CONNECTING LANGUAGE LEARNING TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

A Good Story! Interpretive Listening and Reading

Pictures as Prompts Pictures scaffold learning Today’s learners are “imageators”

Check that the story is…. age and culturally appropriate. (familiar) Is repetitive or highly predictable Can be dramatized or (not abstract) Lends itself to the use of visuals TPR / Comprehension before production / Oller’s Episode Hypothesis / Folktales / Learning Centers /

A Narrative Framework Identify importance Find binary opposites Organize the content in story form Conclusion Evaluation

The language experience chart approach Teacher provides target input Teacher checks comprehension Students retell with teacher help Students copy version into their notebooks Permanent record is used in other activities

Co-operative Learning Assign roles Decide on – Target Vocabulary The End Product Scaffolding (How?) Student evaluation Follow up and Extension Group dynamics

Learning Through Culture

Possible Approaches…. Cultural products (folktales, legends, artists, celebrities, songs…..) Use of realia, real things. Cultural Practices / Customs (greetings, school/home life, families, holidays) *** Using the students’ own cultural knowledge to facilitate learning is also a valid approach and highly motivating for young learners.

Contextualized Performance Assessment It’s all about PERFORMANCE! Use formative assessment instruments - rubrics, checklists, peer/self forms Possible “end products” -- storybooks and summaries, posters, booklets, presentations, plays, short compositions Assessment should be focused not just on the end product but the whole process. SOPA / ELLOPA / IPA

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