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© 2008 Benchmark Education Company, LLC TX Invitationals 2008BEC 1

Improving the Academic Vocabulary and Content Comprehension of ELLs and

Struggling Readers in the Intermediate Grades Through High School

By Margarita Calderón, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University


Objectives for Today’s Session

• Research highlights on reading development and academic achievement for ELLs.

• Strategies and techniques for teaching language and reading to ELLs.

• Integrating ELL literacy strategies into the content areas.


Academic Literacy• Includes reading, writing, and oral discourse

for school• Varies from subject to subject• Requires knowledge of multiple genres of text,

purposes for text use, and text media• Is influenced by students’ literacies in contexts

outside of school• Is influenced by students’ personal, social, and

cultural experiences

Source: Short, Deborah J., and Shannon Fitzsimmons. Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007.


National ELL Statistical Trends

• Nationally, over 6 million American students in Grades 6 through 12 are at risk of failure because they read and comprehend below the basic levels needed for high school success.

• Approximately 85% of ELLs in middle and high school were born in the United States and have been in U.S. schools since Kindergarten!

• Newcomers and refugees are mainly SIFE(Students with Interrupted Formal Education).


Promising Practices for Developing Literacy in Adolescent ELLs

• Integrate all four language skills into instruction from the start

• Teach the components and processes of reading and writing

• Teach reading comprehension strategies• Focus on vocabulary development• Build and activate background knowledge• Teach language through content and themes• Use native language strategically• Pair technology with existing interventions• Motivate ELLs through choiceSource: Short, Deborah J., and Shannon Fitzsimmons. Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and

Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007.


Interventions for ELLs

Initiatives• Title I• Title III• Response to

Intervention (RtI)• Reading Next• Even Start• Early Reading

First/Reading First

Instructional Models• TWI (Two-Way Bilingual

Immersion)• DBE (Developmental

Bilingual Education)• TBE (Transitional

Bilingual Education)• SEI (Structured English

Immersion)• Push-in ESL• Pull-out ESL


New York City Schools and Others Have Found That:

• Literacy interventions for native English speakers will not work for ELLs.

• Adolescent ELLs generally need much more time focused on developing vocabulary and background knowledge.

• ESL-only programs (language without content) do not work.


New York City Schools and Others Have Found That:

• Elementary-level programs do not work for adolescents.

• Phonics-only programs do not work.

• Successful literacy interventions for SIFE and older ELLs integrate language and literacy development, along with content-area knowledge.


10 Instructional Components1. Content-driven language and reading2. Explicit vocabulary instruction3. Explicit fluency instruction 4. Explicit comprehension and strategic reading

instruction5. Discourse and peer interaction6. Consolidation of knowledge, language, and literacy7. Reading and writing connections8. Phonemic awareness and phonics (as needed)9. Assessment10. Professional development


Instructional Component #1

Content-Driven Language and Reading


• Making connections/building background

• Previewing the book

• Comprehension strategies

• Fluency

• Phonics and vocabulary in context

• Grammar and language connections

• Oral language practice

Content-Area Reading



Explicit Vocabulary Instruction


Teaching Vocabulary/Concepts

Why breadth and depth of vocabulary?• Vocabulary knowledge correlates with

comprehension.

• Comprehension depends on knowing between 90% and 95% of the words in a text.

• To overcome the vocabulary disadvantage, we need to teach vocabulary explicitly on a daily basis.

• A high-achieving 12th-grader has learned some 15 words a day, over 5,000 words a year.


Vocabulary Tiers

Tier One

• words that ELLs need for everyday speech• for academic conversations and explanations• for scaffolding more complicated text

Examples: find, search, answer, so, if, then, simple idiomatic expressions

Tier Two

• challenging words that we need in order to access cognitively demanding content

• may be multiple-meaning words

Examples: round, right, table, ring, bad

Tier Three

• discipline-specific academic words for Social Studies, Science, and Math concepts

Examples: peninsula, osmosis, democracy


Nonfiction Text Structures and Tiers One and Two Words

Comparison and Contrast

• however• but• on the

other hand• instead• while• either . . . or• although

Sequence

• on (date)• not long

after• now • as • before• after• when • then• finally

Description

• to begin with• most

important• also• in fact• for instance• for example

Cause and Effect and Problem and Solution

• because• since• therefore• consequently • as a result• if . . . then


Cognates in ScienceTiers Two and Three

• hypotheseshipótesis• observationsobservaciones• classificationclasificación• predictionspredicciones• tentative conclusionsconcluciones tentativas• evaluateevaluar

• experimentexperimento

• experimentationexperimentación

• investigation investigación

• inferencesinferencias

• processproceso


Tier Two words can also include polysemous words

across academic content areas• ring• solution• table• divide• prime• round

• trunk• power • cell• right• radical• leg


1. Teacher says the word.

2. Asks students to repeat the word 3 times.3. States the word in context from the text.

4. Provides the dictionary definition(s).5. Explains meaning with student-friendly

definitions.

