Content Area Reading and ELLs

Schools must provide instruction that allows ELLs to acquire content-area knowledge while they are developing proficiency in English (NCLB, 2001).

Policy Context of Language Development Instruction

Social vs. Academic Language Read the handout. Identify language that

may be difficult for ELLs.

Characteristics of Social and Academic Language

Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) (Cummins, 1979).

Used daily to communicate with others.

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) (Cummins, 1979).

The language of text and content areas.

Recognizing written vocabulary as distinct from oral vocabulary.

Understanding the structure of argument, academic discourse, and expository texts.

Conversational Language Academic Language

Uses of Academic Language

To participate fully in the classroom and

learn new content, ELLs must be able to:• Use and understand academic language in its

various forms, for a variety of purposes.• Learn new words (vocabulary) in context.• Determine the difference between relevant and less

relevant text in a given passage and the necessity of a specific reading and/or language task.

• Participate in student conversations related to text.

Academic Language Needs Explicit Instruction

Academic language is key to school success: Lower-Order Skills

Recalling facts Identifying vocabulary Creating definitions

Higher-Order Skills Using language to analyze, synthesize, and

evaluate

Planning for Content ReadingConsider: Modeled, shared and independent reading

opportunities Vocabulary development (Tiers 1,2 and 3).

Connecting prior knowledge to new knowledge (with realia and visuals).

Metacognitive awareness (strategies).

Active and engaged reading activities (including all four domains).

Graphic organizer usage Discussion questions Making connections with text Assessments with rubrics and models

Successful Reading Behaviors for ELLs

Think of themselves as readers

Set a purpose Think about known knowledge Focus on meaning Sound out words Skip unimportant words Search for cognates Transfer knowledge across

two languages

Underline/highlight important parts

Take notes Self-question Make mental pictures Ask someone Self-question Check to see what

information was remembered

Reread

To successfully read in content areas, ELLs can:

Think-Pair-ShareWhat makes reading text easier for ELLs?

1. Look through assigned text2. Think about what you already know about the topic and

what you will be reading3. Look at titles and headings4. Look at vocabulary5. Look at pictures and captions6. Read summaries, conclusions and questions7. Develop an activity to read text

1. Explicitly instruct on the expository text structure.

Textbook Sections

Visual

Cues

Graphic Elements

table of contents title and headings

maps, graphics and pictures

glossary bold print sidebars

index bullets captions

2. Provide opportunities for text interaction.

Opportunities include:• Making predictions• Defining key terms• Summarizing• Identify main idea• Taking notes• Skim for the gist• Scan for text features

Activities to assist reading include:• Margin bookmark• Study guide• Graphic organizers• Two-column note-taking • Coding• Cloze passages• Paragraph frames• Word splashes • Anticipation-reaction guides

3. Model what good readers do.

Think aloud (I am going to think aloud about what I just read.)

Demonstrate how to figure out vocabulary (What could

this word mean. I am going to reread to figure it out.)

Think about meaning (I am going to make predictions. What kind

of test question might a teacher ask about this paragraph?) Model fix-up strategies (I am going to read chunks and then

summarize. That was confusing. I am going to reread.)

When reading aloud teachers can:

Partner Practice Choose a partner Pre-read the paragraph Choose a technique from the previous slide

to model Take turns being the teacher by reading the

paragraph out loud and modeling

4. Allot opportunities to practice reading.

There should be a balance between the teacher reading aloud and students reading.

• Peer interaction• Reading partners• Silent reading

Strategies to promote text-based discussions Conduct follow up questions Allow longer wait times Think-pair-share Reciprocal teaching Allow small and whole group response to

questions and prompts Numbered heads-together Jigsaw reading Getting the Gist

Summarize: Sum Up/The Big 10What learners do Estimated time

Preview the text 2 minutes

List 2-3 items that you and a partner think you will find out

2 minutes

Listen and follow along as a reader reads aloud and list 10 important words or ideas

2 minutes

Compare your Big 10 with a partner 2 minutes

Work with a partner and write 1-2 sentences using as many of the big 10 as possible.

2minutes

18

Video

We will watch three video clips of students reading. Take a few moments and read the texts.

What are some difficulties of the texts? After viewing the videos, discuss in your

small group, some problems students had and what can we do as teachers?

What is Reading Comprehension?

Collaborate with your small group to define reading comprehension.

When readers comprehend a text, they actively construct meaning in their minds by drawing from the text itself and from their own knowledge. The goal is to have the two sources of input interweave and make sense.

Increase Readers’ Comprehension

From ______knowledge to new knowledge. From the ___________to the abstract. From______ language to written text, From _______contextual support to less

contextual support.

Use contextual support (______,_______. Non- _______ clues) to communicate the overall message, then correlate the message with the __________.

prior

concrete

oral

more

visualhands-on activities

verbal

language

Lesson Sequence

1. Read the text 2. Answer the question 3. Discuss the material 4. Do the application/expansions Where is this lesson sequence typically

used? How effective is it with ELLs? Now, try the above sequence backwards to

facilitate language learning.

Teach the Text Backwards

A Nation is Born

1. Who were the founding fathers of the United States?2. When did the founding fathers meet in Independence

Hall?3. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?4. Who were some people who signed the Declaration

of Independence?5. Who took the Declaration of Independence to the

printer?6. Why did John Hancock make his signature so large?

Knowledge Structures

Concepts Definitions DetailsFounding fathers

Declaration of Independence

the men who helped the US become a separate nationA written statement saying the US was no longer..

Thomas Jefferson John HancockOne of the most important documents in US history

The founding fathers were men who helped the United States become a separate nation.

Linguistic Devices

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers.

John Hancock was another founding father.

Signal Words Subject Predicate

One Thomas Jefferson -Wrote the Dec. of Ind.-Signed the..

Another John Hancock -signed the Dec. of Ind. In large letters

Graphic Organizers and Language Needed

ChronologyKind of Language Needed

First Last

Next Soon

After While

Later Finally

At last In the end

Eventually Since

References

Center On Instruction, Language Development for ELLs, Mabel O. Rivera, Ani C. Moughamian, David J. Francis

Increasing ELL Student Reading Comprehension with Non-Fiction Text, K. Robertson

Teaching Reading to ELLs, 6-12, M. Calderon