Working with Non-literate Learners

Alysan Croydon

In this workshop you will…

• Experience a literacy lesson

• Discuss tools and strategies effective in teaching non-literate adults

• Learn about approaches, tools and activities to teach beginning literacy

• Identify strategies to differentiate tasks for non-literate learners

Workshop Agenda

• Introduction

• Literacy lesson

• A taxonomy of strategies (#1,#2 ,#3 )

• Adapting tasks for non-literate students

Today, we..

Who are we ?Please use your ✔ or ✗ cards.

I teach in a community college settingI teach in a community based settingI teach in a K-12 settingI teach large classes ( 25+ students)I teach classes ( 10-20 students)I teach small groups ( under 10)I teach classes with mixed literate and non-literate studentsI teach a class of students that are all non-literateI teach in an open-entry programI teach refugees and immigrantsI teach monolingual classes

Warm up Activity

Please participate in the grid activity.

Steps:• Introduce pattern• Repetition practice• Model of grid organization• Student model• Group work: grid completion• Follow up activities on data generated in the survey

Grid example with no print

Hindi Lesson

Please participate in the Hindi lesson

An approach to teaching non-literate learners

Input/Oral work

Environmental print, document literacy

Teacher made material

Student generated material

Word attack skills

Only start to read what a student can already say

A Taxonomy of Strategies

#1 Needs Assessment

• Find out your students’ levels, skill proficiencies, needs and interests.

Assessment of learning needs

Level and skills diagnostic tools:– Writing/ reading sample– Alphabet cloze– Letter/number recognition test– Self- selection based on choice of

materials– Observation (see questions in your

handout)

Assessment of learning goals

When students can’t complete surveys..

• Use pictures

• Choose pictures in picture dictionary

• “A day in the life of….” picture survey

#2 Begin with Listening and Speaking

What is your…..name?

What is your ….address?

What is your…..phone #?

Accommodations for non-literate learners

• Introduce vocab. via TPR or “Chalk Talk” ( instead of worksheets)

• Use picture cards and labels

• Use picture stories

• Information gap games

• Use visual prompts

Avoid distracting print on the board, plan your board work.

#2 Start with Real Words

Teacher Generated

Student generated

Learn sight words using student generated text

• Use Language Experience Approach• Use CLL transcripts• Focus on list of 100 common words

These activities:eliminate comprehension difficultiesuse only known vocabularyensure relevant contentare easy to makeare at the right level

#4 Create a System to Record and Recycle new Sight Words

Target letter chart Sight word wall

Recording, reviewing and practicing sight words

• Create a system to record words for individual learners (envelope,box,ring,list)

• Create a print-rich environment in the classroom ( posters, labels, materials)

• Develop systems and routines to practice and review sight words ( games, worksheets, regular review)

• Use teacher-made and simplified texts to practice reading fluency

#5 Teach Word-attack Skills

As each sound is identified, put it into a word and that word into a sentence that is meaningful.

Other ideas: • Make lists of words that contain that sound• Introduce rhyming words ( hat, cat, sat)• Play games such as bingo with sounds• Use picture sorts• Use sound discrimination exercises map/mat

cap/cat

Teach how to decode low(er) frequency words

• Teach phonemic awareness (oral work)

• Target new sounds in vocabulary that is known

• Teach letter/sound correspondence» Start with consonants and checked vowels» Create word families (at, cat, sat, mat)» Teach free vowels ( Tim/time)» Teach digraphs, diphthongs, etc

Free and checked vowels

• What does final ‘silent’ e do in the following words?

Plate, scene, home, true.

• Why occurrence not occurence?

#6 Use a Combination of Top-down and Bottom-up Processing

Strategies in Every LessonTop-down processing: Expose students to whole sentences and words in context.

Bottom-up processing : Focus attention on letters/sounds and how sounds combine to make words.

Pao is a student. He sits next to Van

S-S- Student. What other words start with this sound?

Top down/bottom up activities

Balance top-down and bottom-up lesson focus

In each lesson unit give focus to:Oral work (include phonemic awareness)

Modeling readingTarget letter(s) and soundsSight words• Reading strategies (predicting, using text organization

clues)

• Reading fluency ( Students practice reading texts at the ‘right level’ = 96% of words are known)

CarCupclock

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to:

1.Recognize (been, been, been, bin)

2.Distinguish (red/led, rice/lice)

3.Manipulate sounds am, man, mom

Includes the ability to isolate, blend and count sounds.

To develop readingfluency:

• Students need access to materials– Make class books– Write your own texts– Collect useful reading materials( e.g.

empty medicine and food containers)– Organize/file your materials for easy

access

Provide a variety of ways to practice reading

• Vary how you practice:

• Teacher led

• Peer led

• Pair reading

• Shadow reading

• Independent reading

#7 Help students See Patterns in Language and Literacy

• Students need to see words in context.

