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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ENTRY #4: Using 3-2-1 Writing Strategy to Reflect on Discussion -- Literacy Practices & Frameworks

In my Foundations of Language and Literacy course, I recently participated in an interesting discussion on three authors' writings on how to integrate literacy practices and frameworks into the curriculum to bring about the best results for students from all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. As I reflect on these readings, a video presentation, and our class discussion, I will use the 3-2-1 Writing Strategy to share the highlights of all that I'm learning about literacy.

3 IDEAS I AM NOW PONDERING

a. Yoon (2019) argues that to tap into the boundless backgrounds and experiences of our students when we our designing literacy practices in the classroom, we must not allow the prescriptive literacy tasks, such pre-planned and authorized assessments and worksheets, to overshadow opportunities for our students to participate in authentic language and literacy tasks. The latter tasks open up a world of possibilities, such as playful interactions and using a student's funds of knowledge, as a springboard for literacy learning. 

I think that educators must expand their own knowledge and understanding of literacy. We must reflect on our own biases in literacy instruction, to embrace the reality (and incorporate into literacy activities) all that our students bring into the classroom that impacts their abilities to thrive and grow in their literacy practices.

b. In our discussion, we also talked about helping our students to unearth and utilize what they bring into the classroom in their literacy development based on their culture, background, experiences. Gholdy Muhammad (2020) has developed an historically responsive literacy framework which supports this idea of "cultivating the genius" of our students by starting with the "roots" that have already been growing in their lives and nourishing their diverse literacy backgrounds with activities that focus on such things as their identities and intellect. In our class discussion, a word that we began to use was the idea of "restoration" (which is a gradual process) because we all recognize that schools and educators have not been designing curriculum in a way that celebrates, builds on, and prepares the brains of our students for what Hammond (2021) calls "leveling up cognition" so students are ready to deepen and expand their knowledge.

 I thought it was eye-opening to consider that for so many years curriculum's have not been structured in a way that all students, no matter their culture, ethnicity, background, and experiences, can be successful in academic pursuits. Instead, Hammond (2021) argues that curriculum has been structured to stymie the progress that black and brown students are able to make in areas such as literacy. But now there are many ways schools and educators can begin to restore what has been lost so that students today and in the future are much better prepared to achieve their goals and dreams. We can achieve this by focusing on one student and one class at a time as we view their situations from what Yoon (2019) says is a resource point of view.

c. Gholdy Muhammad (2020) focused on sharing  many lessons we gain from studying Black Literacy Societies. One prominent lesson she highlights is the way the members were very collaborative and learned from one another. This way of learning is in direct opposition to many Western cultures, who focus on the individual achievements and competition with one another. I'm pondering ways in which educators can set a realistic tone in the classroom that balances both ideas of being collaborative and competitive in literacy activities as we recognize that there can be positives and negatives with each mindset. As an educator I can look for ways to balance the two mindsets in the way I present literacy opportunities and activities to my studens.
 

2 COMMENTS THAT REALLY INSPIRED ME

a. I was inspired by our class discussion on the various connections we made related to the two different authors and the podcast guest's comments. Adeline's closing comment to our discussion was thought proking as she connected some characteristics of Kucer's Cognition Dimension (2015) to what had just occurred during our discussion. As Adeline pointed out, we all read the same texts, but each one of us had a different perspective and way of describing what we read and the connections we made between the texts. Our individual ideas about the texts were evident in our discussion and did not necessarily match what the author wanted us to believe and may have been some of our own newly constructed ideas based on the discussion with one another. This idea reflects that literacy is multi-faceted and diverse. It also is an example of Gholdy Muhammad (2020) discussion of the collaboration and "socially constructed" ideas that came out of the Black Literacy Society meetings, which Muhammad believes need to be used as examples when we teach literacy in schools today.

b. I also was inspired by the discussion on recognizing that sometimes there are questions that can never fully be answered, and they are called the "enduring" questions. I think this connects very well with our discussion on understanding literacy and exactly what it is and what it is not. It is important for educators to be lifelong learners and pass this attitude on to our students in the way we develop activities, instructional strategies, and curriculum. We want our students, as well as educators, to always have an excitement and wonder about learning. In the 21st century, we live in a fast pace, every changing technological and global environment in which students need to be prepared for change and for seeking knowledge, sometimes that knowledge is like having the "enduring question" and is not set in stone and is ever-changing.

 1 COMMITMENT I WANT TO MAKE FOR MY FUTURE STUDENTS

***My commitment to my students is that I want to be an educator who is reflective and seeks to be transformative in the way I approach teaching. I want to always be prepared to learn new ideas about teaching strategies and to try to implement these ideas, but at the same time, I want to be reflective in figuring out whether they are appropriate and will help my students to thrive and grow.

