April 7, 2010

Do it now! Pick up an excerpt from the MCPS high school history curriculum. Find one sentence with a complex structure that may be difficult for ELLs to comprehend. Diagram the sentence (or identify the parts of the sentence). Plan a “teachable moment” using the sentence to show your high school students how grammar impacts content.

AGENDA – Class 8 Do now! Secondary texts and language scaffolding Welcome & Overview Reading / Writing Connection Stages Skills Strategies Academic writing

Quick Write Read excerpt handout from Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning and respond in quick write fashion to the prompt: Writing for ELLs is challenging because…

Oral vs. Written Language Every culture develops oral language Not every culture develops written language Every child learns oral language of community with rare exception Not every child learns the written language Oral language is learned with little explicit instruction For most, written language must be learned through explicit instruction Oral language is primary vehicle for meeting basic needs Written language is not necessary to meet basic needs

Key Concepts Reading and writing develop simultaneously. Writing as a mechanical skill is developmental and progresses along a continuum. Writers use 3 tools—spelling, handwriting, and computers (These are courtesies to readers). While students master the conventions and mechanics of writing, they develop in their ability to express more complex thoughts.

Challenges of Writing for Secondary ELLs TURN & TALK: Regardless of the challenges, what skills do some English language learners bring to the table for learning how to write in English?

Key Writing Tools Spelling & Handwriting Children move through 5 stages of spelling development as they learn to spell. Precommunicative stage …uses symbols from the alphabet but shows no knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. Semiphonetic stage … begins to understand that sounds are assigned to letters, using single letters, for example, to represent words, sounds, and syllables (e.g., U for you). Phonetic stage …uses a letter or group of letters to represent every speech sound that they hear in a word, e.g., KOM for come and EN for in. Transitional stage …begins to assimilate the conventional alternative for representing sounds, moving to a reliance on visual representation and an understanding of the structure of words. Some examples are EGUL for eagle and HIGHEKED for hiked. Correct stage … knows the English orthographic system and its basic rules: how to deal with such things as prefixes and suffixes, silent consonants, alternative spellings, and irregular spellings.

Alphabet Correspondence  graphemes (letters)  phonemes (sounds)  In English, 26 letters represent 44 phonemes  More than 500 spellings to represent these 44 phonemes

Writing “requires greater attention to letters and their sounds than reading does.” (Forester & Reinhardt, 1989) What are the implications of this for ELLs?

ELL Considerations Young ELLs, whose only literacy instruction has been in English My ma se go st an by de food. My mama, she go to the store and buy the food. Older ELLs, who are literate in their L1, will spell using sound/symbol correspondence I laic to see de circo. I like to see the circus. Key to recognize the logic that the learner puts into the spelling.

What do good spellers do? look for patterns look for word parts try several ways to write a word write sounds in words write a vowel in each word and in each syllable think about words that sound the same check to see if words look right think about what words mean practice words use a dictionary to check look for words in the classroom ask someone if they cannot figure it out

What do good spellers do?

“Typoglycemia”  Illustrates cognitive process behind decoding.  “Good Readers” fill in the gaps of misspellings? Are spelling difficulties indicative of inability to succeed in reading and writing (for meaning)?

What Words Should We Teach ELLs to Spell? Misspelled words that recur in student writing Vocabulary words Words that illustrate particular spelling patterns pertaining to individual speech sounds and to word structure and formation

Children need to develop legible, fluent handwriting Handwriting Formation of alphabetic symbols on paper Functional tool Goal is for students to communicate effectively IMPORTANT because quality of handwriting leads to judgments about quality of the work.

Handwriting Legibility versus fluency Legibility—writing can be easily and quickly read Fluency—writing can be easily and quickly written Components of fluid and legible handwriting are: letter formation, size & proportion, spacing, slant, alignment, and line quality Daily journal writing and quick writing helps develop fluency as the arm and hand muscles become more used to being utilized.

Left-handed Writers 3 major adjustments 1. Hold pencils one inch farther back from the tip (to see what’s been written) 2. Tilt paper to the right 3. Slant should be what is comfortable— backwards from right-handed slant or straight up and down should be accepted

Handwriting Difficulties Struggling writers often times have poor handwriting. Have them talk out ideas first to gain confidence Conformity kills motivation Provide lots of kinds of paper and writing instruments

Writing Strategies and Skills Strategies problem-solving behaviors writers use thoughtfully and consciously Skills information-processing techniques writers use automatically and unconsciously

Novice and Beginning Writers Lack knowledge about writing process & strategies Tend to move through writing process linearly—lockstep, prescriptive fashion Those who are less successful at writing tend to be those who are not strategic

Capable Writers Vary how they write depending on FAT-P: Form, Audience, Topic, Purpose Use writing process flexibly Focus on communicating effectively Solicit feedback Monitor how well they communicate Assess writing according to how well it conveyed intentions Use a variety of strategies Postpone editing until end of process

10 Strategies Writers Use 1. Tap prior knowledge 2. Organize ideas 3. Visualize 4. Summarize 5. Make connections— personal, world knowledge, literary 6. Revise meaning 7. Monitor 8. Play with language 9. Generalize 10. Evaluate

Text Types of School

Academic Writing Montgomery College- EL The paragraph: paragraph development 2. The process essay 3. Describing a place: dialogue, direct speech 4. Describing a person: specific details; generalizations 5. The formal essay: the introduction 6. Narration: the conclusion 7. Use of anecdote: writing an explanation 8. Comparison and contrast 9. Writing about an event 10. Persuasion: distinguishing facts from opinions 11. Cause and effect: time transitions 12. Getting information from the textbook: summary writing