Homework

Homework is an important tool in a teacher’s arsenal of teaching tricks. Because teachers are responsible for teaching a lot of different content throughout the day, independent practice and homework become a time and place when teachers can observe how their students are applying the learning that has gone on during the day. For ELL students and non-ELL students alike, independent practice is a time when they can digest the information they’ve learned and apply it in ways that make sense to them. According to the research-based strategies by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, “effective teachers approach this kind of learning experience [independent practice and homework] as any other—matching the planned activity to the learning goal.” This point is especially important for ELL students. Often times teachers send homework home that has very little to do with that day’s learning. For ELL students, in order for the homework to be meaningful, they must be able to relate to it in some way. If the homework does not resemble anything they had learned that day, they will be lost and frustrated.

            In Hill and Flynn’s (2006), Classroom instruction that works with English language learners, they suggest that “the amount of homework assigned to students should increase as the progress from elementary school through high school” (p 78). I believe that homework should be given in preschool through 12^th grade, with some changes for the younger students. In preschool and kindergarten, the homework is designed to get families working together with their students. Although the homework does relate to the day’s learning, as was suggested above, it requires more than independent practice. Parental involvement is encouraged in preschool and kindergarten. As students get older and are more used to the routines of school, I believe homework should require very little parental involvement, but not until they are used to the routines of school work.

            For ELL students, homework should be modified to fit their level of English language development. Similar steps should be taken to ensure that the student has success with their homework just as in school. Providing homework with picture support can help with any reading problems ELL students may have. Clearly stating the directions to the student before he goes home can help with confusing assignments. Shortening homework assignments to focus on only a couple of key learning points can help the student feel less overwhelmed.

Reference

Hill. J.D. & Flynn, K.M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: VA

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005). Focus on Effectiveness.

running records

The two students that I gave running records were a second grade Spanish speaking student and a first grade Vietnamese speaking student. Both students have been in English speaking schools since ECE and would be considered to be in the intermediate to advanced fluency stages of language development.

Cassandra is a second grade student reading at approximately a DRA-14. While analyzing her miscues, none of them seemed to be particularly tied to her second language development. Cassandra seemed to rely on the visual cueing system which led to some of her mistakes. For example, in the sentence “Amy wanted to paint a picture,” Cassandra substituted went for wanted based on the w, n, and t of the original word. If she had been using the meaning cueing system, I believe she would have been able to go back and correct her mistake. Cassandra also seemed to use the structure cueing system pretty often during the running record. She substituted words that sounded right in the context of the sentence. The cueing system that Cassandra seemed to use the least was the meaning cueing system. She rarely went back and asked if what she was saying made sense. A next step for Cassandra’s reading instruction would be to prompt her to ask herself if what she is reading makes sense. Modeling for her how to tell if the words in the sentence make sense will help her as well.

Chiyah is a first grade student reading at approximately a DRA-6. While analyzing his miscues, none of them seemed to be particularly tied to his second language development either. The cueing system that Chiyah seemed to rely on most heavily was the visual cueing system. He relied heavily on picture support and on initial letter sound. For example, in the sentence, “This is a tortoise,” he substituted the word turtle for tortoise. In this miscue he used the initial letter sound and the picture to come up with the word. A next step in instruction for Chiyah would be to start sounding out words without the picture support. Modeling for him how to sound out words and then check them against a picture for correctness can help him effectively use the visual cueing system while reading.

nonfiction/fiction comparison

	Nonfiction	Fiction
Illustrations	-illustrations are more closely tied to the words on the page -illustrations are drawn. -illustrations are very simple	-illustrations are drawn. -illustrations are very busy with additional pictures
Number of words on each page	-fewer words on each page.	-more words on each page
Content/text structure	-common objects that can be found in a backyard -each page introduces the item (i.e. The ball.)	-common animals on a farm -may be difficult for students to understand what is happening in the story (i.e. The cows go.)

The two books that I chose were Go, Go, Go and The Backyard. Both books are from readingatoz.com and are at a DRA-A level. At this reading level, there are more similarities between the two types of texts than there are differences. I believe the closeness between the two types of texts may prove to be very difficult for the students to understand. For example, each book had illustrations that were drawn, making it very difficult to decide which was fiction and which was nonfiction just by looking at the pictures. For ELL students, clearly seeing the difference between drawn illustrations and photographs definitely helps to decide fiction from nonfiction. Although each book had drawings, the nonfiction illustrations had a more obvious tie to the concept than did the fiction text.

The nonfiction text had fewer words on each page than did the fiction text. The nonfiction text would be easier to read and to understand for ELL students because of how closely the words and the illustrations matched. The fiction text would be more difficult to read simply because the illustrations did not lend much support to the text.

Besides the obvious difference between theme (the nonfiction text was about objects found in the backyard and the fiction text was about farmyard animals getting in a truck to go somewhere), the text structure was not that different between the two texts. Each page of both texts introduced a new item or animal while maintaining the pattern.

