Entry #7: Developing Fluency Skills with Intention in the ELL Classroom

       As I consider the importance of ensuring that I'm helping my ELL students become fluent in reading and writing, I found it informative to realize if students are using so much of their "cognitive energy for word recognition," then it would be difficult for them to have the focus to make meaning or comprehend the text (Rasinski, 2014; Tompkins et al., 2022). This realization makes it even more important to consider strategies and be intentional as I develop ways to incorporate activities that would help my students build their fluency. Rasinski (2014) gives a great example of ways to model fluency and make students aware of the components of reading with fluency. He not only believes teachers must read to students out loud to encourage students to want to read, to increase their vocabulary, and to help them understand the text, but he also suggests demonstrating "disfluent reading," which could include not reading at the correct speed, in a dull tone, and not doing the proper chunking of the text parts. This would help students recognize why it is essential to be fluent readers for comprehension and "enjoyment of their texts" (Rasinski, 2014, p. 7). In addition, Tompkins et al. (2022) recommend using the "think aloud" strategy to develop the prosody skills of my students so that they have information on specific techniques I'm modeling or that are being modeled in audio or video versions of texts to help the reader to "come alive" and be understood by the listeners.

      It will also be necessary for my students to be interested in the texts we read and to have some background knowledge and experiences that would help them connect to the reader. I will need to ensure that before we read texts in class, we preview vocabulary, survey the text overall, especially noting the layout of the texts with pictures, charts, or other distinguishing features, and perhaps have activities beforehand that point to the text we will be reading. One day in my field observation class, I recall that before the ELL students read a chapter about the Statue of Liberty and its significance and meaning for immigrants and refugees, the ENL teacher showed the students a black and white photo of these people on a boat looking at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The students discussed what they saw with some guiding questions in small groups before the class talked about the picture as a whole and the teacher focused on different background vocabulary that would help guide the discussion. This strategy was essential to set up the next steps of reading about this symbol in their textbook. The students also created their own symbols of family, love, and peace to further use the vocabulary and guiding conversations about the topic that the class already had together. In addition, the ENL teacher used close sentences to help the students with writing fluency skills to write about their symbols. All of these strategies and activities are very important to help students develop confidence and the ability development of reading and writing fluency.

    Finally, both Tompkins & et al. (2022) & Rasinski (2014) recognize that authentic activities are essential to developing fluency. Both authors agree that repeated reading of texts to gain automaticity, speed, and prosody skills can be helpful, but it can become rote for the students. So it will be so important to use texts such as songs, chants, readers theater, speeches, and now, spoken word and rap, which is so prevalent in our culture, to help students practice fluency in authentic ways in which they can prepare forward to collaborating with their peers, as well as students having opportunities to present their texts on special occasions for classmates, school programs, and parents. I think it may also be interesting to develop different ways to use the same or similar vocabulary, sentence structures, and themes from units by using a variety of texts, including songs, chants, audio, and video presentations, books, and interactive writing. Perhaps varying the way the students encounter high-frequency words, vocabulary, and familiar sentence structure will make the process of developing fluency more interesting by using diverse texts. Also, it will be important to introduce the element of fun and joy in developing fluency to avoid the drudgery of reading the same text over and over. In another field placement experience, I recall an ENL teacher recommending that a 5th-grade ELL student be assigned to go to his sister's Kindergartner class and read to the students as a way to help with his fluency and enjoyment of reading. In addition, sometimes ELL students could be encouraged to take the books home that they are reading and read to their parents and especially younger siblings. This is a way to foster a sense of accomplishment, authentic experience, and community in the ELL student's fluency development.

                                                 References

Raskinski,

Tompkins, G.E., Rodgers, E.M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

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Entry #6 Using the Power of Classroom Print to Promote Students' Writing and Literacy Growth

    According to Gerde et al. (2016), teachers invest major efforts in creating a classroom environment where students are surrounded by print in creative, meaningful ways. But, research has shown that teachers do not use that print, which may be on bulletin boards, charts, or labeled objects, to help direct students' attention to the print in ways that will support their writing and literacy development (Gerde et al., 2015). The authors note that "young children do not look at print unless their attention is drawn to it" (p. 285). This idea of the power of classroom print made me recall the many times I've been in a classroom as an assistant or for field placement, and I was drawn to inviting walls covered with attractive, timely, and valuable print. But, I do not recall hearing the lead teacher draw students' attention to the words around them.

