Building Background What Makes Reading Hard for ELLs? Tapping into Prior Knowledge

Objectives Content Objectives We will develop an understanding of what makes reading hard for ELLs and be able to debrief our understandings. We will explore ways to tap into prior knowledge. Language Objectives We will view and discuss a video. We will read and jigsaw an article.

Agenda I. Sensitivity exercise II. Video (first part) III. Debrief with a partner IV. Video (second part) V. Debrief at your table VI. Handouts and a storybook  Break

Agenda continued Tapping into Prior Knowledge  Showcase for dual language literacy  Jigsaw an article  Debrief  A storybook closure

Building Background Concepts explicitly linked to students’ background experiences. Links explicitly made between past learning and new concepts. Key vocabulary emphasized (e.g., introduced, written, repeated, and highlighted for students to see).

Four Principles of Instruction  Increase comprehension.  Increase student-to-student interaction.  Increase higher order thinking and the use of learning strategies.  Make connections to students’ background knowledge. What’s Different About Teaching Reading to Students Learning English? Delta Publishing Co., 2007.

Let’s Look at Some Words  Sound out the phonemes with me.  Pronounce the words.  Does this help?  Let’s draw the pictures.  These are English cognates.

What Makes Reading Hard?  View Part I of the video.  Debrief with a partner.  Read and predict.  View Part II of the video  Discuss at your table what surprised you or what you took from this part of the video.

The Old Woman and the Eagle by Idries Shah  Listen to a story from Afghanistan.  Discuss the meaning of the story.  Mark your glove for retell and share the story with a partner.

Take a Break 15 minutes

Showcase for Dual Language Literacy  View examples of what has been done. Dual Language Literacy Examples  Jigsaw the article.  Number off 1-4  Read your assigned part.  Group yourselves by the same number and discuss what are the main points.  Come back into a group with 1, 2, 3, & 4.  Each “expert” shares their part.

What is currently being done?  Discuss at your table what things are being done or have been done at Tyson to tap into prior knowledge and dual language?  What do you see as a new possibility, or even a previous idea that is no longer being tried as something to utilize for tapping into background knowledge?

The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal by Idries Shah Someone at the table (the one with the longest hair) reads the story. The person with the most buttons will use the “glove” to tell the story. Be sure to share the “heart” of the story. Read Clever Boy Online Online Multilingual Library

Good Evening Don’t forget to sign the attendance sheet! Thank you for your excellent participation and for all of the hard work you do for children at William Tyson.