1. A TPR Approach to Teaching Sight Words
Anna E. T. Miles
ESL District Learning Day
March 14, 2015
Session 3: 10:20-11:20
Session 4: 11:20-12:20
Survey 12:20-12:30

2. Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Objectives
Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Know 
The vision and key elements of the DRAFT Comprehensive Literacy
Improvement Plan (CLIP) and how it can relate to a differentiated method of
teaching sight words.
The design of ESL instructional support and strategies that complement the 5 priorities of Destination 2025.

3. Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Objectives
Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Understand
The value of considering different learning styles when planning for differentiated
instruction, as it relates to sight words
The need for and purpose of the strategic plan and CLIP--first “Destination 2025”
action plan
The role of the ESL teacher as a school resource person in matters of ELD and
content integration
 The value of the integration of language acquisition strategies and core-content subject matter

4. Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Objectives
Elementary and secondary ESL teachers will:
Be able to Do
Actively engage in teaching sight words utilizing TPR.
Reinforce the District’s vision for school and student success (e.g., D2025 and CLIP)
Prepare school and staff for complex change and deep, purposeful CLIP implementation for English Language Learners (ELL)
Re-envision the design of rigorous instruction for ELLs as a curriculum that prepares ELL to meet the demands of CCSS

5. Norms Be present and engaged
Be respectful of differences in perspective while challenging each other productively and respectively
Monitor “air time”
Make the most of the time we have
Stay focused on students

6. What is the Goal of Content Area Literacy Instruction?
To teach the ideas, concepts, and principles of a specific subject in a manner that learners receive instruction in reading strategies that meet the unique requirements of the individual subject area

7. Let’s Discuss… .

8. Rationale
The Kindergarten ESL students experienced difficulty reading and understanding their sight words.
Different learning styles were not being considered.
Some students experienced anxiety speaking in class (high affective filters).
Reference prior research (TPR Alphabet Letter Knowledge Data).
Project Purpose
To engage different learning styles
To utilize TPR to create an exciting learning environment and to lower affective filters
To increase sight word recognition in a pull-out setting

9. Alphabet Letter Data

10. Setting and Participants
Title 1 School
~400 Pre-Kindergarten – 5th grade students
>95% low socio-economic status
Tennessee Department of Education Reward
School
Participants
Kindergarten ELL students
First Languages (L1)
Spanish
Vietnamese
English (beginning work with mainstream classrooms)

11. Special Considerations
When working with the ELL who also have identified learning disabilities, it is necessary to consult with the Special Education teacher.
Special considerations and/or accommodations may help to fully engage the ELL in language development.

12. Areas of Effective Literacy Instruction
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in:
Word study
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Writing
Motivation
(Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008)
What are the five areas of effective literacy instruction?
“These are general principles for literacy instruction for adolescents, in reading, ELA, and the content areas. But to be clear, we’re not necessarily saying that you, as content specialists, have the expertise, time, or support to do all of these things well. That is, we’re not asking you in core content instruction, to teach students to decode and do word study. But we do think you can play a role in reinforcing many of the other core components.”
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in five general areas: word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation (Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008).
However, for the purposes of this training and instructional design, we’re going to focus on fluency, word study/vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
These skills differ from some of the general areas targeted in K–3 reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension; see Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn, 2006 and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000 for details).
Phonemic awareness and phonics are not listed for older students. However, if these older students lack these foundational and basic literacy skills, explicit and systematic instruction should be provided (Boardman et al., 2008).

13. Professional Knowledge
Professional Points of View
Asher (1969)
The coordination of speech and action to respond to a command
Krashen in Richard and Rodgers (2006)
Affective filters lowered and more learning occurs
Standards
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
CCSS RF.K3c. Read common high frequency words by sight.
Best Teaching Practices
TEM
Additional resources beyond curriculum
Differentiation
TESOL
Implement variety of standards-based teaching

14. Areas of Effective Literacy Instruction
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in:
Word study
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Writing
Motivation
(Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008)
What are the five areas of effective literacy instruction?
“These are general principles for literacy instruction for adolescents, in reading, ELA, and the content areas. But to be clear, we’re not necessarily saying that you, as content specialists, have the expertise, time, or support to do all of these things well. That is, we’re not asking you in core content instruction, to teach students to decode and do word study. But we do think you can play a role in reinforcing many of the other core components.”
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in five general areas: word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation (Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008).
However, for the purposes of this training and instructional design, we’re going to focus on fluency, word study/vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
These skills differ from some of the general areas targeted in K–3 reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension; see Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn, 2006 and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000 for details).
Phonemic awareness and phonics are not listed for older students. However, if these older students lack these foundational and basic literacy skills, explicit and systematic instruction should be provided (Boardman et al., 2008).