Read this:

T e g rl w nt t t wn

When students learn chunks it helps them predict the next word.

• Teach language patterns (grammar)• Highlight important sound/spelling patterns

Teach patterns

For reading• Practice on level appropriate materials• Teach commonly occurring words in

word groups.

Instead of having students read single words, have them ‘see’ the words in context: “Abdi goes to work in the morning.”

Sound/spelling patterns

• Teach free/checked vowel system

• Teach common letter combinations and patterns ( -ing, ed, -gh, )

Letter C sound= /k/ or /s/ ?

When is it hard? When is it soft?

Teach patterns

For syntax:

• Use visual drills

• Use grids and grid follow up activities

• Use rods to show sentence patterns

For sounds

• Rhyming words, word families

Grids

Grid Activity

• Introduce question form or sentence frame• Model the grid• Students complete grids in small groups or on

individual handouts• Give additional oral practice of language as

necessary• Students complete written work using grid

data as necessary

Grid follow up activities

• Match sight words to grid information

• Dictate sentences about the data. T writes• Read a sentence about the grid

• Give sentence frames for completion

I like ______, Hawa likes______

Grid Follow Up Activities

• Students write their own sentences or Q and A using grid data

• One group can write T/F statements about the grid for another group to answer

• Groups answer questions, write additional questions or summarize data

#8 Help students apply and notice literacy in the world around them

Signs and notices Documents

Real world Application

• Take walking tours

• Give extension assignments• Copy down/take a picture of signs• Find sight words in junk mail• Practice filling out forms from mail

#9 Teach study skills and spend time organizing paper work

• Color code important handouts you want the students to retrieve quickly

• Students record name and date on each handout

• Group handouts together, make small “books” –all the handouts for “Going to the doctor”

• Require students to have tools such as a binder or folder

#10 Be intentional about planning literacy instruction and capitalize

on ‘found’ literacy moments

Reading is a complex skill to master.

Native speakers have to practice and study to become fluent readers and writers.

English language learners are not doing it in the language they know best.

Create literacy routines

Reduce planning time by creating routines that students repeat in every lesson• Write date and name

• Review of sight word cards ( individual)

• Review ‘box of stuff”

• Read “morning message”• Practice reading a whole text (LEA stories, transcripts, dialogues)

Teacher: Model reading

Focus on a sound, letter or new sight words for each teaching cycle

.

“Found” moments

When students are focusing on oral work, there may be small ‘teachable moments” when you can help students notice something about literacy. Use the print surrounding class discussions and oral work in a mindful way.

Highlight ‘found’ moments

• Highlight target sounds in words• Find sight words in written records of

oral work• Apply “chunking” technique to reading

long words and sentences• In a multi-level class, avoid having the

non-literate students copying from the board in large amounts.

Multi-level classes

When literate students work semi-independently on a writing task ( such as a dialogue journal or syntax task in a pocket chart). Use this time to pull together a group to work on literacy.

Non-literate students can:• create an LEA story • work on sight words• notice a sound/spelling pattern• practice forming or recognizing letters• practice alphabetizing

Written Tasks

Written tasks ordered from easier to more difficult:• Match pictures and single words or sentences • Give sentence frames or blank-fills• Give complete text out of order• Give text with some mistakes for correction• Complete a cloze text• Controlled writing activities (Transfer tense, pluralize- only one

answer)• Reconstruct a text (Dictogloss)• Guided writing activities (first/last line given, answer Q’s to form

paragraph, etc)• Free write

A Few TipsMaterials

Use a larger font. Use a font that reflects how we write, for

example, Century Gothic and Comic Sans.

Have plenty of white space on the sheet.Use visuals, graphics, and icons to

accompany written material.How can you explain, model or respond

without writing?

A Few Tips Classroom

Provide a print rich environment. Label parts of the classroom and furniture; write common sight words on charts.

Build literacy routines into classroom management. Have students sign-in; get students to write the date on the board. Build a community of learners.

A Few Tips Classroom

Communicate with students in writing. Write a daily message and read it at the beginning of class.

Good Morning. Today we are going to write letter M. Today we are going to learn about food.

A Few Tips Classroom

Write a page reference on the board as well as telling students orally. Page 47

Review continually. Recycle known sight words in new contexts. Create games and activities to review.

A Few TipsStrategies

Give hints and clues rather than the answer every time.

When a student is trying to read, give the beginning sound as a clue to a word you think they know

A Few TipsStrategies

When reading longer words, like ‘today’, cover half the word. Have students sound out the part they know and encourage them to guess from context.

Cover up words to make them shorter, so they

can read a piece at a time,

Car-pen-ter

Reflection and Application

• What is a tip , strategy, activity or tool that you are taking away today?

Resources

• See the bibliography in your handout

• Add resources

• Share with others

• Start a peer mentoring group in your area