Sheltering and Constructivist Strategies in ELD for K-2 Sharon Adelman Reyes DiversityLearningK12 Pasco School District PD Mini-Conference Becoming Bilingual: Strategies for Strengthening English Language Development February 11-12, 2011 This presentation has been adapted from Reyes, S. A. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Sheltering and Constructivist Strategies in ELD for K–2 In kindergarten and the primary grades, games and the arts provide a natural way to engage learners in the English language arts curriculum. Constructivist strategies and methodologies, when combined with sheltering and scaffolding, make curriculum accessible and language comprehensible.

Agenda Theoretical overview: 30 minutes Active participation: 50 minutes Discussion: 10 minutes

Educational Equity for ELLs Communicative English Academic English Native language Culture

Communicative vs. Academic English BICS Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills CALP Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency Cummins, 1981

The Early Childhood Advantage: In K-2, academic English is at the level of a five through seven year old native speaker of English!

Are you a constructivist?

Constructivist Learning Theory is About The process of knowing and the nature of cognition The active construction of new knowledge to make sense of our surroundings Prior knowledge that is built upon in an effort to achieve greater understanding Deep understanding, rather than rote learning The reflective transfer of knowledge to other subject matter and to life

Are you a constructivist?

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Uses students’ identities and backgrounds as meaningful sources of their education Views student backgrounds as strengths Is compatible with constructivism because it values prior knowledge Can be considered “cultural constructivism”

What do constructivist classrooms look like? What about content? What about students? What about teachers? What about curriculum? What about assessment?

What do quality second language classrooms look like? What about content? What about students? What about teachers? What about curriculum? What about assessment?

Content In second language classrooms, content and language are integrated. In constructivist classrooms, content and process are integrated. In constructivist second language classrooms, content, language, & process are integrated.

Students Are both teachers and learners Are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about the world Prior knowledge is valued Questions are valued

Teachers Are both teachers and learners Behave in an interactive manner, mediating the learning environment for the students Construct knowledge along with the students

Curriculum Highlights conceptual learning Relies heavily on primary sources of data Relies heavily on manipulative materials and real-life objects Employs cooperative groups and thematic units often

Assessment Is interwoven with teaching through ongoing observation Occurs primarily through authentic means Is determined by curriculum

What is instructional practice in constructivist second language classrooms?

Constructivist Practice for All Learners Values prior knowledge Is context-embedded Integrates cooperative group work and highlights thematic instruction Incorporates multidimensional assessment Integrates language, content, and process

Modifications for Second Language Learners Scaffolding Sheltered Instruction

Scaffolding Is based on the premise that what the learner can do with assistance today, can be done alone tomorrow Provides access to the core curriculum through modeling, providing feedback, and asking questions Takes learners through a process one step at a time Involves activities such as structured poetry, process writing, the scientific process, and even routines

Sheltering Provides comprehensible input Is a linguistic scaffold Is supported by visuals, manipulatives, real-life objects, and hands-on activities

Sheltered Instruction: Language-Related Modifications

Sheltered Instruction Permits students to contribute to classroom and cooperative group activities through non-verbal means Supports teacher talk by nonverbal means such as visuals and hands-on experience Modifies teacher talk

Modify Teacher Talk Modification of teacher talk makes input comprehensible!

Modify Teacher Talk Through Rate of speech Phrasing and rephrasing Pauses Gesture and facial expression Sentence expansion

Vocabulary is foundational add sum combine total 2+2 plus 4

Cognates Artista Salario Distancia Famoso Director Can you think of any other cognates?

False Cognates Is “carpeta” a carpet?

Word Blocks Prefix=dis Root=connect Suffix=ed disconnected Can you think of any others?

“False Word Blocks” Prefix=in Root =valuable invaluable Can you think of any others?

Other Ideas to Teach Vocabulary Picture dictionaries Electronic dictionaries Can you think of any others?

Be inventive: Engage students in learning

REMEMBER Making the curriculum accessible for emergent bilingual students makes the curriculum accessible for everyone!

Citations Reyes, S. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist strategies for teaching English language learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California State Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles. Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment: An intervention program for cognitive modifiability. Baltimore: University Park Press. Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. F. (2005). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL: A resource book for K-12 teachers. New York: Longman.

Activities Games Creative Movement Sentence Stems Storytelling Language Experience Approach Creative Drama (Pantomime) Poetry Music Visual Art

Frog

Hand Drum Freeze Hop (low) Leap (long) Jump (high) Swim (fast) (Sit on a lily pad and) Catch flies

( ) BTW,

( ) ELD. scaffold can technology BTW,

Frogs can _______. Frogs cannot _______.

Wordless Books Shelter oral language development Shelter writing

Adapt the Language Experience Approach for English learners Model your thinking about language.

Creative Drama Focuses on process over product Lowers the affective filter Can provide comprehensible input

Terquain: Structured poetry as a scaffold Three lines on a single subject First line consists of a one-word noun Second line describes the noun with two or three words Third line is either a synonym of the noun or describes a feeling about it

Frog Terquain Frog Hopping, jumping, croaking Silly

Terquain Three lines on a single subject First line consists of a one-word noun Second line describes the noun with two or three words Third line is either a synonym of the noun or describes a feeling about it

Adapting Songs for ELD Keep the rhythm and melody Change syntax for ELD level Change words for context Add action and movement

Five Little Frogs Five green speckled frogs Sat on a speckled log Eating some most delicious bugs (Yum, yum) One jumped into the pool Where it was nice and cool Then there were four green speckled frogs

Adaptation of Five Little Frogs Many green and speckled frogs Are sitting on some speckled logs Eating some delicious bugs (Yum, yum) They jump up in the air They float on lily pads way up there Now the town is full of flying frogs

Comparison Five green speckled frogs Sat on a speckled log Eating some most delicious bugs One jumped into the pool Where it was nice and cool Then there were four green speckled frogs Many green speckled frogs Are sitting on speckled logs Eating some delicious bugs They jump up in the air They float on lily pads way up there Now the town is full of flying frogs

WEDNESDAY Can pigs fly?

How do these activities shelter and scaffold ELD? Games Creative Movement Sentence Stems Storytelling Language Experience Approach Creative Drama (Pantomime) Poetry Music Visual Art

Citation Reyes, S. A. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

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