What does Early Literacy Look Like in Middle School?

CREATE Presentation

by Nancy Nadel

Picture books

High-interest Leveled Readers with picture supported glossary

Early Reader Chapter Books

Frog and Toad

Definition of Early Literacyat WIDA Levels 1 & 2

Early Literacy classes are

so-called to distinguish from classes with students who have a written language in their culture.

We needed to teach reading starting at the concept of print level in middle school.

Hunt Middle School ESL Curricula

• Additional classes were needed to serve students who had No Prior Literacy in their native language. (NPL)

• Literate in L1 students include students with interrupted schooling and newcomers who are fully literate L1 and sometimes L2.

Literacy Goals for 6th Grade

• Continue leveled reading program from elementary school to show measurable achievement separate from the WIDA ACCESS test.

• Align selected readings with 6th grade curriculum content.

WIDA Level ESL Classes at HMS

Newcomer Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Newcomer class

Literate in L1

6th grade

No prior literacy

6th grade

No prior literacy

7/8 grade

Mixed class

6th grade Most

Literate in L1

7/8 grade

Mixed Class

7/8 grade

Most literate in L1

Math Concepts 6th & 7th grade NPL

Sheltered Instruction Social Studies

6th gr. NPL

Sheltered Instruction Soc. Stud. 7/8th NPL

Curriculum Map: See Handout

WIDA Standard 1: ELL’s communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting.

WIDA Standard 2:ELL’s communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts

Themes and Essential Questions

Examples:

Standard 1: What do I need to do to succeed in middle school?

Standard 2: How do I get to be a better reader?

Grade Expectations: Grade 1R1:3 Applies word identification/decoding skills and strategies ( leading to automaticity) by…•Reading grade-appropriate, high-frequency words ( including irregularly

spelled words, contractions, etc.)

•Identifying sound-symbol correspondences: consonants, two-letter blends

•(e.g., bl, gr ), basic consonant and vowel digraphs (e.g., th, ee, ay) short vowels and long vowels affected by silent e.

•Reading regularly spelled one-and two-syllable words ( e.g., “kitten”, “doghouse”) by using knowledge of sounds and letter patterns ( including common endings -s, -ed, -ly , -ing)

Grade Expectations: Grade 2

R2:3 Applies word identification/decoding skills and strategies by…•Reading grade-level -appropriate, words with automaticity

•Reading grade-appropriate, high-frequency words

( including irregularly spelled words)

•Identifying regularly spelled multisyllabic words ( e.g., “happiness,” “shower,” “sunshine”), by using knowledge

of sounds, syllable types or word patterns ( including common spellings for consonants and vowel sounds , e.g., “knot”, “catch,” “float,” “fight,” or common suffixes)

Grade Expectations: Grade 6

R6:3 Applies word identification/decoding skills and strategies by…•Identifying multisyllabic words by using knowledge of sounds, six syllable types/syllable division, and word

patterns ( including prefixes and suffixes)

Formative Assessment

• Reading Group Oral Discussion

• Group Book DiscussionGuide for interns to lead oral discussion

Summative Assessment

• Student listener/Student speaker• Oral Retell roles help students work

cooperatively. • Fountas and Pinnell Assessment

Running record, comprehension questions, vocabulary and NECAP- aligned writing sample.

Sample Sequence of Teaching Points

Word/Language Study_- Functions and Patterns ____________parts of words

____________word endings ____________ contractions

____________question formation (wh) ____________sentence structure

Novels and Chapter Books

Thank you interns!

Come back!