    Perhaps the task of getting the bulletin boards and printed posters (and perhaps student work) up in the classroom is sometimes seen as a one-time event that a teacher does, maybe, seasonally, to make the room look colorful and interesting. Also, on parent-teacher conference days or field trips with volunteers, teachers may want to make sure the room is spruced up and looks great for visitors to see. But, I have seen teachers use chart paper and pocket charts during lessons with students that are intentionally designed to go with the topic the teacher is teaching. Whereas, I think it may be more challenging to get into the habit of regularly referring to the already displayed print throughout the class day. Thus, I believe it is essential to plan the classroom print carefully to be displayed throughout the school year, focusing on different themes, topics, and subject matter that the students are studying.

 Gerde et al. (2016) give several ideas on how to incorporate classroom print so that its power to promote students' writing and literacy growth is utilized well. The authors point out that making efforts to make sure that the students see the connections between the print and words that are around them to perhaps label the scissor box or instructions on washing their hands will help as the students see text in books and the teacher points to the words while reading. Interestingly, they noted that "pointing to words helps children understand that we read the print and not the pictures" (Gerde et al., 2016, p. 288). This idea is a new thought for me to consider as a teacher and reminds me that it is important not to assume what a student understands or does not understand. 

Thus, recognizing the importance of connecting the print that is in the classroom to what is going on with my teaching during the day is important as I consider what print I want to have displayed in my classroom or area where I do my "pull-out" lessons for my ELL students. I must be culturally responsive, intentional, and thoughtful as I consider the various bulletin boards, labels, charts, and other print to display. I must also ensure I'm using the displayed print to help my students understand the connections between sounds, letters, words, and objects. I also believe I will need to really use the "think-aloud" strategy that Gerde et al. (2016) mention to help my ELL students see the connections between the displayed print and the English language, as well as to listen to my own thoughts processes as I'm writing the displayed print or maybe asking them to write it to display. It will also be essential to incorporate my students' languages and their evolving English print artifacts in my classroom displays.

                                                                  References

Gerde, H. K., Goetsch, M. E., & Bingham, G. E. (2016). Using Print in the Environment to Promote Early Writing. The Reading Teacher, 70(3), 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1508

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Entry #5 Dear Dr. Jones

 Dear Dr. Jones,

        Thus far, the "Foundations of Language Literacy" course has been very interesting as my thinking about literacy has been challenged and expanded. I liked having the opportunity to express my thoughts on literacy during the first class by filling out the Literacy Beliefs Profile and then comparing my ideas and my classmates' ideas with current research on the topic. It has been helpful to have the anchor texts of Kucer (2015) and Muhammad (2020) to refer back to and compare and contrast as we read about literacy strategies and ideas in Tompkins et al. (2022) and in articles by other authors. The information for the class is being presented in a way that I can apply it to my background, experiences, and viewpoints, which I think is helping me make connections that will further my understanding and ability to use the strategies in my classroom. In addition, I really like the way you are modeling the reciprocal teaching method on how to lead "grand conversations" on important literacy-related topics. Seeing you use the techniques we will have to utilize when we lead the Deeper Dive discussions has been quite illuminating. I'm learning a lot through this process, and it also informs me on ways I can model strategies for my students in their literacy journeys.

        As we have been tasked to use strategies to support our literacy habits, such as close reading and SQ4R, I've had the opportunity to think about ways I read and comprehend texts that are helpful and ways that I can change to be more aware of what I'm reading so that I can engage critically with the information. I have not been in the habit of surveying and doing a "walk" through the text I'm about to read to better understand the text. I am very in tune, though, with the information on the page or pages I'm reading and have always tried to synthesize it by taking notes that will help me organize my thoughts as it relates to what I'm reading on the page(s). From our discussions on these other literacy strategies, I see it would be helpful for me to have a more holistic approach to the text and to help my students do the same so they can have a better understanding of the parts of the text and be able to connect the overall themes and concepts within the text they are reading in order to be prepared to make connections to other texts, their individual backgrounds, or what's going on in the world.  

    There are three topics that I'm looking forward to discussing in class as it especially relates to my being an ENL educator. Those topics include developing fluent readers and writers, expanding vocabulary knowledge, and teaching comprehension. I think these areas of literacy are critical for helping English Language Learners (ELLs) successfully learn English. The topics are important because they can give my ELL students confidence when using English as listeners, speakers, readers, and writers. The three topics also influence one another because to read and write fluently and comprehend what they are reading and writing, students must have a robust vocabulary that is constantly growing and expanding.

    In this second half of the semester, I will continue to work to better understand, synthesize, and apply what I'm learning about literacy so that I can continue to grow and thrive on my "becoming literate" journey and effectively help my ELL students on their "becoming literate" journeys, too. 

Best regards,

Lida

MS TESOL Student

                                                                         

                                                            References

Kucer, S. B. (2015). Literacy: Varied, dynamic, and multidimensional.  Journal of ‌

            Family Strengths, 15(2), 1–35.

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic. 

Tompkins, G. E., Rodgers, E. M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

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