6. Engages students in activities to develop word/concept knowledge.

7. Highlights grammar, spelling, polysemy, etc.

Pre-Teaching Vocabulary


• How many Tier Three vocabulary terms can you find in your books?

• What are the supportive vocabulary features found in your books?

Hands-On Investigation


• What language and literacy features do you think will support your ELL students?

• How do these features make content more comprehensible?




Explicit Fluency Instruction


Fluent Readers…

• read in phrases• read with expression• monitor their comprehension• read accurately• demonstrate automaticity• practice reading• attend to punctuation and word choice


Why Use Teacher Read-Alouds with Secondary Students?

Engagement with Text Read Aloud

• Model fluent reading

• Extend comprehension

• Teach more vocabulary words!



Explicit Comprehension and Strategic Reading

Instruction


• Fix-Up and Monitoring Strategies

• Make Connections

• Visualize

• Ask Questions

• Determine Importance

• Infer

• Synthesize

Metacognitive Strategies


Comprehension Skills & Strategies

• Analyze text structure & organization

• Compare & contrast• Draw conclusions• Evaluate author’s purpose• Evaluate author’s point of

view or perspective• Identify cause and effect• Identify main ideas and

supporting details

• Identify sequence of events

• Identify steps in a process• Make inferences• Make predictions• Summarize• Use graphic features to

interpret information• Use text features to locate

information


Partner-Reading Strategies

Step 1. The teacher reads and models strategies.

Step 2. Partner A reads the first sentence.

Step 3. Partner B helps.

Step 4 . Partner B reads the next sentence.

Step 5. Partner A helps.

Step 6. Partners continue until they finish reading the entire assigned section.


• With a neighbor, use your book to identify additional ways to partner-read nonfiction texts.




Discourse and Peer Interaction


Debriefing

• Students report on words and phrases they didn’t understand. listed on their self-stick notes.

• Clarify unknown words and phrases.

• Students report on gist of paragraph.

• Clarify overall meaning of the paragraph (initially; then larger chunks as appropriate).


After-Reading Activities

• Whole-class concept/semantic maps • Content retell—using new vocabulary• Team discussions/open-ended questions • Writing sentences• Work with multiple-meaning words• Pronunciation • Content-related writing



Consolidation of Knowledge, Language,

and Literacy


CooperativeLearning Strategies

• Expert Jigsaw• In-house Jigsaw• Corners• Numbered Heads

Together• Turn to Your Partner• Team Tournaments• Tear-Ups

• Roundtable• Write Around• Tea Party• Three-Step

Interview• Partner Products• Team Products



Reading and Writing Connections


• making sure students comprehend all the components of the reading process prior to writing

• engaging students in a variety of pre-writing activities that provide opportunities for ample discussion, brainstorming, drawing, etc., of new vocabulary, concepts, topics, or themes

• responding often to what the student has written

• allowing more time for LEP students to develop, discuss, and share their writing with others;

• doing joint authorships (pairs or small teams)

Scaffold Writing by:


Writing Lessons

• Shared Writing• Interactive/Collaborative Writing• Independent Writing


Write Around• Each row (group of 4–5) needs one piece of

paper.• When I say go, the first person will write one

word in response to my prompt.• Next, pass the paper to the team member on

your right and continue to add one word at a time until time is up.

• Be sure to think, write, and pass quickly!




Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

(as needed)


“For adolescent ELL students who do not read or write in any language, it is important to teach them the components of reading: beginning with phonemic awareness and phonics (the sounds of language and how to put sounds together to form words) and adding vocabulary, text comprehension, and fluency”(August & Shanahan, 2006).


Scope of Skills

• Use advanced phonics elements to recognizewords• More complex vowelspellings• More structural analysis(compound words,affixes, etc.)• Read multisyllabic words• Syllabication strategies• Connected text reading• Vocabulary development

• Phonemic Awareness- Blending & word building- Segmenting• Short Vowels (a,e,i,o,u –CVC pattern)• Consonants• Final e (CVCe pattern)• Long vowel digraphs (ai, ay, ea, ee, oa, ow, etc.)• Consonant clusters (br, cl, st, etc.)• Digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, etc.)• Add’l. vowels (oo, ou, ow, oi, oy)• Early structural analysis: verb endings (ing, ed), plurals, contractions, compound words• Connected text reading• Vocabulary development

• Concepts of print• Alphabet recognition• Letter formation• Phonemic AwarenessSound and word

discrimination- Rhyming (identify andproduce)- Blending- Segmentation• Recognize some words by sight• Short Vowels (a,e,i,o,u –CVC pattern)• Consonants

AdvancedIntermediate Beginning

Source: Blevins, Wiley. Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades. Scholastic, 2001.