15. Decoding and Fluency Reading is developmental—a continuum
Decoding is different than fluency
Decoding is translating a printed word into a sound.
Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. (prosody and automaticity)
This slide for background only; currently hidden in presentation mode.
Reading is development, it’s not a yes or no, but an on-going process… where needs and skills of effective readers change over time/grade levels, texts, genres, etc. . We have to continue to support it, not just assume after 4th grade that students no longer need explicit reading instruction.
Reading fluency, whether measured as reading words automatically or reading texts with the appropriate prosody or expression, is an issue for a significant number of adolescent readers who struggle in reading. Inadequate fluency results in poor comprehension. In a study of middle and secondary students, significant correlations between reading fluency and reading comprehension was found among students. It seems logical given these results that perhaps fluency instruction aimed at older students may be a key to their reading success.
Fluency has been described as a critical link between word recognition accuracy and text comprehension. Two essential components of fluency, automaticity and prosody, comprise that link. Automaticity refers to the ability to recognize words automatically or effortlessly. Prosody is the ability to read texts with appropriate expression that reflects the meaning of the text. It is the link to comprehension.

16. Action Plan Week 1: Sight Word TPR Introduction
Introduce TPR movements and sight words 1-10 (e.g. I, am, the, little, big, a, to, the, like, go). For each week, track data informally and accommodate higher levels by introducing >10.
Week 2: Add 5-10 more (me, my, is, look, do, and, see, are, at, we)
Use informal assessment data to gauge how many to add.
Week 3: Add 5-10 more (not, by, be, but, come, can, for, from, get, have) Utilize TPR to teach new words and review previous weeks.
The pace may need to be adjusted at this point. Utilize informal data to guide instruction.
Weeks 4-6: Continue adding sight words as necessary to the daily routine. Track with running records or an informal system. Begin to add spelling the words with a tune to integrate writing.

17. Areas of Effective Literacy Instruction
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in:
Word study
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Writing
Motivation
(Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008)
What are the five areas of effective literacy instruction?
“These are general principles for literacy instruction for adolescents, in reading, ELA, and the content areas. But to be clear, we’re not necessarily saying that you, as content specialists, have the expertise, time, or support to do all of these things well. That is, we’re not asking you in core content instruction, to teach students to decode and do word study. But we do think you can play a role in reinforcing many of the other core components.”
Effective adolescent literacy instruction includes focused work in five general areas: word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation (Boardman et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2008).
However, for the purposes of this training and instructional design, we’re going to focus on fluency, word study/vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
These skills differ from some of the general areas targeted in K–3 reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension; see Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn, 2006 and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000 for details).
Phonemic awareness and phonics are not listed for older students. However, if these older students lack these foundational and basic literacy skills, explicit and systematic instruction should be provided (Boardman et al., 2008).

18. Let’s Watch It!

19. Now, Let’s Try It!

20. Intervening Variables
Analysis and Findings
Children respond well to learning sight words through TPR and
having learning style considered
Assessments show development over time
Children thrive under a relaxed, yet structured, schedule
Affective filters lowered due to the relaxed atmosphere, and all students
began generating verbal responses
Children can become tired due to the physical nature of the activity
Intervening Variables
Students received sight word instruction in mainstream classroom
Some students were absent on instructional days
Three students were withdrawn from school for six week periods
Two students were absent for longer than five consecutive days

21. Conclusions
My students learn more effectively when they are engaged and involved in their learning.
Utilizing a physical response to aid in memory is an effective tool for kindergarteners, specifically, but not limited to, students whose first language is not English.
Teaching requires applying research-based strategies and adapting them in a way to benefit one’s specific group of students.
I will reflect upon what I have learned from my research and utilize it to cater to future lessons.
I will employ this teaching strategy next year because of the positive data (e.g., Informal and Common Assessment) generated from my efforts.

22. http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us Anna Miles milesae@scsk12.org
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Anna Miles