Word Histories

1. Gold

As it refers to the elemental metal, gold is an English term that refers to element 79, Au (taken from the Latin term aurum).  The use of the term to describe the metal dates back to the Middle English period, around 1400.  Before gold had been used to describe a substance, however, it was used to describe a color similar to the shine of the metal.  The spelling of the word has remained mostly unchanged through the periods of English.  Gold has the pre-Germanic root gulth, derived from the Proto-Indo-European guelth­, used to describe a yellowish, greenish, and possibly shiny color.

2. Knight

Since the 12^th century, knight has carried with it a military connotation, first as a general term referring to any active follower of a king or leader until eventually being formalized as a rank during the 16^th century.  The Middle English period is also when the term gained its most recent spelling.  Prior to this time, cniht was used to broadly refer to boys or servants.  Although the word is similar to the Old Frisian kniucht, the Dutch knecht, and the German knecht, it is ultimately of unknown origin.  In An Etymology Dictionary of the English Language, Walter Skeat suggests that the word might come from a combination of the root for “kin” (cn) with an adjective meaning “stony” (iht)—possibly indicating the age at which a young person could join a tribe.

3. King

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary at www.etymonline.com, the roots of the word king make it a term of controversial origin.  King was spelled in Old English as cyning.  It was derived from the pre-Germanic word kuninggaz, similar to the Dutch koning and the Danish konge.  What makes the term controversial is that it is likely stemmed from the Old English word cynn, which refers to a family or race.  This root can also suggest a noble or divine birth, suggesting by the use of the term itself that the person it refers to was ordained by God to be powerful.

4. War

In pre-Germanic language there was no accepted term for what we currently know as “war.”  In the late Old English period, werre and wyrre were adopted from the Old French word werre (which can be heard in the Modern French word guerre).  While there were many words to describe conflict in Early Old English, the term gewin (“struggle”) was commonly chosen to translate the Latin bellum.    

5. Dog

Dog is one of the stranger words in the English language, at least in terms of its origin.  Prior to the 16^th century, English speakers preferred the Old English term hund.  Hund was forced out as the common term in favor of dogge, which itself came from the Old English docga.  The reason for this transition is unclear.  Docga was a late term, originally referring specifically to describe a strong, powerful canine.  The prefix –ga was commonly used to denote an animal, but how the root docce (“muscle”) came to describe canines remains a mystery.

Langauge Learning vs Langauge Acquisition

Learning/word recognition view	Acquisition/Sociolinguistic view
Reading ·   Belief that written language must be learned ·   Uses phonics rules to sound out a word ·   Memorizes a list of sight words that do not follow the rules ·   Sometimes use structural analysis to read longer words ·   Pre-teaches vocabulary ·   Requires words be recoded from written language into a word that the students are already supposed to have in the oral language. ·   Readers are focused on identifying individual words ·   Might pre-teach words too difficult to sound out	Reading ·      Believe that written language is to some degree innate and can be acquired ·      Reading is a process of constructing meaning ·      Uses graphophonics as one of three language cueing systems to gain meaning ·      Readers use background knowledge, and all three cueing systems to make meaning ·      Believes vocabulary will be acquired through reading. ·      Readers are focused on making meaning ·      Most reading is done silently ·      Teach comprehension strategies to use during silent reading
Writing ·   Writing is like reading and must be directly taught. ·   Goal is to learn how to produce a good piece of writing ·   Directly instructs students in how to form letters, then words, then how to combine words into sentences, then sentences into paragraphs ·   Teacher corrects piece of writing ·   This approach can help students perform well on typical tests of writing ·   Teachers emphasize importance of correct handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and organization. ·   Handwriting and spelling are major components of writing program	Writing ·      Writing is like speaking and reflects the language competence an individual has acquired. ·      Goal is to learn how to produce good writing AND acquire knowledge of the writing process ·      Create conditions for authentic writing ·      Helps students express themselves in writing ·      Peers and teacher respond to drafts of writing ·      Teachers set aside time on a regular basis for students to write. ·      Teachers help students focus on content of writing, not just form. ·      Teachers believe that writing will move from individual inventions to conventional forms over time.
Second language development ·   Teachers teach each part of the language directly and systematically ·   The goal is to produce students who speak and understand the language ·   Students learn language through drills and exercises lead by teacher. ·   Teacher correct errors to help students produce good language habits.	Second language development ·      Teachers believe that students should be able to understand, speak, read, and write the language in different settings. ·      The goal is to enable students to use language for a variety of purposes. ·      Teacher use techniques such as gestures, pictures, realia, or reading a book with a predictable pattern and clear pictures of key words to help students acquire language. ·      Students begin learning a language by listening and reading to gain receptive language and eventually move to speaking once some language has been acquired. ·      Teachers help students say what they want to say while allowing them to make and correct their own errors.
Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition ·      In a learning classroom, learning is a conscious process that involves studying rules and vocabulary ·      Students learning a form may have difficulty using the language later because the language has not been acquired into their long term ability to use the language.	Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition ·      In an acquisition classroom, students acquire language subconsciously; they develop language through experiencing language ·      Acquisition is what allows a native-language speaker to tell when something does not sound right. ·      Students acquire language when they receive input that is slightly beyond their current level, but is still comprehensible ·      Boredom and anxiety can act as blocks for students acquiring language.

                                                                  References

Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. NH:Heinemann