10 Instructional Components1. Content-driven language and reading2. Explicit vocabulary instruction3. Explicit fluency instruction 4. Explicit comprehension and strategic reading

instruction5. Discourse and peer interaction6. Consolidation of knowledge, language, and literacy7. Reading and writing connections8. Phonemic awareness and phonics (as needed)9. Assessment10. Professional development


Instructional Model/Lesson Sequence

Teacher Students1. Introduces concepts/vocab �Provide examples or questions

2. Reads aloud for fluency �Read along silently or whisper

3. Thinks aloud to model

comprehension strategies �Report the strategies they heard

4. Models how to partner-read �Conduct partner-reading for fluency

5. Monitors & records partners �Partners reread to practice strategies

6. Conducts cooperative activity �Work in teams to process info

7. Conducts debriefing �Discuss words, concepts, summaries

8. Models writing strategies �Do content-related writing

9. Assesses vocabulary & content �Analyze their test results and go back

to learn the missing pieces

10.Assesses a second time �All students should be successful


ELLs Need More Time in the 90-minute block for:

1. Learning words critical to learning the overall content-specific

concepts within and beyond text.

2. Decoding, monitoring, self-correction while maintaining

fluency as students learn to read content texts.

3. Searching for and processing information.

4. Summarizing orally and in written form key information using

the appropriate vocabulary.

5. Making connections to other subject areas, background

knowledge, and what still needs to be learned (e.g., analysis,

inferences, predictions, critiques, reflections).

6. Using graphic organizers or notes to write about the topic.


Teachers with ELLs need:

1. Permission to take extra time to pre-teach vocabulary, to do

partner-reading, to apply the appropriate writing pedagogy for

ELLs.

2. Flexibility or freedom from program models that restrict their

ability to integrate ELL strategies into their lessons.

3. Time in Teacher Learning Communities to work together to share

successes, share new strategies, encourage/motivate each other.

4. A coach and a supervisor who has also gone through the

same professional development on research-based and

outcomes-based instruction for ELLs.

5. Comprehensive training and on-going coaching (for the whole

school) in order to share the same mind-set for ELLs.


Study in 17 New York City Middle and High Schools

• N = 900 students

• N = 60 teachers

• February–May 2007

• 5-day training + 3 days of coaching for each teacher

• Pre- and post-testing of students with RIGOR Assessments

• Pre- and postobservation of teachers with RIGOR Observation Protocol

• NYCESLAT & school tests

• NYC Supervisors conducted Action Research also


Settings for Implementation


Proven results for RIGORwith NYC SIFE, Grades 6–12


“ELLs benefit from carefully crafted and challenging content instruction.”

“There is a direct correlation between the quality and intensity of a professional

development program and student outcomes.”


How Do We Close the Gap?

• Integrate language, literacy, and content• Improve academic vocabulary• Increase content comprehension• Change instruction strategies to raise

achievement scores

© 2008 Benchmark Education Company, LLCTX Invitationals 2008

50

Introduction to RIGOR

Margie BurtonSenior VP Sales and Marketing Benchmark Education Company


Scaling Up with RIGOR!

• Twenty middle and high schools in New York City are using RIGOR with SIFE students during the 2008 school year.

• Five middle schools in New York City have also started using RIGOR with special education ELLs.

• RIGOR is being used with ELLs in Boston, Salt Lake City, and Newark.


Reading Instructional Goals for Older Readers


English and Spanish Structured Solutions

RIGOR Level 1

Two Developmental Levels

RIGOR Level 2

For preliterate through first grade reading levels

For second through third grade reading levels


“ Grab and Go ” Weekly Skill Bags

Level 1: 16 Skill Bags

Level 2: 16 Skill Bags


Step Daily Teaching & Assessment55

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics11

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction and Practice22

33

Ongoing Assessment

44 Writing

55

Content-Area Reading for Fluency and Comprehension

Listening/Speaking and Cooperative Learning integrated throughout


Glaciers


Texts are aligned to language and content standards for beginning through advanced language-acquisition levels.

English Content-Area Nonfiction


Carefully written to reflect natural Spanish-language patterns

Spanish Content-Area Nonfiction


RIGOR Title List


RIGOR Teacher’s GuideSkill Bag 9 Teacher’s Guide


Assessment tools for:• Spelling

• Word Study• Phonics

• Vocabulary

• Comprehension• Independent Writing

Ongoing Unit Assessment


Placement and Pre- and Postassessments• Oral Reading Records• Phonemic Awareness &

Phonics Assessments• Tier One Vocabulary

Word Lists• Writing Assessments


Independent practice to build:• Fluency • Comprehension• Vocabulary• Pronunciation• Confidence

Technology to Support Development of English Literacy & Language


• Initial teacher training • On-site follow-up coaching and

observation with RIGOR Protocol• Training for literacy coaches and

administrators/supervisors

Professional Development Also Available


RIGOR Intervention Skill Bags


RIGOR Order FormHow to order RIGOR


Contact:

Your local Benchmark Education

Sales Representative


Dr. Margarita Calderón

[email protected]