his phonemic awareness I would have him write the word on a white board, run his finger underneath the word, and read the word a loud. Then, I would have him read the word in the sentence so he would gain meaning in text. I would also prompt him before reading and tell him that he has an important job. That job is to read the word and look at all of its’ parts, especially the vowels. Telling him this would prompt him to focus his attention on reading through the word very carefully. Another miscue I noticed him making was that he pronounced the double ‘l” sound in the word “called” like the “y” sound in the word “yellow.” This was an error that reflected his knowledge of his first language because the double “l” sound does sound like the “y” sound in Spanish. To guide his instruction I would use several pictures paired up with words that have the double “l” sound and together I would explicitly teach him what sound the double “l” sound makes in English. I would also select texts that include the double “l” sound. While he was reading, I’d confer with him and listen for his ability to pronounce them correctly. Together we would make a plan on how he could remember how to pronounce words that include the double “l.”
The second student I observed was a more fluent reader and her first language was Chinese. Her miscues included inflectional endings. She would often leave them out. For example, she would say, “puddle” instead of “puddles,” I noticed that she also had a lot of meaning and visual miscues. I found this interesting because she did a good job of crosschecking, had great comprehension, and read with 91% accuracy. I think a lot of the words she missed were not in her vocabulary. Just like many 1st grade readers, some words are not in their vocabulary and they do not have enough background knowledge to understand some of the words they read. To assist this student and enhance her vocabulary I would make sure that the books I read with her had rich book introductions. Words that I would think were not in her vocabulary I would tell her those words and ask her if she could tell me what the word meant. As we came to the unknown words in text, I would explain the meaning, and show her a visual so she could associate meaning with the word she was trying to read. Allowing her to talk about what these unknown words meant and associate them with a picture might increase her background knowledge and help her obtain a more rich vocabulary.
The articles I read this week allowed me to reflect on my own teaching and stress the importance of analyzing running records to help guide instruction. One article focused on giving ELL students texts that were culturally relevant and explained that students who are able to read texts at an independent or instructional level most likely were given a text that was culturally relevant and included vocabulary that was already in his or her vocabulary. The other article I read spoke about “following” a child and how teachers “follow” a child by using a running record to observe a child’s learning, determine next steps, and provide instruction based on the child’s needs. Furthermore, the article discussed the importance of teachers looking for patterns while analyzing the running record to inform teaching. This article allowed me to reflect on how purposeful I am when assessing students. It also reminded me just how important continuous assessment is with each and every one of my students.
Ebe, A. E. (2010). Culturally Relevant Texts and Reading Assessment for English Language Learners. Reading Horizons, 50(3), 193-210. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Estice, R., & Reading Recovery Council of North America, C. H. (1997). Using Patterns of Responding to "Follow the Child."Running Record, 9(2), 1,6-7,12-13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
The second student I observed was a more fluent reader and her first language was Chinese. Her miscues included inflectional endings. She would often leave them out. For example, she would say, “puddle” instead of “puddles,” I noticed that she also had a lot of meaning and visual miscues. I found this interesting because she did a good job of crosschecking, had great comprehension, and read with 91% accuracy. I think a lot of the words she missed were not in her vocabulary. Just like many 1st grade readers, some words are not in their vocabulary and they do not have enough background knowledge to understand some of the words they read. To assist this student and enhance her vocabulary I would make sure that the books I read with her had rich book introductions. Words that I would think were not in her vocabulary I would tell her those words and ask her if she could tell me what the word meant. As we came to the unknown words in text, I would explain the meaning, and show her a visual so she could associate meaning with the word she was trying to read. Allowing her to talk about what these unknown words meant and associate them with a picture might increase her background knowledge and help her obtain a more rich vocabulary.
The articles I read this week allowed me to reflect on my own teaching and stress the importance of analyzing running records to help guide instruction. One article focused on giving ELL students texts that were culturally relevant and explained that students who are able to read texts at an independent or instructional level most likely were given a text that was culturally relevant and included vocabulary that was already in his or her vocabulary. The other article I read spoke about “following” a child and how teachers “follow” a child by using a running record to observe a child’s learning, determine next steps, and provide instruction based on the child’s needs. Furthermore, the article discussed the importance of teachers looking for patterns while analyzing the running record to inform teaching. This article allowed me to reflect on how purposeful I am when assessing students. It also reminded me just how important continuous assessment is with each and every one of my students.
Ebe, A. E. (2010). Culturally Relevant Texts and Reading Assessment for English Language Learners. Reading Horizons, 50(3), 193-210. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Estice, R., & Reading Recovery Council of North America, C. H. (1997). Using Patterns of Responding to "Follow the Child."Running Record, 9(2), 1,6-7,12-13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
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