                                                                           References

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

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

Kucer, S. (2015). Literacy: Varied, Dynamic, and Multidimensional. Journal of                                       Family Strengths, 15(2).                                                                                                               http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/jfs/vol15/iss2/1

‌Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. The Reading

          Teacher, 72(5), 551–557. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1788

Zaretta Hammond: Using Neuroscience to Help Students | #PLtogether. (2021). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOrIN2oJi8

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Entry #3: Storytelling, Music, & Newspapers Anchor My Literacy Journey

For today's entry, please go to the following Padlet link to see a collage of photos that represent my literacy journal before I started school:

 Lida's Literacy Collage

Entry #2: Reflections on Using SQ4R Reading Comprehension Strategy

    Using the SQ4R reading comprehension strategy this week made me more aware of my own ways of approaching reading and understanding a text and how these ways are similar and different from this strategy. As I consider my interaction with this strategy, I must first relate how I most often read texts. Usually, I do a lot of underlining, taking notes, and outlining on a paper copy of a text. I find it very difficult to stay engaged as a reader and to comprehend what I'm reading if I read a long text on a computer. Thus, I'm more comfortable having a paper copy of the text that I write directly on and sometimes even taking additional notes on the text. 

    Because of my strong need to write on the texts (i.e., notes, outlining), I always buy my textbooks and do not sell them back. Also, I make copies of all the article resources used in class. Although this is considered an extra expense, I've decided it is essential because I know these methods are part of my learning style and how I can get the most out of the information I'm reading. I find I do my best learning if I'm writing down information about what I'm reading or hearing in a lecture or class environment. Sometimes I don't go back to what I wrote, but I believe that taking in the information in my mind and then scribing what I've heard or read is quite helpful for me to remember, process, apply, and discuss the information.

    There were similarities in the SQ4R strategy to how I most often read texts. With this strategy, I engaged with the texts by writing down key points on what I read, which I usually like to do. It was different for me to use sticky notes instead of taking my notes directly on the texts by outlining, underlining, and using the margins. I found the sticky notes to be somewhat cumbersome and distracting at times. It was hard for them to lay down flat on each page, and I still felt I needed the notes on the text to direct my attention and understanding to different parts of the text. Using sticky notes and being "succinct" was difficult initially for me. But the more I did the technique, I decided to read the whole page first and then write key points on the sticky note versus writing notes as I was reading along. This definitely reminded me to read each page first, more "holistically" instead of trying to understand each of the "parts" of that particular text page.

In addition, the SQ4R strategy of reading and noting headings, sections, and tables, is also one that I found to be helpful as I participated in the Forum. This strategy supported my ability to quickly search out discussion points and references in particular sections. I found that the sticky notes got in the way at times in finding the information because I didn't do a good job summarizing. Also, I think building in the time to stop and reflect and "recite" what I've just read and taken notes on is helpful. I could have done a better job of incorporating this part of the strategy. I focused more on the sticky notes, doing a "survey" before I read and "reflecting" on what material would be coming next and what questions would be answered as the article progressed.

Finally, the habits I will need to build to be more engaged as a reader relates to taking the time to stop and reflect on what I've read and how the different parts come together. I need to be better at summarizing what I've read as a whole and reflecting on how it applies to other connections, such as text-to-world connections, because I've found that I can really remember and understand better what I read when I stop to make notes on the connections in my life. I must recognize each time I read a text, my perspective and engagement may evolve and change because of the different moment-by-moment or daily experiences I may have. Thus, it is important to question and think about each of the parts of the whole I'm reading. Building these types of habits, I believe, will help me to become better at pinpointing specific, relatable ideas and information that will add value to engaging in text discussions with my classmates. 

Entry 1. My Literacy Ramblings

Literacy means the ability to communicate and understand the world one inhabits using speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills. It also means being able to comprehend and interpret what others are saying or writing using pragmatics and semantics.

A literate person is a person who is able to speak, read, write and understand what others are saying and writing in order to navigate their world successfully. This person is also able to go into a variety of environments and use their literacy knowledge to understand what is going on.

First, I have gained my understanding of literacy based on my own family experiences. I've always found it fascinating and inspiring that my Mom was the only person in her immediate family to graduate from a segregated high school and an historically black college to become a teacher. She was one of five children with a father who was a carpenter with a middle school education, and her mother had a third-grade education. I didn't know my grandfather because he died when I was a baby but spent some time with my grandmother, who always seemed reticent to communicate and somewhat shy. My Mom told me that her mother was embarrassed that she couldn't read and write, and it always bothered her that she lacked this ability for communication. My Mom was quite active in her church with her family and because her father saw her leadership abilities serving as secretary to the Sunday school, she was encouraged to pursue education. Her four siblings ended up not finishing high school. 

Second, my understanding of the importance of literacy and communication was ingrained in my upbringing and in my parents' focus on encouraging the pursuit of the highest education that was possible for their children. Although both my parents were teachers for a few years, they did not encourage my older brother or me to pursue this profession. Instead, they hoped we would pursue law or medicine. Then when I became a Mother to four daughters, I was very motivated to make sure that they received all they needed to have a great start in literacy activities at school. Thus, I homeschooled my three oldest daughters for pre-K and Kindergarten and taught all of my children to read.

Finally, because I have been taking courses in the TESOL program, I have become more knowledgeable about what it means to be literate. Of course, in this program, I'm studying how to help students who speak other languages to learn English. So I am learning how to help language learners in the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and listening. I've learned topics such as linguistics and understanding the importance of my students being literate in their home country languages so that they can be successful in learning English. If I do have SIFE (Students with Interrupted Formal Education) in my classroom, then I do need to be knowledgeable in helping them overcome the barriers of not being literate in their own language. I do believe I'm a literate person because of the education I've received....Dr. Jones made me stop....